Tag: People’s Pilot Contest

Love & Money Dept – TV Writing Deals for 3/13/14

Latest News About Writers Who Are Doing Better Than We Are
by munchman

  • Peter Lenkov (HAWAII Five-0) has made a 2-year deal to develop new series at CBS Studios. (Cuz…HAWAII FIVE-0. Waitaminnit, what? HAWAII FIVE-0 has been the epitome of the in-danger, borderline show since it debuted. Which brings us to the real question: WTF?!)
  • Max Brooks (World War Z) just sold his upcoming graphic novel, The Harlem Hellfighters, to Sony pictures. Which is a major victory for literature cuz your favorite munchman has seen this baby and it’s, like, real in every way. So real that mm is glad to forgive Max for the fact that it’s going to be a movie and not a TV series. C’mon, Maxie, give us TV addicts a little something too, willya?)
  • Alec Berg (the upcoming SILICON VALLEY) has made an overall deal with HBO. (Which makes more sense than Petey Lenkov’s cuz the dood was writer-director-executive producer of a little show called CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM for 4 years and therefore probably knows a little something that audiences will like. Whereas anybody associated with FIVE-0…well, you get it.)
  • Petter Skavlan (KON-TIKI) is devloping the Norwegian TV series THE INSTITUTION, which is a fictional look at the inner workings of a contemporary European royal family. (And which must be headed for U.S. TV because otherwise why would whatever mysterious institution that’s running this show be announcing it here? munchie is munchin’ at the bit for this one. Honest.)

Julie Livingston: Improv for Writers

Julie Livingston Column 2by Julie Livingston

One of the best things about being a writer is I can do it pretty much anywhere, any time. I am free to practice my craft as often and as vigorously as I like – or at least as much as I can stand. I don’t need specialized equipment, an exotic location or studio financing. Best of all, I don’t need anyone else’s permission to do it (if you read that last sentence and though, “Yes, I do,” please stay tuned because I will talk about that in another column soon).

Writing, in most of its incarnations, is a solitary pursuit. And that is somewhat true for TV writing as well. But, as I am learning, writing isn’t the only skill you need to become a TV writer. In fact, some people I’ve talked to recently have hinted it might not even be the most important. In addition to being able to write, you also need to be what they call, “good in a room.” You need to stand out without stepping on toes. You need to speak up, but not talk too much. Your job, I am told, depends heavily on your ability to contribute to the group effort without derailing the process by going off onto a tangent, holding on to an idea too hard or failing to listen to what others are saying.

To be “good in a room” you need to know how to work with people according to a specific set of standards. For some people that might mean overcoming their natural shyness. For others it could be learning to curb the tendency to blurt out every idea that pops into their head. Basically, it all comes down to understanding the protocol and being likable, which is not exactly something you can practice alone in the middle of the night. read article

Cartoon: The Three Rays

threerays-blogMore genius from Grant Snider at Incidental Comics

What NOT to do When Writing a Script

by Ken Levine

NoMistakesHere are some handy tips on what NOT to do when writing a script:

Don’t put extra pressure on yourself unnecessarily. I once had a writing teacher who said, “Think of each page of your sitcom as being worth a thousand dollars. Then say to yourself, ‘is this page worth one thousand dollars?’” This teacher should be shot. First of all, his math is off. And secondly, there will be some pages worth five grand and others worth sixteen bucks because you’re just describing a character driving away to end the scene. Don’t put monetary values on pages or jokes or anything. It’s arbitrary and destructive.

Don’t feel every line has to be perfect before you can go on to the next. The end result will be a rather stilted very calculated script. Get a flow going. You can always go back and revise. Don’t let one difficult line completely stall the process. And here’s the dirty little secret: The lines won’t be perfect anyway. read article

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