Spec Pilot Tips from Jane Espenson

Once again, master-of-all-things-TV Jane Espenson has thrown up an amazingly-useful post on her blog. Those of us toiling away trying to find a way into the room know having an awesome original spec is required nowadays.

And Jane helps address the number of ways we can build a solid foundation under whatever premise and/or characters we’ve decided to tackle.

Great stuff.

Inside The Writers Room • Roundtable Discussion

I don’t usually read io9′s website because, well, I’m a sci-fi novice. But they posted up an roundtable interview with a crew of staff writers that *everyone* trying to get there should read. (more…)

Inside The Writers Room • “Parks & Recreation”

I love “Parks & Recreation” – the writing is drum-tight and the cast is full of actors who should rightfully be headlining their own shows. Plus Duke Silver? Forget it…

And, while I’m a one-hour kinda guy, I’ll admit to secretly wishing my funny chops were sharp enough to belong in a room like “P&R”. (more…)

TV Writing Contests • The Two Biggies

Screenwriting contests are crazy-controversial in most situations – the vast majority are designed to hoover as much cash as possible out of aspiring writers pockets with little possibility of anything happening…even for the winners.

Which is why it’s important to be aware of the handful that can actually lead to the next step. And in TV, there are basically two biggies: The Disney/ABC Fellowship and the WB Writers Workshop.

And both are accepting applications. Right. Now. (more…)

Eighteen Months In

It’s been a tough staffing season this year:

• The show I was freelancing on just found out they aren’t coming back. It was a network one-hour, very high profile, so this isn’t just bad news…it sucks.

• The showrunner I know at a similar show that was picked up just let me know that they’re fully staffed at my level – I had to delete a reflexive “Guess I’ll just pray someone doesn’t work out” response.

• My powerhouse agency dropped me as politely as they could have…which means they gave me a glowing recommendation to a smaller boutique.

• Had an ultra-lame (on my end) meeting yesterday for a new Fox one-hour. The creator was cool, interesting, had great energy, and is a damn fine writer. But I was so geeked up, I’m afraid he may have drowned in the deep pool of desperation I left behind.

• My Mom finally lost her battle with cancer after three years in March…two days after my daughter’s first birthday.

So things could definitely look better on paper. My past inclination would have been to consider folding up my tent and finding a nice, thoroughly-unfulfilling job in customer service that can provide health insurance for my kid.

But I know how success is measured in Hollywood – and it ain’t by the yard. Of course, I know people who’ve blown up overnight but this is super-rare, almost like finding money floating down the street. Nice to hear about (and even better to experience) but never something one should count on. (more…)

TV Staffing Season 2010

I’ve written more than a couple of articles about staffing season, but journalist (and new TV writer) Lisa Cullen is blogging her experiences as a first timer over at True/Slant. Her perspective is interesting because she came out to LA with a solid A-list agent and manager already in place. She also reiterates what most people are saying nowadays: back-burner that on-air spec…you need a great piece of original material to truly stand out to today’s showrunners.

Check ‘er out here: LISA TAKEUCHI CULLEN • WASABI MAMA

Guess Who’s Back…

Jane Espenson is one of the OG TV writing bloggers. Unfortunately, she stopped blogging last year after coming to the conclusion that she’d shared most of her wisdom. It was a sad day in my RSS reader.

…but that sadness was lifted when I saw a new post on her blog. Everybody interested in this line of work should check out her site ASAP. And, if you’re a first time visitor, take the time to cruise her archives – they’re priceless.

Meet Liz Tigelaar

“Life Unexpected” is one of the best show on TV today. For me, it harkens back to The WB salad days when they were dealing us shows like “Gilmore Girls”, “Dawson’s Creek”, and “Felicity” – snappy dialogue, real characters, and stakes that are grounded in reality.

I happen to know a bit about “Life’s” creator Liz Tigelaar and it’s no surprise that she wrote on two of the three shows mentioned above. In fact, her resumé is chock full of awesome credits and the story of how “Life” leap-frogged over pilots with stronger pedigrees last year is inside-Hollywood legend.

If you want to learn a bit more about someone who followed the assistant->staff->showrunner path we’re all trudging along, check out her interview over at the WGA’s website:

Path To Staff Writer

The Bitter Script Reader has a cool series of interviews with a staff writer from “Human Target” about the path he followed to get the job. I *love* stuff like this because it helps demystify the writers room to guys like me who haven’t worked there. Yet.

Interview with JERICHO and HUMAN TARGET’s Robert Levine

Do. Not. Wait.

I’ll admit it: it’s really difficult for me to start writing some mornings. But I know I have to persevere, even if I’m not chomping at the bit to get going most days.

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