A TV writer writes stories that will be seen by a viewing audience. Unlike novelists or poets, whose final product are words on a page, a television writer’s script is the beginning, rather than the end, of the creative process. Along the way, we collaborate with a myriad of talented professionals, including actors, directors, studio and network executives, line producers, cinematographers, editors, production designers, production staffers, set designers, wardrobe designers, hair and makeup artists, camera operators, and a variety of other experts in their fields to bring our stories to the screen. In a sense, we are like architects who develop a blueprint for the construction of a television show, but we also continue to modify that blueprint through the construction process as per input from the other experts that we work with. 

A TV writer knows the audience will be watching the story that is being written, so it’s important to follow the "show, don't tell" tenet of good writing. Long chunks of dialogue are fun to write, but where will the actors be and what will they be doing while they’re delivering that dialogue? If a television script is not both aurally and visually interesting, then it needs to be rewritten so that it is. 

As with many jobs in the entertainment industry, titles can be deceiving. An executive producer can be a writer on staff, an accomplished unit production manager, a star’s talent manager, or the showrunner - all with very different duties and responsibilities. On the other hand, staff writers, story editors, executive story editors, co-producers, producers, and supervising producers on a sitcom writing staff all perform very similar functions in pitching stories, fixes, and jokes, and generally supporting the vision of the showrunner. And the writers on a television sitcom staff all have a different daily routine than the writer who's writing a pilot in hopes of getting a job on a TV show while waiting tables or driving Uber to pay rent. We'll look at both.

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