There is no mystery as to why the 91裸聊视频淢urdoch Mysteries91裸聊视频� television series grows its fan base every year.

Set in Toronto at the dawn of the 20th century, each one-hour drama explores the intriguing world of William Murdoch, a methodical and dashing detective who pioneers innovative forensic techniques to solve some of the city91裸聊视频檚 most gruesome murders.

Inspiration for each episode is born in a room where six scriptwriters toss ideas about, latching onto the ones that have the most general appeal.

One of the show91裸聊视频檚 successful scriptwriters is Salmon Arm Secondary 1976 grad Paul Aitken, who will be returning to the community in May as a presenter to the Word on the Lake Writers91裸聊视频橣estival.

91裸聊视频淲e call it the hive; different brains operating in the same space and talking freely generate ideas in other people,91裸聊视频� says Aitken, noting he rarely goes into a new season with episode plans. 91裸聊视频淵ou get way more ideas from other people and way more solutions become apparent.91裸聊视频�

Aitken says the hive gets episodes off to a good start, an integral part of the process as 18 episodes are written and filmed in six months.

Stoked with ideas from the collective 91裸聊视频渂rain,91裸聊视频� scriptwriters break off to independently to write the scripts for their assigned episodes, very occasionally collaborating with another writer.

Research is key, a good measure of which is accomplished by searching the Web, often via Google and Wikepedia 91裸聊视频� except for political information, which is often skewed by contributors91裸聊视频� own agendas and false information, Aitken says.

91裸聊视频淲e don91裸聊视频檛 have the resources to hire a lot of staff so we do our own research; it91裸聊视频檚 a fantastic way to waste time if you are disinclined to write,91裸聊视频� he laughs. 91裸聊视频淵ou learn a lot of stuff you didn91裸聊视频檛 know and it91裸聊视频檚 a pleasurable activity in and of itself. Getting into embedded links is a great way to spend a chunk of your day.91裸聊视频�

Writing less costly but more challenging 91裸聊视频渂ottle91裸聊视频� episodes, which are shot in one location and have other constraints are very appealing to Aitken.

These are a little more dense because the story is all that91裸聊视频檚 being sold 91裸聊视频� no big scenes, no action scenes, no big sets, he says of the more complex characterization process that goes into writing a bottle episode.

The process, although more difficult, is much more satisfying when the manuscript is complete and ready for a return to the meeting room.

91裸聊视频淲e meet together to go over the scripts and we91裸聊视频檙e really mean with each other as we correct the manuscripts,91裸聊视频� Aitken says. 91裸聊视频淧roduction (department) decides on what91裸聊视频檚 filmable and what91裸聊视频檚 not, how many people can be hired and film locations.91裸聊视频�

Each episode has its own production limits, which vary on how difficult the plot is to break (figure out the plotting) and the type and complexity of the world in which the episode takes place.

Production for the new season of 91裸聊视频淢urdoch Mysteries91裸聊视频� starts in the third week of May, so members of 91裸聊视频渢he hive91裸聊视频� are now breaking stories for eight different episodes.

Aitken91裸聊视频檚 road to the series began when a friend with an in, got him an introduction and a great opportunity, he says of life after university.

After graduating from SASS, Aitken attended University of Victoria, where he followed a curriculum that included 91裸聊视频渆verything and nothing.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淚t was, he says, a good way to spend his youth. Following university, Aitken moved to Toronto in 1986 to try his hand at writing for television.

He and his friend with the in were successful in pitching a script for 91裸聊视频淭he Campbells91裸聊视频�, a Scottish-Canadian television drama series, produced by Scottish Television and CTV from 1986 to 1990.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 good money. I91裸聊视频檝e developed a craft of writing for TV so I enjoy that,91裸聊视频� he says of his ensuing successful career. 91裸聊视频淲hen you do anything long enough, there91裸聊视频檚 pleasure in exercising a skill that you91裸聊视频檝e learned. It91裸聊视频檚 also one of the few jobs where you necessarily have to do something different every time.91裸聊视频�

As Murdoch Mysteries enters its 11th season, 150 episodes have aired to an increasingly larger fan base.

