Judalina's Spec Writing Dos and Don'ts

I had an awesome time #tvwriterchat(ting) with many of you last weekend.  As promised, here's some insight I've gathered after reading a TON of specs this past year. This is my own personal opinion and does not reflect any programs I've participated in or any companies I've worked for. 

Don't

• Introduce series regular characters/ make your spec revolve around a big guest star. I understand the attraction. You'll introduce a character that'll liven up your spec and give everyone someone to interact with in a fun new way. But invariably 99% of the time (and there are a few rare exceptions) doing this only makes you short shrift the existing characters. It doesn't give you the opportunity to show that you can play with the play doh of the already existing show. That's not to say you can't write in guest stars. (And if you're writing a procedural you'll definitely have to.) But in comedies, steer clear.

• Cram your spec. Hour longs should be between 55 and 60 pages. Half hours should be 29 to... Maybe I'll give you 33. But honest to god, I want you to get to 30. If you're coming in at 34 or above, you're cramming. And you should never go over 60. Trim that down my friend. Nobody wants a bushy spec.

• Underwrite. Same as above except backwards. If you're coming in below 50 pages for your hour long or 24 pages for your comedy, I promise you you're probably not playing out your story to the full extent it needs.

• Get cute with your scene directions. You don't need to introduce characters as LIZ LEMON, head writer of TGS. Just say LIZ and move on. You don't need to tell us every time someone smirks or frowns or smiles unless its absolutely necessary to know that. You don't need to describe the room unless its specifically necessary for a line of dialogue or joke. This is just me but the less scene direction the better. I don't need a parenthetical telling me every time someone's saying something sad or angry (unless its a line where it's not obvious. Like for example: "Oh.") Once your draft is done have a good hard examination of each and every piece of non-dialogue.

• Go for the first idea. I once had a reader friend mention a year where numerous Modern Family scripts all had the same version of a Cameron/Mitchell/Lily story. I'm sure a couple of those scripts were strong enough to overcome that hiccup. But the easiest way to make your spec stand out is to pick a wildly fresh story that still feels true to the show. This may require you creating a list of 10-15 possible B-stories rather than going with your first choice. This may require you exploring stories on a parenting blog or pulling a headline from a newspaper or drawing from a uniquely personal experience (for example, the political themed Glee I wrote that got me into WOTV was based on a sit-in/riot that happened at my high school). Wherever it is you find it, make sure your stories are all distinct and memorable.

• Write it at the last minute. The difference between a good script and a great script is the difference between being a finalist somewhere and not. If you're rushing down to the last minute to write your spec, you may write a good script but you probably haven't had enough eyes on it or time to polish it to ensure it's great.

Do

• Have twists and turns. True for both comedies and dramas but especially in dramas. We all know turns are hard but that's the difference between a fine story and a great story. Your characters need to be foiled, regather their efforts and then come at the obstacle from a new angle. Give them opportunities to show they're smart and can deduce things. Don't make the killer obvious if its one of those shows. Give us a red herring. Hell, give us two.

• Have laugh out loud jokes. I know this sounds totally obvious but I can't tell you how many good comedy specs aren't great specs because there just aren't enough jokes. And fear not comedy writers who aren't joke machines. There's a place in the writer's room for you too. But if you know that's your weak spot, do a round table on your spec with your comedy writer friends. Punch each other up. Give your spec a good hard giggle check. Do you have jokes per page? Meaning more than one. Ideally three. One of the best comedies I read this past year had a hard, laugh out loud joke on the very first page.

• Carve out a space. This speaks more to serialized shows and thus to dramas more. Some of the best specs are ones that figure out small pockets of time between two episodes and then carves a story out in that area. They may touch upon some of the larger serialized elements but they mostly tell a stand alone story in that pocket of time. The less you can tackle big serialized elements, the more evergreen your spec will be, but more importantly, it'll also be more relatable to a reader who may not know the show as well as you do. (This doesn't deserve a full blown don't, but DON'T set your show outside the timeframe of the series. It's okay to hypothesize what the first episode of the next season of Homeland will be, but don't set your spec in some hypothetical future five episodes from now that supposes some hypothetical plot we haven't already seen.)

• Have a saga sell. That's what they call that short bit at the beginning of a show (another version of a previously on) that explains what the show is and where we are. For you drama folks, it's really important to put a paragraph telling us where we are right now. Ill forgive you for having Laurie still alive in your Walking Dead spec if you tell me we're in the part of that season where Laurie hasn't died yet.

