by Sean Platt
That being said, you’ll get a peek at someone a bit closer to the original event early in Season Two.
As for what kept these particular people alive, that would be spoiling one of the bigger secrets. Sorry.
SEAN: I’ll add that this was one of the most rewarding parts of writing the second season for us, was really putting all of this together. When we started writing, we didn’t necessarily know what happened to everyone, though we’d certainly batted around a few ideas. But by Season Two, we needed to know a lot more about our world, even if the characters didn’t.
Dave did a lot of the heavy lifting for this part of the story, and did an amazing job threading everything together. I couldn’t be happier with the story’s direction, or more proud of the world building that’s been done since the first season concluded.
WHO WAS YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTER TO WRITE? WHO WAS THE HARDEST?
DAVID: I know Sean’s answer to this before he gives it! My favorite was probably Brent Foster, only because he’s similar to me. Brent is an overworked journalist with a young son, trying to do the best he can to keep his family together and doing what he feels to be the right thing even as he distances himself from his family.
I approached his story thinking, how would I respond? Some of his scenes in Season One, particularly the one where he lay in bed with his son and came to the realization that he was an absent father, were difficult to write because it was an admittance of my own feelings to that effect. I actually cried when I finished that scene.
The hardest to write for me was probably Boricio, because that is all Sean’s creation, and his dialogue is way over the top. It’s hard for me to get the voice just right, and we don’t want Boricio to become a caricature of himself. It’s a fine line. I think Boricio’s dialogue might be the closest we’ve come to disagreeing with each other. Arguments over Boricio could be an entertaining inclusion for a book! Sean: “Why can’t we call him a cum-colored cracker?” Me: “That doesn’t even make sense!”
SEAN: Ha, that’s too funny. Dave’s not exaggerating. We actually have that e-mail. There’s no doubt, I love writing Boricio and even have fun rewriting Dave’s interpretation. He’s a ridiculously over-the-top character, sure, but I do think we fill him with enough fun to make him a blast to read. I thought he would be more polarizing than he was. I figured some people would love and some would hate, and it would be around half and half. But it seems like most people enjoy reading him. My wife’s the best litmus test. When I read Boricio’s parts out loud and she’s smiling, I know I’ve done a good job. I would even give Boricio his standalone series, but Dave won’t let me. So you need to speak up, send him an e-mail, and let him know how wrong he is. GO, TEAM BORICIO!!!
As far as the most difficult to write, that’s Luca for me, by far. Part of him is easy because I have a son his age, but my son isn’t fighting voices in his head, or aging years in seconds. Getting his voice just right is difficult. It’s also funny that some of the criticism for the unrealistic dialogue of Luca are things I’ve taken directly from my own son. BONUS FUN FACT: My son is named Boricio and knows about the character, though he only knows he is a “bad guy” and doesn’t know any specifics.
WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IN WRITING YESTERDAY’S GONE?
SEAN: Knowing the story we wanted to tell. We never wanted to build out so much of the story out that we left nothing to discover along the way, but we also didn’t want to leave so much to chance that we wrote ourselves into a corner, or made the story a molecule less than what the reader deserved.
Finding the just right between the magic of surprise and the intelligence of plotting was instrumental to delivering the best stories possible. But it’s hard to know where that just right is. Because the first season started from nothing, we were able to make up more of it as we went along in the first couple of episodes. By the end of the first three episodes, we were much more focused on specific spots the story needed to hit so we could deliver a more rewarding payoff at the end.
Season Two has had a different sort of process. We’ve had to script our story out with more precision this time, from the start. But we are extremely pleased with the results.
DAVID: Timing. The biggest challenge was making it all come together in a way that keeps a lot of the mystery, yet reveals enough in character development and storyline to keep readers hooked. A lot of times, especially in the horror genre, the story falls apart after the mystery is gone. We’d love to leave readers in the dark as long as possible, but at some point, they need to have an idea what’s happening or they lose faith that YOU know what’s going on.
I think the writers of LOST faced a lot of unwarranted (in my opinion) criticism because many viewers thought they had no clue what was happening late in the game. We NEEDED to understand and refine the back-story before starting Season Two. Because if WE don’t know what’s happening, then we’re gonna make mistakes. We have a fairly big reveal coming in Episode 8, one I wanted to hold off on delivering until the end of the season, but if we did that, the story would have suffered. So, we’re answering questions, yet raising new ones, as all the best serials do.
I think we were learning as we went along in Season One. This is certainly the most ambitious thing I’ve worked on, and I think we’re hitting our stride now.
HOW MUCH OF THE STORYLINE WAS MAPPED OUT AHEAD OF TIME? DO YOU KNOW HOW IT WILL END?
DAVID: In the very early stages, we wrote the first episode without ANY idea of what was going on aside from a very basic premise — On Oct. 15, most of the world’s population vanished. Write what happened next. We were each assigned to write our own characters with minimal direction, and then we traded our pages, and began to piece the puzzle together. I was shocked by how little we changed and how well our ideas meshed. We then brainstormed the rest of Season One, and a bit beyond, and got busy writing.
