Screenwriting : Ask Me Anything (AMA) 10/3 to 10/4- Television Drama Writing by Cole Quirk

Hey Cole Quirk! First of all...love your bio! It's always interesting to me how we intend to go down one road only ending up on a totally different path but using those skills at our new destination. Thanks so much for doing this AMA. QUESTION: What's a day in the life of a TV writer like on staff? Thanks in advance!

What exactly was your job as the writer's production assistant in making "The 100"? Maybe it overlaps Leonardo's question, sorry. ( PS: Really enjoyed that tv series.)

Cole Quirk, thank you for making yourself available to the community today! What are the most common misconceptions that you come across about staff writing and/or working in a writer's room?

Thank you Cole for your time.

When preparing a pitch for a drama series, is having the pilot already written required? I've done so, but have received conflicting answers on whether I should have or not.

Hi, Cole, can you discuss assistant salaries? The past 4-5 months many tv assistants have publicly blasted tv shows for not paying overtime, lunch meals or demanding assistants to do three jobs.

Great to meet you, Cole Quirk. Thanks for having this AMA. What are the differences between a TV show logline and a pilot logline? I mainly write features and shorts, but I'm looking to learn more about TV show loglines and pilot loglines.

Hi Cole - thanks so much for being here for this AMA! My question has to do with networking as a writer. How valuable is networking as a writer who is trying to work in rooms and any tips on how to best go about that?

I'm also excited for your upcoming lab - so cool that you're going to work with members of the Stage 32 community to mentor them as they write their one-hour drama TV pilot script (gotta share a link here in case anyone is interested in checking it out: https://www.stage32.com/classes/Stage-32-Screenwriting-Lab-Write-Your-1-...)

Thanks!

Hello! Welcome. I have same question as Maurice about tv log lines. Thanks for being here!

Cole Quirk—what a cool name.

Hi Cole! Thanks for being here! Nice to meet you. My question is how do you think the community of writers can continue to help one another in the aftermath of the recent writer’s strike? Thanks in advance!

Thank you for doing this AMA- Since you have worked on crime shows like CSI- what is your strategy for catching the bad guy? Do you start with the end- how he is going to be caught and work your way backwards to planting the clues or do you start with the crime and work your way forward like?

Maurice Vaughan Maurice, make sure to check out Amanda's blog post. RB is interviewed and it's a wonderful interview.

Thanks, Anthony Murphy. I'm about to read the blog.

Question about exposition :-) When I am writing, I feel like I'm being too obvious if I provide a lot of background in the dialog/visuals of the first ten pages, but when I'm reading the work of others, I am grateful for of it and often want more. How do you feel about background that relates to the basic conflict and word building in the first 10 pages? As a reader I love it because it frees me to know where I stand and get into the characters and plot. As a writer, I resist giving it away.

@leonard when a writer is working on a TV show, these days it can be a Zoom room (virtual) or in person. Let's go with in person. Get in around 9:30/10AM, grab some tea/coffee and breakfast from the kitchenette, sit at the table (like a long conference room table) and talk about the episode, story, character, whatever the showrunner wants to accomplish that day. Lunch break around 12:30/1PM. Come back around 2-2:30PM for more work. On a good day you can end around 6PM-7PM but if you're up against a clock or you got notes from the Studio/Network that require some major rewriting, it can go through the night.

@rutger A writer's production assistant (Writer's PA) is a support staff position that is usually one of the first people in the office and the last to leave. I would get up early, go to the grocery store for any kitchen needs, get in to the office around 8:30AM, put groceries away, prep and start the coffee maker. If we were in production, print out call sheets and hang them up in certain areas. If new scripts came out during the night, print for those who wanted them and put them in their offices or on their desks. Make sure printer had paper and we were stocked on office supplies (if not place an order). If we were getting take out for lunch, get a menu and be ready to distribute that when the writers got in, making sure to place the order by 11AM. Pick up lunch around 12/12:30PM, have lunch with the writers and then run any random errands in the afternoon, like pick something up for the showrunner or drop off a package that needs to be mailed. End of the night clean and wipe down the kitchen and the writer's room table. The afternoons are much calmer than the mornings, so you can really take the time to work on your own writing, in the hopes that you'll have a good writing sample to share with the writers.

Ashley Renee Smith hmm tough question! Maybe that you're not guaranteed to write anything. The showrunner decides who writes what episodes and yes, writer is in your title, but it doesn't mean they will assign you an episode of that season to write. If you're not assigned an episode for whatever reason, your job is to support the other writers, pitch ideas and maybe do a little research into any questions the show might want to tackle.