• Proofread!!! Even if you think you don't need to. Especially if you think you don't need to. Readers are already reading a million pages. Don't make it any harder for them by pausing their flow tripping over your typos. There's a lovely woman you can even pay to do these things for you. You can visit her website right HERE.

I like wedding dresses but I also like guns....

First of all.... I LOVED the pilot script to "Ray Donovan." It was gritty and sparse and character driven and everything I love to write. I've raved about Ann's script for months and passed it on to other women I know as an example of excellent writing.

But Paskin's Salon interview with Ann Biderman was a little concerning.

Ann's comments about how feminine fare amounts to stories about contriving to get a man - seems narrow and is disconcerting to me as a woman who likes to write both female centered/feminine and edgier/masculine stories.

There IS an inherent prejudice in the industry against softer, feminine fare and an inherent attraction toward the more masculine/grittier/cable/anti-hero fare. It worries me that that same prejudice seems to extend to the female leaders in our industry, too.

The unfortunate truth is that there are significantly less women represented in our industry. Not because they're less talented, or "not fit for the job" but because the gatekeepers see a masculine-driven show and immediately go to their roster and reach for their male writers.

Finding the women who are right for this job may take a bit of effort on the showrunner's part (may even require said executive to call out and ask specifically for women who have a bent for that type of fare), but it's important for female executives in that position of power to create those opportunities for other women. Otherwise we'll continue to be trapped in the cycle of creating male-driven cop shows, cable shows, etc and seeing women represented in the television industry at a mere fraction of how they're represented in the actual human population.

Tweet

2012 Script Contest Deadlines

Courtesy of the VERY awesome Mr. Joseph Ferrante.

2012 SCRIPT CONTEST DEADLINES:

TV:

CBS Writers Mentoring Program - Deadline for submissions is May 1st.
NBC Writers on the Verge - Deadline for submissions is the end of June.
FOX Diversity Writers Initiative - Unknown
Warner Bros. Writers' Workshop - Accepting submissions May 2 - June 1, 2011.
NYTVF – June 29th
Page Awards – April 2nd
The Austin Film Festival - Accepting submissions for TV pilots (half hour and hour), TV spec scripts through June 1st, 2012
The Tracking B – March 11th or April 15th.
Scriptapalooza TV - April 16th.
Script Pipline – May 1st.
Acclaim – May 26th.


FEATURES:

http://www.finaldraft.com/products/big-break/ - June 1st
http://www.zoetrope.com/contests/ - opens in June, deadline Aug. 1st
http://pageawards.com/the-contest/how-to-enter/ - April 2nd
http://www.oscars.org/awards/nicholl/index.html - May 1st
http://www.justeffing.com/ - April 1st
The Austin Film Festival - Accepting submissions for screenplays, TV pilots (half hour and hour), TV spec scripts through May 1st.
Kairos Prize – Submissions open June 8th.
Tracking B – July 31st.
The Nicholls – May 1st.
Scriptalpalooza Screenwriting Competition - April 19th.
Sundance – May 2nd.
Script Pipline – May 1st.
Acclaim – May 26th.


OTHER:

The Roy W. Dean Film And Writing Grants – Not sure of this year’s dates.

Website with full list:

http://www.moviebytes.com/contests.cfm?category=Most%20Significant
http://www.dmoz.org/Arts/Writers_Resources/Contests/Screenwriting/
http://www.brassbrad.com/contests.htm#Sundance

Structuring the Hour Long

Just stumbled upon this vis a vis the lovely Jen Grisanti. I almost cried from joy when I found it.

FORMAT/STRUCTURE SHEET FOR THE ONE HOUR DRAMA (6 ACT STRUCTURE)
This is a formula that I’ve discovered from watching current programs that have standout episodes. I studied several episodes of strong one hours. This was the formula that I found resonated the strongest with me.

COLD OPEN - DILEMMA
Set up of dilemma in your A, B and sometimes C story.

ACT I - SET UP OF GOALS
Set up of the goal of your central character in each story.
First beat of putting plan into action in each story.
By the end of the act, the goals for your central characters in each story should be clear.
End act with set up of first obstacle to goal in the A story.

ACT II - OBSTACLES
Obstacle or escalating obstacle for the goal in the A story.
Obstacle or escalating obstacle for the goal in the B story and/or C story.
End act on escalating obstacle for the A Story.

