The choices you make about your POV (point of view) can help you craft the most compelling version of your narrative. Here's a breakdown of how to think about these choices, and some great shows to look to for examples.
Resources
For Screenwriters
Articles about screenwriting, story, networking, pitching, industry news, and the latest from the Script Anatomy community.
For the latest in Script Anatomy classes, workshops and events:
For the latest in Script Anatomy classes, workshops and events:
For the latest in Script Anatomy classes, workshops, consultations, panels and more:
Producing Your Own Episode, Part 3: Post
Part 3 of our essential series provides guidance on TV writer's role in the all-important post-production process. The author Ali Laventhol is a co-executive producer with writing credits on over 10 shows.
Producing Your Own Episode, Part 2: Production
Part 2 of our series provides essential pointers about how TV writers should "cover set" for their own episode of television. The author Ali Laventhol is a co-executive producer with writing credits on over 10 shows.
Producing Your Own Episode, Part I — PREP
Part 1 of 3 in a series about how to produce your own episode of television, an essential breakdown for screenwriters. Ali Laventhol is a co-executive producer with writing credits on over 10 shows.
What Showrunners Look For In Writers
Straight from the 2023 WGA Showrunners Training Program, Ali Laventhol gives 11 pointers on what Showrunners are looking for when they hire - in their own words!
Character Introductions That Make Us Care
Seven pointers on how to make the audience care about your character from the moment of introduction, by Ali Laventhol.
What is a Movie?
A distillation of what a movie is, in its simplest elements, by David Kessler, the writer of Minamata, starring Johnny Depp.
How To Recover From Rejection
Is there anything more difficult than constant criticism and rejection? What do you do when your best isn't good enough? We share tips from our instructors on how to quickly recover from rejection and get to success sooner.
Resources for Writing a New TV Script
September isn't just back-to-school time for the kids; it is also a great time to start getting back to work on the scripts for next year's fellowships and pitch meetings. Here are some resources for writing a new TV script.
Books on the Craft of Writing
A handful of Script Anatomy instructors choose their favorite writing craft books. and say why. For insight and inspiration, here's a list you can use.
Turn Your Personal Story into a Standout Script
There's a ring of authenticity that comes from infusing your own personal experiences into the writing. Here are five practical tips on how to do this effectively.
S.M.A.R.T. Goals for Writers
Want to overcome procrastination, increase your productivity and... get more writing done? Here's a way that works.
TV & Screenwriting Fellowships
A helpful list of TV and Screenwriting Fellowships complete with contacts, links and deadlines.
Advice from TV Writing Fellowship Winners
If you're looking to land a spot on a TV writing program, this frank Q&A with several alumni of those programs is going to be a great resource. Advice on writing, submissions, specs and pilots and tenacity!
IS A SCREENWRITING MFA WORTH IT?
MFA's are expensive, exclusionary, and increasingly coming under fire, while trade schools like Script Anatomy are democratizing the creative arts. We break down the pros and cons.
INDUSTRY TERMS FOR SCREENWRITERS
This glossary of screenwriting Industry terms will come in handy as you start meeting and socializing with other screenwriters.
FROM SCRIPT COORDINATOR TO STAFF WRITER
One of the ways to break into writing is to start as a Script Coordinator. Script Anatomy alum Danielle Bauman tells us how she did it, and became a Staff Writer on This Is Us.
The SCOOP on Screenwriting Contests
We enter screenwriting contests in the hope of getting the attention of managers, agents, producers. The validation doesn't hurt either. But not all contests are created equal…
THE BIG MOVE: Do you really have to move to LA?
Do You Really Have to Move to LA to have a career in Screenwriting? Well, thanks to COVID-19, maybe not so much anymore…
Virtual Insanity: How to Rock Your Online Meetings
Now that all your meetings are on Zoom - generals, staffing, and pitch meetings - we compiled a few helpful tips and pointers from working writers.
