Dear Reader,

I am an avid fan of the television show The West Wing. It is a political dramedy about the goings on of the White House. Even though it is really interesting to see how the President's job is carried out, what is more interesting is the jobs of his staff. The show revolves around the Chief of Staff, Press Secretary, Deputy Chief of Staff, Communications Director, and Deputy Communications Director, the last of whom is played by Rob Lowe. At about the half way point in the series, Rob Lowe ended up moving to a different television show (I am still bitter). In the story line, he ended up becoming a congressman in California, and they brought in a campaign manager to be the new deputy.

I am telling you all of this because it got me thinking about a couple of things as they pertain to writing. First is that I have always loved television more than movies, but I have been especially curious about when, how, and why some characters' story lines end. Are they tired of working on the same show and want a change? If their character died, did the actor die (which also happened on The West Wing)? Was the money not good enough? Or did the writers simply decide that this character's story arc was at an end? It makes me think about my own writing. I have a couple of series in the works right now, and each one revolves around a core set of characters. Will I know when one character's story is over? Will I be able to bring myself to end a story arc for a character? Will readers resent me if I drop a character they grew to care about and possibly even love? In the case of The West Wing, Lowe's character, Sam Seaborn, was delightful, charming, funny, and brought a lot to the show, so I find it hard to believe that he was written out of the script to end his arc. At the same time, The West Wing was a very important show, one that not only earned awards, but deserved them as well, so I can't bring myself to believe that Lowe would leave a show like that for one like Parks & Recreation, the show he ended up on. Yet I know it had to be one of those two choices. The thing is, even though his replacement, Joshua Melina who ended up playing a character named Will Bailey, was nothing like Lowe's character, the writers did a good job of transitioning from one character arc to another, something that must have been difficult, something I am not sure I could do.

The other thing this got me thinking of was the introduction of Will Bailey. It takes some convincing to get Toby Ziegler, the Communications Director, to even consider Will for the job. At one point, Toby finally tells Will to write a 500 word essay on American leadership. When Will returns with his "assignment," Toby hands over the same assignment from his own hand. I really enjoy writing. Sometimes I need the solitude, but this helped me to remember that even writing can be collaborative. Toby, half way through reading the Will's essay, tells Will to stop reading his. He recognizes that Will is a great writer, and he recognizes it because of his own writing. As Will points out, Toby is not a bad writer, he was just in a slump. Toby had been worrying for days, trying to put out his best, thinking he was no longer any good, and Will came along and helped him realize that he was just exhausted. As a writer, I realize that is something I need. Sharing drafts with others is about receiving constructive criticism, but it is also about receiving support. This is the kind of support writer's need. Perhaps if I had this kind of support, I would know when it is time to let a character go, even if I was thoroughly attached to said character. This is something I will be chewing on for some time. Perhaps it is time for me to try to find that support. Anyway, that's all for now. Until next time, Reader.

Speak freely. Write candidly. Read endlessly.