How to Write for Television

Video Transcript

"CSI, ER, Bones. You want to write for TV. How do you do it? Well, my name is Joe Pauly. I've been in the entertainment and TV business for about twenty years now. I'm going to try and help you out here. TV writing, you want to write for some great TV shows. What's the first rule of thumb is? Watch the show you want to write for. Don't watch a hospital show, if you want to write for a criminal investigation show. Watch the show you want to write for, and watch as many episodes as you can. Learn about the characters, see how it's formatted. If you watch most of the shows, like a Law and Order, they follow a similar script pattern each week. They don't vary too much from that, so stick to the outline of the show. If the format is a certain way, don't say, I've got some great idea. I'm going to introduce aliens or cowboys, or a blast from the past, if they don't already do that. Stick to the outline of the existing show. They don't want to vary too much from it. People who watch the show, know for a certain reason, they're tuning in, what they're going to get. Now, writing for TV versus film is a little bit different. TV, an hour show, is about forty four minutes long, with about fifteen to sixteen minutes of commercials. Take into consideration a break for a commercial. Films don't have that. Copy of an existing show script, if you can get your hands on one. You can see what the format is, and kind of mimic that, so you know what they're looking for. Then, once when you're ready, put a spec script together. Get it in the hands of the producers, as best you can. Good luck with your writing. My name is Joe Pauly."