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06/26/2008: We Don't All Have ESP in Our Names


Today, I received some hot inside info on the Warner Bros Writing Workshop from Jack Gilbert, this blog's man on the inside. He wanted me to tell all of you that everyone there is looking forward to your submissions, and then he added a whole bunch of good news. Take it, Jack!

Under the first year of Chris Mack's leadership, an astonishing 7 of last year's 12 participants got staffed, by far the best result ever.

And we hope to do at least as well this time around. To that end, your gentle readers need to know that the deadline has been moved up to give us a little more time to plow through the stacks of submissions (almost 1,000 last year). So the packets need to be postmarked by July 25.

You can tell them that we'll spot great writing whatever series they submit with, and that they shouldn't worry if their specs have similar elements to aired episodes, or if their story choices turned out to be different than where the series eventually landed. We're just looking for the very best writers we can find.

Let's count the good news. First, that's a really amazing placement statistic. Second, although the adjusted deadline gives you less time, you've got some warning, and I have to say the total number of submissions is less than I'd thought -- they have almost as many participants as the ABC/Disney program and far less competition.

Finally, I love that they're going out of the way to clarify that their standard is writing quality, not clairvoyance. We all know how hard it is to aim a spec script at a moving target, and this program is letting you off the hook for errors of anticipation. I think that's an excellent policy.

So start polishing those scripts and aim really high -- it doesn't have to be as good as what's on television. It has to be better.

You can do it!

Lunch: a chopped antipasto salad. But the pepperoncini were left whole and stemmed. A flaw in an otherwise fine attempt.