nickelodeon writing fellowship – month 11

UNCERTAINTY
i’m a planner by nature, and having nothing lined up as the fellowship comes to an end has been very stressful. some days were ok. other days, i couldn’t sleep, lost my appetite, and couldn’t focus. but then i realized that all this uncertainty is something i better get used to, because i can be certain my life will have more it in the future.

even if i got staffed on a show at nick during the fellowship, the network might not renew the show for another season. or if i had an agent, that wouldn’t mean i’d get staffed during staffing season. if i was staffed, seasons ends. shows get cancelled. that’s what it is to work as a writer. it’s just part of the job.

if you can’t deal with instability and uncertainty, give up now and save yourself the stress. go become an accountant or something. with less than 2 weeks left to go, i’m not that stressed anymore. i’ve accepted it, i know i’m going to keep writing, and that’s all that matters.

seriously though, stress is bad. watch this documentary. i think they have it streaming on netflix.

AGENTS
we didn’t have agent meetings yet. i think karen is busy picking next year’s batch of fellows, but she said she’ll set up meetings for us even if it’s after the fellowship ends.

OPPORTUNITY
karen told me there was a script coordinator position available on robot & monster, and also possibly on the upcoming show monsters vs aliens, and asked if i was interested. a script coordinator at nickelodeon is basically the same thing as a writers’ assistant elsewhere. they sit in the room, take notes, coordinate schedules, etc.

pros:

• it’s a job, vs unemployment.
• i’d get to sit in the room and observe the writers as they break stories, pitch jokes, rewrite, go to record sessions, etc.
• there’s a good chance of being promoted to writer at some point, especially at nick.
• even greater chance of writing freelance scripts for the show.
• i’d get to stay at nick and continue building relationships.

cons:

• it might take years before i’m promoted to a writer, if at all. there are no guarantees.
• it’s a time consuming job. i’d have very little time and energy to write. if you saw my post on john august’s blog, i’m not afraid of turning down jobs if i think they’ll interfere with my writing.
• it’s a writing related job, but it’s not a writing job.

i decided not to pursue it.  if i never got into the fellowship, i’d probably take it. if it was a writers’ assistant job on a big network sitcom, i’d be more likely to take it. but right now, i went through this fellowship, and i have faith in my specs and pilot. i’d rather take my chances with landing an agent and trying to get staffed as a writer.

yes, i could have tried to get the script coordinator job, and then later if i got an agent and got staffed during staffing season, i could quit, but in between that time, i wouldn’t have time to write. that’s the main reason why i turned it down. i want to write another pilot and make some short films.

KORRA
i’m going to sit in on writers’ room on korra for the last 2 weeks. korra is a spinoff from avatar:the last airbender. it’s an interesting show and is very different from all the other shows at nickelodeon. it’s more action than comedy, it’s very serialized, it’s 22 min instead of 11 min, and the storytelling is complex. it’s definitely not spongebob. i’m really looking forward to joining them and observing the room!