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Posts tagged as “Characters”

How a TV Writers’ Room Works (PT105)

Alex and Nick give an overview of what goes on inside a TV writers’ room during a Roadmap Writers webinar.

What is the purpose of a TV writers’ room? What are the most important skills to have on a writing staff? Who’s who in the room? How do shows break stories on a macro and micro scale? Why is room etiquette so important?

The Paper Team calls in…

This episode brought to you by Roadmap Writers

Use code ROADMAP to get $15 OFF your first Roadmap Writers Program

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]

An Evening in the Writers’ Room – Paper Team Live (PT100)

Alex and Nick present two back-to-back TV writing panels, one for comedy and one for drama, digging into the intricacies of the writers’ room.

From staff writer to showrunner, we’ve assembled a dozen TV writers across every level to get a sense of what it’s like to navigate a writers’ room and sustain a career.

Comedy/half-hour and animation panelists include Nina Bargiel (Barbie), Vicky Luu (Superstore), Adam Stein (Harley Quinn), Alison Tafel (BoJack Horseman), Brittani Nichols (Take My Wife), and Lauren Bradley (Spirit: Riding Free).

Drama/one-hour panelists include Alison Schapker (Altered Carbon), Monica Macer (Queen Sugar), Chris Levinson (Tyrant), Grainne Godfree (DC’s Legends of Tomorrow), Britta Lundin (Riverdale), and Hilliard Guess (Deadly Class).

How do you navigate a TV writers’ room? How does the dynamic and etiquette of the room influence pitching? How can you gauge if a script is effective? How have writers’ rooms evolved over the years? What do showrunners look for when hiring their staff? How can you approach breaking macro and character arcs? What is the best way for lower-level writers to make themselves valuable in the room? How do you address notes without compromising creative integrity? What are ways of dealing with the instability of the profession?

The Paper Team drops the mic…

SHOWNOTES

Content

TV comedy (half-hour shows) panel (00:01:04)
TV drama (one-hour shows) panel (01:02:22)

Links

Nina Bargiel on Twitter
Lauren Bradley on Twitter
Alison Tafel on Twitter
Vicky Luu on Instagram
Adam Stein on Twitter
Brittani Nichols on Twitter

Britta Lundin on Twitter
Monica Macer on Twitter
Hilliard Guess on Twitter
Chris Levinson on Twitter
Alison Schapker on Twitter
Grainne Godfree on Twitter

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]

Writing Episodic vs. Serialized TV (PT95)

Alex and Nick discuss the advantages and disadvantages of writing episodic and serialized television.

Which format is better suited to your story? How does breaking a season change based on serialization? Why do serialized stories provide more developed character arcs? When is an episodic script more accessible to an audience? How is TV production impacted by the level of serialization?

Plus, a major announcement and two more Paper Tease entries.

The Paper Team connects the dots…

SHOWNOTES

Content

Paper Tease Session (01:58)
1 – Characters (10:40)
2 – Story and Plot (23:44)
3 – Finding the middle ground (40:40)
4 – Production (47:43)

Paper Tease Entries

“How Grace Got to Run the World” by Reeve Segal & Kaela Crawford
“Reunion Tour” by Paul Sprangers

Links

“The TV Writers’ Room” – TV Calling Facebook Group
The Art of the TV Episode (PT20)
TV Viewing Habits: Writing for the Binge (PT42)
“Day 478 ” (2×11 – The Good Fight)
“The Inner Light” (5×25 – Star Trek: The Next Generation)
“Git Gone” (1×04 – American Gods)
“The Sincerest Form of Flattery” (1×07 – Counterpart)
“Kiksuya” (2×08 – Westworld)

This episode brought to you by Roadmap Writers’ JumpStart Writing 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]