How to write a spec pilot in 10 (really hard) steps

I recently finished writing my first pilot.  Yay me!

How do you decide when a script is finished? For working TV writers, that's easy. Once there are no more scenes to shoot, there are no more changes to the script (except in the editing room, where they can do some dazzling story adjustments). For us speccers and wannabes, there's no finished. You might think every word in your script is perfect, but one really good note from someone you trust is enough to send that tumbling. You also might get the urge to change things around after you see new episodes of the show you specced, or after you learn more about the craft.

As tempting as it is to spend eternity making minute adjustments to your scripts, it's good to let them go, kinda like kids. That's why I enter competitions. It's not for the prize money or the glory (God knows there's little of that to go around). It's for that 'this script is done' feeling. It's a pretty arbitrary cut-off, but I like to think that that's my best work I'm sending off, therefore the script must be 'finished'. It also allows me to free my mind to concentrate completely on my next project.

Now that I have such vast experience in spec pilot writing (one=vast, didn't you know?) I am uniquely qualified to write posts on how to write a spec pilot. Okay, maybe not. But I am uniquely qualified to share my personal pain and joy with you, write about the mistakes I made and the things I learned, and hopefully we'll all get something out of it.

Being arbitrary yet again, I've chosen to discuss the process in 10 steps / posts. 10 steps which I have not yet decided upon. But when I do, watch out blog fans. Whew, it's gonna be so exciting!

10-Second Restaurant Reviews [in the Form of Silly Poems]

Elf Cafe

2135 Sunset Blvd, Echo Park (or is it Silver Lake? I never know)

Cramped and cozy 

cultivate a fondness for stranger's elbows

Always packed

patience your most precious gift

Best food ever

served by friendly green elves

No meat, no booze

it's all about chow

Who wants to go

right now?

An organized mind is a happy mind

Sometimes life just sort of squashes down on top of you and you're left lying there, all splayed out on the floor, a bit flatter than normal, contemplating the sheer weight of THINGS YOU HAVE TO DO.

Wash the dishes! Get the car tuned up! Go to your after-work sports team event! Write Act Three! Make a project plan for your new boss! Floss your teeth. Watch Eli Stone! Go to the store! Throw out the limp and rotting lettuce in the fridge. Get rid of the unintentionally blue cheese while you're in there. Back up your hard drive. Organize iTunes. Update your iPod. Delete the 75 episodes of Family Guy on your TiVo. (Isn't technology supposed to make life easier?)

So, you're lying there, resembling a pancake, or perhaps a crépe if you've got a really lot of things weighing you down. Then you think of one more thing you need to do.

Get organized.

Phew. That's the hardest one of all. I've been putting it off for months, but I plan to make a start first thing next week. And this time I mean it.

I'm going to make lists. And maybe even a schedule. I'm going to set aside actual time to organize my accounts for tax purposes. I'm going to sort out the cupboard, which seems to be spawning dried fruit, nuts, and various grains. Perhaps my cupboard is self-filling storage space and I never knew it. Limitless food. Like on Star Trek.

Hmmm, computer, I'd like a Black Eye shake from the 101 Coffee Shop please. (Apologies to people who can actually quote TNG properly. I haven't watched it for like 10 years.)

Now observe carefully, dear audience, as I magically tie all this into writing.

If you ever find that, inexplicably, you can't write. Or worse, you just don't feel like writing, then sit down and get organized. Push all that weight off your body and out of your brain. Seriously, it'll free up at least a gig of brain RAM so you can create.

Artery Cloggery
Ever eaten at the Elf Café on Sunset? No, I don't think you have. It's in Echo Park. You'd never notice it if you didn't know it was there. It's vegetarian. The best vegetarian food I have ever eaten. That's why I know it can't be good for you. But man, it's good!