Tag: online TV writing workshop

The #1 Skill You Need To Write For TV (Besides Fantastic Writing)

This could be our worst visual pun yet. OTOH, it’s a very good saw. And an even better article.

by Alex Bloom

The ability to craft stories which emotionally move audiences is the most important skill any writer must acquire if they wish to break into writing for TV. However, “making it” as a TV writer — getting staffed on a show, or creating your own — requires a certain key skill that has nothing to do with how good a writer you may or may not be.

Part of making it as a professional writer in TV also involves receiving feedback on your work from people who can help your career, i.e. showrunners, managers, producers, etc. The relationship between aspiring TV writer and that someone who can help their career, usually falls into one of three camps:

1. Writer wants to start a working relationship with person who works in the industry read article

NBC Picks 8 “Writers on the Verge”

NBCUNIVERSAL EVENTS — Writers On The Verge Program — Pictured: (l-r) — (Photo by: Paul Drinkwater/NBC)

by David Robb

NBC’s Writers on the Verge, the network’s program to develop aspiring television writers from diverse backgrounds, has named eight writers to its class of 2017-18. This year’s crop includes comedy writers Nick Bouier, Octavia Bray, Eugene Garcia-Cross and Felicia Pride, and drama writers Celena Cipriaso, William Garroutte, Amy Lambert and Eileen Shim. They were selected from a pool of more than 2,600 applicants.

Founded in 2005, Writers on the Verge is an annual program for talented, aspiring writers of diverse backgrounds who are “on the verge” of breaking out, but need a final polish of their writing and pitch presentation skills to equip them for staff writer positions on television series

Over the course of 12 weeks, they’ll learn how to develop spec and pilot scripts and how to pitch their ideas in front of television executives, and receive feedback on their scripts and pitch styles from industry professionals, including network executives, showrunners and agents. The class will also receive individual mentoring from NBCUniversal programming executives. At the end of the program, which is now in its twelfth year, the writers will be considered for available writing assignments on NBC series. read article

Diana Vacc sees Outlander S03 Episode “Of Lost Things”

by Diana Vaccarelli

—SPOILER ALERT—SPOILER ALERT—SPOILER ALERT—

Sunday October 1, 2017, Starz aired season 3, episode 4 of Outlander. In this episode, Jamie (Sam Heughan) is serving as a groomsman for a noble British family and is pulled into a web of intrigue by the scheming Lady Geneva Dunsany. Meanwhile, in a much later time period, Claire, Brianna, and Roger continue their search for Jamie’s whereabouts via history books.

THE GOOD: read article

Peggy Bechko Goes Web Surfing with the Writers

  by Peggy Bechko

Normally, I caution writers to keep a safe distance from the net for fear of flushing all their writing time down the dark hole of social media and/or just surfing to the point where they don’t actually write.

Today though, I’m just going to throw websites at you. Here’s my usual caution. First, they aren’t all related to screenwriting. We already know Larry Brody’s TVWriter.com is the best around for TV Writing. But, they’re writing related. Also, don’t get sucked into the web. Go, check out a site if it looks like it could be helpful to you, then get back to writing. Don’t let yourself get sucked into an all day info-search that only flushes that day away.

Okay, that said, here we go… read article

Larry Brody’s Poetry: ‘I Have Gone To The Mountain’

Found on the interwebs but I think I’ve lived it as well.

 by Larry Brody

NOTE FROM LB

A couple of weeks ago I posted about Nietzsche’s immortal character Zarathustra “gone to the mountain” in my uncle’s ’50s Oldsmobile. Today I’m going to close my eyes and reveal my own climb, in which no vintage car plays a part. I’m nervous about how personal what I’m revealing here is so, please be, you know, gentle…

I Have Gone To The Mountain

I have gone to the mountain, pursuing my dream. read article