5 Questions with Ryan Condal

Join a live Q&A with the House of the Dragon co-creator THIS SATURDAY!

I’ve known Ryan Condal since 2013, when he did his first Writers Panel episode. (You can hear it here). I’d heard that Ryan was adapting The Sixth Gun, a comic series I really liked, and I wanted to ask him about it. The series didn’t get picked up, but we had a nice chat and met again several times over the years. He and his Colony co-creator Carlton Cuse had me moderate their panel at NYCC, which was a lot of fun. We lost touch for a bit (y’know, pandmics make your world smaller), and next thing I knew, Ryan was the co-creator and showrunner of the Game of Thrones spin-off, House of the Dragon, which just ended its first season.

Now, anyone who has listened to the podcast for any amount of time knows that I do not care about Game of Thrones. Most fantasy stuff just leaves me cold. I have a bad imagination! And while I’m told that HotD is excellent, I don’t have time to watch it right now.

Which is why I need you to attend this Saturday’s paid-subscriber-exclusive Q&A with Ryan! Please come and ask all of the dragon-related questions! The Q&A is Saturday 11/5 at 11am PT via Zoom. If you’re already a paid subscriber, the link and info is below for you. If you’re not already a paid subscriber and want to attend the Q&A or listen to it later (you can already listen to October’s Q&A with Robert Cargill), then now is the time to upgrade!

1. What are you working on right now?

House of the Dragon, Season 2.

2. What challenges are you facing specific to your current writing project?

We had plenty of pressure following The Beatles (Game of Thrones). Now that our show has created its own identity -- how do we follow season 1?

3. What advice about the business of TV/film writing can you give to someone starting out now?

Learn how to rewrite. The way you show your value as a for-hire writer is in your first pass at the showrunner's or producer’s or executive’s notes. If you can make it better with rewriting (a frustratingly-rare skill), you will work forever.

4. What advice about the craft of writing can you give to someone starting out?

Writers write. The best thing you can do with your time is write. Read everything you can and, simply, write. Too many people talk about it, or workshop or whatever. Spend your time writing.

5. What do you respond to most in a piece of writing?

Voice and confidence. I want to read a unique voice and know that I'm in the hands of someone who knows what they're doing and can take me on a ride.

6. What are you watching/reading/listening to lately that’s getting you excited or inspired?

I watch a lot of old movies. Most new movies don't do it for me. TV is great. I love The Crown, White Lotus, Succession, and newer things like The Bear, Severance, and Tokyo Vice. I read tons of nonfiction -- most recently Ben MacIntyre's Colitz. I'm an avid listener of Bret Easton Ellis' podcast.

Ecerybody just wants sad boys leaning on walls.

Paid subscribers! Below, you’ll find the info for Saturday’s Q&A with Ryan Condal.