Very early on, I knew a few things, such as some of the key cliffhanger sequences well into Season Three, and how the whole thing might end. I plotted a good chunk of Season One out, but kept things fluid, open to change as the characters and situations presented new ideas. Some of the best changes were ones we’d never planned and which came up in our brainstorming sessions.
In short, we planned out a lot of the first season before we finished the final draft of Episode One, and then into Season Three as we worked through the first season.
SEAN: Yesterday’s Gone started with only a premise, and quickly grew cooler with every conversation and fresh pile of pages. We realized early on that we had to know where we were going, not just immediately, but long-term. We wanted our story to have the same sort of vibe as cool, serialized TV, but we didn’t want it to meander to nothing, shedding its audience like dead skin along the way, as many great shows have done.
This usually happens because there isn’t an endgame in mind. So, it was important for us to keep things as open as possible so that the creative possibilities never dulled, while building the mile markers required to make sure we were going the right way.
We have an idea of how our story will end, but not necessarily how every character’s story will end. We need more time to live with our characters before we can conclude their stories. We love them, and if we did our jobs, you love them, too. So we want to make sure we end things in a way that respects the story as well as the characters themselves. Dave has pushed this from the beginning, character arc over everything else.
HOW DO YOU BOTH HANDLE WRITING CHORES?
SEAN: David and I have different ways of putting our stories together, depending on the project. One of the ways we work best is when Dave builds the house, and I come in to landscape the grounds and decorate the interior. That’s largely how Yesterday’s Gone has been put together, especially in the second season. But the best parts of the project for me have been during those brainstorming sessions when the pieces of our story click together between laughs and gasps and ohmygod’s.
We each write our pages, pass them between us
, then usually get on the phone to discuss what worked, what didn’t, and how to blend things better the next time. Though we’ve been writing together for over three years, we live hundreds of miles apart, and have only met one another in person twice. So, I pace my basement in circles, or turn the treadmill on low, while we shoot the shit and hash it out. I think much of Yesterday’s Gone’s magic is dusted in those moments when we’re building our story out loud. And I think part of that is because we often speak in terms of how our story would play out if it was shot for television.
DAVID: I think we bring out the best in each other’s writing, each with our own strengths. We both write and edit an equal amount of each other’s stuff, though we vary on stories, or even within chapters, who will be taking lead. It comes down to whoever has the best idea for that particular story. Sometimes, we’ll handle our own first drafts of the segments, and other times, we’ll write story beats or prompts for the other to flesh out. It’s a very fluid and fast process that has an energy I’d never have working solo. If left to my own devices, I’d still be perfecting my first unpublished novel.
IS IT EASIER OR HARDER TO WRITE WITH ANOTHER WRITER? DO YOU EVER GET INTO ARGUMENTS OVER WHAT GOES ON THE PAGE?
DAVID: Sean and I work remarkably ego-free. We listen to one another’s ideas and never worry about who gets credit for the stories. When we first started publishing, we had to consider whose name would be first on the book covers. The first idea we had was to go with whoever was lead on that story. However, we decided to just stick with one constant branding: Sean Platt & David W. Wright.
It doesn’t matter if people think Sean wrote something I did, or vice versa. Though, I did write all the really cool shit! And Sean wrote the parts you didn’t like as much :)
The thing you need with a co-writer is trust. Trust to carry out a vision, trust to respect what you’re doing, and trust that they’ll tell you when something isn’t working on the page. It’s kind of like marriage, except without all the sex (though Sean keeps propositioning me!) and arguing, two people working for a common goal and more concerned with the final product than individual accolades.
SEAN: I’m a collaborative writer, so I probably prefer to write with someone else. I’ll probably always have at least one project going on that is just mine, but I write fast and love working with others. When you have a great writing partner, ideas are easy, and verbal riffing is ridiculous fun.
In three and a half years, I can’t remember a single argument over whether or not something went on the page. Dave will make suggestions, and I take them on first call. The opposite is true, too. Dave and I have wonderful, creative harmony. I’m sure there will be something one of us has to fight for at some point in the future, but we haven’t seen it yet.
Our creative differences are more like creative preferences, and while there is a wider gap in business philosophy, creatively it’s as easy as walking.
HOW MANY “SEASONS” WILL YESTERDAY’S GONE RUN?
DAVID: We’re writing it as three seasons. I don’t want to spend too long on it. There’s too many different stories we want to write this year! I have this cool, year-long story I’m itching to write, unlike anything I’ve ever seen. We’re also working on two more serialized projects, and a host of other books.
We won’t rule out a fourth season if demand is there AND it makes sense for the story. But right now, we’re planning for three, and I’m not padding to make room for a fourth season just because the books are selling well. Of course, if someone wants to pay us a few million, we’ll pump these things out for the next 10 years, and even help design the action figures.
