I am not a specialist when it comes to comedy specs.
After all, I’m no funny man.
With that said, I did want to shine a light on several very interesting articles that can undoubtedly be helpful to fellow comedy/sitcom speccers out there (and actually everyone else too).
Let’s start with one of the masters of classic sitcom, Chuck Lorre.
He recently did an interview for Esquire entitled ‘How to Make a Successful but Critically Ignored Sitcom.’
Though you might not be interested in creating the next Two and a Half Men, don’t let the title of his article fool you. Chuck Lorre does give some helpful advice that every aspiring sitcom writers should, if not follow, then at least know of.
Over at the [eventual] sitcom writer, Evan has made a must-read in doing an extensive ‘Spec Script Toolkit‘ for not one or two, but three sitcoms (and he’s keeping them coming).
– Community
– Modern Family
– The Big Bang Theory
Pick your poison.
All of them are broken into several parts; namely Homework (Part One), Story & Structure (Part Two), Characters (Part Three), Numbers (Part Four), and I’m guessing other stuff to come.
This reminds me a bit of my Spec Flashpoint series (way back when), only this time for sitcoms, and better.
Currently Community is the farthest along in the breakdown, but Evan is much more awesome than I when it comes to updating his blog. So don’t go far.
And even if you’re not planning to break a sitcom spec, there are tons of things to learn from this process.
This is pretty much the same state of mind you should be in before starting a spec (based on a TV show), that is: research, research, research.
You’re not getting into the head of the writers or the characters if you’re not first trying to find a way inside.
Last but not least, HWAS interviewed writer Ron Rappaport in a piece called ‘From Assistant to Sitcom Creator: Writing for Tweens.’
Who cares about tweens you might say.
Well I always like linking interviews of writers because, whatever their field, you will always learn something new and will always get a piece of life experience. After all, everyone has a different H-Wood experience.
And to borrow Evan’s ‘Lesson learned while writing this blog entry‘:
It is never a bad thing to be open to new things, regardless of your genre of choice. Read, listen and be aware.
What’s the worst that could happen? You learn something new?
