ABSTRACT
Television is a huge maw that devours programming. Think of the number of channels! Think of the need for new ideas! Think of the need for writers to write episodes of long-running series that reappear season after season! Although the total program lineup for the medium includes news, documentary, sports, games shows, and so on, we are going to discuss only the program content that is acted entertainment, such as series, sitcoms , and soaps . 1 We need to understand the special requirements of television writing and learn the basic techniques of thinking and writing for television. Then we need to look at the premise and techniques for writing comedy and drama. Because television is changing all the time, we need to think about what’s new. Then there is the question of script format — how you lay out the page. Many television series have developed their own idiosyncratic variations of script formats, which its scriptwriters follow and which have been reproduced in this chapter. Lastly, keep in mind that there are many books devoted exclusively to writing for television that will take you deeper than we can ever go in one chapter. Your job right now is to make a fi rst effort at writing for this medium.
