![]() ![]() Having a few in your writing portfolio will arm you with more opportunities to show the industry what you can do. ConclusionĪ TV spec script is a clean way to show - and build - your skills as a writer. Professionals need to know that you can let your voice and imagination shine through within the constraints of an existing world. Showrunners often want to read spec scripts to see if you’re able to capture the voice of a show - which is exactly what they would be hiring you to do for their show.Īgents and managers for TV writers may want them for the same reason. Read More: How to Get a Job Writing for TV Build a Strong Portfolio For experienced writers, a spec script is a clean opportunity to show your skills. For emerging writers, spec scripts are incredible stepping stones toward writing original pilots. The work of world-building and character creation has been done for you and you can concentrate on a story and replicate the distinct voice of each character. From there, you have the skeletal structure of a script and then you can replicate it with characters who already exist. When studying a script like that, you can track things like page numbers, act breaks, story escalation, and jokes per page, not to mention structure and formatting. If you read scripts of your favorite show, study their structure, and watch the corresponding episodes, you can learn so much about writing. Hone Your CraftĪ spec script is an excellent way to practice the art of screenwriting and it gives you so many opportunities to study and learn. Writers’ Workshop, the ViacomCBS Writers Mentoring Program, and the Nickelodeon Writing Program all required a spec script from an existing show. If you want to be hired in a writers room to punch up the comedy or add finesse the plot twists, this is a critical skill. The main thing a TV spec script can do is show whether a writer can capture the voice of an existing show. Read More: 10 Best TV Pilot Scripts on The Script Lab Certain Programs Require a TV Spec Script So, why would writers spend their time on a script they can’t sell? It’s very unlikely that you’ll write a spec script of your favorite show and then sell it to that show for production - in fact, most people associated with a show will not read spec scripts of that show for two reasons: first, they know their show in and out and will only notice your mistakes second, they don’t want any copyright issues if you happened to have written a plot device that they’re working on. ![]() “Spec script” is also often used when writing a script of an existing TV show you were in that show’s writers room - like my Buffy script - without the intention of selling it. If I write an original pilot with the hopes of selling it to CBS, I wrote that script on spec as opposed to pitching a pilot idea to CBS which they then hire me to write. Writers need to be very clear about their goals for the project before writing a new screenplay, whether they hope to sell it, submit it to a fellowship or contest, or use it as a writing sample to get representation.Īn original screenplay can accomplish any of those goals while a spec script of an existing TV show is more limited (for example, I sadly don’t own the rights to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, therefore I legally can’t sell or produce a Buffy script).īefore we begin, let’s clarify the term “ spec script.” Writing a screenplay on spec - or speculation - is writing any script that you have not been hired to write. ![]()
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