In my unrelenting quest to become an employed writer, I stumbled upon a competition that allowed unpolished writers to showcase their work, by writing for an established series selected from an acceptable list of shows. Ever seen the salivating emoji? That was me, after viewing the list to choose from. There were roughly 20 of them I have been very passionate about watching, and for which I had already come up with episode ideas. It was on. I only needed to make sure to choose wisely. I needed to garner someone’s — anyone’s attention. I needed to pick a show that would allow me to accentuate my creativity, in a manner that proved I deserved a spot in the ever-elusive “writer’s room.”
In less than a half-hour, I had made my choice. I had my story, characters and scenarios in place. I only needed to go back and study the show’s timing, check a few references and conduct other research to make sure everything lined up accordingly. I studied that show like an ambitious first-year medical student with a surgical eye for details. The last thing I wanted to do, was to present a submission with inconsistencies and continuity issues.
Ew, bleck! Right??
It goes without saying, that totally I went for it. I fearlessly tackled a show assignment that was completely out of my league. I had never written for a series in…