Breaking In to TV Writing: Outsider Opportunities
I'm a hard-core wanna-be TV writer. I've dedicated much of my free time during the past 6 years to learning the craft and writing specs. I've written about 13 1-hour specs so far. I've also written a handful of screenplays, but my writing passion is for television. For me, movies are about big moments, or at least increasingly they are. For me, television is about small moments, and minute gestures, and deeply layered characters. You can get to know so much more about a character over the course of a few episodes, or a few seasons, than you can in 100 minutes.
If you live outside of Los Angeles like I do, it is virtually impossible to break into television. Why? Because there's a million people just like you, and who are probably as good at writing as you, living in Los Angeles. So why would any producer, agent, or manager give you the time of day?
But, I'm stubborn. I've got a great business and a wonderful, affordable home where I live. Not to mention my young family. I'd move to L.A. in a heartbeat if I had the right opportunity. And, I believe there are a couple of such opportunities out there for aspiring TV writers.
The best opportunity I've found for people trying to "break in" to TV writing from outside the industry is Warner Bros. Television Writer's Workshop. This seemingly little known program offers writers an opportunity to participate in a weekly workshop with respected television writers and producers. Writers also receive feedback and criticism on scripts, with the objective of completing a solid portfolio script at the end of the workshop. The best part of the Warner Bros. Television Writer's Workshop is that at the conclusion, workshop staffers shop participants around to shows.
The real point of the workshop is talent development. According to workshop directors Deborah Pearlman and Lee Spragens, show runners really want staff writers that know how to behave in the writers' room. And that's exactly what the Warner Bros.' workshop strives to do--prepare writers with enough raw talent to function on the staff of a show.
Competition is fierce for spots in the workshop, and the WB workshop accepts both comedy and drama submissions. There is a nominal entry fee that must accompany your application, along with a spec teleplay in a standard TV format. Top applicants must interview for a slot in the workshop. And, if selected, there is a fairly sizable workshop fee of a few hundred dollars--sizable for starving artists, but not excessive. And, evidently, the workshop fee is only in place to make sure people actually participate. Imagine being selected for such a prestigious program and then deciding not to show up!
A related resource is Deborah Pearlman's and Abby Finer's excellent book, "Starting Your Television Career--The Warner Bros. Television Writers Workshop Guide." It's published by Syracuse University Press. I've read a lot of books on TV and movie writing. Most of them are worthless. This book, on the other hand, is extremely useful and practical. It contains scripts and script outlines for "The George Lopez Show" and "Without a Trace." Buy it. Read it. Then read it again.
If you're more into networking and socializing, check out Austin Film Festival's Writers' Conference.
Austin Film Festival's Writers' Conference has a TV writing division in its screenwriting competition. And they get big-name TV people to Austin every October to mingle with writers. Almost without exception these generous souls actually make themselves available, and answer even the most inane questions with grace and wit.
I've had sincere, one-on-one conversations with a couple of very big-name TV producers there. One of these discussions developed into a longer-term professional relationship. I just don't want to reveal their names out of respect for their privacy. Anyway, the theory goes that if your teleplay does well (wins) at Austin, you'll get noticed by some decent agents or managers. If nothing else, Austin Film Festival's writers' conference is a great place to network with other writers and industry professionals.
There are many other writing competitions and workshops out there. And, like I said, there are lots of books on the subject. Be careful where you spend your money. Stop talking about writing. And write. As Deborah Pearlman and Lee Spragens said, "The only people who aren't in this business are the people who quit trying."
posted by Straight 8 @ Thursday, September 08, 2005
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