40 years worth of TV writing experience and info, yours for the taking.
Who doesn’t love a good plot twist that gets your heart pounding and causes you to scream out a “WTF?!”
Viewers love to be surprised, and writers enjoy throwing surprises into the screenplay. A shocking plot twist deliberately doesn’t fit in with the apparent storyline. But there it is anyway, intended to change things up and pivot the plot.
However, have you really ever watched a plot twist that had you gasping for air? Did it literally send you into a panic attack?
The ability to craft stories which emotionally move audiences is the most important skill any writer must acquire if they wish to break into writing for TV. However, “making it” as a TV writer — getting staffed on a show, or creating your own — requires a certain key skill that has nothing to do with how good a writer you may or may not be.
Part of making it as a professional writer in TV also involves receiving feedback on your work from people who can help your career, i.e. showrunners, managers, producers, etc. The relationship between aspiring TV writer and that someone who can help their career, usually falls into one of three camps:
1. Writer wants to start a working relationship with person who works in the industry
Normally, I caution writers to keep a safe distance from the net for fear of flushing all their writing time down the dark hole of social media and/or just surfing to the point where they don’t actually write.
Today though, I’m just going to throw websites at you. Here’s my usual caution. First, they aren’t all related to screenwriting. We already know Larry Brody’s TVWriter.com is the best around for TV Writing. But, they’re writing related. Also, don’t get sucked into the web. Go, check out a site if it looks like it could be helpful to you, then get back to writing. Don’t let yourself get sucked into an all day info-search that only flushes that day away.
Okay, that said, here we go…
EDITOR’S NOTE: A few words from reality show honcho to the stars, Troy DeVolld, that if you read just right – you know, a little squint here, a slight raising of the chin there – will give you hope.
Or, as LB put it: “Spiritual Xanax! Just what the medicine man ordered!”
You may be wondering just what the heck is going on here with my face.
Alt. Explanation 1: You should see the other guy. Be-YOO-Ti-Full! Not a mark on him! It was a privilege to see him work!
Alt. Explanation 2: I leaped out of the second floor of the burning house, the kitten cradled in my arms and I landed on my face.