Kiwi Comedy with Kathryn Burnett

The Writer's Toolkit

In this episode, I chat to Kathryn Burnett - an award-winning screenwriter and playwright, whose name can be found on many successful TV series in New Zealand. We talk about the development journey of her new comedy play, The Campervan, the iconic kiwi sit-com writing room that provided her first TV credit (plus enough stories to dine out on for a lifetime!), as well as her latest work on TV comedies, My Life is Murder and Under the Vines.

Words of Wisdom

Kathryn Burnett on writing to a deadline... "The pressure of a deadline I find a very good spur. If it's commissioned work, obviously that's one thing. If it's something that is speculative - so I'm just writing it for myself, or I'm just chipping away at my own project, I have to find a different type of deadline. Sometimes that's a competition or something I can just enter. Generally, I always advise people to do that - find a deadline of some sort. Otherwise, time can just roll by".

Conversation Highlights & Links

• [03:00] Kathryn's new play, The Campervan
• [08:30] Writing routines, time-blocking, and setting deadlines
• [17:35] Finding community, online and in-person
• [23:45] Balancing time in the classroom with writing
• [28:36] Finding the funny and discovering the talent within
• [31:34] Hands-on learning through self-producing
• [33:53] Melody Rules (RNZ podcast: The Worst Sitcom Ever Made)
• [38:20] Writing on My Life is Murder
• [39:50] - Final Scene

Connect with Kathryn

• Visit Kathryn's website
• Connect on Instagram @KathrynIsAWriter
• Connect on Twitter @KBurnettDotCom
• Discover Kathryn's writing workshops

Connect with Paul

• Buy the book, The Writer's Toolkit
• Visit Paul's website
• Connect on Instagram @PaulKalburgi
• Connect on Twitter @PaulKalburgi

Next time...

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