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| Acknowledgments | |
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| Introduction | |
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| How Hollywood Works | |
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| An Overview of the Tv Industry | |
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| It's Called Show Business for a Reason | |
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| Technology is Changing the Face of Television | |
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| Product Integration | |
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| The Role of Production Companies, Studios, and Networks | |
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| The Difference Between Network and Syndication | |
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| What are Television Sweeps? | |
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| Staff Writing vs. Freelance Writing | |
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| Do You Have To Live In L.A.? | |
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| Writing For Existing Shows is Your First Step | |
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| What is a Spec Script? | |
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| Choosing a Spec Script That Will Work For You | |
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| Studying the Show Before You Write | |
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| Purchasing a Sample Script of the Show You Want to Write | |
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| Why Two (Sigh!) Specs Are Better Than One | |
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| Writing is Rewriting | |
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| The Reason Your Spec Probably Won't Sell | |
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| Declaring Your Major (and Minor) | |
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| Getting Your Scripts Read | |
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| Plastering the Town With Your Work | |
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| The Initial Meeting | |
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| The Invitation to Pitch | |
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| What Happens If They Buy Your Story? | |
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| Will You Write the Teleplay? | |
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| Odds Are They Won't Steal Your Ideas | |
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| How Much Will You Make and When Will You Get Paid? | |
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| Where Does it All Lead? | |
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| Comedy | |
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| Situational Comedies | |
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| What it Takes to Write Comedy | |
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| Check List For Funny | |
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| How Sitcom Writing Staffs Work | |
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| The Make-up of a Sitcom Staff | |
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| Multi-Camera vs. Single-Camera Shows | |
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| A Week in the Life of a Staff Sitcom Writer | |
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| How a Freelancer Fits In | |
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| Developing Your Sitcom Story | |
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| Getting Started | |
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| The Importance of a Good Story | |
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| How to Create an Original Story | |
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| Making Original Stories Work For Existing Shows | |
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| Finding An Original Spin | |
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| Study Up | |
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| Beating Writer's Block | |
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| Stories to Stay Away From | |
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| Getting the Poop | |
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| Physical Comedy | |
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| Sight Gags | |
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| "A" Stories, "B" Stories, and the Occasional "C" Story and "D" Story | |
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| Getting Feedback | |
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| Checklist For Story | |
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| Sitcom Structure | |
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| The Importance of Story Structure | |
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| Traditional Two-Act Structure vs. Modern Three-Act Structure | |
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| Creating Twists | |
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| No-Fail Sitcom Structure | |
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| Example of Structure | |
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| Teasers | |
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| Tags | |
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| Checklist For Story Structure | |
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| Outlining Your Sitcom Story | |
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| Why You Must Break Your Story Down Act-By-Act, Scene-By-Scene | |
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| What a Good Outline Should Accomplish | |
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| Good Writing is Key | |
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| Format Matters | |
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| How Long Should an Outline Be? | |
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| Sample Outline for Sitcom | |
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| A Few More Rules | |
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| How Multi-cam shows Differ in Format | |
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| Reading Your Work, Out Loud | |
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| Getting Feedback on Your Outline | |
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| A Word About Covers | |
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| Checklist For Story Outline | |
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| Scripting Your Sitcom | |
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| Formatting Your Sitcom Script | |
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| The Difference Between a First Draft and a Shooting Script | |
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| Formatting the Single-Cam Script | |
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| Sample Format For Multi-Cam Scripts | |
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| Scene Writing From Beginning to End | |
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| How Many Jokes Should You Have on Each Page? | |
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| Setting Up Jokes and Paying Them Off | |
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| Why Smart Jokes Will Get a Bigger Laugh | |
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| Where Do Good Jokes Come From? | |
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| Incorporating Universal Humor | |
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| Should You Avoid Jokes That Could Be Considered "Offensive"? | |
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| Beware of Jokes That Center Around Current Topics | |
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| In Comedy, Three's a Charm | |
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| Runners | |
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| Alliteration | |
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| Comedy That Goes Against Character | |
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| Putting the Audience in a Superior Position | |
