Whats the best way to do this?

clandis88 said:

I have a good tv sitcom idea that i am about to get started writing.
How should i start?

Write the bible first? write a episode first? and do i write it as a 30 min or do i do a long one like 90min?

thanks

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Pick your poison.

In terms of what to do first, do whatever strikes you. Most sitcoms are half hour shows, so that's probably what you should script, certainly not 90 minutes. Doing your Bible first would probably aid you in writing a segment, you'll know your characters and situation more thoroughly.

You might check at the message board over at www.tvwriter.com and ask your question there, because that place is loaded with television scribes, from beginners to working pros ... and, if you're going to focus on writing for television, you'll probably want to spend some time at that site anyway.

Good luck!

You'll need to write the first episode, at least, to prove it's funny and you can write funny. Plus a brief synopsis of at least a half-dozen subsequent episodes that show more fun potential for the series.

You'll probably find links to this elsewhere, it's the proposal for Freaks & Geeks

-Derek
My Web Page - shameless vampyre fiction & other shameless writings.
How could you let this happen? I thought you kept the alcohol level in your blood too high to conceive?

I'd get your basic premise and characters down first. Then I'd think about storylines for maybe six episodes to make sure you have more than an idea and nothing else. It's easy to have a 'what if' idea but a lot harder to spin entertaining stories out of that premise.

After that I'd have a bash at the script.

English Dave said:

I'd get your basic premise and characters down first. Then I'd think about storylines for maybe six episodes to make sure you have more than an idea and nothing else. It's easy to have a 'what if' idea but a lot harder to spin entertaining stories out of that premise.

After that I'd have a bash at the script.

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Well said.

And what I've always done when facing a teleplay is simply use the spec script form and diddle with it to add a teaser and make sure there's some logical breakpoints at the commercial breaks. Most of the dedicated screenwriting programs also incorporate three-camera television formats.

This approach will serve for a spec. Producers don't expect a spec writer to hit their show's form on the head and for a new show idea, almost anything will do as long as it looks like a screen script.