Just kidding.
Maybe.
(UPDATE: November 2012. As we worked through the second and third seasons, we realized there was no way to tell the entire story we have planned in three seasons. We’ve since decided on six seasons, though most of the answers we set forth in the first season are answered by the end of the third season. Season Four also marks a decidedly significant break from what happened in the first seasons. I can’t explain more without giving a lot away, but we’ve organized Seasons Four through Six to be much easier to follow and far more streamlined than the first three seasons.)
SEAN: I love the idea of three seasons, but I’d be happy to write another three after that if the demand was there. Any time we have an audience eager for something, and we can deliver a satisfying story with both character and quality, in a world that we love, I’m 100 percent on board. However, as Dave said, there are SO MANY stories in our story garden and we just can’t get to them all, so it might make more sense just to start with something from scratch.
HOW IS SERIALIZATION WORKING FOR YOU?
SEAN: I’m thrilled so far, and readers seem to really love the format. I’ve yet to see anyone not enjoy the option to buy the titles either one at a time, or all at once in the full season. And most of our Season One buys (of the full compilation), it seems, have come from people who downloaded the first episode for free and were hooked. Which is awesome. I see this as a huge opportunity for storytelling, and there is nothing in my writing or publishing life that I’m more excited about than seeing where it takes us.
DAVID: Great! Before we launched Yesterday’s Gone, I heard and read a lot of naysayers dissing the format. Some people didn’t think serialization could work and doubted that readers would WANT to be kept waiting. I disagree. I love books and shows that leave me hanging until the next dose, so I’m guessing I’m not alone. There’s an audience there, you just have to find it. And self-publishing presents us just the opportunity to find the readers who get what we’re doing.
WILL YOU BE DOING OTHER SERIALIZED BOOKS?
DAVID: We’re working on a paranormal romance for the young adult market. We’re also working on a spin-off to our short story, The Watcher, from the Dark Crossings book. Sean’s also working on a few things in different genres. I wish I didn’t need sleep so we could write all the things we’d like to write this year!
SEAN: Oh, yeah! I would tell you how many things were on the drawing board between us, but then you’d call us crazy, or liars, or maybe something worse, so I’ll just say yes with an extra exclamation point!! (or two)
AS A READER, DO YOU WISH THERE WERE MORE SERIALIZED TITLES?
SEAN: Absolutely. I would love to read high-quality serials, as it’s always interesting to see what other writers are doing. And as a fan, I just love the open loops. I’m thrilled that there are as many superbly scripted television shows as there are. I think it’s a golden age of TV. I’m really looking forward to the new season of Mad Men, which is an achingly long two months away!
DAVID: As I’ve mentioned many times in the past, I LOVED Stephen King’s The Green Mile. And I loved comic books when I was younger (and before they cost more than most kids can afford to keep up with). I’ve heard from writers who are now doing serials, or planning to. I’ve been too busy writing to check out any of the titles, but I can’t wait to find one that hooks me in like King did.
WHAT HAS YOUR BIGGEST SELF-PUBLISHING OBSTACLE BEEN?
SEAN: Asking our readers to do things they may not be used to doing, such as leaving a review. Because we’re self-published, it is much harder for our work to get discovered. Every review helps. As does every Facebook like, Twitter tweet, or e-mail to a friend. The reviews we do get have been excellent, so that’s really rewarding for us and lets us know we’re on the right track, but as a percentage it’s slightly small, so it would be nice to have more reviews on the original season, as well as the season we’re launching right now. If you’re reading this and want to help get the word out about Yesterday’s Gone, or anything else Dave and I are writing right now, it really will make a difference. Leave a review. Short of buying books, it’s the most helpful thing anyone can do to ensure we’re able to keep bringing stories to you. We read and appreciate every review.
DAVID: I think getting word out was the toughest thing, along with reviews. It’s hard to get notic
ed. You’re competing with bestselling authors and indie authors alike. There’s no shortage of quality books to read. We just have to reach out to those who most enjoy the kinds of stories we’re writing. And judging from the reviews and e-mails, we’ve found our people! Or they’ve found us. Either way, I’m thrilled to have them along for the ride!
HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH NEGATIVE REVIEWS?
SEAN: Fortunately, we’ve only had one outright bad review. We had a couple of three star reviews that were totally fair. I appreciated what the reviewers had to say immensely. And that sort of feedback helps us grow as writers and entertainers. The review sections provide an invaluable opportunity to learn from our readers so we can develop the stories they most want to read.
We recently got a one-star review from a reviewer who hated the book from top to bottom. That’s fine, I don’t expect to please everyone. It wasn’t constructive criticism so much as bitter ranting, but that was fine. I had no problem with the review itself. But the reviewer also attacked some of the five star reviewers, saying that we must have planted them, even calling one of our most loyal readers and reviewers a troll. That is poor behavior, and I just had to say something. It’s okay to badmouth our book, but you can’t badmouth our readers.
