Category: Resources

40 years worth of TV writing experience and info, yours for the taking.

Troy DeVolld’s Tips for Climbing the TV Success Ladder

by  Troy DeVolld

As a newbie to television seventeen years ago, I used to come in for a 7pm to 3am night shift in the late afternoon. When a producer asked me why, I said, “Because otherwise, you’ll never know who I am.” So began three straight years of employment.

A large part of success is hitting that sweet spot between simply busting ass and staying visible. Take cues from your superiors. If your boss is brassy and bold, he or she might enjoy you meeting them at that vibration. If your boss is super chill, take note of that and adjust your approach accordingly. read article

J. Michael Straczynski Gave the Best Writing Advice at ComicCon

J. Michael Straczynski is primarily know these days as the creator-writer-producer of cult fave TV series Babylon 5 as well as of the slightly less cult favored Sense8. He’s also written a ton of other TV and won his fair share of awards.

So now that we’ve established dude’s cred, how about we see what he has to say about this TVWriter™ minion’s all-time favorite subject – writing:

by Dane Styler

Screenwriter, producer, novelist, and comics writer J. Michael Straczynskibelieves in sending the elevator back down. He believes in helping others, like he once was, who have talent but not enough information. So at San Diego Comic-Con 2017, Straczynski helmed another of his irreverent yet frank, funny yet informative Q&A panels as he solicited questions from a room full of aspiring writers. read article

Allie Theiss: Seven Apps That Help Deal with Distractions

by Allie Theiss

You’re a writer – right? You must be if you’ve come here to TVWriter™’s little online slice of TV heaven.

However, you’re reading this post instead of writing. Does that often happen to you? You get distracted and wind up doing everything but actual writing?

I know I have a serious distraction problem. read article

Peggy Bechko on Writing Without Boundaries

Um, it’s a map, without borderlines. Get it? An outline without boundaries.

 by Peggy Bechko

All right screenwriters, TV writers and writers of all stripes. Have you ever thrown all concepts of structure to the wind, all outlining directives out and just written something on the fly?

Really. I recommend it. For a while forget the novel ‘structure’, forget the 3-act structure. Forget all those rules and directives you’ve been told and have been following.

Just sit down with an idea and write…and write…and write. read article

How To Turn Your Web Series Into A Full Time Job – @Stareable

Last week we brought you the exciting news that web series Stupid Idiots has a new TV deal, and today, in the same vein of productivity and achievement, we’re continuing in that vein with Stareable.Com’s Bri Castellini and her interview with Alex LeMay, who is making a name for himself via…well, hold on there. Y’all don’t need our set-up, you need the punchline.

So here it is:

Interview with Alex LeMay
by Bri Castellini

It’s a running joke in the web series community that none of us have money to make our shows, none of us make money off our shows, and none of us ever will. But what if I told you it didn’t have to be that way? read article