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WOW! Women On Writing
Classes & Workshops
Spotlight Course: How to Write a TV Pilot
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Greetings!
Is your TV idea ready for prime time? While you're watching television, do you ever wonder whether you could write a better show yourself? Do you sometimes analyze what's working in a good episode, trying to detect what the writer or director is doing right? Maybe you've even come up with an idea for a new series, one that would be a great addition to the fall lineup. If these kind of thoughts have ever crossed your mind, or it just sounds like it might be fun, it's time to give TV writing a shot. We're offering a brand new course with a talented instructor to teach you the ins and outs of developing a TV show. You'll learn about character development, dialogue, genre, structure, pacing, budget, marketability and more! How to Write a TV Pilot: An Introduction to the Craft of Creating a TV Show starts Wednesday, February 6, 2012. Enrollment includes one-on-one support and critiques from Christina, a professional screenplay consultant and screenwriting editor. Students are also free to ask as many questions as they'd like about how to turn a story idea into a commercial, pitch-ready script. It's a great opportunity for aspiring script writers, so sign up now for one of the ten available spots! In the article below, Christina shares a few tips for catching the interest of someone in the position of casting, directing, and producing your TV show. Find out how to tell if your TV idea is ready for prime time! We also have several other classes starting very soon, including Writing Character-Driven Fiction (tomorrow, Feb 1), How to Get the Right Agent for Your Manuscript (Feb 6), and Blogging 101 and Get Paid to Write: Become a Freelance Writer (both on Feb 10). There's a lot more, so be sure to check out the full list of upcoming classes in the section below. Happy writing! Marcia & Angela  Marcia & Angela Classroom Managers WOW! Classes & Workshops
classroom@wow-womenonwriting.com
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Is Your TV Idea Ready For Prime Time?
By Christina Hamlett
Whether it's a wacky sitcom, a police drama, or reality show, every TV program starts out as an idea in someone's head. Turning that rough concept into a series that viewers will want to watch every week, however, requires catching the interest of someone in the position of casting, directing, and producing it. No simple task indeed, especially when you also have to factor in its ability to attract advertisers and sustain the interest and curiosity of your target demographic.
Just because you have what you think is a good idea doesn't mean that it's ready for prime time. For one thing, it has to be a unique story that will resonate with an audience. Secondly, it has to be a story that you have the rights to negotiate; in other words, your own original material and not someone else's. Third--and perhaps the most important element in the equation--is that you have to be truly passionate about what you're trying to pitch for development instead of just thinking about how much money you could make that will allow you to quit your day-job.
Too often in my business as a script consultant, for instance, I see aspiring writers who ignore their own distinctive voice and vision because they're too busy trying to imitate current TV shows that are popular. On the one hand, it's easy to understand this line of thinking when every season seems to debut "new" programs that feel overtly familiar to us--the flaky New York roommates, the shrewish wife and clueless husband, the conspiracy theorists and alien chasers, the love/hate combustibility of coworkers. On the other hand, why would viewers be lured to follow a copycat as long as the genuine article is either still in the picture or still very dear to their hearts?
Another common problem is the lack of an action plan that is both dynamic and plausible to take one's characters beyond the first few episodes. Unlike a feature-length movie where the conflict is resolved after two hours, a television series needs to keep swimming forward like a shark and finding new food from year to year in order to survive. For example, a sitcom family that keeps splashing around in the same dull pond without any real quest, conflict or threat to the status quo is not as compelling a premise as a drama in which a man wrongly accused of murder seeks to evade capture and find the actual killer.
While it can certainly be argued that the right choice of actors can make virtually any suburban scenario sparkle or sustain a longstanding "will they/won't they" sexual tension, your job as a writer is to hook that cast from the get-go with the kind of roles and situations that could potentially position them for an Emmy.
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 How to Write a TV Pilot
Instructor: Christina Hamlett
Workshop Length: 4 Weeks
Price: $150
Start Date: February 6, 2012
Limit 10 Students
Course Description: This 4-week class provides an overview of the techniques and formatting requirements to develop an original TV series. The lectures and assignments cover character development, dialogue, genre, structure, pacing, budget, and marketability. All materials submitted are critiqued by a professional screenplay consultant and learners are free to ask as many questions as they'd like about how to turn a story idea into a commercial, pitch-ready script.
Visit the Classroom Page for a complete listing and what you'll be learning week by week. 
About the Instructor: Former actress/director Christina Hamlett is a professional script consultant and ghostwriter whose credits to date include 26 books (3 of which are on the craft of screenwriting), 141 plays, 5 optioned features, and hundreds of articles/interviews that appear in trade publications throughout the world. She is also the screenwriting editor of Writers Journal, and has conducted workshops on scripts and the performing arts for over 30 years. |
Upcoming Classes & Workshops
All the classes operate online--whether through email, website, chat room, or group listserv, depending on the instructor's preferences--so you do not need to be present at any particular time (unless a phone chat is scheduled and arranged with your instructor). You can work at your own pace in the comfort of your own home. If you have any questions, please reply to this email or email us at: classroom@wow-womenonwriting.com Enjoy!
Starts Every Friday (Self-Study Course):
Independent Publishing: How to Start Your Own Self-Publishing Business | $99 or $150 with 1 Hour Phone Consultation
February 1
Writing Character-Driven Fiction New! | 6 Weeks | $180 | Limit: 20 Students
February 6
How to Write a TV Pilot New! | 4 Weeks | $150 | Limit: 10 Students
How to Get the Right Agent for Your Manuscript | 4 Weeks | $299 | Limit: 10 Students
February 10
Blogging 101 | 5 Weeks | $125 | Limit: 20 Students
Get Paid to Write! Become a Freelance Writer | 8 Weeks | $150 | Limit: 15 Students
February 22
Writing a Middle-Grade Novel | 6 Weeks | $150 | Limit: 20 Students
February 27
Write from Your Soul: Memoir Workshop | 6 Weeks | $249 | Limit: 10 Students
DIY! How to Publish Your Book as an E-Book New! | 4 Weeks | $299 | Limit: 10 Students
March 5
Writing for Children: Short Stories, Articles, and Fillers | 7 Weeks | $175 (Sale! Regular price: $200) | Limit: 15 Students
Introduction to the Craft of Screenwriting | 6 Weeks | $150 | Limit: 10 Students
Introduction to Playwriting | 6 Weeks | $175 | Limit: 10 Students
March 20
Personal Essays for Beginners New! | 6 Weeks | $125 | Limit: 10 Students
March 21
Vampires Optional: Writing Young Adult Fiction New! | 6 Weeks | $180 | Limit: 10 Students
April 4
Advanced Class: Writing a Middle-Grade Novel 2 New! | 8 Weeks | $250 | Limit: 10 Students
April 13
Advanced Social Networking for Writers New! | 8 Weeks | $150 | Limit: 15 Students
Click here to see all of our upcoming workshops |
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