Category: Resources

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

3 Big Myths About Writers

Good morning! We’ve found an exciting analysis of writing! That we can agree with! Wotta great way to start a TVWriter™ day!

A plusby Amanda

Megan McArdle wrote an interesting piece for The Atlantic about why writers are the worst procrastinators:

Over the years, I developed a theory about why writers are such procrastinators: We were too good in English class. This sounds crazy, but hear me out.

Most writers were the kids who easily, almost automatically, got A’s in English class. (There are exceptions, but they often also seem to be exceptions to the general writerly habit of putting off writing as long as possible.) At an early age, when grammar school teachers were struggling to inculcate the lesson that effort was the main key to success in school, these future scribblers gave the obvious lie to this assertion. Where others read haltingly, they were plowing two grades ahead in the reading workbooks. These are the kids who turned in a completed YA novel for their fifth-grade project. It isn’t that they never failed, but at a very early age, they didn’t have to fail much; their natural talents kept them at the head of the class. read article

Leesa Dean: Adventures of a Web Series Newbie

surprise-catChapter 49 – Shooting, Surprising, Shooting
by Leesa Dean

So, this week was great. Since I last wrote, my camera production class went to Union Square Park and spent most of the day shooting. The day before I wrote a script in class and my shooting partner Tara and I put together a shot list.

The script was about the Oscars, which were happening the next night. We went up to people, prank style, told them we were from DCTV and ABC was debuting something new at this year’s red carpet event, The Hipster Fashion Police. We said we managed to get a copy of some of the categories, nominees and wanted to get people’s opinions about who would win.

For example, one of the questions was: who has the best beardage? Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix or Gov. Chris Christie who, admittedly doesn’t have a beard but probably used them in the whole George Washington Bridge scandal. read article

How NOT to pitch a pilot

pitching_diagram_2

by Ken Levine

Pitching pilots to networks is somewhat of an art. I mean, it’s not Adele singing or Linda Lovelace eating a cucumber, but it does take a certain skill. My writing partner, David Isaacs and I have been pitching pilots for years. We don’t sell them all but we have sold quite a few. So we have some sense as to what’s involved.  (And it’s closer to what Linda Lovelace does.)

Generally, we keep our pitch down to about fifteen minutes. We never read. We may go in with a sheet of bullet points or no notes at all. We explain the premise, the theme, and what about the project excites us. We introduce the characters briefly, and offer possible story suggestions for down the line. Along the way we integrate a few jokes.

The idea is to spark their interest in a way that they can actually picture the show on their network. We answer any questions and keep the dialogue going for as long as we can. The more they talk about it, usually the more interested they are. read article

Peggy Bechko: The Writer’s Influence

oscarwildequote

by Peggy Bechko

There are many many quotes about writers, writing and the imaginary world writers create. Quotes about how reading and writing affect us, what reading means to us, the joy of fascinating communication.

One of my favorites is by Oscar Wild –

“It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it.”? Oscar Wilde read article

How Does A Web Series Jump to TV?

Here ya go, peer producers and other entrepreneurial creative sorts – the answer you/we/everybody wants to know:

broad-cityby Aymar Jean Christian

Five years ago, making a web series to get on traditional television was a fool’s game. The few web series producers to secure development deals with networks — from “We Need Girlfriends,” “Quarterlife,” “Private High School” and “The College Humor Show” — either never made it to air or didn’t last long when they did.

But today many more web series have been optioned for TV and made it onto television. Some have even been successful, making it to a second season — like Comedy Central series “Broad City,” which was renewed last night. More series could be coming soon. In the past year hardworking producers like Issa Rae, Ray William Johnson, Benny and Rafi Fine, Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox, Jake Hurwitz and Amir Blumenefeld and have all signed development deals. read article