Contests

The CBS, Warner Bros, ABC and NBC writing fellowship deadlines are approaching.  This is a time that is met with much anxiety for writers trying to break into the TV business.  The statistics are that 1000-1500 people apply for each of these fellowships.  Staggering. And I have friends who look at those numbers and say "Why apply?  Those odds are horrible."  True.  And I used to look at those numbers and think that my chances were shitty. They are. That is completely true.

So why apply?

Out of the 1000-1500 people who apply to all of those fellowships, most of those are quadruple-dipping, especially if they are writers of color.  Officially, the Warner Bros, ABC and NBC are not diversity fellowships.  The CBS workshop is however.  So the pool is about the same.

Let's do the numbers.  They each take about 8 writers a piece, give or take a couple.  So let's say 35 slots are available.  Okay, that's .035 at the most.  All right, those are tough odds.  But it's not .008, which would be the number if each of those pools were completely separate.

If I was just looking at the numbers, I would be freaking myself the fuck out right now.  So, let's look at another factor: another script complete to add to the portfolio.  That's an upside.  The downside is that a spec script is no longer the industry standard. The industry standard is an original pilot. Plays are also acceptable by some show runners.  Given that a lot of shows are staffing with playwrights, those plays are valuable.  But at some point you do need an original pilot (or two or four or six).  So you're only really writing a spec script for one of these programs, and at the very best a third or fourth sample that your reps can send out. Or a lead sample on the off chance you're meeting an exec or a show runner who still judges material based on a spec, which is just proof that you can write in the format.

But if you're applying to all three (or all four if you're a writer of color), then you write one script for everything.  That's good, right?  Well, if you're applying every year, you can't reuse the material, so you're writing a new spec every year. Okay, that can be tough if you're writing material just for these programs instead of working on your original pilot or play.

This year, I'm deciding to look at neither one of those criteria.  Numbers schmumbers.  I got into a prestigious high school as a kid from a working class background.  I got into a competitive college. And I got accepted one of the top three MFA programs in the country with a full scholarship. I can beat the odds.

And would I rather write something in my own voice or a spec of a show that only serves me for four opportunities a year.  Of course, I'd rather work on something in my own voice because that sample can be used forever (in Hollywood terms, probably three or four years, depending on exec and show runner turnover).

But here's the bigger point.  I'm writing something new.  I have the chance to sharpen my skills and to study how a show works and what shows up on the page and then I have the opportunity to write something that fits into the world of that show in the voices of the characters at the pace at which that particular show tells its stories and with stories that fit.

You know where else I'd be using that skill?  In a writer's room. The job of anyone who is not a show creator and show runner is to write for characters that someone else has created in an extremely unfair short amount of time.  I don't mind exercising that skill.

But I understand the argument.  I get the feeling that it's a waste of time. And I'm not going to get even more Pollyanna on your asses by saying that nothing is a waste of time as long as you're writing. We all have lines in the sand we have to draw to determine our worth and some writers don't feel that their worth is in a writing contest.

And I've been there.  But here is where I am looking at this opportunity from:

These writing fellowships are about a goal. The goal is to get staffed on a TV show. That's why they're set up. If you don't get staffed on a show as a result of being accepted and successfully completing these programs, then someone has failed.

But that someone does not have to be the writer.  And "losing" has higher stakes than we realize.  We place our worth and our value in whether or not someone says, "You're in" or "You're out." It's like Project Runway, Top Chef, American Idol, The Voice, America's Next Top Model, The Next Great Artist or any of these competition reality shows.  In fact, the increase in these programs speaks to a shift in our culture to contests. Yet great people have established great and long lasting careers from these contests.  But I don't think it's because they thought their worth hinged on a "yes" or a "no."  It was just a game to play, a way to exercise those muscles.

But these contests don't tell you whether you're a great artist or even a good writer.  Well, that is, they shouldn't.  They just tell you that you've won or lost a contest. And the purpose of the contest was to get you the job that they promised they'd get you.

It's like the SAT. The SAT doesn't tell you how smart you are, it just tells you that you scored highly on a test. And there's a whole industry around learning how to take the test. The SAT prep courses aren't there to make you a smarter person, just a better test taker.

If you focus on being a smarter person or a better writer, then a contest is just a contest.

This way of thinking goes hand in hand with an article I read at the end of last year about being systems-focused versus being goal-focused.  In a nutshell, a goal can be a motivator for achievement. But if you just focus on that goal, then whether or not you achieved that goal only matters. But if you set up a system in how to achieve that goal and then you forget about the goal and concentrate on the system, then you'll always feel accomplished.

For example, if my goal is to write a script in two months, I know I have to write every day in order to make that happen. At the end of the two months, I might finish the script.  I might not. I might write more than just that script. If I focus on my daily practice, then I can even exceed that goal. But if I just focus on the goal, then I'm going to feel like a failure every day if I'm not focused on what I need to do.

Back to the contests: They are there to get my a job. So I have to figure out the best way to get that job. I need to pick a show. Study that show. Take notes. Know it inside and out. Then I need to figure out some great stories to tell based on those characters. It's a structure, discipline and skill exercise. It's not a creative endeavor. That does not mean that good writing won't come out of it. It doesn't mean that I have to have the process because I'm not being creative. It's just me proving to myself that I can be disciplined and TV writing is all about discipline. It's also about learning, listening, observing, pitching ideas that are relevant to the show and writing a lot in a short amount of time. And that's why I am applying to these contests.

When I'm writing my own stuff, I get distracted by my voice. I get persuaded by what I'm writing about because I love it. I care about it. I am tied to it. It means something to me. And all of that is essential in being a creative person.

But what if you could feel that urgency and write fast? What if you could know the structural tricks? What if you had that technique? Then wouldn't it be a faster, more productive endeavor when you were writing your own stuff?  Possibly.

I want to be fast and I want to be good. The most important skill as you're starting out and not working on your own stuff is to be fast and prolific with the highest quality possible. You can be fast and not be good. But you can't be good and not fast in that sort of pressure situation. And in order to be as successful as we all want to be, you have to be both. Consistently. Day after day. Year after year. And you can't be a sour puss.

So applying to all of these contests with a spec script of a show already on the air is a great way to exercise all of those skills.

Be fast.
Be good.
Be happy to do it.

That's the key to achieve that particular goal. Parlaying that into longevity and being a show creator and show generator is something else entirely. I feel like I have been training for the latter and not the former.  So I get the former down and once that gets me through the door, I will burst through it and forward in a blaze of glory with no problem.

How do I know this?  Because I have seen brilliant, smart, weird writers become staff writing workhorses.  They figured out the difference between the two and how to keep one skill set from speaking to the other. They don't look for proof of their worth in their pursuit for that particular job. And they don't let that job steal their voice. Because that is the true moneymaker in the long run.

I am grateful for conversations in parking garages.
I am grateful to have finally learned this lesson.
I am grateful for an idea for my spec script.
I am grateful for the insight and experience it has taken to get me to this point where I see the difference between getting the job and generating my own creativity.
I am grateful to be able to put these thoughts into words.