40 years worth of TV writing experience and info, yours for the taking.
For a brief time, I was one of those ‘gatekeepers’ who read movie scripts that were submitted to an online contest (no, not for TVwriter’s contest. You’ll have to ask LB about that one).
I was a woefully underpaid ‘script analyst’ who, in order to make a buck, slogged through 120 – 215 page scripts and provided notes for contest hopefuls. If you’re thinking about entering one of these, here’s a few things I gleaned on the ‘other side’.
Aspiring writers often wonder how the pros got where they are. The truth is, everyone’s story is different, but there are some common elements: dedication, persistence and hard work.
Originally intending to be a speechwriter, Mark Goffman’s career led him to writing for a magazine in Brussels before he eventually got into the Warner Bros. Writers’ Workshop as a comedy writer. Since transitioning to drama, Mark has written for THE WEST WING, LAW & ORDER: SVU, WHITE COLLAR, ELEMENTARY, LIMITLESS and SLEEPY HOLLOW. In 2014, The Hollywood Reporter named Goffman as one of the 50 most influential showrunners.
WHEN AND HOW DID YOU KNOW YOU WANTED TO BE A WRITER?
Writers can be a very strange lot. Mostly we love writing, but we hate writing. Really, we do. It can be called a love/hate relationship but really it’s more of a hate/hate one.
Now I’m not talking about story. Story is great. It’s the damn writing.
Seriously, how many times have writers sat down in front of a blank page or screen, brimming with a new, fantastic idea, aching to get it out, and then sitting there, staring at the blank page and swearing softly to themselves? The driving urge to write is there, but the whole thing is more than a little daunting. Who doesn’t hate starting new projects, beginning from scratch?
LB’s NOTE: Why am I just finding out about John’s latest project? Damn! Time to get my dinero into the mix!
LB’s 2nd NOTE: John’s article is about the comics industry, but substitute the phrase “web series” or “indie video” and what he says applies to just about everyone who comes to TVWriter™.
by John OstranderI love writing and I am so glad I’ve been able to make a living at it. I’m very thankful to all the fans and all the publishers who have enabled me to do that over the years.
And now, from the “pages” of TomCruise.com (We know! Who’d a thought?) comes an excellent article holding y’all by the hand and taking you – okay, us) through one of the scariest processes in the known universe – becoming a gen-u-ine film (or TV) producer:
For the film lover who aspires to do it all in the entertainment industry, learning how to become a movie producer puts you in the driver’s seat of a film production. The producer is possibly the most misunderstood, yet most important person involved with any movie. The producers – people like Tom Cruise, Steven Spielberg and Jerry Bruckheimer – all join a film project at the very beginning and commit themselves to seeing it through to completion. In short, they’re the generals running the entire production, doing it all.
Fans and film aficionados who want to break into the industry to produce their own films may feel overwhelmed. It takes a ton of knowledge about a variety of fields to climb the mountain in becoming a movie producer. However, the team at TomCruise.com again has assembled a guide to give you some resources outlining the basics of film producing. While not completely exhaustive, we hope this gives the aspiring film producer a first marker on the road to becoming a success!