Summary
Learn the fundamentals of structuring your 30 minute tv pilot with a writer from HBO's Emmy nominated comedy series Silicon Valley!
If you want to work as a TV writer, you need a great writing sample, and these days, that comes in the form of a pilot script. Writing a pilot is hard, though, and writing a great pilot is even harder. One of the most common pitfalls is failing to write a compelling story that showcases your characters and world. But it’s that story that will get a reader to finish the script. It’s that story that can help you get a job. Figuring out the best version of your pilot story often comes down to structuring the script into an A, B and C story. This will allow you to introduce your characters, world, and plot points while still maintaining a pace and shape to the episode.
Writing a great pilot script is such a tricky balancing act, ESPECIALLY for a 30-minute show. In just 30 pages, you need to establish your world, your characters, and your ongoing stories without overloading the audience with exposition all while still injecting the episode with its own story and arc. That’s a lot of plates to spin, but if you can’t nail your pilot’s structure, your characters and world won’t reach their full potential.
How can you structure your own half hour pilot into an effective script with a clear A, B and C story? How can you find the balance and spin every plate so you can have a standout pilot script and writing sample that can get you the attention and opportunities you’re looking for?
Meghan Pleticha is television writer with over a decade of entertainment industry experience who has most recently worked as a staff writer on HBO’s Emmy Nominated comedy series SILICON VALLEY. Her work has also appeared on Cartoon Network’s POWER PLAYERS, and in Escala, AeroMéxico’s official in-flight magazine. Previous to being staffed on television shows, she worked as a writer’s assistant and script coordinator for shows like FX’s MARRIED, ABC’s CHARITY CASE, and VH1’s HIT THE FLOOR.
Over two sessions in this exclusive Stage 32 on-demand class, Meghan will dive deep into how to effectively structure a 30-minute TV pilot script, focusing on finding your pilot’s story and building it out with an A, B, and C story. In the first session, Meghan will dissect what makes a great A story for a pilot, discussing the goals you should have for this story as well as helpful strategies and secrets to bring it together. In the second session, Meghan will look deeper into B and C stories, how to integrate them into your A story, and how to use them to further define your series and world.
Meghan’s career as a writer as well as her experience teaching other aspiring creatives has given her powerful insight into television story structure, and she’s excited to bring what she’s learned to the Stage 32 community.
You will walk away from this course with a firm understanding of how you can effectively structure your 30-minute TV pilot so your script will get you noticed!
PLUS! You will receive the pilot scripts used as case studies:
- ARCHER pilot script
- GLOW pilot script
- SUPERSTORE pilot script
Praise For Meghan:
“Meghan is a wealth of knowledge and a fantastic teacher. She's truly an ally to all writers." -- Carol L.
"Megan taught me so much more than just structure of an episode of TV. I feel very well versed in the craft and business of television after working with her." -- Nick M.
What You'll Learn
Session 1: The A Story
- What is an A story?
- Context of steps – where are we in the writing process when you hammer out your A story?
- What you need for a great pilot and how the A story fits into that
- Your A story goal
- Whose goal is it?
- Series goal vs pilot story goal
- Why do you need a goal?
- What makes a good goal
- As seen on TV examples
- What to do if you’re stumped
- Ways to research
- Prompts for brainstorming
- Once you have a goal, what’s the story?
- Your active protagonist
- As seen on TV examples
- Characters as obstacles
- Your protagonist’s actions as obstacles
- Picking character actions
- Putting your protagonist’s actions in a 3 act structure
- Act breaks or no act breaks?
- Starting with conflict (aka inciting incident)
- Escalating conflict and basic 3 act structure
- If you’re using act breaks, what an act out looks like
- The importance of cause and effect
- A resolved ending vs unresolved characters
- Writing an outline
- Industry standards
- Why write an outline
- For next time: B & C stories
- Q&A with Meghan
Session 2: The B and C Stories
- What are B and C stories?
- Reminder of context: What is your A story?
- The difference between B and C stories
- What to do before you write your B and C stories
- Context of steps – where are we in the writing process when you hammer out your B and C stories?
- Defining what your show is about
- Establishing your characters
- Solidifying your A story (or not)
- Your B story
- How it compares to your A story
- How it supports your A story
- As seen on TV examples
- B story goals: what are they and how are they different from A story goals?
- Brainstorming B story actions
- Structuring your B story
- Integrating your B story with your A story
- Looking at your established structure
- Moving stuff around
- Combining scenes
- When to move on to your C story
- Your C story
- How substantial is your C story?
- What is a good use of your C story?
- Brainstorming C story beats
- As seen on TV examples
- Getting to a finished outline
- Integrating your C story with the A and B stories
- Using B and C stories to support the A story pacing
- What a finished outline looks like
- Where do you put the act breaks?
- Tying up loose ends
- What to do with characters that didn’t make it into your A, B or C stories
- How to know if it’s working
- What to do if it isn’t
- Next steps
- Going to draft
- Rewrites
- Q&A with Meghan
WHAT TO EXPECT:
- This class is designed for beginner and intermediate students looking to learn the fundamentals of piloting a project. This is an in-depth, practical, and detailed class with significantly more content than a standard 90-minute webinar.
- This class will consist of two sessions, each roughly two hours in duration.
- PLEASE NOTE: This exclusive Stage 32 class is now available to watch on-demand but we highly encourage you to do any assignments to get the most out of the educational experience.
Who Should Attend
All levels of filmmakers (advanced, intermediate and beginner) looking to develop original TV pilots can learn how to effectively structure and balance A, B, and C storylines.
All levels of showrunners (advanced, intermediate and beginner) looking to learn how to structure compelling pilot episodes with multiple storylines.
All levels of writers (advanced, intermediate and beginner) interested in learning the specific techniques for structuring 30-minute TV pilots would attend the class.
Producers who want to understand the key components of a well-structured 30-minute pilot.
Executive
Meghan Pleticha is television writer with ten years of entertainment industry experience who has most recently worked as a staff writer on HBO’s Emmy Nominated comedy series SILICON VALLEY. Her work has also appeared on Cartoon Network’s POWER PLAYERS, and in Escala, AeroMéxico’s official in-flight magazine. Previous to being staffed on television shows, she worked as a writer’s assistant and script coordinator for shows like FX’s MARRIED, ABC’s CHARITY CASE, and VH1’s HIT THE FLOOR. Meghan’s career as a writer as well as her experience teaching other aspiring creatives has given her powerful insight into television story structure, and she’s excited to bring what she’s learned to the Stage 32 community.
Testimonials
Praise For Meghan:
“Meghan is a wealth of knowledge and a fantastic teacher. She's truly an ally to all writers." -- Carol L.
"Megan taught me so much more than just structure of an episode of TV. I feel very well versed in the craft and business of television after working with her." -- Nick M.
Credits
