ENGL 1811: Writing for Television

Abstract

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Each week, mostly on that other sunnier coast, writers gather and get paid to trade jokes (on sitcoms) and introduce exciting plot twists and tension (on one-hour dramas) all in the pursuit of bringing entertainment to our TV screens.¶ Each week, we’ll try and simulate that process in class. Students will learn about the craft of television writing through analysis of existing shows and by writing an episode of your own. As the script emerges from premise, to story beats, to a fully-realized episode, students will present the work in progress and will critique your fellow would be TV writers in class as you learn to defend your work.¶ COURSE OBJECTIVE: Because a serious career in Hollywood (or maybe even Long Island City?) means persistence, and the often painstaking process of writing several drafts and then several different spec (or speculative) scripts, students will also engage in that activity as their first steps toward writing for television. By the end of the course, students will get a taste for what the television writing process is all about, appreciate the examples of professional television writing presented in class, understand how to introduce your script to the powers-that-be and how to get them interested in it, and write an entire half-hour or one-hour script.