How To Write TV Spec Scripts

Writing a great speculative script might be just what you need to launch a career as a TV writer for a series. If you want to be able to write a brilliant TV spec script, this is what you need to do to get yourself started:

1. Choose a show for which to write. Pick a show which is popular, is currently airing and which doesn’t seem to be in any danger of getting cancelled soon. If you want to write for drama, “Grey’s Anatomy,” “House,” “Heroes,” and “Lost” are probably good choices, while “Two ands a Half Men,” “Entourage,” and “My Name is Earl” are good candidates for a comedy script. It is also a good idea to pick a show that you like, since you might have to make a lot of tiring revisions before you’re done, and you might as well be doing it for something you enjoy.
2. Watch all the episodes of your chosen series. This includes the new ones that come out each week. You can buy or rent DVDs, or check in a search engine like Google for web hosting sites which might provide you with links to online streaming or an information database about the show. A site like script-o-rama.com might be helpful if you want to check out scripts for previous episodes of a show, but see what else you can find in the web.
3. File all the relevant information in your brain. When you’ve finished watching the available episodes, you would have gotten at least a general idea of what the show feels like as a series, how the characters sound, and, to some extent, how these characters’ minds are supposed to work. This will give you a good measure of how you should make them act if you write them into a certain situation, and alert you if they’re acting terribly out of character. Additionally, if you’ve watched the whole series, you can avoid writing about a story idea that has already been done, or which sounds too much like another episode.
4. Think up an arresting storyline. Find out what you like about the series. If it’s the excitement, the brand of humor, the character relations, you have to come up with something that brings that into play. If you’re really serious about this, do not try to kill off a character, change the setting dramatically, or make the story about a Mary Sue. Write an outline and bits of dialogue that might have come to you while you’re thinking. Jot all these down or you might be sorry later on.
5. Get someone to read your outline. This has to be a person who knows the series and who you can trust to give you honest answers. You don’t need someone who will only flatter you. Ask their opinion afterwards. Does the story make sense? Do the characters act the way they imagine they would do so? Even if you’re inclined to disagree with them, listen to their criticism. Rethink the problematic parts and see if it helps resolve the story.
6. Write your script. An actual script would look different from what you might have found in the net, and some shows would require a specific format, so check up on that first.

When you’re writing out the actual script, you can make use of writing software from something like Unix, which provides stuff on web design and other programming software. Final Draft is one site that offers a screenwriting software program with templates for some of the existing shows.