• Backup scripts
Year Two
June: Staffing
July and August: Write Like Crazy
Chart: Sample Character Arcs for a Season
September and October: The Debut
November through March: Completing the Season
April: Hiatus
What’s New?
Summary Points
GUEST SPEAKER: CHARLES COLLIER
President, AMC Cable TV
HOW A CLASSIC SCRIPT IS CRAFTED
The Dramatic Beat
A–B–C Stories
Chart: Basic Four-Act Grid
Five- and Six-act Structure
The More Things Change…
The Two-Page Scene
Using the Grid
Teasers
About these Excerpts
Excerpt from NYPD Blue, “Simone Says”
Analysis
Opening Scenes
Scene 1
Scene 2
Scene 3
Scene 4
Scene 5
Scene 6
The Second Excerpt
Excerpt from NYPD Blue, “Hearts and Souls”
Analysis
Cold Opening
Act One
What You Should Do Next
Summary Points
GUEST SPEAKER: STEVEN BOCHCO (Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, NYPD Blue)
SPOTLIGHT ON WRITING PROCEDURALS
GUEST SPEAKER: ANN DONAHUE (CSI: NY, CSI: Miami)
GUEST SPEAKERS: MICHELLE & ROBERT KING (The Good Wife)
Finding your stories
Breaking your stories
Credibility
Rooting interest
The Grid
Chart: Basic Four-Act Grid
The Outline
How to write your outline
Outline Sample
Alternate outline forms
Fragment of ER outline
Sonny’s List
Your First Draft
Sample script format
Troubleshooting
If you’re running long
If you’re running short
At the end of it all…
Your Second Draft
Your Polish
What’s next?
Summary Points
GUEST SPEAKER: DAVID SIMON (Homicide, The Wire, Treme)
SPOTLIGHT ON WRITING YOUR PILOT SCRIPT
Create the “World”
Find the Story Springboards
Populate the “World”
Make a Plan
GUEST SPEAKER: GEORGIA JEFFRIES (Cagney & Lacey, China Beach)
IT’S WHO YOU KNOW: WORKING ON STAFF
The Staff from Hell
Mistake 1: Don’t separate from the staff.
Mistake 2: Don’t mix personal and work issues.
Mistake 3: Don’t have other plans.