David C. Velasco when you're pitching a show, the goal is for them to pay you to write the pilot, so if you're at the level of pitching (which usually means you have a few writing credits already) you typically don't have the pilot written. Also you'll get notes from the execs after they buy it, so if you have the pilot already written, it's going to change based on what they want. Writing it before then could help you visualize the story and craft the pitch, but you don't need it written. If you don't have any credits yet, you can write the pilot and use it as a writing sample and/or a sales tool that maybe someone reads the sample in the future and wants to buy it (more uncommon, but could happen).

Dan MaxXx for assistant salaries, each studio will set their own rates, unless the support staff position is part of a union like https://www.ialocal871.org/ (a union in Los Angeles that covers Writers' Assistants and Script Coordinators, giving them a minimum weekly salary base). Salaries can always be negotiated, but it is tough. Each support staff job requires a different skill set and demands, and therefore should not and can not be combined if a writers' room is going to function efficiently and successfully.

Interesting Cole Quirk - thanks so much! I love the collaboration aspect of it.

Hi Cole Quirk! Thanks so much for doing this AMA! Obviously when you're staffed a show you're trying to execute someone else's idea, even if it's a very collaborative environment. I would love to know any tips you have for how to match the showrunner's voice when you're penning your episode of a show. Does it depend on the room? Do you not worry about it and then just let the showrunner do a pass so it's consistent with their voice/style after the draft is basically done?

Maurice Vaughan The difference between a TV show logline and a pilot logline is simply a general/more broad statement (what is this person/these people trying to achieve throughout the show) versus a specific statement (what is this person trying to get in this episode), but they should always include three things: 1. Protagonist 2. Goal 3. Obstacle. Who is your main character, what do they want and why can't they get it?

Sam Sokolow it's so important to network! It really is about who you know and that's how you're most likely going to get your foot into the door of your first writers' room. That's where being in Los Angeles is very helpful, since you'll be able to meet people in the same industry. Grabbing coffee with another assistant, going to mixers, interning at networks/studios/production companies are all great ways to learn from those people doing what you want to do, and make an impression on them that hopefully encourages them to reach out to you when they hear of an opening and pass your resume along.

Olivia Drake since it's tough to always know who is hiring, the best way to support other writers is to spread the knowledge. If you hear of a job opening and you think someone you know would be great for it, tell them. Hear of a support staff opening and know someone who is looking to get into that role? Pass that info to them. Helping each other get hired, and subsequently promoted, and then to a position where they can hire people, is the best way to help writers succeed. Also offering to read and give notes on each other's scripts if you have the time, that is often helpful.

Cole Quirk, I think that's a great one! I'm sure that there are many people here who would be surprised to know that's the case.

Great, simple logline breakdown, Cole Quirk. Thanks for the answer!

Jill Godley I like to start with the big picture. I get my characters, what they want, and the obstacles in their way. If the story includes a crime, make sure I know both sides (what the investigator is doing, who the victim is, what the criminal did and why). Then I can have fun with the little clues, or what I prefer to be twists, and sprinkle them throughout. If you're watching a procedural TV show (like a CSI), they often have a much clearer formula on when to find the body, meet the bad guy...ect.

Meghan Reilly keep it simple, especially in the beginning. Resist the urge to have lots of set up and exposition (an old writing teacher would always use the phrase "save it for your novel."). Sometimes starting with an exterior shot to set the location with a sentence or two of description underneath is enough, then get right into the scene with your characters that can have a sentence or two description of their space and their appearance. Remember only describe what you can see, no backstory. Any important information needs to be verbalized or visualized so that an audience can be privy to it.

Emily J when you're staffed you want to make the showrunner's life as easy as possible, so matching the voice of the show is very important. If it's a preexisting show, watching the previous episodes helps, but what is going to really help you when you're writing the episode you are assigned are the room notes. The writers' assistant takes notes on the room conversations every day. When the showrunner speaks, comments that they like something, or throws out a pitch, it's often indicated in the notes. Look at the notes from the days that your episode was discussed, look at the things that not only the room liked and landed on, but what the showrunner liked and said, and try to incorporate as much of the showrunner's wants and likes from those discussions into the episode if it makes sense for where the story goes. The showrunner doesn't have time to do lots of rewriting on a script, so incorporating things they already like will often get your script in a good place.

Cole Quirk Thank you!! This is a great way to focus it.

Thanks a million, Cole Quirk, for sharing your expertise. I'm taking the suggestions you gave Emily J to heart.

Hi Cole Quirk, thanks for doing this AMA! Could you explain a bit about the different roles writers can have within a writer's room? Thank you.

