Writing comedy: start with a family

I'm going to start with an admission - both Darkwood and The Rooks started life as rejected pilot scripts. I am a huge advocate for holding on to ideas and characters that you love, even if they get rejected at first; rewriting and recycling until you find a home for them where they can flourish. For Gretel and the gang, and for the Rooks family, those places happened to be comedy adventure book trilogies. This move from TV and radio to novels wasn't 'accidental' as such, it was more a result of writing in as many mediums as I could. With the entertainment industry and publishing being the way they currently are in terms of pay, opportunities and security, there is a lot to be said for constantly throwing words at the wall and seeing what sticks. Cast your nets wide, because the salmon shoal of commissioned work is depleting.