INTERVIEWS

“100 Percent Invested. 0 Percent Attached.” TV Writer Melanie Marnich On ‘Low Winter Sun,’ ‘The Big C,’ ‘The OA,’ & ‘The Affair’

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As part of Creative Screenwriting Magazine’s ongoing interview series with top film and TV screenwriters, we spoke with Melanie Marnich to share her insights into what makes a great TV writer. It’s beyond the craft itself. It’s how a story resonates with you.

As a TV writer, Melanie Marnich looks for projects that ask questions similar to those she’s currently asking of herself. This way, she ensures that she will take a deep dive into the subject matter. By scratching her own itch, she gets to literally live and breathe within every single project she chooses.

I’m not going to take on a project if it’s something that’s not going to compel me at that time,” said Marnich. “When I joined Big Love, I had just gotten married [to one man.] When I joined The Big C, my father had recently passed. That’s my barometer and that’s how I connect to the material. I don’t know how I would write if I couldn’t connect on an emotional and intellectual level.”

Creative Screenwriting Magazine

Melanie Marnich

In addition to this connection, Marnich loves shows that “embrace moral complexity.” Low Winter Sun ran with the tagline “Good man. Cop. Killer.” The Affair focused on an extramarital relationship, and The OA focused on a mysterious fantasy where a blind girl returned home after missing for seven years with the gift of sight.

How can you judge somebody if they’re undergone a phenomenal trauma?” asked the screenwriter. “Who knows what they’ll do? I really love living in the grey area. We’re in a world that is asking us to be more black and white about things. I always think there is a zone in between. As a writer, that’s where the rich material is…”

In terms of longevity as a TV writer, the self-described realist and optimist believes that writing is in her hardwiring. “The cliché is that it chose me. I think it is the way I emotionally process the world. It’s how I process my own emotions. It’s how I process the things around me. It’s how I process life. It’s how I process loss and gain. It gives me comfort to write. I like the challenge and I’m very competitive. That helps me. The difficulties of the business actually motivate me.”

The Sharer’s Room

In terms of preparation, Marnich isn’t scared to share her connections with anyone in the TV writers’ room. Within this cone of silence, she warns the others in the room that she’s willing to share anything that helps push the story forward. This vulnerability likely opens up other writers to do the same. She also gives everyone else in the room a lot of room to run.

I really mine my life and my experiences. I try to look at it intellectually, emotionally, and surgically. I try to do a spelunking into life so I can find points of connection. I’ve had different careers, different partners, lived in different cities, lived a rich life… and it’s all material.”

Within this rich life, the screenwriter-producer has also tried to live below her means rather than splurge between gigs. This way, she can focus on taking projects she truly connects with rather than latching on to the next paycheck. “I want to take a job I want – not take a job because I have to take a job,” she confessed.

My nightmare is having to take something I don’t feel a connection to,” she admitted. “I don’t know how I could be of service in a room if that were the case. I always say I have no shame. If it triggers an idea in the room, then it’s great. I don’t talk about friends and family, but for my own tour of duty, I figure that’s the stuff of stories. I want to tell stories about human beings living human lives, and those elements are profoundly complex.”

Writing Strong [Female] Characters

People often tell me, ‘You’re attracted to strong female characters.’ I’m attracted to females that are equal to the men in terms of emotional depth,” declared the screenwriter. “A lot of times you see female characters in service of the man’s plotline. A lot of times when I write the first draft, it feels boring, so I flip the genders of the characters.”

By switching the gender, Marnich is able to crack open those characters. It challenges her biases and makes her rethink the story. “I look for TV shows where the women are equal to the men. If a woman and a man are in a scene, it’s Frazier and Ali. They should be equals. That’s what interests me.”

Specifically, the screenwriter is referring to the drive behind the characters. Rather than screen time or even points of dialogue, she’s referring to their intention, motivation, and beyond. Male and female characters both require: “Drive, energy, flaws, determination, vividness, dimensionality, complexity, intelligence, and endurance.”

