Writing a Who done It

fjclaus · Mar 7, 2006

Going over a box of stuff from college I came across a 23 page story I wrote for a creative writing class. Notes from the teacher said that I have really grasped the concept of a Murder Mystery. She said with a bit of stage directions added, this could be a script for a Matlock TV special.

Is stage direction the only difference between a short story, and a TV Script? How would I go about submitting this to a TV show and having it turned into a script?

Mac H. · Mar 7, 2006

Is stage direction the only difference between a short story, and a TV Script?

Egad, no!

Just read some real TV scripts and compare them to short stories.

Try reading :

* A 'Girlfriends' sitcom script: www.televisionwriting.com/pdf/GirlfriendsScript1.pdf

* Some 'Lost' scripts : www.writerdirector.net/thehatch/scripts/

* Dead Zone: www.usanetwork.com/series/thedeadzone/theshow/episodeguide/episodes/s4_saved/saved.pdf

* A 'Silver Surfer' cartoon script: www.televisionwriting.com/pdf/SilverSurferScript1.pdf

The format changes a bit between series, but you can see it isn't simply a short story with stage directions. There are also story-beat changes - you can't have a slow bit just before a TV commercial, for example. (Yes, I'm aware that Gilmore Girls decided to break that convention, but we are talking generalities here..)

How would I go about submitting this to a TV show and having it turned into a script?

The over-simplified answer: You don't. Sorry. For more info, see: http://www.tvwriter.com/faq/faq.htm

Mac.
(PS: You've probably noticed that a new movie is being made with your name as the title: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0486583/

You'll have to put up with a lot of jokes when the movie finally comes out...)

Writing a Who done It

fjclaus

Mac H.

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