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| Don't Forget to Button | |
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| The Dreaded Punch-up | |
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| Watch Where You Step | |
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| Other Kinds of Tv Comedy | |
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| Writing For Animation | |
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| Writing For Late Night | |
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| Sketch Writing | |
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| Prime Time Drama | |
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| Plot-Driven Dramas | |
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| Why Law & Order Thrives and Survives | |
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| Ripped From the Headlines | |
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| The Importance of Creating Authentic Worlds | |
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| Getting the Facts: How to Research Cops, Lawyers, Doctors, and Others | |
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| Colleges and Universities | |
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| The WGA | |
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| Creating Powerful Protagonists and Antagonists | |
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| Building Conflict and Jeopardy | |
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| One-Hour Dramatic Structure | |
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| Scripts For Cable Vary Slightly | |
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| How To Structure Your Plot-Driven Drama | |
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| How Index Cards Can Help (And Why Studios Order So Many) | |
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| Checklist For Plot-Driven Drama | |
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| Character-Driven Drama | |
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| All About People | |
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| Everything In Your Life Isn't Fit For the Screen | |
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| How to Dramatize Personal Experience | |
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| How Structure For Character-Driven Dramas Differs From Plot-Driven Dramas | |
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| Why Colored Index Cards Are Key | |
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| Continuing Storylines From Week to Week | |
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| Checklist For Character-Driven Drama | |
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| The Dirt on Soaps | |
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| Formatting for Prime Time Drama | |
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| Sample Outline For Prime Time Drama | |
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| Scripting Your Prime-Time Drama | |
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| Creating Original Series | |
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| The Television Pilot | |
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| Reasons Why You Shouldn't Write a Pilot | |
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| One Reason Why You Should Write a Pilot | |
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| How Pilot Season Works | |
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| Network Schedule: Friend or Foe | |
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| Why Some Cable Networks Operate Under a Different Time Clock | |
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| Finding an Original Premise | |
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| Networks Long For Longevity | |
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| Knowing the Market | |
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| Tapping Into Future Trends | |
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| Adding Your Own Point of View | |
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| A Tall Order: Introducing Characters and Premise All in One Episode | |
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| Premise Pilots vs. Non-Premise Pilots | |
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| Big Love | |
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| Know What's Out There | |
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| Sample Treatment for a Pilot | |
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| Kyle's Turn | |
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| Creating a 13-Week Episode Guide | |
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| First Pages | |
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| Riding Coattails | |
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| Checklist for Pilots | |
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| Made-For-TV Movies | |
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| Made-for-TV Movies | |
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| Hallmark Is the Benchmark | |
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| Target Audience for MOWs (Think Pink) | |
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| Most Common Types of MOW Stories and Why They Work | |
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| Stories to Stay Far Away From | |
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| Breaking into the MOW Business | |
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| Adapting True Stories | |
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| Protagonist vs. Antagonist | |
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| Bringing Novels to the Screen: How to Get the Rights | |
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| Should You Write a Mini-Series? | |
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| Don't Make Your Two-Hour a Four-Hour | |
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| Structuring Your MOW | |
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| Stories that Can Double as Feature Films and MOWs | |
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| Classic Three-Act Structure | |
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| Characters | |
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| Creating Compelling Characters | |
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| Character Broken into Threes | |
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| What is Backstory? | |
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| Character Bios | |
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| Why It's Important For The Audience to Like At Least Some of Your Characters | |
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| Some of the Finest Characters Are Not Human | |
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| Creating Characters With Opposing Viewpoints | |
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| Minor Characters Matter | |
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| How To Write Quirky Characters (And Why Audiences Love Them) | |
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| Twenty Questions To Ask Yourself About Each Character | |
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| Dialogue | |
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| Writing Dialogue That Dances on the Page | |
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| First and Foremost: Dialogue Comes From Character | |
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| Keeping Dialogue Where it Belongs | |
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| The Rhythm of Dialogue: How To Avoid Long, Rambling Speeches | |
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| The Use of Slang in Dialogue | |
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| Right-On Dialogue: Wrong!! | |
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| Watch Out for Names | |
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| Why Using Dialogue To Reveal BackStory Can Be Deadly | |
