Writing television sitcoms

Introduction

Part 1. Writing Premise-Driven Comedy

1. The Game Plan

Career Paths

Getting Started

2. First, Some Theory

The Mechanics of Laughter

Characteristics of Comedy

The importance of Tension

3. Putting Theory into Practice

Seamless Humor

Consistency

Comedy Output

The Traditional Approach to Sitcom Writing

4. Level One: Premise-Driven Comedy

A Different Approach: Comedy in the Story Premise

Predicaments

Character Mix

Style of Comedy

Casting

5. Level Two: Comedy in Sequences and Scenes

Compound Story Predicaments

Stir Up the Character Mix

Mix and Match

Three Things to Remember

6. Level Three: Comedy in Dialogue and Actions

Building Jokes

Setups

Punchlines

Funny Actions

Miscellaneous Comedy Tips

About All of These Labels

Finding Your Comedic Voice

Part 2. Writing a Professional Script

7. Doing Your Homework

Which Series to Pick

Researching the Series

Studying the Premise

8. Developing an Episode Premise

Advice from Our Producers

Dreaming Up Stories

Picking Your Best Ideas

Turning Ideas into Springboards

High-Concept Stories

9. Developing the Story

Creating a Beat Sheet

Story Structure: Linear vs. Thread

Story Threads vs. Subplots vs. Ensemble Stories

Stories Without Endings

Serialized Stories (Story Arcs)

Dramatic Structure vs. Broadcast Format

Story Tips

Comedy's Impact on Story

How the Production Process Affects Your Script

Nail the Story, the Rest is Easy

10. Creating Funny Characters

Remember the Mix

Character Arcs

Character Types

Visiting Characters

11. Writing An Outline

Writing to Sell, Not Educate

Building an Outline

How it Should Look on Paper

Stylistic Tips

Rewriting an Outline

Advice from Our Producers

12. Writing the First Draft

Just Do It

Writing Scenes

Harvesting Comedy Built into the Premise and Scene Levels

Professional Script Format

Writing Scene Descriptions

Writing Dialogue

Miscellaneous Tips

Planting Exposition

Advice from Our Producers

When That First Draft is Finished

13. Rewriting the Script

When Rewriting by Yourself

Advice from Our Producers

Once the Script is Finished

Part 3. A Battle Plan for Launching Your Career

14. Step One: Developing a Strategy

The Job Market

How the Writer Fits In

A Writer's Workweek

Writing is a Business

Ageism

Putting Food on the Table

Must You Live in Los Angeles?

15. Step Two: Landing an Agent and/Or Manager

Developing a Hit List

Before Picking Up the Phone

Prepare a Phone Spiel

Making the Call

Submitting Your Material

Testing the Waters if You Don't Live in LA.

Following Up on Submissions

If you Fail to Land Representation

You Get an Offer!

Signing the Contract

Once You've Signed with Someone

16. Step Three: Getting Your Work Out There

Scouting the Market

Hiring Windows

Working with Your Rep

Which Scripts to Send

Being Picky about Jobs

Cold-Calling Producers

Other Strategies for Reaching Producers

Keep Writing

Writing in Teams

Rejection

Dealing with Writer's Block

Protecting Your Work

Who Keeps the Copyright?

The Writers Guild of America

17. Step Four: Pitching for Assignments

The Call Comes In!

Preparing for the Pitch

The Pitch

Advice from Our Producers

What Might Happen

The Contract

The Money

18. Step Five: Landing a Staff Job

Becoming a Staff Writer

Office Politics

Roundtable Writing

Advice from Our Producers

Staff Job Contracts and Compensation

19. Step Six: Climbing the Ladder

The Care and Feeding of Reps

Taking a Development Deal

20. Creating A New Series

Creating a Series Format

Writing a Pilot Script

Selling a Pilot

Going in to Pitch

Producing a Homegrown Pilot

The Money

Time to Wrap Up!

Appendix A. Script Format Guidelines

Appendix B. Additional Resources

Endnotes

Index