40 years worth of TV writing experience and info, yours for the taking.
Gang,
TVWriter™ Advanced Online Workshop #158 has been postponed and will start next week, September 14, 2016.
As of this writing, two places are left, so if you’ve got basic knowledge of screenplay format and are being chased by demons demanding that you get out of your current rut and start writing for TV, send me a writing sample (no more than 10 pages please) ASAP and we’ll talk.
Another happening event at the Writers Guild of America, West. This one’s for members only, but if you’re not a member and are interested in learning more about the international TV series market it’ll be worth your while to text your closest WGAW bud and wangle an invite:
Are you a writer of any type? Do you strive for perfection? Are you slowing yourself down beyond belief?
Yep, well consider this. Sometimes there is just the need for speed. If you watch a bike race like we saw in the Olympics you’ll see it’s not the perfect, cautious rider who wins, it’s the reckless idiot willing to throw it all to the wind and push it to the limit.
True?
This article from a blog by LB’s alma mater, Northwestern University, is one of the best intros to working in showbiz – specifically in a writers room – we’ve ever seen. Sit down, relax, and open your brain to:
There is not just one word to describe my experience this summer. But if I was forced (kicking and screaming) to shove it all into one word, I would say: 
Exposure! Like a camera opening it’s lens to the world, I have been fortunate enough to capture an amazing picture of what it is like to work for a successful television show!
But let’s take it back, just a month or two before I knew I was to snap that image. It was not too long ago that I was sitting in front of my computer, gazing at my email, hoping that one of the 10 to 15 internships I had applied for responded back with positive news. When I received the call from the Television Academy Foundation, I was ecstatic, jumping up an down in the middle of the street. Literally! But when my feet hit the ground, anxiety, nerves, and a whole bunch of other thoughts and feelings crowded my brain. What if I’m not good enough? What if they made a mistake? Are they sure they want me? Will I make a good impression? I think that these are normal fears that come into a persons mind when they have been chosen among a large pool of qualified applicants. And so, out of respect to those who had applied and had not gotten the chance, I decided to give it my all. Take my fears and march head strong towards my dream. And so I was LA bound.
The Writers Guild Foundation brought together The Women Who Run The Room, a panel of showrunners who discussed the ins and outs of running a television show. The evening highlighted their experiences through the years including the challenges they’ve faced, how they developed their management style and what they look for when building their rooms.
DEVELOPING A MANAGEMENT STYLE AS A SHOWRUNNER
I sort of climbed every rung so I’ve seen every level in the business, starting out as a PA and working my way up. I’ve worked with some remarkable showrunners and was most helped by the John Wells school of showrunning, having spent five years on ER. The way that he did it was a lot of delegating and trusting in your people and letting people experience and produce their episodes and be in editorial. I think that’s an effective way to get people to work all in, interested in learning and loyal to you. – Dee Johnson (ER, THE GOOD WIFE, NASHVILLE)