Steve La Rue, a 20+ year veteran Television Executive (SMU grad and former Student Intern at D Magazine!), takes a break from Surfing Hollywood and stops by Writing Workshops Dallas to talk Origin Stories of the iconic TV series he's championed in his unorthodox and varied career: The X-Files, The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Battlestar Galactica, Buffy the Vampire Slayer to name a few. Successful Series all share one common trait. Find out what that trait is as Steve breaks down the current trends in Television and explains why it's not just Books that are getting Adapted for Television (and why Texas stories are needed now more than ever). Learn which Writing Pitfalls to avoid and Why the Writer's Origin Story is just as important as the main character's. Steve will discuss the following topics in conversation with Whitney Davis (founder of Whitney Davis Literary) followed by a Q&A:

The Importance of Regional Voices: TV & Film need to hear Dallas/Texas-based stories and voices. I am tired of stories set in either New York or Los Angeles. Get specific! Make it absolutely necessary to shoot in Dallas. Origin Stories: Most Writers don't know how to effectively communicate their own Origin Story or what's most interesting about them. We all know Luke Skywalker's, but do we know our own?! Trends in TV: Be aware, but do not chase. Writing Pitfalls: Don't write and re-write the same script ad nauseum. Knowing when it's time to move on and start something new is important. Write to write: Don't write to win an Oscar or an Emmy. The novelist Richard Bach says he avoids writing as much as possible and only puts pen to paper when an Idea grabs him by the throat and refuses to release him until he puts it down on paper. 5-Minute Pitch Sessions: Writers pitch me their Idea, then I pitch it back to them using a lot fewer words to concentrate their Idea.  It's very fun and educational to watch others pitch and be re-pitched.

Steve La Rue's three-decade career in Media includes stints working in Newspapers, Radio, Magazines, Theatre, Television, Film and Digital. As a Television Executive, he developed series for Paramount, NBC/Universal, and 21st Century Fox championing The X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Simpsons, Battlestar Galactica, and King of the Hill, among many others. An alumnus of SMU's Meadows School of the Arts, Steve writes about All Things Entertainment for Surfing Hollywood and is a regular contributor at Los Angeles storytelling venues Pinata, Muse on 3rd, and To Whom It May Concern. His home base is Santa Monica, CA.