Pulling Your Hair Out: Conversations About The Writing Process

Paul Ditty is a TV writer. His first writing “break” came in the form of a book when his satire of Nancy Drew books, The Straight Shooter: A Nate Dainty Manhunt, was published in 2010. Most recently, Paul’s dramatic comedy, Thoroughly Mormon Millie, was a second rounder at Austin Film Festival and his Mindy Project spec was a top-three finalist in Final Draft’s Big Break Competition. Currently, Paul lives in Long Beach with his husband Eddie along with their cat, dog and drought tolerant yard. "Four years ago I couldn't have [written an hour-long script]. I needed the practice of writing. But writing this half-hour about the weight loss left me really dissastisfied. It made me realize, "You know what, I want to tell longer stores." Not because I don't want to edit, but because I just feel like sometimes when I write something there's a lot more to tell about it. So the good thing about that script is that it did bring me to the decision to write "Millie" as an hour." • Paul Ditty on Twitter • Freedom app • Th