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- Seriously Ridiculous #18: Endings
Seriously Ridiculous #18: Endings
Story fiend. Word nerd. For the comedy curious.
Danielle Krage
October 03, 2026
Well hello there
 Last of summer, first of autumn. |  Swam in the sea, looking up at this sky. Nature is so weird and awesome. |
And again, but bigger, because…I mean…come on! What is even happening? What a blue-meringue-pie of a sky. Moody delicious.
Comedy Craft / Story Fiending
Have you ever played that game where you get to choose your most wished for dinner guests, living or dead? John August is always on my list. Thankfully still living, he’s a writer and hosts the Scriptnotes podcast. I’ve listened for years and am constantly impressed by what a smart, reasonable and generous human he is.
AND
He recently did an episode with writer Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing)—another delightful human, with such a dry wit.
I recommend it as a listen. It was a great reminder of the importance of:
INTENTION + OBSTACLE in scenes.
Aaron described it as someone clinging to intention like it’s a life raft. A simple but useful framing for both dramas and comedies.
The Flip
I just pulled up the gallery on my phone and scrolled through September:
1) To remind myself what the heck happened.
2) To see what pictures I might include in this letter to you.
Hmmm. If the FBI ever hacks my phone and tries to profile me, this is what they’ll have to work off…
 So many sundials. No sun. What is happening? |  What happened? Did the sculptor stop carving? |
 What happened? Did they paint the door after this was written? Or was there a heated argument about the accuracy of the colour, and a forced correction? | These represent a 5 minute walk from the postbox back to my car. Is my life a breadcrumb trail of questions? She asks with a question. Perhaps. Perhaps. Perhaps. |
Stash: things I love
I finally watched season 5 of Hacks, including the last episode—the season finale. 😭Endings are HARD but I thought the Deborah-Ava character arc was landed beautifully. I read that the creators had the last scene of the last episode in their original pitch. It certainly felt like one of the most satisfying arcs I’ve ever experienced. So good.
I also LOVED the clown dance in episode 5, D’Amazing Race. I couldn’t find a clip of it, but it killed me! Have you seen it? Did you love it?
Which reminds me. I’m only 3 years behind in learning that a Norwegian clown won Britain’s Got Talent (Viggo Venn, 2023).
What else have I missed?
Speaking of endings…
To wind back to the Aaron Sorkin Scriptnotes podcast episode, he said this:
‘I hardly ever know how it’s going to end. I’m not waiting until I have an ending.’
and
‘It’s kind of like walking through the woods at night with a flashlight. You can only see as far ahead the beam will go. But the further you walk into the wood, the more you can see.’
There’s a similar quote from E.L Doctorow, ‘Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.’
Which is to say…
Know or don’t know your ending.
You do you.
But DO WRITE*.
*And know that ‘writing’ = many things. Aaron talked about pacing around talking to himself, and arguing out loud while driving. I can picture the vibe. My own particular flavour is rolling my eyes so far back into my head that I disappear, zombie style.
You do you.
Time to write.
