Still plugging away on my pilot, so I’ll try to keep this brief. I was talking to a baby writer friend who wants to move from screenplays to TV and was shocked to discover she didn’t know about one of the best links on my blog:
[link removed...read below to find out why]
I remember years ago it used to be called something else..."googlepages tv writing" or something like that, and at the time I felt like no one had heard of it (recently, I’ve seen it posted on a bunch of other blogs and tracking boards). Still, I guess everyone hasn’t discovered it yet, so I thought I should feature it. As I said, the site offers TV scripts, specifically, tons of downloadable TV scripts from shows past and present (real scripts, not transcripts or recaps of episodes). The site also has show bibles and pitch materials which are also great for baby writers.
I mentioned Modern Family in my title because that’s the spec my friend (and many others) are writing, and you can currently download season 1 Modern Family scripts from the site. I know a few people who have written specs totally blind. They love a show, watch every episode, but never get their hands on any of the scripts. I think this is a bad idea. Reading actual scripts is key to writing a good spec (or creating a pilot for that matter). For specs specifically, I think reading the actual script of the show you are spec'ing is essential to writing something that nails the voice of the show AND looks pro/authentic.
So, my post today got me thinking about this particular post. I loved the site I originally linked to in this post (clearly), and I loved being able to steer other writers towards resources that would help them learn and become better writers, but I’m not going to link to it anymore (you probably found it yourself already by googling info on TV writing).
I originally felt alright linking to this site because not only had I seen other blogs link to it for the same purposes, but I had originally found the previous incarnation of the site via the WGA’s own website a few years back (they linked to it in a section about freelance scripts…although they now seem to have taken that link down, maybe they were asked to? I don’t know). While I think this site is an amazing resource for baby writers and while I don’t personally think the site is doing anything wrong per the fair use notice they have posted on the site, I’ve decided to take myself out of the equation.
But, not wanting to leave anyone empty handed, I will take the time to promote a couple other places you can find those scripts you seek (if you are in the LA area). One is the WGA Library. While you can’t check out/take home any of the scripts, it's open to everyone (not just WGA members). According to their online catalogue they have a bunch of Modern Families, not to mention scripts for some hot shows that site didn’t have (like Glee scripts). John August also recommended the Academy run Margaret Herrick Library once on his blog. I haven’t been there, but I imagine they have an impressive collection as well.
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