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| Stay Off the Phone!! | |
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| What To Do When All of Your Characters Sound Alike | |
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| How to Pitch your Comedy, Drama, or Movie of the Week | |
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| How to Get a Pitch Meeting | |
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| Who Will Be in the Room? | |
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| Why it's Essential to be Early | |
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| Dress for Success | |
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| How Many Ideas Should You Pitch? | |
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| The Order of Your Stories | |
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| How Much Detail Should You Give? | |
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| Practicing Your Pitch | |
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| Controlling the Room | |
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| A Couple of No-nos | |
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| The Use of Index Cards and Note Pads | |
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| Reading the Room: Why No Usually Means No | |
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| Going With the Flow When the Story Starts to Change | |
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| Be Prepared for Questions | |
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| Example of a Pitch | |
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| What To Do if They Don't Buy Anything | |
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| The Pros and Cons of Putting Your Pitch on Paper | |
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| Respecting the Big Foot | |
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| Practice Makes Perfect | |
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| TV News Magazine Shows | |
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| Writing for TV Magazine Shows | |
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| "There's Always Going to be News" | |
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| It Takes a Special Breed | |
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| Is it News or Entertainment? | |
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| Why So Many TV Magazine Shows? | |
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| The Power Structure of a TV Magazine Show | |
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| Writing vs. Producing | |
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| The Power of Enterprising Your Own Stories | |
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| A Mock Assignment | |
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| Getting the Right Angle | |
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| Producer Means Boss | |
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| You Can Up the Emotion by Using Real People | |
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| Why You Need at Least One Expert | |
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| How to Find Experts | |
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| A Story on J.K.Rowling, Please: Where Do You Begin? | |
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| The Shoot | |
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| Before You Go | |
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| Working With Talent vs. Working Solo | |
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| Taking Care of Your Crew | |
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| Once You Arrive at the Location | |
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| What to Do While the Crew Sets Up | |
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| When You Do the Interview | |
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| When Talent Does the Interview | |
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| One Camera or Two? | |
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| Getting B-Roll is Key | |
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| The Importance of Natural Sound | |
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| B-Roll for the J.K. Rowling Story | |
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| Do You Need A Stand-Up? | |
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| Writing the Script | |
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| Sorting Through Your Tapes | |
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| What Is Timecode, and Why It Will Save You | |
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| What Is a Sound Bite? | |
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| Picking The Right Sound Bites To Tell Your Story | |
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| What Is Track? | |
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| Making Sure Video and Sound Lock Up | |
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| When You Don't have the Video | |
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| How to Write Your Script | |
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| If You Care to Give it a Try | |
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| Checklist For TV News Script | |
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| In the Edit Bay and Beyond | |
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| Preparing For Your Edit | |
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| Working With an Editor | |
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| Bringing Your Story in on Time | |
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| Getting Story Approval | |
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| Writing Powerful Leads and Tags | |
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| Ethics in Television News | |
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| Other Things You May be Asked to Do | |
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| Reality Television | |
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| Writing for Reality Television | |
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| Reality Television is Not New | |
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| Why Reality Television is Here To Stay | |
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| Why Americans Have Become Reality-Obsessed | |
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| Documentary vs. Game Show | |
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| Reality is a Producer's Game | |
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| Real Compelling Characters | |
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| How to Write a Treatment for a Reality TV Show | |
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| The Ethics of Reality Television | |
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| Children's Television | |
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| Writing for Munchkins and Rugrats | |
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| What Good Children's Programming Should Accomplish | |
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| Brand Loyalty | |
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| Dual Audiences | |
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| Content is Key | |
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| Selling Your Children's Show | |
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| The One-Minute-Thirty-Second Grind | |
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| The Business Side of Television | |
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| How to Get an Agent | |
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| Why You Need an Agent | |
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| What Agents Actually Do | |
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| How Much Does an Agent Cost? | |
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| Don't Pay People to Read Your Work | |
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| Referrals Are the Way to Go | |