She concluded, “You go deep into the backstory so you know why they have the responses they have. What is the personal cost of those responses? The more you know, the more they challenge your assumption and the less risk of a cliché. In a funny way, I don’t care about male or female. I care about interesting or not interesting characters. If they’re a cliché, I get bored.”

We [TV writers] have a responsibility not to desensitize viewers.  I never want to turn something serious into something light. The things I don’t like to write are when the human emotional cost is not acknowledged. I think you can do anything – almost – if you can acknowledge honestly what it cost the people involved.”

Failure to acknowledge the emotional cost “feels like a cartoon person and a cartoon event,” she added.“The actions need to matter to the people involved. I have a weird way of working where I fly towards the things that make me uncomfortable. I try to find out why it makes me uncomfortable and then see if I can work it into the show.”

In addition to strong characters, Marnich is also interested in aspects of class in her stories. In one example, she discussed a CEO who grew up working class versus a CEO who grew up upper class. She loves these types of social distinctions and they always work their way into her stories.

She also loves “geographic specificity” which focuses back on studies of nature and nurture. “We are who we are because of where we live,” asserts Marnich. “I’m from Northern Minnesota and I’m still trying to figure out how to create a show set there. The character [of Minnesota] is made of everything from the weather to economic opportunities or even the landscape.”

Let The Story Unfold

I see a lot of pressure on screenwriters because there is so much content right now, so much competition, and so many wonderful opportunities. There’s a lot of pressure on writers now to be shocking on the first page. I understand that, but that doesn’t necessarily make for a great story. It often cheapens the story. It doesn’t let it ripen or evolve. It doesn’t let us get to know the characters.”

Because of the pressure to shock the audience, many writers do not allow stories to marinate and draw the viewer in. “Action on the first page of the script doesn’t make the script come alive. The writing makes the script come alive. I think we lean too much on shock value versus creating unique characters I’ve never heard before.”

Then, Marnich works to push the characters towards a fascinating story. “I’ve read a lot of scripts where I can tell the writer felt forced. We are in an incredible time creatively and things are moving so fast, but there’s this clamoring to cut through the crowd and it’s really hard to do that.”

For novice writers, the screenwriter advises them to be prepared, but the TV writers’ room is a difficult thing to prepare for. “It’s such a strange ecosystem to bring someone into. I think something important is to be both open and have a thick skin. That’s a tough tightrope to walk. You’re rowing a ship with the other Vikings, but I think people need to know it’s important to be open, share, but then let it go.”

Marnich often tells people that she is “100 percent invested, but 0 percent attached” to a project. By living in this mindset, she’s able to focus but relax. “I think young screenwriters should read more. I think they should watch as much TV and films as possible. I think they should have great faith in their versatility and energy. If an idea doesn’t make it on one day, you’ll have another and another and another. If you trust that, a lot of anxiety goes away.”

As if the tightrope isn’t difficult enough, the screenwriter also said it’s important for writers to know how to read a TV writers’ room. “You have to be aware of when the current has switched. You may have this great idea, but if the room has switched, it’s not going to work. You have to make that switch along with the room. If someone doesn’t let go of a pitch that didn’t gain traction, this may be ego. It can be harmful to a writer if they don’t let go of something or get in the wrong creative stream.”

We all have our insecure days. The writers’ room can feel terrifying if you’re vulnerable in the wrong sense, but showrunners are very smart. If they hired you, trust the showrunner and trust they know what they’re doing. Believe in yourself. You are there because they saw something they need in you. Don’t let ego or a sense of expectation trip you up—things can change and it’s important to be nimble.”

We’re the last living alchemists. We create something out of nothing and change one form into another. I think that is fantastic and it takes courage. People who aren’t writers don’t understand the courage and endurance of what we do. The rejection can be so personal. It’s hard to pick yourself up, but we do. There’s something unconventional in all of us, but that’s why we’re here.”

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Brock Swinson

Contributing Writer

Freelance writer and author Brock Swinson hosts the podcast and YouTube series, Creative Principles, which features audio interviews from screenwriters, actors, and directors. Swinson has curated the combined advice from 200+ interviews for his debut non-fiction book 'Ink by the Barrel' which provides advice for those seeking a career as a prolific writer.

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