Hi Cole Quirk! Thanks for doing this. I read your bio, and I have to ask about your play "I'm Jennifer Mother F*cking Lawrence" - I laughed outloud - I would love to know more.

Niki H it starts with level/seniority. All of the different terms you see in the credits (like Staff Writer, Story Editor, Executive Story Editor, Co-Producer, Producer, Co-Executive Producer, Executive Producer) when it comes to writers all mean the same thing - writer. The title just means they have more experience and a bigger paycheck. It also means that the more senior level of writer you are, the showrunner will lean on you for more heavy lifting when it comes to breaking story. For example if the showrunner is not in the office, a Co-EP could lead the discussion about an episode in their absence. If the room is ready to work on story beats and they prefer to use note cards on a board, a lower level writer like a staff writer could be the one to write the note cards out. Each room is so different that we look to the showrunner to see what they would prefer when it comes to duties. Overall everyone's role is to contribute to the story and pitching ideas.

Hi Cole Quirk - thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge! Your example questions are great, and I'd love to know your answers.

What makes a good logline for a pilot?

What does it mean to break a story?

Amanda Toney I'm glad you got a laugh! It was inspired by having to dispose of a spider in my room and, unable to go to sleep from adrenaline, I went down an arachnophobic internet rabbit hole and thought to myself - what would happen if I put these two very different personalities with the same fear in a room with that fear. Sometimes you have to write something just simply for fun. You can check out a video of the performance here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMWABcloZCk

Will Maurer breaking a story is when you figure out the different beats/moments. In an episode there is an A Story (the main story with your main character) and usually a B Story (side story with side characters), that each have a beginning, middle and end, and that often dovetail together. Loglines need to show some high stakes, whether emotional or physical stakes, so we can invest in that character's journey and want to see what happens. Keep that logline concise, one sentence if possible, and convince us we need to watch that show.

Hey, Cole Quirk! Thanks so much for doing this, and I am LOVING this thread! I'll also bite on one of the prompts, as I often talk about this in The Coverage Report (a weekly event we host in the Stage 32 Writer's Room) - and I want to hear your version! "Why is conflict so important to a scene?" #PREACH LOL!

Also, I love your origin story! I can relate, as I was raised in DC and was training to be in law enforcement before I transitioned into the film & TV industry. Luckily, I had enough active military and POs in my dojo to convince me to pursue something else LOL

Thanks, Cole, for sharing your experiences and encouraging other writers.

Karen "Kay" Ross Conflict moves the story forward and reveals the wants and needs of our characters. It's all about the subtext and asking the two most important questions: 1. What is this story about? 2. What is this story REALLY about? The first is the physical goal (save the world, find the criminal) and the second is the emotional goal (repair a broken relationship, profess love to someone). Be able to answer both before getting started and wrap up the physical goal before the emotional goal to end with heart (that's how/why we cry at the end of Pixar movies). Very cool to hear your story - A diverse background can make someone not only more interesting, but an asset to a writers' room that needs that expertise.

Hello Cole Quirk. If it's a tv series, Could a character have 2 goals ? Let's imagine a drama series, 2 of my characters have a heavy past, which will bring them together but could the goal be to resolve their past but could there be another goal because they will find each other and make this journey together. Sorry, I don't know if I'm clear enough in my question. Because in my character description, I have goal, internal conflict and external conflict. and forgive my English, it's not my mother tongue. Thank you so much for sharing all your experiences.

Zenais Glibert Yes, a physical goal and an emotional goal. There could also be an episode goal and a series goal. For example, each episode they could try to achieve something concrete/specific (must work together to solve the weekly crime), while also advancing the goal of reconciliation (by the end of the series there is forgiveness).

Working with the little info I have -- my humble take on this ?emotional? / ?physical? -- road movie -- tv series:

A's problem: resolve/deal (with) her/his past

B's problem: resolve/deal (with) her/his past

After them meeting:

A and B help each other to resolve 'their' pasts.

Not only do we feel " their (so recognisable) emotional bond (growing), we see how they help each other to slowly give their pain a place, enabling them to HEAL and get the CHARACTER GROWS; not in a forced, but in a NATURAL way. Whatever format: Cole's "Charlie's Angels" where both leads hate each other, because some sort of shared past; now brought together again by ironic faith -- having to wotk together to solve crimes each episode; or a "Leaving Las Vegas" sort of feel... And hey, why not, both to fight/solve a DRUGS and/or PROSTITUTION related CRIMES each episode.

In other words, it seems there is no "other" goal;

Thank you both for your answers. It's so great to have the possibility to connect with other screenwriter and have all your experiences to read. Thank you so much.

Thanks again for having this AMA, Cole Quirk.