Writing A Television Series

By Author: Russell Foster
Total Articles: 39
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Special skills are required for writing a television series. A periodically reoccurring broadcast of a television program is known as a television series. A finite number of episodes of 12 - 26 episodes can be called a miniseries in the United States. People get addicted to watching series since they are each one incessant story told over several episodes, and they are eager to learn what comes in the next episode. A longer running season is preferred in the US. The duration of a single episode varies from one hour to half an hour, with breaks for commercials. Every fresh episode usually begins with 'previously on...," an introduction prior to the teaser of the following episode. The stories of the season are usually wholesome tales that families can watch together comfortably. Writing a series is an art that needs special form of handling and is not for everyone. A few of the tips to set you on the path of writing a television series are:
• Develop a central plot of the story, which you can elaborate upon later on. Write down the premise in a few sentences, which will serve as broad guidelines. Have clarity about the ...
... duration of each episode - 60 or 30 minutes.
• After having discussed with the network, ascertain over how many episodes the show is to run for and whether it is to be aired daily or weekly. Knowledge of the time of the day it will be broadcast will also help.
• Study the stipulated requirements of the network for which you are writing the television series. Ask for the format, style and general strategies your script should follow so the cast and crew face no difficulty during the actual shooting. Your script should offer a common platform of understanding among all who are involved in the production.
• Equipped with complete information, proceed to break up your intended story into individual episodes. Remember to make allowances for commercial breaks in between according to the rules of the network.
• While writing a television series, keep in mind that even though the story is aired in fragments, it should seem continuous. Each should have a beginning, middle and an end.
• Introduce the characters one by one to whet the interest of the viewers.
• Begin each episode with a teaser. End it with a cliffhanger so that the viewers are curious to know what will happen in the episode and turn on their TV sets when your show is to be aired.
• Ideally, there should be a cliffhanger just before the commercial break so that the viewers do not switch to other channels during.
Writing a television series can be an enjoyable project since you get feedback almost instantly about how well the audience likes it. Your task does not end with handing over the script to the network. You will be expected to perform an array of jobs involved with the production depending upon the norms of the network. A screenwriter for hire can help tremendously.

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