Let's Write A Sitcom Pilot: Planning & Structure | R/L Monroe

NEW WRITER'S WORKBENCH BLOG UP FOR £5+ PATRONS

I really like writing competitions. Not because I have a stellar winning record (I don't) or because they're particularly lucrative (they're not) or even because they're easy to enter (it's a bit like applying for a job, except you pay a fee for the privilege). I like them because they are, essentially, sidequests. They're not the main thing I have to focus on, but if I have the time and the inclination they are a potential source of feedback, new connections, and maybe a bit of cash if I'm lucky. More importantly, they're fun, they give me experience, and sometimes they even unlock cool new skills.

As you may or may not know, I have some background writing for theatre and as an editor on a couple of hollywood screenplays. But I've never actually written for the screen myself. When a competition came up soliciting sitcom pilots from first-time TV writers, I thought fuck yes. Perfect opportunity to add a string to my bow. And since the point of this article series is to demonstrate how I work as I work, I figure why not share the process as I learn?

This month, I walk you through the first half of my process as I hastily create a sitcom pilot from the ground up! My goal with articles like these is to help you learn by seeing and doing instead of me rattling on about broad brush generalities. Writing is a hands-on craft!

New process article up for £5+ patrons: How to Write Fast

It doesn't matter what you're writing. If you write for a purpose beyond amusing yourself, you are going to run into deadlines. And if you try to write for a purpose and amuse yourself at the same time, you are probably also the kind of artist who waits until the last possible second to sneak up on their muse, black bag her, and bundle her into the trunk of a backfiring taxi. I get it, because I'm the same. Necessity is the mother of invention, and when you realise you can't wriggle out of making those two scenes connect or coming up with a satisfactory conclusion, you suddenly tap a kind of secret last-minute ingenuity that feels shit hot.

'Fast' and 'good' are not always at odds with each other. But.