So I am attempting to write a show about my life / time on wall street, I have a ton of hilarious & entertaining stories that too many people have asked to put to paper (not like Billions or wolf of wall street ect...) . Finally, after several drinks, I conceded and here I am. Having said that I have no idea where to even begin... I've started playing with a logline, writing out characters, as well as the beginning for a pilot episode and wrote down most of my stories that I can recall to make sure I don't forget any of them. I guess my question is where should someone start that has absolutely no incite into this industry or what is needed to pitch a script ect.
Screenwriting : Attempting to make a tv show - First Timer by Jake Gibbs
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Read scripts. Read blog posts here. Take a webinar here. Read more scripts. Pick up a book like The Screenwriters Bible or Save The Cat. Start writing. Take classes. Read even more scripts. Watch movies while you're reading the scripts. Write some more. Read some more.
There is no single answer. Just dive into the craft and start exploring.
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Joleene and Dan both gave you good advice. I read your log line. Comedy writing is the hardest type of creative writing, because you're usually turning a tragic situation upside down, and your tone should be consistent. Like...is it dry? Farcical? Low-brow? Screwball? Arrogant? Egotistical? Caustic? Flippant? Etc. Etc.
Think of how the characters in a show like The Office, Entourage, or Black Monday maintain their individual personalities, while the show maintains its tone in situations that run the gamut of comedy situations. That's pretty hard stuff to successfully pull off, episode after episode.
You have a lot to consider, and need to learn about matters from a world-building, character-defining, structural and comedy genre standpoints. Pro's in the TV/Cable biz make things look easy, but in actuality, most are long-time students of drama with prior academic and industry backgrounds And there's a ton of competition out there. You're already competing against at least two similarly-themed shows. What you do have going for you is that you're a subject matter expert on the whole world that certainly has a lot of characters and comedy built into it; you're smart enough to like dogs; and maybe you're even a naturally funny person, too. And you still wear a watch. Really? Heh-heh.
You definitely need to be really skilled at pulling all that off, and it sounds like you need to compress some serious learning time ASAP? If so, start learning, and maybe even enlist the expertise of a personal aide (an established writer/teacher/consultant) to help you speed up the process even more quickly. I'd even consider partnering up with some local NYC comedy writers. There are a lot of them here on Stage32 - and the ones I know are even really funny, too.
Best fortunes to you in your creative endeavors, Jake!
RIP DICK DALE (May 4, 1937 - March 16, 2019)
Yea, im going to agree with Dan. Theres a difference between wanting to be a TV writer and wanting to write a show about your life. if what you want is the latter, then write a Book or a Blog filled with hilarious stories and hope it sells or gets major buzz and Hollywood will find it and adapt it into a show. OR, pay someone with experience to write it for you. Because the chances of you doing it yourself is pretty much 0%. And if its not a career you want to do longterm, then it's not worth the time, energy, work, etc.