style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”>
I’ve pitched original TV shows. I’ve judged TV scripts in a major
screenwriting competition. And I’ve been
hired to write for television. Based on
these experiences, here, for what they’re worth, are three thoughts on writing
for TV:
style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”>
style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”>
One: Write The Pilot Before Finalizing The Bible
style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”>
style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”>
When writing for TV, it may seem logical to nail
down the pitch bible before turning to the pilot episode. In reality, it actually makes a lot of sense
to go ahead and draft the pilot when the bible is still at a very preliminary stage.
style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”>
style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”>
Before you draft a pilot, it’s difficult to know
exactly which elements will work in the actual show. A character trait or plot formula that sounds
great when described in a bible may actually be difficult or impossible to execute
well in a script.
style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”>
style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”>
And if an element is difficult to incorporate into
one script, it will be hell to do it over and over again for multiple
seasons.
style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”>
style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”>
Two: Conserve Your Story Energy
style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”>
style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”>
In reading for contests and giving notes through
my consulting website, I’ve come across a certain kind of pilot script numerous
times. This kind of script is chock full
of excellent writing. Every few pages I
find one of those clever moments writers strive for. It’s simply a great read. But at the end of the pilot, I think: “Now
what?”
style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”>
style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”>
It’s a fantastic pilot, but the series is out of
fuel.
style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”>
style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”>
In feature scripts, character arcs should be
visible and closure is your friend. In
the best pilots, you can’t see whole arcs at all; you only see suggestions of
arcs. In features, any sequels are
another writer’s problem (at least for now).
In TV, there are dozens of sequels already planned and they’re very much
your problem from the start.
style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”>
style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”>
I’ve done it myself: I’ve resolved a conflict between two
characters in a pilot, with the intention of providing an emotional and
entertaining moment and later thought to myself: “You did more harm than good
there. You sacrificed the energy fueling
many later episodes for a single moment.”
style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”>
style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”>
That’s not energy efficient.
style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”>
style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”>
A producer once said to me that he reads feature scripts
from a lot of promising writers, but too often all the good stuff is in Act One. While it’s not as obvious, the exact same
issue occurs with pilots; you can’t put all the good stuff in episode one.
style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”>
style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”>
Or you’ll run out of gas.
>
style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”>
Three: Consider “Setting”
>
>
How many times have you watched a TV show and
wondered what city it was set in? A lot
of shows make little use of setting.
>
>
Similarly, in many pilots I read, there is very
little sense of setting at all. I think
it’s an underused device in TV writing, one that has the potential, given the
right locale, to set a script apart.
>
>
Consider the extremely popular CSI Miami The City of Miami is a vibrant element of the
series, which may be one of the reasons the show was so tremendously popular
worldwide.
>
>
Setting isn’t an essential ingredient in every
popular show, but it is another tool
for every writer to keep in mind.
style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”> What do I mean by recycling in screenplays? style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”> style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”> I’ve seen a lot of writers do it. It’s basically any time you use material from one or more of your old scripts and try to repurpose that material…
style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”> Writing natural-sounding dialogue – the kind that makes characters feel real – comes easily for a chosen few. The rest of us have to work hard at it. style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”> style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”> Like anything else, it’s a skill that can be…
style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”> Screenwriting can be frustrating, no doubt. Rejections. Blown deals. Inexplicable heartbreak. It’s all part of it. But don’t take it all so personally, because there’s something I’ve learned along the way: So many decisions about your precious career have nothing to do with you at all. style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination:…
Feeling out of creative steam? It happens to every writer at every level. There’s so much resistance, so much rewriting, so much everything – it’s easy for any writer to lose momentum. But momentum is everything. All you really need, to eventually succeed, is to move forward. All you really need is momentum. If you find…
style=”text-align: left;”> I was at the Austin Film Festival pitching a script to an agent at one of the top agencies. The script I was pitching was my baby, a screenplay I’d worked really hard on. I pitched it with energy and heart. I had a feeling I’d nailed it! > > And then she…
style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”> All screenwriters deal with it: the dreaded negative review. Does it mean you have no talent? Does it mean you should give up? Absolutely, positively not! Here’s why: style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”> style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”> Every Script Gets Negative Feedback > > I remember…