The online screenwriting resource Storylink hosts an interview this month with writer (movies and TV) Melissa Rosenberg. Rosenberg’s credits include the movies Step Up (2006), Twilight (2008/I), and The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009), and the fantastic TV series “Dexter”.

The interview is an interesting one, not only because of Rosenberg’s answers, but because the questions were posed by Storylink readers. Here’s a couple of Q&A’s:

I was wondering where your inspiration for the writing of Dexter episodes come from. I have been watching Dexter from the start and I find that he is one of the most unique characters I have come across in a long time. From his need to kill to his “love” for his wife and kids. He is a very different character from the normal cookie cutter range I have seen in other television shows. You do an excellent job of writing this show. Keep up the great work. – Mario

Thanks for your kinds words, Mario. Sitting around the Writers’ Room with my fellow Dexter writers is where the inspiration comes from. We stare at the empty dry-erase boards, we bang our heads against the wall, we offer up terrible idea after terrible idea until someone’s bad idea gives someone else a good idea, then the other writers jump on that train until it’s developed. Our ideas for Dexter episodes are often borne out of the question: “What journey can we take Dexter on next?” Dexter’s series-long arc is an exploration of what it is to be human. A great Dexter episode explores some aspect of humanity and Dexter’s off-kilter perspective on it. That’s when we know we’ve got a good story.

So much of the way Dexter is written is internal thought processes, and the “dark rider” who seems to be an alter-ego of Dexter operates almost as an additional character. I’m wondering how difficult it was to write to this character (the dual-faceted Dexter)? – Deborah

I love writing for Dexter’s character because he’s so complex, and has such conflicting elements to his personality. His secret, alter-ego is the source of so much of the show’s humor. But his voice-over can also be the hardest part to write – it often distills a scene or an episode or an emotional arc down to its most minimal form. It’s like writing haiku; the fewer words the better. But those words need to say so much.

They use a ton of voice-over in “Dexter” which brings to mind the tirade by Robert McKee, as played brilliantly actor Brian Cox, in the movie Adaptation:

MCKEE
And God help you if you use voice-over in
your work, my friends. God help you! It’s
flaccid, sloppy writing. Any idiot can write
voice-over narration to explain the thoughts
of a character.

It’s not “flaccid, sloppy writing” in “Dexter” – not per Rosenberg’s sentiment above nor in my experience as a devoted fan of the series.

Go here for the rest of the interview with Rosenberg. And tune into Showtime this Sunday night at 9PM for Episode 7, Season 4 of “Dexter.”