Pilots or Specs?

Since I touched on this last Friday, I figured I’d do an actual post on it.  What should you write...pilots or specs?  I think the answer is…BOTH! but I get that’s kind of a cop out so I’ll elaborate by saying specs THEN pilots.

I guess specs are becoming kind of worthless to pro TV writers, but they still have a lot of value to baby TV writers.  For starters, writing specs is a great way to learn and get your feet wet.  More importantly, specs are still used for all the major TV writing fellowships and programs (i.e. many of the programs listed under the "CONTESTS AND STUFF" section on the right, that you should be entering).  So, if you want to be a TV writer I would suggest starting out with a spec, better yet 2 specs before you write a pilot…in fact don’t bother entering ANY of the major TV writing program/contests if you haven’t written AT LEAST 2 specs, because if you make it far enough, you WILL have to give a 2^nd sample (as I’ve mentioned a few times, I was once a finalist for one of these programs, and after I made the 1^st cut, I had to give a 2^nd sample).  Once you have at least 2 specs you’re really proud of, I think you can write a pilot, and your pilot will be better for waiting and learning.  

My only other piece of advice to fellow baby TV writers plugging away on specs would be to try to streamline yourself and think about who you are as a writer when you pick the shows you want to spec.  Pick shows you like and shows with a similar tone/genre to the pilot(s) you want to write and remember that most TV fellowships/programs are divided along the lines of 1/2 hour = comedy and 1 hour = drama…this isn’t the Golden Globes, a show like Glee is always considered a drama because it’s an hour long, so don’t write a Glee thinking it’s a great comedy sample…better yet, don’t write a Glee at all.  Moreover, while I think it’s fine to show range and variety with your samples, don’t go all over the place.  If you want to write drama, stick to 1 hour samples, if you want to write comedy, stick to 1/2 hour samples and don’t write a Mad Men then a Hellcats…or a The Walking Dead then a Gossip Girl…or a Fringe then a Desperate Housewives.  I know everyone has varied tastes and you might love all these shows, but that’s way too many niches and genres and I don’t think a reader for one of the programs would know what kind of writer you were if any of those combos were your 2 samples.

Finally, if you haven’t yet, you should read every single post about specs on Jane Espenson’s blog (link under the "YOU MUST READ" section on the right…seriously, don’t write a word until you’ve done that).

Learn the basics before composing your original masterpiece.

  by  jeanpierrelavoie