Category: TVWriter™ Business

PEOPLE’S PILOT 2017 Feedback is Finished

by Larry Brody

Time for a brief but important announcement:

I have finished and emailed all of “Larry Brody’s Personal Feedback” to all PEOPLE’S PILOT 2017 entrants!

The Feedback aspect of the PEOPLE’S PILOT is, I believe, one of its most important benefits. Where else are y’all going to see the accumulated reactions of Industry pros to your work before you join the ranks of said pros?

So if you haven’t received yours, check all the usual places (like your spam file or other email folders where your filters automatically send things without needing your click of approval), and if you still can’t find it, give me a holler HERE and I’ll, you know, see what I did wrong and do my best to set it right.

Fair enough?

LYMI
LB

Larry Brody: TVWriter University Fall 2017 Update

by Larry Brody

It rained last night, the slow, easy, beautiful rain that’s a big part of what makes the Pacific Northwest so wonderful. This is the first real sign of Fall here at TVWriter™ Central and a sign that it’s time to plunge right into action with new classes.

So here’s what’s happening:

LARRY BRODY’S MASTER CLASS

The 33rd Master Class, AKA The Class for Pro Level Writers Who Firmly Believe They Don’t Need No Steenkin’ Classes begins next week, AKA Thursday, Sept. 28th.

The Master Class is held entirely online. It’s the one where we start off by reading the completed first draft of your current passion (or paid) project and then take it through 4 weeks of revisions to give you all the help we can to make this your career best.

The absolute max number of students for the Master Class is 3, and 2 places are still open. If you think you qualify and will have a finished first draft of your latest literary child for us to work with by Sept. 28th, let me know, ASAP, via email HERE.

For more info about the Master Class the place to visit is HERE

TVWRITER™ ONLINE TV & FILM WRITING WORKSHOP

Our 167th Online Workshop will start Wednesday, Sept. 27th.

Most students in this, our most popular offering, return time after time, but as of this writing 2 places remain in this class of 5.

The Online Workshop is the one tailored specifically for each member. If you’re new to TV or film writing we bring you through the basics via weekly assignments until you’re ready to run with a full teleplay or screenplay of your own. If you know your way around the format, then the class is all about uploading 10 pages a week for your classmates and me read and discuss and give you insight into what can make the delicious goodness of your work even tastier.

More info about the Advanced Workshop is HERE

It’s always a joy for me to work with fresh, eager new writers. I’m more than happy to answer any Online Workshop questions HERE

LYMI, LB

PEOPLE’S PILOT 2017 Update

This email went out yesterday to everyone on our TVWriter™ email list. If you haven’t signed up yet, you can do it HERE

tv writer peoples pilot main 1

Yes, it’s that time again, when I remind everyone that:

1) PEOPLE’S PILOT 2017 is up and running and wants your entry!

2) Although the contest doesn’t close to entries until November 1st, we’re getting perilously near to the August 1st deadline for discounted Early Bird sign-ups.

In other words, you’ve got less than 2 weeks to save 30% off the regular entry fee of $50 and enter as many pilot scripts as you want in this year’s 26th PEOPLE’S PILOT for only $35 each.

And you don’t actually have to complete and submit your entries till August 1!

I think this is a great deal, and although we get a good many takers for it each year – about 15% – I’m still always surprised that more of our entrants don’t take this route.

Now, truth to tell (as Roy Thomas used to say back in the dim past when he was Editor-in-Chief at Marvel Comics), Early Bird entrants aren’t only for your benefit. (Yeah, you’re shocked, right?)

They also help us here at TVWriter™. Because early submissions mean we’re able to get a headstart on the judging and relieve a bit of the pressure we’re under when the avalanche of entries hits us in the closing days.

This year, I’m going to sweeten the Early Bird pot. In addition to a lower fee of $35/entry, each early submitter between now and August 1st will receive a Special Gift – a free pdf copy of my classic book TELEVISION WRITING FROM THE INSIDE OUT.

That’s 375 pages of TV writing goodness, knowledge designed to prepare you for a successful television writing career in a way no other book can.

So there it is, right on the table. All you have to do is enter HERE

Complete PEOPLE’S PILOT 2017 info is HERE

And, if by some weird mischance you have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about, here’s a not-so-brief summary of what this year’s PEOPLE’S PILOT is all about:

PEOPLE’S PILOT 2017

PEOPLE’S PILOT 2017, one of the oldest and most highly regarded writing competitions on the interweb is now open!