ACT III - ESCALATING OBSTACLES
If first plan didn’t work, new plan can be put into Action with the A story or you keep escalating the obstacles.
Escalating obstacle with the new plan or from the old plan with the A story, could also be the B
story.
End act on escalating obstacle on the A Story, big moment.

ACT IV - ESCALATING OBSTACLES OR TURNING POINT
Continue escalating the action and creating obstacles in your A story.
Escalating obstacle in your B story.
End act on escalating obstacle in your A story or turning point.

ACT V - BUILDING TOWARD “ALL IS LOST” MOMENT
New plan of action could be put into play or continue to escalate the obstacles in your A story.
Escalating obstacle in B and/or C story.
“All is lost” moment in your A story. This is when your central character in your A story feels as far away as possible from achieving the goal. Something in this moment should trigger them into action to achieve the goal in the last act.

ACT VI
Confrontation in B story leading to a resolution.
Confronation in your A story leading to a resolution or just a resolution in your A story and time spent showing what this picture looks like.

If it is a serialized show, you will want to end on a cliff-hanger note that will bring your audience back to your next show.

Geoff Harris Spec Writing Class

Write a new spec before staffing season begins!

Geoff’s TV Spec Writing Workshop

Here’s what other writers have said about the Workshop:

“Geoff’s workshop increased my social network, and I loved that it was held in
the west wing of Geoff’s house.” — Aaron Sorkin

“Geoff’s workshop helped me find the X in ‘The X-Files’.” — Chris Carter

“If you don’t take the Southland’s best workshop, you should be rushed to the
nearest ER.” — John Wells

The TV Spec Writing Workshop offers an opportunity for writers to write a
professional script that is ready for primetime. By Workshop’s end, each writer will have
a completed script to show to agents, managers and producers.

The Workshop simulates a Writers’ Room, with participants sitting around a table
and participating in the creative process, just as they would if they were on the job. It
culminates with individual table-reads of each script.

The program promises great company, solid direction and mentoring, and a finished
script – all for only $60 per week for the six weeks we are together.

The Workshop will be held Wednesday nights (8 p.m. to 10 p.m.) and Sunday
afternoons (1 p.m. to 4 p.m.), beginning Wednesday, February 15th and ending
Sunday, April 1st. There will be a one-week break starting on Sunday, March 7th in
order to give everyone time to write.

Only 10 writers will be chosen for the workshop, so act quickly

To sign up for the Workshop or if you have any questions, email me at:
geohar45@yahoo.com. Thanks!

All the Best,

Geoff Harris

Geoff Harris Pilot Writing Class

Back by Popular Demand!

Geoff’s Pilot Writing Workshop

Here’s what other writers have said about the Workshop:

“I was LOST but now I’m found, thanks to Geoff’s workshop,” — J.J. Abrams

“I don’t know where I’d be today without Geoff’s workshop.” — Paddy
Chayesfsky (posthumously)

“The workshop helped me identify my basic instinct about TV writing, a medium I
knew nothing about.” — Joe Eszterhas

The Pilot Writing Workshop offers an opportunity for writers to write a professional
pilot script that is ready for primetime. By Workshop’s end, each writer will have a
completed script to show to agents, managers and producers.

The Workshop simulates a Writers’ Room, with participants sitting around a table and
participating in the creative process. It culminates with individual table-reads of each
script.

The program promises great company, solid direction and mentoring, and a finished
script – all for only $60 per week for the six weeks we are together.

The Workshop will be held Tuesday nights (8 p.m. to 10 p.m.) and Saturday
afternoons (1 p.m. to 4 p.m.), beginning Saturday, February 18th and ending
Tuesday, April 3st. There will be a one-week break starting on Saturday, March 10th in
order to give everyone time to write.

Only 10 writers will be chosen for the workshop, so act quickly!

To sign up for the Workshop or if you have any questions, email me at:
geohar45@yahoo.com. Thanks!

All the Best,

Geoff Harris

I Got Into A Writing Program!

I'm terribly excited to have been accepted into this year's ABC & NBC sponsored National Latino Television Writing Program.

I called my Mom and after expressing her joy and happiness, she immediately asked for the hyperlink. (Because nothing can be real or true if it's not posted on the internet.)

So without further ado, here's the hyperlink, Mom! :)