Television Season has Begun

Jane Espenson's great blog talks about the hiring "season" for television today. Great, long post with plenty of information for the novice and the not-so novice. The main thing she says, which I think should be pounded into every writer's head -- write the script until it's done. NOT to meet some arbitrary TV season.

There are people out there who are "precious" about their work. I hope none of you can be counted amongst their ranks. This is about being a professional. That means do the best you can, the highest quality you have to offer, and don't waste time doing more. That script/film/short/performance is essentially your golem. You shape it out of your imagination, talent and CRAFT. When people talk about your work they'll talk about it in terms of you -- e.g. "John Smith's too dark", "not edgy enough," "poorly written". It feels personal because it is. Not to scare you away, but please make sure you are putting your best foot forward. Look for feedback, take advantage of services that offer to read screenplays (yes, even for a fee). Check the credentials of the service, ask for references if you need them, but if you are on the other side of the country (or the world) from Los Angeles it's good to get a local read however you can. There are always going to be more notes, more suggestions, another direction. However, when you start to get consistently strong feedback, up the ante, send it to folks who aren't reading for a fee, if you get strong feedback there, then go for it.

Complications Ensue has a link to an excellent article about the business of television -- showrunning. The article basically talks about how the WGA has teamed up with some high-level producer/showrunners to teach writers how to produce. This relates to the reason I started my blog. I believe that everyone who works in the Entertainment Industry should know as much as they can about every aspect of the business. It helps to gain perspective on the process, and it's just good business. I've been planning the blog around these sorts of topics, and I hope that my writers, directors, actors, producers and executive/agent types out there don't drop off, or not read a particular post because it doesn't feel like it's "applicable."

That said, I'm going to be blogging a little bit more about demos, but I'll probably just use it as a talk about genre from here on out. The next little mini-series will be about budgetting and scheduling. Hey, if I gotta deal with it, so do you! :-)

Hope you are having a happy rainy Tuesday. I am so glad I'm no longer on the lot!! Days like today I used to flirt with the valet parkers so I could park in the guest lot, and then smile at the teamsters to get free cart rides to my office. I know, I know....

P.S. Blog traffic is up!! Now there are 12 of you! Hee hee. My evil plan to remake Hollywood has begun to take root....