ABSTRACT

Learn to craft smart, original scripts and teleplays for a variety of television formats, including comedy, animation, drama, movies of the week, pilots, reality television, TV news magazine, and children's programming. Using the tools the author provides: checklists, sample outlines and treatments for each format, sample script pages, war stories from writers and executives, and a sample query letter to introduce finished script pages to agents, you'll avoid common pitfalls and come across as an industry veteran. Benefit from the experience of pros: 45 luminaries contribute their experience and wisdom, including Jay Leno, Mike Wallace, Norman Lear, Paul Haggis, writers for "Grey's Anaatomy," "Desperate Housewives," and more!

With twenty-five years of industry experience as a television writer and producer, Martie Cook teaches you not only how to hone your craft but also how to break into the industry. Guiding you through the often confusing television hierarchy, Write to TV offers practical advice on important issues such as how to get an agent, how to write a query letter, how to network, even how to "do lunch". By learning how to craft smart scripts for a variety of television formats and how to get your foot in the door and keep it there, this invaluable book will help you get that big idea out of your head, onto the page, and then to the top of the heap.

part |1 pages

PART I How Hollywood Works

chapter 1|15 pages

AN OVERVIEW OF THE TV INDUSTRY

chapter 2|7 pages

GETTING YOUR SCRIPTS READ

part |1 pages

PART II Comedy

chapter 3|10 pages

SITUATIONAL COMEDIES

chapter 4|11 pages

DEVELOPING YOUR SITCOM STORY

chapter 5|7 pages

SITCOM STRUCTURE

chapter 7|16 pages

SCRIPTING YOUR SITCOM

chapter 8|9 pages

OTHER KINDS OF TV COMEDY

part |1 pages

PART III Prime Time Drama

chapter 9|9 pages

PLOT-DRIVEN DRAMAS

chapter 10|8 pages

CHARACTER-DRIVEN DRAMA

chapter 11|6 pages

FORMATTING FOR PRIME TIME DRAMA

part |1 pages

PART IV Creating Original Series

chapter 12|6 pages

THE TELEVISION PILOT

chapter 13|17 pages

FINDING AN ORIGINAL PREMISE

part |1 pages

PART V Made-For-TV Movies

chapter 14|15 pages

MADE-FOR-TV MOVIES

part |1 pages

PART VI Characters

chapter 15|8 pages

CREATING COMPELLING CHARACTERS

part |1 pages

PART VII Dialogue

part |1 pages

PART VIII How to Pitch your Comedy, Drama, or Movie of the Week

chapter 17|12 pages

HOW TO GET A PITCH MEETING

part |1 pages

PART IX TV News Magazine Shows

chapter 18|5 pages

WRITING FOR TV MAGAZINE SHOWS

chapter 19|4 pages

A MOCK ASSIGNMENT

chapter 20|9 pages

THE SHOOT

chapter 21|10 pages

WRITING THE SCRIPT

chapter 22|8 pages

IN THE EDIT BAY AND BEYOND …

part |1 pages

PART X Reality Television

chapter 23|6 pages

WRITING FOR REALITY TELEVISION

part |1 pages

PART XI Children’s Television

part |1 pages

PART XII The Business Side of Television

chapter 25|10 pages

HOW TO GET AN AGENT

chapter 26|4 pages

THE WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA

chapter 27|4 pages

WRITING TEAMS

part |1 pages

PART XIII How to Get Your Foot in the Door

chapter 28|16 pages

HOW TO GET WORK AS A TELEVISION WRITER

chapter 29|4 pages

GETTING THE INTERVIEW

chapter 31|5 pages

THE POWER OF NETWORKING

chapter 32|8 pages

OTHER THINGS THAT CAN HELP YOU SUCCEED