Graham Linehan
Writer, director (The IT Crowd, Father Ted, Black Books)
Who are you, and what do you do?
I'm Graham Linehan, I'm a writer and director. I'm known mainly for The IT Crowd, Father Ted and Black Books but I've also written Count Arthur Strong, The Walshes and an adaptation of the Ealing film The Ladykillers for the stage.
What hardware do you use?
I have an Alienware which has failed so often on me that I've given up on the idea of playing PC games. I'm thinking of going desktop Mac, as I have a MacBook Air which has never let me down. I want things that just work.
And what software?
Scrivener. I love working in it. It makes writing a pleasure.
Magic Whiteboard for scribbling on. Dan Harmon's story circles combined with Magic Whiteboard = my secret weapon when beginning a script.
I transfer a story to WorkFlowy when I have it mostly worked out, drilling down into each beat so that I have a 'menu' of ideas to draw from when writing a first draft. The 'menu' concept comes from this brilliant Michael Moorcock advice.
What would be your dream setup?
A room where the walls, floor and ceiling were all whiteboard. Maybe not the ceiling.