Dear Slick,
I’m interested in writing for television but I don’t know where to begin. Could you give some advice on what I should be doing?
Thanks,
Jeremy, TX
Thanks for the question, Jeremy!
Like all creative fields, television writing is a difficult area to break into. Your first step towards becoming a tv writer is – believe it or not- to write! There are two things that you’ll want to keep in your portfolio:
1.) An Original Pilot Episode: Chances are that no one will buy your pilot episode until you are established; however, literary agents and tv production companies will want to see that you have the talent to create your own characters and stories.
2.) A Speculative Episodic Script (Spec Episode): A spec script is essentially an episode of a current television show that is written with the hopes of being sold. It is a good idea to have several spec episodes for different shows in your portfolio.
You should obviously do plenty of research on current tv shows before you start writing. Taking the time to find out what’s doing well in the Nielsen Ratings and what is guaranteed to be brought back for next season can save you from future headaches. Writing an episode of a soon-to-be canceled show like Jericho isn’t a good idea because the script will quickly become irrelevant…and no matter what you do, do not write a spec for a show that’s been canceled for years. No matter how much we all miss Estelle Getty, a spec episode of Golden Girls won’t open up any doors for you in 2009. Your great idea for a Friends or Full House reunion episode (*sigh* I miss the 90s) won’t garner you any positive attention because those networks won’t be hiring new writers to write those special episodes. Currently, there aren’t too many successful “sitcoms” running. For that reason, it’s probably a good idea to focus on one-hour television dramas. Right now there are tons of great dramas out there, so you’ll have plenty of shows to pick from.
Once you select your show, you’ll want to get to know it like it’s your spouse. Watch the show with critical eyes. Find out how long their scenes run, how many storylines appear typically in one episode, where the first plot point appears, etc. You need to know the characters inside and out and you’ll need to know what storylines have already been explored.
Keep two things in mind:
1.) A good spec. script should be able to work as a “stand alone” episode that even non-fans can enjoy and understand. A lot of the readers will not have a ton of background knowledge about your show, so try to keep your storylines clear and simple.
2.) Don’t change the direction of the show! You want to be bold in your writings, but making the “artistic choice” to kill off the protagonist isn’t going to get your script anywhere. If you make a choice like that, you’re taking the show in a direction that the writers probably don’t want to go towards.
So what do you do after you finish the script? Make sure it’s good. Have readers (preferably TheSlickScript.com, of course) critique your episode. You might only get one chance to have someone important read it, so you want to make sure that you’re showing Mr. or Miss Bigshot your best work. Once you’re satisfied with your finished product, you’ll want to submit it to literary agents and managers that have a specific television department. Write them an interesting query letter explaining why you have a script that they should read. You might also want to submit your scripts to various fellowships and network writer’s workshops. Regular script contests don’t usually take spec. scripts as submissions, but many fellowships do. The writer’s workshops in particular are important to apply to because they usually lead to jobs after completion.
Hope that helps!
-Slick