Joseph Dougherty - A Screenwriters Companion: Instruction, Opinion, Encouragement

A Screenwriters Companion: Instruction, Opinion, Encouragement 2022 Joseph Dougherty

All Rights Reserved.

Reproduction in whole or in part without the authors permission is strictly forbidden. All photos and/or copyrighted material appearing in this publication remains the work of its owners. This is a scholarly work of review and commentary only, and no attempt is made or should be inferred to infringe upon the copyrights of any corporation.

Cover design by Erin Lovelien

Cover photo by Joseph Dougherty

Edited by David Bushman

Book designed by Scott Ryan

Published in the USA by Fayetteville Mafia Press

Columbus, Ohio

Contact Information

Email: fayettevillemafiapress@gmail.com

Website: fayettevillemafiapress.com

Instagram: @fayettevillemafiapress

Twitter: @fmpbooks

ISBN: 9781949024395

eBook ISBN: 9781949024401

For Beverly.

Im not going to teach you to be writers. You already are writers. Ivy Dunbar, 1989

Lets face it. Watching television is like sitting in front of a slot machine in Las Vegas. The chances of hitting the jackpot are super slim. The silly part is we know it going in, and we still drop those tokens in that little hole because we hope for the high we hit when those three cherries come up. I hit the jackpot back in the early nineties with a script written by a young Joseph Dougherty. I didnt know his name before that night, and he sure as hell didnt know mine. But I always remembered his after that. He wouldnt learn mine for another thirty years.

I wasnt a writer, but I dreamed of being one. It was a silent dream. I hadnt told my parents, or my girlfriend, or anyone. The only person who knew was Michael Steadman. Problem was, he didnt know my name either. He was the lead character on thirtysomething, which aired on ABC from 1987 to 1991. In this Joe-crafted episode, Michael took a writing class with fictional author Ivy Dunbar. She was a hero of Michaels, and he hoped to learn from her. When she didnt like his writing, it bothered him, but it crushed me as I watched from home. Michael was deciding between being a writer or working in corporate America for the evil Miles Drentell. At the time, the decision was made for me by my father. I was told I would major in advertising, and I was reluctantly earning that degree as I watched thirtysomething. At least it was the same job Michael had. I thought if Michael could do it, I could do it. But then here comes Joe to put Michael and his dreams through the ringer in that jackpot episode titled Michael Writes a Story.

When Michael goes to Ivy Dunbar to quit the class, due to plot points too subtle to get into here, Ivy doesnt care. She says, Writing isnt that important. This shocks Michael and upset the twentysomething in me. Writing meant everything to me. When Ivy asked Michael what he would give to become a great writer, he and I both said simultaneously, EVERYTHING. Michael chose to go work for Miles, and if you wanna know how that turns out you better watch the series. How it turned out for me was that I refused to get a corporate job after graduation for fifteen years. But I also didnt write during that time. When life forced me into corporate America for ten years, a curious thing happenedI couldnt stop writing.

My first published book was about none other than thirtysomething. In 2016, I phoned Joseph Dougherty to interview him for the book. He had some explaining to do. Why did he not respect writing? Why would he make Michael choose Miles over writing? Why did he have Ivy say those horrible things? He told me, I wanted to talk specifically to people like Michael who said, If I can write, everything will be okay. If I can figure out a way to get published or get produced, somehow that validation will fix everything. And that validation doesnt fix everything, and even at that time I was still learning that lesson. So maybe that lesson was very close to the front of my head. In the time between writing that episode and our interview, Dougherty had worked on such shows as Judging Amy, Once and Again, and Saving Grace. He had written plays, books, and telemovies. He was then writing on one of the most popular shows on television, Pretty Little Liars. We had a great interview, but he didnt understand why Michael Writes a Story had stuck with me for so long. He said Ivy Dunbar probably was as close to himself as any character he had created. We had a great discussion about how writing can and cant forgive the sins of your past. I remember so specifically him mentioning how people do not knock on your door and tell you you are now officially a writer. His words were just what I needed to hear as I stepped onto the writing stage with my first book. Once again, he was my Ivy Dunbar.

thirtysomething at thirty: an oral history was published, and somehow the writing episode that had kicked me in the face now was a part of my first published book. That would be the coolest twist if not for the book you are holding in your hands right now. (I wont acknowledge the e-reader you are most likely reading this on, because only printed books matter to writers.) Over the years since that first interview, Joe and I have become friends. I have written for his website a few times, and we have kept in touch. In that time, I started the Fayetteville Mafia Press publishing company with David Bushman. I asked Joe to write an essay about Doctor Who for an upcoming essay book we were working on. He agreed and said he would like to write a book about writing if we were interested. Did the phrase full circle mean anything to him? Of course we were! So now I am publishing a book about writing through the business I started after becoming a writer who wanted to avoid working in business. If you can follow all that, then you probably also could follow all the twists and turns on PLL and you know who A is.

This book has such worthwhile advice in it. Joe walks potential writers through exercises and gives real-world examples, delivering counsel with much more charm than Ivy Dunbar ever did for Michael Steadman. It was my lifelong fear that I would make the same choice as Michael and give up my writing dream for a business career. Thanks to Joes words of encouragement, his interview for my first book, and now A Screenwriters Companion: Instruction, Opinion, Encouragement, I am lucky enough to hit those three cherries once more and hear that loud clunk of germ-filled coins dropping into a plastic bucket. Dont worry, you dont have to be jealous, because you get to share in the winnings too. Ivy Dunbar might think writing is not that important, but luckily for readers, Joseph Dougherty is about to share just why it is important to him.

Scott Ryan

October 6, 2021

Write as if you were dying. At the same time, assume you write for an audience consisting solely of terminal patients. That is, after all, the case.

Annie Dillard