My name is Michele Val Jean and I've been a soap writer for 20+ years. I started off in nighttime with 2 episodes of Jake & The Fatman, but I always loved daytime [[grandma watched, mother watched, you know the drill) and that was my ultimate goal.

At that time I was the assistant to the Exec Producer/Head Writer on Jake so I used the connections I had to get an agent, and my first staff job on Generations. When that got cancelled, I moved to Santa Barbara. When THAT got cancelled, I moved to General Hospital, where I stayed for 19 years. My biggest claim to fame there was I became the first and only black head writer in the history of daytime - that still stands - but my tenure got caught up in a regime change and unfortunately [[or fortunately, it's a LOT of work) it didn't last long.

I left GH last year and am currently writing scripts for Bold & Beautiful - a very different show from anything I've ever done before, but I absolutely love it.

I'm starting this thread in case there are any soap fans with questions about the writing process, or characters you love or hate, or what it takes to produce 5 hours of television a week, or anything I can answer without giving stuff away. Always keeping in mind, this old memory isn't what it used to be!