91裸聊视频淚 would say every person likes something different about the show; most are fans who love the history, so we all dig into the history,91裸聊视频� says Aitken, who has been writing for 91裸聊视频淢urdoch Mysteries91裸聊视频� since 2007 and written somewhere between 32 and 35 episodes.

In between writing for 91裸聊视频淭he Campbells91裸聊视频� and securing a long tenure with 91裸聊视频淢urdoch Mysteries,91裸聊视频� Aitken says he bounced around from show to show, something scriptwriters do when they are not involved in a longtime project.

The show has hosted a few celebrities over the years, including Stephen Harper.

91裸聊视频淗e has been a fan, at least while he was prime minister, and his daughter wanted him to be on the show,91裸聊视频� says Aitken. 91裸聊视频淗e pulled some strings so, yes, we wrote a part for him in 2004 and he appeared on screen.91裸聊视频�

Aitken says the network is always looking for marketing value and having celebrities appear on the show tends to bring in larger audiences.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 always a good quid pro quo to have people we know make appearances,91裸聊视频� he says noting former 91裸聊视频淒ragon91裸聊视频� Arlene Dickinson of 91裸聊视频淒ragon91裸聊视频檚 Den91裸聊视频� fame, appeared on the show in a 2012 episode called 91裸聊视频淚nvention Convention91裸聊视频� as a possible investor,

An international component comes from the inclusion of actors from England, whose appearance on the program help UKTV sell the program.

91裸聊视频淎mazingly, the show does very well; every year it has been on, more people come to watch the show than leave the show,91裸聊视频� he says, pointing out most television programs have short lives and that even the ones that qualify as hits don91裸聊视频檛 usually make it past nine seasons. 91裸聊视频淕oing into the second season, we thought we had picked all the low-hanging fruit and were asking ourselves where would we get new ideas.91裸聊视频�

By the third year, everyone was feeling more comfortable and Aitken says he can91裸聊视频檛 see any reason not to keep churning out great stories for the show91裸聊视频檚 fans.

The only scriptwriter to have been with the show since its debut is Aitken. While others have left to start their own shows, or in the case of one very talented writer and 91裸聊视频渞eally good guy91裸聊视频� died, the hive is a relatively stable place.

91裸聊视频淕enerally people get on a show like this, they tend to stay. It91裸聊视频檚 a very pleasurable way to spend your day 91裸聊视频� in the company of people who are funny, bright and interesting, in a job where you make people laugh and come up with ideas,91裸聊视频� he says. 91裸聊视频淪ometimes I get weary of the show and the stress it places, because when the machine is humming, we have to meet the need of that machine and it91裸聊视频檚 a constant stress.91裸聊视频�

In his presentation to the Word on the Lake Writers91裸聊视频� Festival, Aitken91裸聊视频檚 goal is to actually create a writers91裸聊视频� room in which participants create an episode.

91裸聊视频淚 have never tried to break a mystery in a couple of hours; I don91裸聊视频檛 know how that will work,91裸聊视频� he laughs.

Aitken also plans to explain why certain decisions are made in the production of 91裸聊视频淢urdoch Mysteries91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频� the kinds of things that have to be accomplished in a mystery that wouldn91裸聊视频檛 be done in another show.

91裸聊视频淭here are demands that are not in other shows, there are certain constraints in the form,91裸聊视频� he says. 91裸聊视频淲e take more liberties than others and I will talk about what the process is for breaking a mystery and how we do it in the 91裸聊视频淢urdoch Mysteries.91裸聊视频�

Word on the Lake Writers91裸聊视频� Festival runs May 19 to 21 at the Prestige Harbourfront Resort and Okanagan College.

Sessions will include both skill development workshops and open forums with authors based on questions and answers in an intimate setting.

A Friday night 91裸聊视频渃af茅 lit91裸聊视频� will feature presenters reading from their published works and a gala banquet is always a popular part of the Saturday night program.

For more information or to register, go to wordonthelakewritersfestival.com.