Like many, I was glued to my television each week during the first half of the last decade watching "The West Wing." I rarely agreed with the politics of the show but I was always drawn in by the incredible story lines, the great acting, the political backdrop–but most of all…by the spot on writing. (and remember, it ALL starts with good writing) My kids could tell you at the end of each show, I'd just sit back and say, "man, that's good writing." Each episode told a great story with believable characters. It was great stuff and I hated to see the series end.
Aaron Sorkin was the writer of The West Wing. And once I heard that he had another series coming out the year after TWW ended, I was a fan before the first episode aired. "Studio 60 Live on the Sunset Strip" was a kind of behind the scenes at Saturday Night Live show. It began in 2006 and they only made 22 episodes before the program was cancelled.
I went back last night and watched the first two episodes of Studio 60 on Hulu. Man…the dude can write. The way he tells a story captures me from the start. I love it. And to think, Sorkin was writing for television! He wasn't writing about eternal things. He wasn't writing about life and death issues.
He was writing for a (basically) throwaway medium. Sure, now that we have You Tube and Hulu and some other online video sites, television programming can live another life but for the most part, it's a one-time vehicle to sell ads. That's it. And yet, Sorkin was brilliant. No doubt, he gave it his all in every episode. He wrote like he wanted to make it count…even though the series ended up getting cancelled.
So, here's what I've learned…
- Make it count. Chances are, your writing has much more eternal value than what Sorkin writes. When you sit down to write that copy or that story or your blog or the letter, make it count. Take the time to do it right. Work for the right word in the right place. That's where the real jewels are.
- Pleasing a mass audience (or not) is never the best way to measure whether what you wrote has been a success or not. Connection is the real measure of success, especially when you can connect with the folks you really want to touch.
- Work. Good writing is hard work. And even though you can get by for a while on sheer born-in talent, sooner or later you're going to have to grind. Learn to work through the crap in order to get to the good stuff.
By the way, Sorkin also wrote a couple of movies you may have heard of; "A Few Good Men," and "Malice."
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