How To Prepare For Staffing Meetings
Staffing season, thanks to streamers and premium cable, happens all year round now, so writers always need to be ready for that critical staffing meeting.
Dynamic Character Relationships
Crafting characters whose dynamic relationship fuels conflict and drives story, is a surefire way to show your TV series has longevity.
Pilot Structure: Yes, It Matters
We asked our Twitter followers what they’d like to see on our blog. Their overwhelming responses was: A post on pilot structure. So here goes.
Notes—How to Give Them and Take Them
Television is a collaborative medium. And the job of a working writer is to give notes, take notes and above all, to take them well.
The Assistant Route To Staffing
One way to break into TV writing is to get an assistant job in the writer's room, the logic being that writers rooms promote from within. But it's not that simple.
Series Legs: Then and Now
One of the most dreaded notes writers get during the pitching and development process has to do with series legs.
Do My Samples Have To Match? A Fellowship Lament.
One of the most common freak-outs we see every year around Fellowship Season here at Script Anatomy is the freak-out about matching samples. We feel your pain!
What Should I Spec?
Choosing a spec is complicated, there are so many factors at play. We asked our faculty to weigh in.
Goal and Drive—How To Push Your Story Forward
Ever watch a pilot and think about the main character, "I like them, but I don’t really care about what happens to them?” It's a goal and drive issue.
NETWORKING NEXT STEPS: AFTER THE MIXER
You’ve been to a networking mixer or writing panel and made a connection with someone you want to work with someday. Now what?
An Interview With Script Anatomy’s Founder
Tawnya Bhattacharya is a co-executive producer, with a string of credits, a teacher and an entrepreneur.
Writers Groups: The Pros and Cons
Writing isn't a solitary business after all. Here's our guide to writers groups - how to find one, build one, and get the most out of it.
Crush Those Big Meetings
Your TV writing career rests partly on your ability to pitch in a room. But don’t fret, because we’ve put together a few tips to help you. If you've got a big meeting coming up, start here.
Write A Standout Spec Script
We asked 4 TV writers who’ve had spec script success, how they approached it. Featuring Charmaine DeGraté, Jeane Wong, Amy Lambert, and Jeremy Hsu.
Adapting a Book to Film & TV
These days it seems selling a feature or TV pilot can be more about finding good source material than about writing a good script. Writers are adapting everything from overseas TV formats to novels to comic books for the big and small screen.
Creating Original IP: Kit Steinkellner and Quince
The rules about what constitutes viable Intellectual Property are changing, and today, many writers creating their own. "Quince" is a case in point.
Why Now—A Question for the Pilot, the Series, and the Audience.
Why does your pilot start here, on this day in the character's life? And how does this story resonate with life today for the audience? Why Now is a critical question.
Your Screenwriting Brand
A clearly defined brand as a writer will help you gain traction in the industry. Here are some ways to excavate that question. What do you love to write, why, and how does your bio speak to that?
How To Sustain A Creative Life
It's not writers block, you're just fatigued, it happens. Here are nine tips from a working writer about how to sustain a creative life.
Write Inclusively Without Appropriating
How do we write inclusively without crossing the line into appropriation? Here are some ways to look at it…
Finding the RIGHT Representation for You
It’s February, and for baby writers, a far more important search than a Valentine has begun: the process of finding the right agent or manager… the right agent or manager can turn your career from night to day — but the wrong one can make your future look bleak,
TV Fellowship Season: The Great Spec Script Debate
Ah, spec scripts. The bane of every baby writer’s existence. Come January, if you’re not staffed, you’re probably thinking — and maybe groaning inwardly — about applying to network fellowships again. And as everyone knows, the road to fellowships starts with a strong spec script…
New Year’s Writing Resolutions
As you’re kicking off 2018 with blank notebooks, blank pages, bright ideas, and important goals, we wanted to offer some suggestions for some writing resolutions that have worked for our writers in the past…