Brent Forrester is an Emmy Award-winning writer who has worked on an incredible list of shows including The Office (where he also executive produced and ran the writer's room at one point), The Simpsons, The Ben Stiller Show, King of the Hill, The Larry Sanders Show, and more!

He stopped by Ledger to chat about how to overcome writing pressure, managing expectations, and failure; what it's like to pitch a TV show to studio executives (and the actor he has attached to his current pitch for his show Surf Lodge); the need for bravery from artists in the face of tyranny; and that one time he told a joke that bombed in front of Steve Carell.

It's an incredible chat with an accomplished TV writer, an invaluable look behind the scenes at the life of a successful writer. Go to brentforrester.com to check into taking his next pilot writing class where he teaches his Six Step System - it's only $200 which is NUTS - it's basically guaranteed you're going to have a blast and meet some likeminded writers.

Thank you so much to Brent for stopping by, and thank you to you for listening!

- - - - -

Please rate and review Ledger wherever you can - Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, etc. - and tell people if you think they'd like it. Swing by austinRwilson.com to see my publishing credits, to contact me, or to read free fiction.

Links to all my work can be found here: https://linktr.ee/austinRwilson

You can now support the show through Patreon at https://patreon.com/LedgerPodcast and get exclusive written posts, behind-the-scenes info about episodes, Q + A sessions with me about podcasting and writing, as well as co-writing sessions/hangouts. I'm exploring the possibility of adding a script coverage and notes tier if there's enough interest, so keep your eyes out for that.

I am already offering my services as a reader outside of Patreon, focusing on developmental/story analysis, proofreading, and offering coverage for scripts of all kinds. Contact me via my website for rates and availability, or on my Instagram account, @MossHeartBooks.

Thank you!

Today’s guest is screenwriter Laura Kroeger, one of two winners of the 2024 Final Draft Big Break contest. Disclaimer: Final Draft is not sponsoring today’s episode.

Laura Won the Big Break Contest with her script BIGGER IN TEXAS. She talks about the genesis of that script as well as how the Women In Film & Video (WIF) fellowship helped her writing; how her own reading and writing groups and their dedication to the craft/art have shaped her as a writer; how integral her manager Max Gonzalez at Fourth Wall Management has been; and the incredible amount of hard work she’s put in both at and away from the keyboard/page.

It's a wonderful chat and a great peek into writing for film and TV for anyone who is curious what it's like right at the beginning of a career.

- - - - -

Please rate and review Ledger wherever you can - Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, etc. - and tell people if you think they'd like it. Swing by austinRwilson.com to see my publishing credits, to contact me, or to read free fiction.

Links to all my work can be found here: https://linktr.ee/austinRwilson

You can now support the show through Patreon at https://patreon.com/LedgerPodcast and get exclusive written posts, behind-the-scenes info about episodes, Q + A sessions with me about podcasting and writing, as well as co-writing sessions/hangouts. I'm exploring the possibility of adding a script coverage and notes tier if there's enough interest, so keep your eyes out for that.

I am already offering my services as a reader outside of Patreon, focusing on developmental/story analysis, proofreading, and offering coverage for scripts of all kinds. Contact me via my website for rates and availability, or on my Instagram account, @MossHeartBooks.

Thank you!

Christine Wenc is a former staff member for The Onion and the author of Funny Because It's True: How The Onion Created Modern American News Satire, out right now in hardcover!

Christine stopped by to chat about how she started researching the book in 2018; searching for (and maybe never finding) objective truth; coming to terms with the ways in which others can live in perceptually-generated realities, and how academics can cut, like, a TON of words from all their writing (she’s an editor too, so can say that).

Not only is her book an awesome history of The Onion, it’s a great look at print news media and the massive shifts for everyone involved - from publishers and writers on down to readers and viewers - that took place between the late 80s and early 2000s.

Come for the funny stories about The Onion being created and managing to succeed and change comedy writing forever, stay for the details about how monetizing news is maybe a necessary evil we just keep making more and more evil?

It’s a lovely chat, and it’s a book I highly, highly recommend if you enjoy any of those things.

-- -- -- -- --

Please rate and review Ledger wherever you can - Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, etc. - and tell people if you think they'd like it. Swing by austinRwilson.com to see my publishing credits, to contact me, or to read free fiction.

Links to all my work can be found here: https://linktr.ee/austinRwilson

I'm offering my services as a reader, focusing on developmental/story analysis, proofreading, and offering coverage for scripts of all kinds. Contact me via my website for rates and availability, or on my Instagram account, @MossHeartBooks.

Thank you!