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| Why Writers Can Be Protective About Their Agents | |
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| Choosing an Agent Who's Right for You | |
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| Los Angeles or Bar Harbor? Does It Matter Where Your Agent is? | |
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| Agents Who Take Unsolicited Scripts | |
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| Do You Need a Manager? | |
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| Entertainment Attorneys | |
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| Querying Agents | |
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| Sample Query Letters: Good and Bad | |
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| Making Sure You Are Ready | |
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| Patience is a Virtue | |
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| Should You Put Your Script on Web sites? | |
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| Checklist For Getting An Agent | |
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| The Writers Guild of America | |
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| What Is the Writers Guild Of America? | |
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| How Do You Become a Member? | |
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| Key Things The WGA Can Do For You | |
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| How Residuals Work | |
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| What is Arbitration? | |
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| In the Event of a Writers' Strike | |
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| How to Protect Your Work | |
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| Miscellaneous Guild Benefits | |
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| Writing Teams | |
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| Should You Get a Writing Partner? | |
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| The Pros of Partnerships | |
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| Being Responsible For Someone Else's Career | |
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| The Cons of Partnerships | |
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| How To Choose A Writing Partner | |
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| How to Get Your Foot in the Door | |
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| How to Get Work as a Television Writer | |
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| Why You Need a Plan (And a Back-up Plan) | |
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| The Importance of Internships | |
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| Contact Everyone You Know and Tell Them What You Want | |
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| Entry Level Jobs That Can Lead to Your Writing Break | |
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| Ways To Uncover Entry-Level Jobs | |
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| Resumes and Cover Letters | |
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| How to Write Your Resume | |
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| Sample Resume | |
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| How to Write a Killer Cover Letter | |
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| Five Paragraphs to a Good Cover Letter | |
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| Sample Cover Letter | |
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| Generating Informational Interviews | |
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| When a Company Says They're Not Hiring (Baloney!) | |
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| The Power of Overnighting Your Resume (Even If You Live One Block Away) | |
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| Brushing Up On Phone Etiquette | |
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| Why It's Important to Get the Assistant's Name | |
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| How and When to Use Voice Mail | |
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| How and When to Use E-Mail | |
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| Getting the Interview | |
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| Preparing For the Interview | |
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| Controlling the Interview | |
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| Confidence is Key | |
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| The Power of Snail Mail Thank-You Notes | |
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| Placing the Dreaded Follow-up Call | |
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| Turning a "No" Into a "Yes" | |
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| Congratulations, You've Got the Job...Now What? | |
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| Some Tasks May Not Make You Smile | |
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| Even the Most Mundane and Menial Tasks Can Lead to a Break | |
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| Finding a Mentor | |
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| Taking Responsibility For Your Goof-ups | |
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| Remember Your Goal: Get a Writing Schedule and Stick To It | |
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| How Long Should You Stay in an Entry-Level Job? | |
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| Planning the Next Step | |
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| The Power of Networking | |
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| Keeping in Touch is Job Number Three | |
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| Order Your Own Personal Note Cards (You'll Need Them) | |
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| Stock Up On Business Cards | |
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| Creating Your Own Little Black Book | |
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| The Importance of Sending Holiday Greetings | |
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| How to Do Lunch | |
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| Who Do You Invite? | |
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| Taking the Lead | |
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| When and How To Ask For What You Really Want | |
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| Who Pays? | |
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| Should You Bring Your Spec Scripts? | |
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| Other Things That Can Help You Succeed | |
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| Get Yourself Out There as Quickly as Possible | |
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| Writing Buddies | |
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| How to Turn Up Contacts When You Think You Don't Have Any | |
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| Attend Seminars and Conferences | |
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| Enter Your Work In Contests | |
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| Using Technology to Get Work Seen | |
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| Use Your Talent to Help Others | |
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| Learn to be a Good Critic | |
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| Off to See the Wizard (Or Five Months to My Dream Job) | |
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| Not Giving up on What You Want | |
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| A Word To Women | |
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| Take Care of Your Mind and Your Body | |
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| Oh, the Places You'll Go! The Warmth and Wisdom of Dr. Seuss | |
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| Some Final Thoughts | |
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| Some Leftover Pearls | |
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| Index | |