I've been thinking about this today because I saw a post over on Reddit about how someone enjoys writing entire TV series scripts completely rather than just the pilot episode and everyone piled on saying he should know better and blah blah.
One of my longest running jokes in the industry is how what I do is frowned upon because I always write web series scripts or TV series scripts spanning multiple episodes and seasons long. I know, you're only supposed to write the pilot.
But hear me out, I think for newer writers there's so much to be gained from writing a whole series out. If there was ever a way to teach someone disciple and about the industry it is doing that exact thing.
If someone is newer to writing and has never seen any real success, what better way for them to understand what goes in to writing an entire show than by just writing one out. They will learn for themselves how long each scene should be or how to keep the pacing on point! They even learn how to keep the stories making sense. If they're writing episode 2 and start thinking to themselves "wait, a minute. this main character wouldn't act this way because in the first episode he's much more shy and not as outspoken". They learn how to write a script so it can function and serve a purpose for the rest of the show.
If someone is only writing pilot scripts. Sure, maybe it will get them to quarter or even semi finals in a competition but what are they really learning? They're gonna write a one-off script that has no potential and they're gonna just write it hoping someone will pay them and figure it out for them.
If they have the knowledge of "I want to write my characters this way and I want the story to go this way so it can last multiple seasons" that will make their future pilot scripts so much stronger!
So the debate of writing every episode of a show being taboo is just wrong. I would give the advice to stick to pilots to the more professional writers who have years of experience under their belt and know how to write a strong pilot
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I'd only write the pilot of a series if I'm gonna pitch the show, Ryu Reeves, but I'd write a full series to understand what goes into writing an entire show and get better at writing episodes.
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Maurice Vaughan Yea, exactly! I would write a pilot if I'm actually gonna pitch the show and do it the professional way. But I think someone is just writing for fun and wants to jump right into the shark tank I think writing a whole series is great! Obviously, you're not gonna want to pitch the entire thing but I feel like by that point they'll have learned more about how the industry works
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I think if you have a great concept, there's nothing wrong with writing the first season since shows don't need a 22-24 episode season anymore. If it's a 1/2 hour show, you can knock that out in 4 months if you push yourself, You only have to push the pilot to sell it. It's all about time and motivation. If you have the goods, it won't hurt you you to write it. If you have to deal with a writer's room, you might hear some good stuff to add to it, but you don't have to add anything either. It's all about entertaining an audience.
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I've got my pilot out there and have had several requests to read it, but no takers after that. Because this idea became my passion project I've kept writing not just scripts but the plot lines, look book, tech book and series bible for the entire series. I mention in the pitch that I have more than just an idea ready for them if they want. Not one producer has ever passed on the project on the grounds that "there's just to much there."
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Reddit. Eewww.
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That’s an amazing advice Ryu Reeves before my screenplay, I wrote a pilot for the same story, but because I wanted to write the all story, I changed for a feature, but now I have two version, Pilot and Feature:))