5 Tips For Writing A TV Pilot — Niceole R. Levy
Film Courage: How much of the world needs to be created in the [television] pilot?
Niceole R. Levy, Screenwriter/Author: That’s an interesting question. I would say it depends on the show. If you are writing a genre or a fantasy show I think you need to have a sense of what rules need to absolutely be clear in the pilot especially if it involves magic or it involves superpowers or anything like that, executives tend to get a little mystified by that stuff, so clear rules are very helpful to them. Even if you know that you’re going to build off that and expand on that, as you continue the writing process, if it becomes a show, what’s absolutely essential in the pilot that your audience knows. That’s part of your world building is in this if you’re writing a fantasy show let’s say that in this Kingdom there’s this kind of magic and in this Kingdom there’s this kind of magic and here’s what happens when that kind of magic bumps up against each other that might be all we need to know in the pilot but make sure that the rules of all that are very clear. If you’re writing more let’s say like a Grey’s…