The future of entertainment and those who create it is open and varied. Whether the series you are creating is intended for broadcast TV, cable and satellite TV, home entertainment/video game consoles, Big Media interweb outlets like Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu, or indie web channels and venues like YouTube, Vimeo, Funny or Die, or the show’s own website, it is eligible for the PEOPLE’S PILOT Television and Electronic Media Pilot Script Competition.

CATEGORIES

PEOPLE’S PILOT 2017 is divided into 2 prize-giving categories plus a Special Bonus Category with its own unique award – a paying development deal starting with an option. To be more specific, the categories are:

Scripted Comedy Series – intended for any electronic platform (including broadcast and premium cable series, internet series, cell phone series et al) of any length of any length required for telling your story

Scripted Drama & Action Series – intended for any electronic platform (including broadcast and premium cable series, internet series, cell phone series et al) of any length required for telling your story

Episode length, number of episodes in the series, specific genre and just about everything else is entirely up to the creator. We do, however, require that the script be written in English and that is use standard teleplay/screenplay format so our judges can read it!

Special Bonus Category – All entries in this year’s competition automatically will be considered for the Special International Production Award, sponsored by Global Saga Media Entertainment of Hong Kong, which will be given to the entry or entries that the judges deem especially suitable for the global television market.

PRIZES

Prizes and bonuses for each of the two regular categories, worth over $20,000 include

$2000 US
1-on-1 Career Coaching from TVWriter™’s Larry Brody
Free admission to Larry Brody’s Online TV and Film Writing Master Class
Script Consultation from Script Pipeline
Gold Plan Spotlighted Screenplay Posting Service from Screenwriter Showcase
InkTip Script Listing
InkTip Magazine Logline Listing
Inclusion in the TVWriter™ List of Recommended Writers

BONUS PRIZE:

An international production script development-option deal with Global Saga Media Entertainment of Hong Kong for a qualifying script or scripts.

ENTRY BONUSES

FREE FEEDBACK

FREE STORYTELLING PATTERNS E-BOOK

ENTRY FEES

June 1 – August 1 PEOPLE’S PILOT EARLY BIRD ENTRY $35

August 2 – November 1 PEOPLE’S PILOT SINGLE ENTRY $50

August 2 – November 1 PEOPLE’S PILOT DUO DISCOUNT ENTRY $85

CLOSING DATE

PEOPLE’S PILOT 2017 closes at midnight November 1, 2017. You can enter and upload your entries any time until closing. As in past years, we urge you to take advantage of the Early Bird Discount even if your entry or entries won’t be ready until after the discount period ends. Once you have paid, you can upload your submissions at any time until the contest closes.

EVERYTHING ELSE

Complete PEOPLE’S PILOT 2017 info is HERE

Our Entry Page is HERE

Email me, LB, with your questions on the contest HERE

Larry Brody & Team TVWriter™
https://tvwriter.com
https://tvwriter.com

TVWRITER™ NEWSLETTER – Summer 2017

TVWRITER™ NEWSLETTER – Summer 2017

TVWriter™
https://tvwriter.com
https://tvwriter.com

A WORD FROM LB

As this is being written, it’s the first day of summer. All around the country, heat-related events are the order of the day.

Except here at TVWriter™ Central, at the northern tip of Washington state’s Olympic Peninsula. Where we are, the temp today is 55 degrees fahrenheit, and the time of year is known as “Juneuary” because this month inevitably is cooler than May and we won’t be getting much warmer till July.

The good news for Larry and Gwen is that at least it’s not raining. The better news for TVWriter™ is that we’re in the middle of a server upgrade that should make good ole https://tvwriter.com and its trusty referrer site https://tvwriter.com load twice as quickly as in the past and, probably more importantly, be more efficient and stable.

Oh, and we’ve added what’s called an “SSL Certificate” that means we’re all safe and secure from – well, I’m not sure what we’re protected against, but the people whose pockets now are semi-filled with our folding money say TVWriter™ visitors can breathe even easier than before about clicking and scrolling here at the World’s Foremost TV Writing Website.

On the actual Learning-All-You-Can-About-TV-Writing-Front, we’ve also made some changes to make hanging here more worthwhile. Here’s what’s going on:

PEOPLE’S PILOT 2017

The 26th edition of our PEOPLE’S PILOT Competition opened for entries June 1st and will be open until the very last minute of November 1, 2017.

This year we’ve continued our tradition of updating the PP to match recent changes in the entertainment scene and make the contest not just a “television writing” thing, but one for shows intended for any and all electronic entertainment media.

