The Birth of the "Mini Writer's Room." Helping or Hurting?

The Birth of the "Mini Writer's Room." Helping or Hurting?

For many of us here on the Stage 32 platform (myself included), sitting at the table with other writer's to flush out a season for TV is more than just an image glued to a vision board. It's a dream. It's why we get up in the morning and flush out storylines and story arcs and practice the art of bible writing until we're blue in the face.
It's why we take the part-time job or work the night shift.
It's why we sacrifice living large until our words are noticed.
And all the while, as we dream and paste new images on our vision boards, the landscape of television writing is changing.
For the past five years or so (maybe more, depending on the project), "mini-rooms" have popped up throughout Hollywood. In a word, a mini-room is a smaller version of a full scale writer's room. There are less people at the table with no promise of a show coming to fruition. This "mini" version of a writer's room allows showrunners the opportunity to offer a truncated writing process that gets to a decision faster in a way that saves time and money.
And let's face it.
Everything today seems to be about time and money.
Mini rooms can have as little as three writers, brainstorming half a season before it is determined that it will get the green light.
For some writers, these rooms offer a promise of what's to come. It may be their first stab at the process. For others, it's the death of the writer's room as we know it.
Good or bad, one thing is for sure; TV is evolving into a niche where (almost) anything goes. But is that niche helping or hurting the industry?
You're a writer. You decide. Click the link below to read the full article. Seasoned writers are weighing in. And here's what they have to say:
Read More Here:
Is This the End of the TV Writers' Room as We Know It?
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About the Author

Joleene DesRosiers
Screenwriter, Actor, Producer
Joleene DesRosiers is a former television reporter and anchor turned indie screenwriter and director/producer at a PBS affiliate television station in Northern New York/Canada.This role allows her to write, produce, and direct regional and national documentaries, docs-series, and other series produc...