Categories: Paper Team TV Writing

TV World-Building 101 (PT44)

Update: PT44 transcript now available

Alex and Nick discuss the importance of world-building in television writing and TV pilots.

What is the point of world-building in TV shows? What are some good and bad examples of mythology? How can you implement world-building effectively in your own writing? What are some common pitfalls to avoid falling into?

The Paper Team sets the scene…

SHOWNOTES

Content

1 – Defining world-building (00:58)
2 – Tools of world-building (10:03)
3 – Common pitfalls of world-building (20:19)
Takeaways and Resources (29:22)

Links

The Shield
Vic Mackey
Claudette Wyms
C. C. H. Pounder
The Practice
Battlestar Galactica
The Man in the High Castle (TV Series)
Firefly
American Gods (TV Series)
Cosmos: A Personal Voyage
Logan
Defiance (TV Series)
17th Precinct
Battle of Serenity Valley (Firefly)
The Handmaid’s Tale (TV Series)
“Unfinished Business” (3×09 – Battlestar Galactica)
Caprica
Lostpedia
“TV Writer vs. Fandom: Writers’ Rooms and Fan Interaction” (PT38)
“The One with the Prom Video” (2×14 – Friends)

Resources

r/worldbuilding (reddit)
Writing in the Margins’ Sensitivity Readers

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

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Special thanks to Jason J. Cohn 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: ask@paperteam.co

Paper Team
Alex Freedman & Nick Watson

Paper Team is a podcast about television writing and becoming a TV writer.

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