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Posts published in “TV Writer & Branding”

TV Writing for Comedy & Drama ft. Michelle Badillo & Caroline Levich (One Day at a Time/The Bold Type) (PT115)

Alex and Nick invite Michelle Badillo & Caroline Levich, writers on Neflix’s One Day at a Time and Freeform’s The Bold Type, to discuss their experiences working in both half-hour and one-hour TV writers’ rooms.

How do you approach your first days in a writers’ room? What are some of the differences and challenges between breaking a half-hour and a one-hour show? What lessons can TV writers take from working in both multi-cam and drama rooms? How do you adapt to differences in tone between the formats? How are stories broken on One Day at a Time and The Bold Type? What was it like working on a Humanitas-nominated episode of TV? How can you use branding to your advantage as a writer? What are some tips for successfully transitioning between formats and genre?

The Paper Team changes tone…

SHOWNOTES

Content

Writing for both TV comedy and TV drama with Michelle Badillo & Caroline Levich (00:37)
Final Advice, Resources and Next Week On (47:28)

Links

Michelle Badillo on Twitter
Caroline Levich on Twitter
“One Day at a Time” on Netflix
“The Bold Type” on Freeform
Gloria Calderon Kellett
Hollywood Fringe Festival
Dan Hernandez
“Hello, Penelope” (2×09 – One Day at a Time)
Amanda Lasher

Resources

“How to Succeed in Business Without Really Crying” by Carol Leifer
“Just the Funny Parts” by Nell Scovell
The Comeback

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]

Building Your Career as a TV Writer ft. LaToya Morgan (Into the Badlands/TURN) (PT111)

Alex and Nick invite LaToya Morgan, co-executive producer on Into the Badlands and writer on Turn, Shameless and Parenthood, to discuss how she approached building a productive career as a TV writer and being valuable in the room.

What is the journey of moving up the ladder from staff writer to co-executive producer? What are some of the best assets someone can bring into a writers’ room? How do you adapt your own writing to fit different styles and genres? How were the writers’ rooms of Shameless, Parenthood, and Turn? What is the process of getting an overall deal? What are the unique challenges that diverse writers face in the TV industry?

The Paper Team rises…

SHOWNOTES

Content

TV writing career with LaToya Morgan (00:50)
Final Advice, Resources, and Next Week On (37:29)

Links

LaToya Morgan on Twitter
LaToya Morgan on Instagram
“LaToya Morgan Re-Ups Overall Deal With AMC, Will Oversee Inclusion Initiative” – Deadline
“Hugh Howey’s ‘Wool’ in Development as AMC Series From LaToya Morgan” – Variety
WGAw’s Committees

Resources

“On Writing” – Stephen King
“Bird by Bird” – Anne Lamott

This episode brought to you by Roadmap Writers

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

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]

How to Choose Your Next TV Sample (PT110)

Alex and Nick discuss ways to decide what your next TV sample script should be. From business considerations to artistic and career reasons, we go over several elements that we’ve weighed ourselves when choosing a new project.

How do you take a look at your own samples to decide what is missing? Why is it important to select the right sample? How can a new sample help pivot your career? What should you look for in choosing the right script?

Plus, we look at two more Paper Tease entries and reveal the October winners.

The Paper Team makes a selection…

SHOWNOTES

Content

Paper Tease Session (00:49)
1 – Writer and career reasons (16:14)
2 – Business reasons (24:10)
3 – Artistic reasons (31:52)
Takeaways and Next Week On (36:09)

Paper Tease Entries

“Children of Salem” by Dylan Brann
“Socio Club” by Koby Mann

Links

Comedy v. Drama: Declare Your TV Major (PT02)
TV Writer Representation 201: Making the Most of Your Agent/Manager (PT108)

This episode brought to you by Roadmap Writers

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

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]