40 years worth of TV writing experience and info, yours for the taking.
“Most of my writing is done on my feet, and then when it feels right I put it on the page. It doesn’t mean somebody won’t change it or I won’t decide to change it but at that time it’s the be-all and end-all . I don’t like putting something on the page that I go ‘I don’t know, let’s see if it works, let’s see where it goes’. I have to know exactly where it’s going, what I’m aiming for.”
Joss Whedon
Yes, it’s true. In the almost two decades that TVWriter™ has been online I’ve been emailed with more questions about writing and showbiz (and my personal life that’s none of your business, thank you) than I ever would have imagined possible – and yet I’ve never had a Q and A column.
Which is really silly because I’m sure that the questions and maybe even my answers would be interesting and helpful to more than just the questioners. So, at last, here’s the first of many weekly, LB answers your questions and you’re thrilled, awed, and deeply satisfied articles.
At least I hope it’s the first of many. And that even if you’re not thrilled or awed or even satisfied you at least finish reading knowing more about the Wonderful World of TV (what’s the smiley for sarcasm?) than you did before you began.
“No aspiring author should content himself with a mere acquisition of technical rules. … All attempts at gaining literary polish must begin with judicious reading, and the learner must never cease to hold this phase uppermost. In many cases, the usage of good authors will be found a more effective guide than any amount of precept. A page of Addison or of Irving will teach more of style than a whole manual of rules, whilst a story of Poe’s will impress upon the mind a more vivid notion of powerful and correct description and narration than will ten dry chapters of a bulky textbook.”
H.P. Lovecraft
The only catch is that the newbs have to be connected…and connected pretty damn well.
This just in via LB’s email box and the Writers Guild of America West website:
$25,000 grants for new/emerging TV writers – HUMANITAS New Voices Program
The HUMANITAS New Voices Program awards four new or emerging writers each $25,000 and pairs each with a respected series showrunner to serve as a mentor as they write an original pilot script.
The mission of the New Voices Program is to discover and help launch the careers of talented emerging writers (represented or unrepresented). (Click here for more information)
If you know a new writer who possesses a fresh voice and a unique worldview and whose work reflects the mission of the HUMANITAS organization, please consider recommending him/her.
Applying to the New Voices Program is a two-step process. Candidates must first be recommended by a network or studio executive, a showrunner, a HUMANITAS Trustee or Board of Directors member, agent or manager. (Click here for a recommendation form.)
Ideally recommendation forms should be received the week of April 22nd. (Application deadline is May 1st.)
We appreciate you taking the time to recommend a new writer for this career-launching opportunity.
Best,
Cathleen Young and Carole Kirschner
HUMANITAS
