So, my fellow writers, I have a question for you!
As many of you know I developed a TV show in the recent months. I wrote every episode of the first season and already outlined seasons 2-7. Now I'm working on developing a killer pitch deck.
And last week I started showing the pilot. Nothing serious yet, just to a couple of filmmakers and writers here in Portugal, so I can get a first set of reviews before moving on to the execs here at Stage 32.
So, my question is: what do you do to keep yourself busy in the meantime, while the feedback doesn't arrive? For me, this is probably the hardest part - the wait - and I would like to know how you guys cope with that.
All the best!
I continue to create in some capacity, as I often get restless otherwise. I’m waiting on feedback on a script right now, so I’m writing a short script to keep myself focused.
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Write the next thing, whether it's another TV show, a feature film, or a short. I try to always have two projects, the one I'm writing and one I'm developing to write next.
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James Welday I always envy people who can come up with ideas so often! I wish I could do it! I usually only have 1-2 ideas worth exploring each year... It's good because it keeps me focused but it sucks because I'll never be able to become a very accomplished writer! Which I'm okay with, since my main goal is to direct, but it would be nice to be more prolific...
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85% of the time feedback never arrives. Move on.
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Thank you, sir. I have a plethora of projects that I pull from, or revised ideas that become something new. I started out wanting to be a director, but found writing and film editing to be my passions. I only worry I won’t be able to write everything. Haha
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keep writing different material. thats one consistent advice told to me by many working pros in tv & film- stack ideas, write a lot. So much time (years) & energy pass for one project that you must do other stuff just to keep mentally sharp & sane. At least thats how corporate show bizness works in America- count in dog years.
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Thank you! Well, to be honest I really don't think it is advisable to write the whole season. But it comes from my lack of ability to write without a roadmap and writing every episode really helped me creating a more solid pilot I think. I mean, I have things planted in my pilot that are only planned to pay off in season five!
And given that it is one condition for me to sell this script that I'm head writer, I thought I needed to prove that I could do it. And honestly, the whole season was just coming out quite easily, everything had a logical next scene and a logical payoff two or three episodes later so for me it would've been counter-productive to just write the pilot!
It was a fun experience. And so far this tv show has been a blast. Now I'm working on my pitch deck and that's been a blast as well and later I'm planning on storyboarding a 90 second teaser and I'm sure that'll be fun as well! So it hasn't really felt like hard work at all. Even though there are days where I have to take a break and other days where I only manage to write half a page, I'm loving the experience!
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I did the same thing when I wrote my spec Miniseries. I just had a feeling the entire 10-episode series needed to be written. Took me the better part of a year, but I had written a finely-detailed outline for each episode prior to scripting, so I was in good shape.
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It is important to keep writing, because, well, you're a writer. But, at some point you're going to have to go to the "dance" so to speak. This dance has many partners, such as, the investors, the distributors, the network, the filmmakers. . . . You don't have to have the entire 7 seasons written before start this dance. Everything you write will probably be redone anyway, along the way. The video I've linked to below is about a guy who has successfully gotten 8 or so films produced, but is still not a household name. It is a great intro to what you're up against. I hope you find it helpful. https://youtu.be/rNXGhUcJArw
Where can we take a look at your pilot?
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I just keep creating and writing while I wait for any kind of feedback.
Hey Greg! It's not available yet, I'm still running it through a couple of writers here in Portugal before I take the next step and start consulting with people here, in the "big league"!
Hey Barry! It's crazy, yeah! But I'm quite open and craving to bouncing off my ideas in a writer's room, I hope I get a chance to do it! My long-term outlines are more like a roadmap! My pitch deck so far is 23 pages I believe, but I'll have to cut or condense some of the texts so I can get visual elements in there.