Whether the series you are creating is intended for broadcast TV, cable and satellite, TV, home entertainment/video game consoles, Big Media interweb outlets like Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu, or indie web channels and venues like YouTube, Vimeo, Funny or Die, or the show’s own website, it’s eligible for the new PEOPLE’S PILOT.

Similarly, we’re open for entries regardless of what length you envision the episodes being or how many episodes you foresee it having.

Genres also are entirely open. Whether you’ve written a drama, comedy, action, dramedy, anthology script for adults, for young adults, for children, or, what the hell, for opossums, the PEOPLE’S PILOT wants to see it. Is your pilot intended for live action? Great. And just as great if you see what you’ve written as being animated, or starring puppets, or little balls of clay, whateves. Are you hoping for your series to last forever? Envisioning it as a mini or limited series? It’s all good to us. We welcome everything you can think of.

Category-wise, we now have two primary categories:

1) Scripted Comedy Series of any length
2) Scripted Action/Drama Series of any length

Plus, and this is new:

Special Bonus Category
3) Special International Production Award to be given to the entry or entries that the judges find especially suitable for the global TV market and production by our new Chinese co-sponsor Global Saga Media Entertainment. AKA a paid option that any suitable entry, regardless of its placing in the two primary categories, can win.

Prize money has improved as well. As in previous running,  TVWriter™ and our longtime Hong Kong based co-sponsor Manner Movie Ltd. are offering over $20,000 in prizes and entry bonuses, with the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners in the primary categories taking home $700 US, $200 US, and $100 US respectively, plus free feedback on all entries, a free Storytelling Patterns e-book, and all the usual goodies from TVWriter™, yours truly LB, Script Pipeline, ScreenwriterShowcase, and InkTip.Com.

The PEOPLE’S PILOT website, with more general info (including our entry fees and discounts) is HERE

The full list of Prizes is HERE

The Enter Page is HERE

Email LB personally with any questions HERE

Winners, Finalists, and Semi-Finalists of TVWriter™’s past contests are or have most recently been on the staffs of WESTWORLD, LETHAL WEAPON, NARCOS, MOM, SNEAKY PETE, TIME AFTER TIME, THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES, PRIVATE PRACTICE, CHICAGO PD, CHICAGO FIRE, PERSON OF INTEREST, THE WALKING DEAD, RIZZOLI AND ISLES, COLONY, GREY’S ANATOMY, ONCE UPON A TIME, SMALLVILLE, ROME, THE LEFTOVERS, MELROSE PLACE, THE BASTARD EXECUTIONER, and the upcoming SNOWFALL, to name just a few. We’d love to see you join them!

TVWRITER UNIVERSITY SUMMER SCHEDULE

The next TVWriter™ Online TV and Film Writing Workshop starts July 12th, with the last weekly class wrapping things up August 2nd.

Larry Brody’s next Master Class starts July 6th, with the last weekly meeting skedded (as the old-time H’wood trade magazines used to say) for July 27th. Only one opening left!

LB’s upcoming Hong Kong/Macao TV and Film Writing Seminar is zeroing in on its debut date. Featuring a delightful live, in-person Weekend Writing Room Experience, look for it this winter as your go-to Christmas Writing Retreat.

More TVWriter University deets are HERE

That’s it till next time. Keep those stories spinning!

LB and Team TVWriter™

TVWRITER™ STAFF:
Larry Brody – Head Dood
Gwen Brody – Head Muse
Munchman – Keeper of the Flamethrower, we mean Faith
Peggy Bechko, Kelly Jo Brick, Kathryn Graham, Douglas Snauffer – Contributing Editors
Herbie J Pilato, Cara Winter – Contributing Editor Emeritus
Diana Vaccarelli – Critic-at-Large
Dawn McElligott – Writer-at-Large
Lew Ritter- Contributing Writer
Various Volunteers – Mucho Appreciated Scapegoats

@TVWriterCom Don’t-Miss Posts of the Week – April 10, 2017

Time for TVWriter™’s  Monday look at our 5 most popular blog posts of the week ending yesterday. They are, in order:

‘Trial And Error’ is Trying My Patience

Looking for TV Pilot Scripts?

John Ostrander on ‘Twin Peaks’: Fool Me Once

LB: 3 Shows I Just Can’t Watch Anymore

Larry Brody’s Poetry: ‘Kid Hollywood Had A Mighty Fine Deal’

And our 5 most visited permanent resource pages are, also in order:

Writing the Dreaded Outline

The Logline

The Outline/Story

The Leavebehind

THE PEOPLE’S PILOT

Major thanks to everyone for making this another great week at TVWriter™. Don’t forget to click above and read what you missed and re-read what you loved!