"No need for me to ever write a book on TV writing. Alex Epstein has covered it all...along with a few things I wouldn't have thought of. Save yourself five years of rookie mistakes. Crafty TV Writing and talent are pretty much all you'll need to make it."
Ken Levine, M*A*S*H, Cheers, Frasier, The Simpsons
"Crafty TV Writing dishes out practical advice from an author who's
obviously been in the trenches. I wish he had written it 15 years ago. I could have retired by now."
Paul Mather, showrunner, Corner Gas
"No bull, no padding, no paradigms or diagrams, just an enormously entertaining account of the state of the art from first-hand experience, laid out with clarity and enthusiasm."
Stephen Gallagher, Dr. Who, creator Oktober, The Eleventh Hour
What Makes Great TV?
A Hook An “Attractive Fantasy”
Characters We Never Get Tired Of
A Place Where Stories Walk in the Door
Episodic vs. Serial Stories
Demographics and Networks
The Show Bible
Chapter 2: Great Episode Ideas
The Springboard
What Makes a Great Springboard
How to Come Up With Great Springboards
What Makes a Bad Story Idea
Mixing and Matching
Themed Shows
Chapter 3: Writing the Script
Act Outs
Breaking Story
Time Compression Weaving Stories Together — The Beat Sheet
No Handwaving Please
The Most Powerful Screenwriting Tool in the World
Mix It Up
The Rule of One
Tracking Expectations
Treatments
Going to Pages
Dialogue Action
Part Two: The Writer’s Toolkit
Chapter 4: Bad Writing and How to Fix It (Or At Least
Get Away With It)
Writing is Rewriting
When is Your Draft Done?
Contracts and Drafts
Taking Criticism
The Flavors of Bad Writing Pulling vs. Pushing
Geography
Suspension of Disbelief
Off Screen Story
Go-To’s
Point of View
Communicating Without Dialogue
Chapter 5: Bringing The Funny
Comedy is Harder Than Drama
What’s So Funny?
Great Comic Premises
Plausible Surprise
Funny Word Last
Commitment Juxtaposition
Confusion
Comedy Is In the Characters
Comedy Is In the Pauses, Too
Don’t Break the Frame
Joke on a Joke
Bric-à-Brac
Up and Back
Trivia
Underwriting Overwriting
Learning to be Funny
Part Three: Working in TV Land
Chapter 6: Preparing to be a TV Writer
Learning to Watch TV
Writing Partners
Film Schools and Classes
The Free Alternative Film School
Seminars and Workshops
DVDs
Awards and Competitions The Spec Script
Spec Pilots as Samples
Screenwriting Software
Chapter 7: Breaking In
Getting an Agent
Staffing Season
L.A., The Big Nipple
The Back Door
Other Back Doors
Chapter 8: Getting Hired
Getting Your First Paid Gig
Killer Story Pitches
Be Fun
Just Do It
Be Flexible But Passionate
Writing Your Freelance Script
Multiple Jobs
Chapter 9: Moving Up the Food Chain
Who Are All These People? Story Editors
Your Master’s Voice
Credit Where Credit Isn’t Due
Production Notes
Playing Nice With the Other Kids
How to Run a Writing Room
Surviving Getting Fired
Chapter 10: The Holy Grail: Creating Your Own Show
Spec Pilots for Real
Pitching Festivals: Any Use?
The Pilot Episode
Coming Up With a TV Show
Enjoying the Process
A Parting Word
Appendix: Resources
Where to Find Scripts
Writing Contests
Final Draft vs. Screenwriter: a more in depth comparison
Scale Payments Glossary
Sample Springboard, Breakdown, Beat Sheet and Pages