Screenwriting : Useful suggestions re. my TV pilot script from an industry reader by JJ Hillard

JJ Hillard

Useful suggestions re. my TV pilot script from an industry reader

"For a TV pilot, it's always better to lean into character rather than action -- audiences will stick around for anything as long as they like the characters enough to know what's going to happen to them next."

"I would really work on developing these characters beyond archetype into unique, individual characters who stand on their own and who have their own life and vivacity. A big part of this is the dialogue... One piece of advice I give to writers, and which I employ myself, is to mentally 'cast' each of my characters with an actor I can foresee playing them in a movie. Then, I imagine them delivering the dialogue I write—the intonations, the cadence, accent, etc. It helps keep the dialogue sounding realistic if you can actually hear an actor delivering it—a lot of the times, what seems right when you put it down on page doesn’t end up sounding right if someone actually says it."

Doug Nelson

Lean on all your characters to carry your story.

Ewan Dunbar

Its good to always consider your characters in great detail. Their past, their thoughts on the present, what they want (or what think they want at that moment) from the future and who they are as people will give them their own unique voice, not just in the dialogue, but also in their actions. Establishing them as their own people at the beginning with their set ways and dreams makes them more personable and capable of real change as the story progresses, rather than just devices that move the plot. This is a good way to start thinking of them as the people you want audiences to connect with and want to hang out with for the 10+ hours of your first season.

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