Everybody asks, "What does the book cover?" So . . .Greetings, fellow earthlings!
Thank you for helping to make WRITING TELEVISION SITCOMS such a success. Look, I was going to blabber about myself for 30 or 40 pages but, in truth, everbody's biggest question always seems to be, "What does the book cover?" Well, everything, it covers everything, naturally. But just to be a little more specific--and to save you from that 30 or 40 pages--here is the book's TOC:
CONTENTS
PART ONE: WRITING PREMISE-DRIVEN COMEDY
CHAPTER 1: THE GAME PLAN: CAREER PATHS.... GETTING STARTED
CHAPTER 2: FIRST, SOME THEORY: THE MECHANICS OF LAUGHTER... CHARACTERISTICS OF COMEDY... THE IMPORTANCE OF TENSION
CHAPTER 3: PUTTING THEORY INTO PRACTICE: SEAMLESS HUMOR.... CONSISTENCY.... COMEDY OUTPUT.... THE TRADITIONAL APPROACH TO SITCOM WRITING.... A DIFFERENT APPROACH – PREMISE-DRIVEN COMEDY
CHAPTER 4: LEVEL ONE – COMEDY IN THE STORY PREMISE: PREDICAMENTS.... CHARACTER MIX.... STYLE OF COMEDY.... CASTING
CHAPTER 5: LEVEL TWO – COMEDY IN SEQUENCES AND SCENES: COMPOUND STORY PREDICAMENTS.... STIR UP THE CHARACTER MIX.... MIX AND MATCH.... THREE THINGS TO REMEMBER
CHAPTER 6: LEVEL THREE – COMEDY IN DIALOGUE AND ACTIONS: BUILDING JOKES.... SETUPS.... PUNCH LINES.... FUNNY ACTIONS.... MISCELLANEOUS COMEDY TIPS.... ABOUT ALL OF THESE LABELS.... DEVELOPING YOUR COMEDIC VOICE
PART TWO: WRITING A PROFESSIONAL SCRIPT
CHAPTER 7: DOING YOUR HOMEWORK: WHY WRITE SPEC SCRIPTS....
WHICH SERIES TO PICK.... RESEARCHING THE SERIES.... STUDYING THE PREMISE
CHAPTER 8: DEVELOPING AN EPISODE PREMISE: ADVICE FROM OUR PRODUCERS.... DREAMING UP STORIES.... TURNING IDEAS INTO SPRINGBOARDS
CHAPTER 9: DEVELOPING THE STORY: THE IMPORTANCE OF STORY.... CREATING A BEAT SHEET.... STORY STRUCTURE – LINEAR VS. THREAD.... STORY THREADS VS. SUBPLOTS VS. ENSEMBLE STORIES.... STORIES WITHOUT ENDINGS, AND SERIALIZED STORIES.... CHARACTER ARCS.... STORY TIPS.... COMEDY’S IMPACT ON STORY.... DRAMATIC STRUCTURE VS. BROADCAST FORMAT.... CREATING FUNNY CHARACTERS.... REMEMBER THE MIX.... CHARACTER TYPES.... VISITING CHARACTERS.... HOW THE PRODUCTION PROCESS AFFECTS YOUR SCRIPT.... NAIL THE STORY, THE REST IS EASY
CHAPTER 10: WRITING AN OUTLINE: WRITING TO SELL, NOT EDUCATE.... BUILDING AN OUTLINE.... HOW IT SHOULD LOOK ON PAPER.... STYLISTIC TIPS.... REWRITING AN OUTLINE.... ADVICE FROM OUR PRODUCERS.... A SAMPLE OUTLINE FROM "HOME IMPROVEMENT"
CHAPTER 11: WRITING THE FIRST DRAFT: JUST DO IT.... WRITING SCENES.... HARVESTING COMEDY BUILT INTO THE PREMISE AND SCENE LEVELS.... PROFESSIONAL SCRIPT FORMAT.... WRITING SCENE DESCRIPTIONS.... WRITING DIALOGUE.... MISCELLANEOUS TIPS.... PLANTING EXPOSITION.... ADVICE FROM OUR PRODUCERS.... WHEN THAT FIRST DRAFT IS FINISHED.... REWRITING THE SCRIPT.... WHEN REWRITING BY YOURSELF.... ADVICE FROM OUR PRODUCERS.... ONCE THE SCRIPT IS FINISHED
PART THREE: A BATTLE PLAN FOR LAUNCHING YOUR CAREER
CHAPTER 12: STEP ONE – DEVELOPING A STRATEGY: THE JOB MARKET – IT'S NOT 1995 ANYMORE.... HOW THE WRITER FITS IN.... A WRITER'S WORK WEEK.... WRITING IS A BUSINESS.... AGEISM.... PUTTING FOOD ON THE TABLE.... MUST YOU LIVE IN LOS ANGELES?
CHAPTER 13: STEP TWO – LANDING AN AGENT: DO YOU HAVE TO HAVE AN AGENT?.... DEVELOPING AN AGENT HIT LIST.... BEFORE PICKING UP THE PHONE.... MAKING THE CALL.... SUBMITTING YOUR MATERIAL.... TESTING THE WATERS IF YOU DON’T LIVE IN L.A.... FOLLOWING UP.... IF YOU FAIL TO LAND AN AGENT.... YOU GET AN OFFER!.... SIGNING THE CONTRACT.... ONCE YOU HAVE THE AGENT
CHAPTER 14: STEP THREE – GETTING YOUR WORK OUT THERE: SCOUTING THE MARKET.... HIRING WINDOWS.... WORKING WITH YOUR AGENT.... WHICH SCRIPTS TO SEND.... BEING PICKY ABOUT JOBS.... COLD-CALLING PRODUCERS.... KEEP WRITING.... WRITING IN TEAMS.... REJECTION.... DEALING WITH WRITER’S BLOCK.... PROTECTING YOUR WORK.... WHO KEEPS THE COPYRIGHT?.... JOINING THE WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA
CHAPTER 15: STEP FOUR – PITCHING FOR ASSIGNMENTS: THE CALL COMES IN!.... PREPARING FOR THE PITCH.... THE PITCH.... ADVICE FROM OUR PRODUCERS.... WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN.... THE CONTRACT.... THE MONEY
CHAPTER 16: STEP FIVE - LANDING A STAFF JOB: LANDING A STAFF WRITING JOB.... OFFICE POLITICS.... ROUNDTABLE WRITING.... ADVICE FROM OUR PRODUCERS.... CONTRACTS AND COMPENSATION
CHAPTER 17: STEP SIX – CLIMBING THE LADDER: MOVING UP.... THE CARE AND FEEDING OF AGENTS.... TAKING A DEVELOPMENT DEAL.... HOW DO YOU SELL A NEW SERIES?
IN CLOSING
APPENDIX A: SCRIPT FORMAT GUIDELINES (FOR FILM, TAPE, AND ANIMATION)
APPENDIX B: ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
NOTES
INDEX
There! See? I said "everything."
Thanks for coming, and good luck with your writing,
Evan Smith
