mid year creative review 2010

the year is half over!

here were my top 3 goals for 2010:

1. get into a writing fellowship, or get representation (an agent or manager).
2. make a web series or short film.
3. write a pilot sitcom script.

1. get into a writing fellowship, or get representation.

the real goal is to be a professional writer, and i think the best way for me to break in would be a fellowship, or get an agent or manager who can get me work.

i finished the 30 rock spec i started at the end of last year, and applied to the nick fellowship with it. i didn’t feel that great about that script though, so for cbs, wb, nbc, and abc/disney programs, i submitted my himym spec.  while i wait and hope to hear back from one of them, i’ll finish my short and then work on another spec just in case i make to the next round for any of the fellowships and they ask to see another sample. plus it will be good practice regardless.

as much as i would love to get into one of the fellowships, i know the odds aren’t in my favor. while i’m waiting to hear back, i plan on sending queries to agents and managers. i’m sure the odds of anything coming from that are dismal, but i feel like i would at least be able to get a couple people to read my work.

another option to break into the industry would be to try to get a job as a writers’ room assistant. from what i understand, those jobs are coveted, and so usually you have to start out as a p.a. i don’t think that’s a realistic option for me. i have a good job in web design, and i think i’m too practical to leave it to be a p.a. hoping that will lead to a job as a writer’s room assistant, and then hoping that will lead to a staff writer job.

if i don’t get into any of the fellowships this year, i’ll definitely try again next year, but i’ll most likely shift my focus to features. i want to write a low budget script that i could direct. also, a feature script would be good to have in case i get any attention from my short film. that leads me to goal #2.

2. make a web series or short film.

in the beginning of the year, i was debating whether i should make a low budget web series or a spend a little more on a short film. then i found out i was one of the winners for the 2010 duke city shootout, so i’m making a short film! i have about 2 and 1/2 weeks before production starts. we shoot for 4 days, and edit for 3, with the screening on the last night. so on the evening of 7/31, i’ll have a finished short film, and goal 2 will be complete. i might try to make a web series as well later in the year, but that depends on when i finish goal #3.

3. write a pilot sitcom script.

i started outlining my pilot earlier this year, but then i started preproduction for my short, so the pilot script is on hold for now. i did a lot of the prep work for it though, so i’m hoping it won’t take too long to finish. i want to use the pilot to try to get the attention of agents and managers, which goes back to goal #1.  i’ve heard for a while that agents and managers want to read pilots, not specs, but i think writing the specs gave me good practice in writing for television.