BREAKING IN (and Staying In)

A New Ongoing Series Starting Soon

First things first, as of last night the WGA has a tentative deal with the studios. There are thousands of others talking about it so you don’t need my breakdown, but my specific perspective on it is this: OH F*#$ YEAH HOLY %#&*ING $@&#*%¥#€%$&@! Some of the most exciting projects of my career have been on hold and I can’t wait to get back to work.

I just wanna take a second to thank the Negotiating Committee, WGA leadership, the Lot Coordinators and Strike Captains, and especially the membership themselves for staying strong in the face of an incredibly tough fight. When we have each other’s backs, there’s no way to lose. Now let’s wait to see the proposed contract and continue supporting SAG-AFTRA while their strike continues.

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I going to try something a little different for my paid members: an ongoing series about breaking into the industry that is ALSO about staying in the industry (or even breaking into the next level).

This is something I’m obsessed with. Not just because I found a way into writing the kinds of stories I wished I could watch, but because once I got that first big break, I realized that it takes much much more to actually establish yourself and turn a single break into a sustainable career.

Breaking in (and staying in) combines my two favorite things: pure creative expression, and dry-as-hell career development. Yes, these things can co-exist. Actually, they have to if you want to build an ongoing creative practice in an industry where our top studios are now more focused on building smart phones and lying about their stock value than making movies and tv shows. It’s becoming more and more complicated to make screenwriting into a real career.

In the coming weeks I’ll build out the series piece by piece, diving into lots of big ideas and epiphanies that have come from my own experiences (and those of my friends and co-workers) as I’ve broken in and climbed the ladder in the era of digital and streaming.

That said, I’m not sharing hacks to get views or shortcuts that work today but will go away when TikTok is banned and everyone switches over to Huzzle or Brippy or NORK (these are all just as likely as whatever the next app name will be).

No hacks or cheats or shortcuts. I’m going to dig into the tools, practices, perspectives, and paths that work over and over again (and will continue to work over and over again, even when we’re all Norking it up on NORK).

This series is inspired by the final of 8 lectures in my pitch development course, which was built to help anyone develop a feature or tv series from concept to full pitch in 8 weeks, with the final class being all about breaking into and working in the industry.

I go into things in depth in that class, but I only had a couple hours to touch on EVERYTHING, so I think it would be fun to dive even deeper here (on a more relaxed schedule), and use the comments section after each post to either discuss more ideas or be inspired for new posts that touch on things that class didn’t have a chance to cover.

What to Expect in the Series:

• The three key aspects of screenwriting career development that continue to be true. We’ll call them the ‘Three P’s’ for short:

  • The Proof

  • The Personal Recommendations

  • The Pitch

• Under the banner of these three big ideas, we’ll dig into

  • Why our industry is built on Proof, not new ideas

  • How to build samples that prove you can do the job before you even apply for them

  • How to use this proof to get your foot in the door, even from outside of LA

  • Why Personal Recommendations are the connective tissue of our industry

  • Multiple ways to get an agent/manager/rep OR why you don’t necessarily need them right now

  • How to get people invested in you and your work through writing great one sheets, synopses, longlines, and even just simple emails (I’ll include some examples of my own)

  • Building both in-roads and out-roads to you and your work

  • How to build and use pitches to find work, meet new people, and get paid to write your next script

  • And so much more!

I’ll share some personal experiences and stories along the way, and we’ll all work towards building a better foundation for you to break into the industry as a new writer, or take that next big step in your career even after breaking in (something I’m constantly working on).

Some of these posts will be free, some will have some free previews with good info, but if you want to go on the full journey with me, then now is the time to become a paid member. You’ll be supporting my time put into this, funding the series, and most importantly giving yourself access to tools you can start using to build the screenwriting career you dream of.

I was that dreamer, and now I’m excited to share the things that have helped me the most while I continue to dream and work towards bigger and better projects, and a better industry overall for screenwriters and artists of all kinds.

Ready to join me?

But wait, if you can’t afford to subscribe, there’s a new Substack referral feature.

Refer 3 friends to paid memberships, you’ll get a month for free.

6 friends = 3 free months

And just for fun: 20 friends = a 1 hour zoom call with me where we can workshop any project/pitch you like, or talk personal career development for your own goals.

I’m excited to dive into this with you all. Thanks for being part of this, and feel free to leave a comment with any specific topics or questions you’d like to see answered in this series - I'll work hard to answer everything I can!

See you there!