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Posts published in “Paper Team”

The 2017 Paper Team Holiday Special (PT71)

The 2017 Paper Team Holiday Special (PT71)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 51:56 — 47.8MB)

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Alex and Nick celebrate the end of 2017 by taking a look back at Paper Team’s past year, and a look forward at what is to come in 2018.

What were the most popular Paper Team episodes of the year? What was the best thing of 2017? What new gifts did Nick and Alex exchange with one another?

Plus, a word about contacting our guests.

The Paper Team throws some confetti…

SHOWNOTES

Content

Paper Scraps: A word about etiquette (01:10)
1 – Paper Team 2017: A year in review (03:26)
2 – Best of 2017 and our milestones (11:39)
3 – Preparing for 2018 as a TV writer (35:37)
4 – Paper Team goals for 2018 (44:29)
Gift Exchange and Next Time On (48:10)

Links

“Networking 101: How to Talk With People in Hollywood” (PT05)
“How to Follow Up (Without Seeming Desperate)” (PT07)
“TV Pilot 101” (PT30)
“TV Spec Script 101” (PT34)
“TV Writer vs. Fandom: Writers’ Rooms and Fan Interaction – Paper Team Live at WonderCon 2017” (PT38)
“Should You Pay for TV Writing Education?” (PT19)
“Managing TV Writers ft. Daniela Garcia-Brcek (Circle of Confusion)” (PT59)
“Assisting TV Comedy Writers ft. Gary Sundt (Superstore/The Goldbergs)” (PT43)
“Writing Adult Comedy Animation ft. Alison Tafel (BoJack Horseman)” (PT39)
“Spec v. Pilot: What You Should Be Writing Next” (PT04)
“Breaking in & Writing From “Outside the System” ft. Hilliard Guess (The Screenwriter’s Rant Room)” (PT47)
“TV Writing Competition Winners: What Happens Next?” (PT55)
“Finding Frances” (4×07 – Nathan For You)
“The Movement” (3×03 – Nathan For You)
“The Movement” – Jack Garbarino
“Git Gone” (1×04 – American Gods)
“Firestorm” (1×10 – The Orville)
“Dance Dance Resolution” (2×02 – The Good Place)
“The Ricklantis Mixup” (3×07 – Rick & Morty)
Dark
DuckTales 2017
Draemings
Julien Baker
Jordan Peele Breaks Down “Get Out” Fan Theories (Video)
Paper Girls
“SLAM!” – Pamela Ribon
“Navigating Your First TV Writing Job ft. Britta Lundin (Riverdale)” (PT67)
“The Emotion Thesaurus” – Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi
Hemingway Editor
The Salmon Pages
Scorpius comics
Codenames Duet

This episode brought to you by Tracking Board’s Launch Pad Writing Competitions

Use code PAPERTEAM to get $15 OFF when you enter a Launch Pad Competition

Special thanks to Alex Switzky for helping us edit this episode.

If you enjoyed this episode (and others), please consider leaving us an iTunes review at paperteam.co/itunes! :)

You can find Paper Team on Twitter:
Alex – @TVCalling
Nick – @_njwatson
If you have any questions, comments or feedback, you can e-mail us: [email protected]

Nonlinear Storytelling (PT70)

Nonlinear Storytelling (PT70)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 44:09 — 40.6MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | Email | RSS | More

Alex and Nick discuss nonlinear narrative in television writing, from flashbacks to flashforwards.

What are effective uses of nonlinear storytelling? When should you work with flashbacks, flasforwards or parallel storylines? What are dos and donts of nonlinear narratives? Are there drawbacks of out-of-order storytelling?

Plus, we talk The Mick case and Amazon’s Lord of the Rings.

The Paper Team flashes around…

SHOWNOTES

Content

Paper Scraps: The Mick and Amazon’s LOTR (00:52)
1 – Brief history of nonlinear storytelling in TV and when to use it (04:52)
2 – Examples of effective TV nonlinear narratives (13:16)
3 – Dos-and-dont’s of nonlinear (31:39)
4 – Drawbacks of nonlinear (35:23)
Takeaways and Resources (40:43)

Links

“Protecting and Over-Protecting Your TV Script: Copyright, Ownership and Idea Theft” (PT23)
Wikipedia’s list of nonlinear narrative television series
Primer
FlashForward (TV Show)
“Time’s Arrow” (4×11 – BoJack Horseman)
“Thanksgiving” (2×08 – Master of None)
“The Visitor” (4×03 – Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
“Get Me a Lawyer” (1×01 – Damages)
River Song (Doctor Who)

Resources

“Slaughterhouse-Five” – Kurt Vonnegut
“Nonlinear Storytelling” – Game Design Concepts
“The 21st Century Screenplay” – Linda Aronson

This episode brought to you by Tracking Board’s Launch Pad Writing Competitions

Use code PAPERTEAM to get $15 OFF when you enter a Launch Pad Competition

Special thanks to Alex Switzky for helping us edit this episode.

If you enjoyed this episode (and others), please consider leaving us an iTunes review at paperteam.co/itunes! :)

You can find Paper Team on Twitter:
Alex – @TVCalling
Nick – @_njwatson
If you have any questions, comments or feedback, you can e-mail us: [email protected]

Macro Storytelling: Writing Character and Story Arcs in TV (PT68)

Macro Storytelling: Writing Character and Story Arcs in TV (PT68)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 57:00 — 52.4MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | Email | RSS | More

Alex and Nick discuss macro storytelling in TV writing, from season-long narrative arcs to character development.

Why is it important to have character arcs across seasons? When should you write serialized narratives? How far in advance should you plot things out? Do you need to know everything before writing a pilot? What are unique TV examples of macro storytelling?

Plus, we talk about what “signing with an agent or manager” literally means.

The Paper Team sets things up…

SHOWNOTES

Content

Paper Scraps: Reviews and rep signing (00:53)
1 – Season and story arcs in TV (05:00)
2 – Story arcs in your writing: what to watch out for (16:16)
3 – Character arcs (24:59)
4 – Keeping the macro story relevant to the micro scale (36:32)
5 – Reinventing the show (40:08)
6 – Self-contained versus serialization (50:12)
Takeaways and Resources (54:34)

Links

“Daredevil Showrunners on How Punisher and Elektra Shake Up Season 2” – Collider
“Why New TV Comedies Are Choosing Plot Over Jokes” – The New York Times
“Lay Down Your Burdens” (2×19/20 – Battlestar Galactica)
“Final Five” Cylons
“Nerve” (1×19 – Farscape)
“Chain of Command” (6×10/11 – Star Trek: The Next Generation)
“6 Screenwriting Lessons from Parks and Recreation” – TV Calling
“Hitting the Fan” (5×05 – The Good Wife)
“Dance Dance Resolution” (2×02 – The Good Place)
“One Last Ride” (7×12/13 – Parks and Recreation)
“Serialized Television Has Become a Disease” – io9

Resources

Michael Schur 2011 interview on The A.V. Club

This episode brought to you by Tracking Board’s Launch Pad Writing Competitions

Use code PAPERTEAM to get $15 OFF when you enter a Launch Pad Competition

Special thanks to Alex Switzky for helping us edit this episode.

If you enjoyed this episode (and others), please consider leaving us an iTunes review at paperteam.co/itunes! :)

You can find Paper Team on Twitter:
Alex – @TVCalling
Nick – @_njwatson
If you have any questions, comments or feedback, you can e-mail us: [email protected]