Write to TV, 3rd Edition

6 DEVELOPING YOUR COMEDIC STORY

“Typos? Bad titles? Tonal problems? An opening sequence with no great lead character or clear hook? Lots of problems pop up . . . But the most common mistake happens before the writer even types FADE IN . . . it’s choosing a story that doesn’t NEED to be told right now. How do you make ‘story’ feel current? Why does this journey need to be put on television as soon as possible? Do that and you’ll have a long career in Hollywood.” — Sean Barclay, agent, The Gersh Agency, on common mistakes he sees in spec scripts

GETTING STARTED

Congratulations! If you have decided to try your hand at comedy writing, you have chosen an area of television that’s really fun. It’s also really hard. Not to scare you, but writing ...