Bad Advice

I have a natural proclivity to going against the grain. It's a natural rebellion. It's an innate sense of "I'm going to do the exact opposite of what people think I should do." It's stubborn. It's probably born in the fact that I am an Aquarian and my ruling planet is Uranus, which rotates on its axis (or in orbit) the opposite direction of all the other ruling planets. I am by nature a contrarian. That has served me and also hurt me at various points in my life. But I can't help but do the thing that my instinct tells me to do.

So where am I going with this?

Well, I have been working since January and haven't had time to work on new writing samples. I have had a pilot that I've been rewriting in fits and starts since the beginning of the year. And I've been working on theatre - when I should be working on new pilots. I now have this theatre company that I help run with a bunch of other people. None of this is for free - we all do it in our spare time because we all have jobs that actually pay us money. So even though I should be laser focused on TV and getting the next job, I'm producing readings and I'm about to direct my first play workshop in June. We're also producing a new play - hopefully in the Fall - that I will be VERY involved with.

But that's not even what I'm talking about. When I first started trying to break into TV, there was a rule: you wrote a spec script of an existing show as a sample. You usually had two or three specs in your arsenal. But the spec has fallen out of favor and now people are writing spec pilots, which are hard to do. But they're original material and any writer would rather write something they personally came up with. But it seems like the hard rule is "no one reads specs anymore." I went to a WGA event where a bunch of showrunners said they'd actually like to read specs because then they know that a writer can write in someone else's voice. I wasn't hired off of a spec script. I was hired from original material - a new play. And I'd rather use my time to write my original ideas.

But spec pilots take a long time. For me, they take longer than plays. So I'm going to do something crazy. I'm going to write a spec of a show I watch and apply with it to some of the studio programs. Even though I've been staffed, it might be a way to make a leap into network TV. And I can do it fast. I'm also thinking that I might write a one hour sample of an existing show as well. Because no one's doing it - and it will seem fresh - and will be easy to do. At least,  hope that will work. The problem with specs is that there are so many shows on the air that many people don't watch the same thing. It was different when there were only three channels on the air.

I'm going to write some specs. And instead of thinking about it like "Ugh, I have to write someone else's show", I'm going to think of it as an opportunity to write an episode of the show. Since I've written five episodes of TV in my short career so far, I know I can write an episode of a show. I'm hoping all of my skill building will translate into this script being super tight in a ridiculously short amount of time with few drafts. I'm hoping that is what I've learned - and that I can apply this knowledge into my sample work.

At the same time, I'm going to be working on new stuff. I'm going to be producing our writers workshops. I'm going to continue to overextend myself. Because I have a vision. I spent seven years learning about production and reading hundreds, if not thousands,  of scripts. I know how to make the thing. I'll continue to be great at production now that I've had production experience. I spent last summer on set learning how to produce instead of finishing a different pilot rewrite. I've done things that have enriched me instead of the things that feel immediately profitable - like getting another TV gig. But this move of writing this spec will be a step in the right direction. It's also giving me time to think about this new pilot I'm writing. It will give me a new script in a short amount of time to go along with the other script I'm rewriting - so I can have two new scripts at the end of the month.

But I'm choosing to have real enthusiasm about it. I'm getting to write an episode of my favorite show. I'm pretending that I got hired to write an episode of my favorite show. This is an adventure for me. The idea for the spec came real quick and I broke the story quickly. So now I'm in the middle of outlining from that break. And then I will have a detailed enough outline to write the script fairly quickly. I'm actually using the real process of breaking an episode to break this spec and write it. I'm also getting to use my experience of writing five episodes into this spec. I also just think I want the experience of writing something quickly and purely for fun without any of my personal investment in it. This spec's purpose is to find me a new TV job. It should do nothing but that. As much as I hated that before I staffed on a show, this feels like a great relief.

In both rooms, but especially in this last season of our show, we collectively with our showrunner created this series. I've had the experience of starting up with two new stories every year. It's impressive how we got so much done in such a short period of time. And now I get to see that skill at work with creating sample episodes of a series. I can now imagine what I would do if I was on the staff of the show because I've been on the staff of a show. It changes my perspective entirely. And I'm going to test out this theory that people are ready to read specs again. It certainly won't be true all of the time, and I'm counting on my manager using my original plays and my experience working on a show as an example that I can write on a TV show and have original thoughts.

But that's an against the grain approach. I also feel that if everyone is going one way, it's leaving a path wide open. So I'm going to try this. It wouldn't be the advice you would give someone. But I can't help but want to do the opposite of what other people are doing.

I'm trying a new approach if the other thing isn't working. It's taking me too long to write and come up with new pilot ideas. I need to churn out more material. And I can write specs quickly. So we'll try this. And if this doesn't work, then we'll try something else. But I need to be flexible in my approach to getting my next staff job.

My intention is flexibility.
My intention is growth.
My intention is to try new things.
My intention is to find the open door.

I am grateful for the skills I've learned being on staff.
I am grateful for the love I have with my friends.
I am grateful for my ability to not stop working.