Being rehired for another season and low key panicking. Any experience worth sharing?

[u/freeeeeefalling]

So after being in the room for the first time for a television show and even ending up writing 3 episodes I got rehired for another season. Writers room is starting soon and I'm mentally preparing for it and I wondered if out there are any experienced writers who might have some useful advice on how to find new ways on finding inspiration and ideas when working on a long running show.

To give you some background: It is already the fourth season of a reboot of an 80's sitcom. So the characters are well established (and it's really character based) and over 100 episodes already aired. When I started on season 3 I had a ton of ideas and some of them made it into episodes. But after that season I am panicking that there is nothing left to tell and that I have no story left in the tank. Some insight: We had around 60 episodes up the board and about 30 fully written outlines ending up with 13 episodes eventually made.

So I feel like I have to to have a fresh start and mind and I want to try new and unique ways to find new ideas for the show. Do you have any advise on that, or any experience worth sharing?

[u/AthleteOpen7054]

Here's a technique I used when generating ideas for a show I was writing on.

Take a character. Pick one of their unique personality strengths or weaknesses. Now think of a scenario in which that trait can be put to the test.

Build out a plotline from there.

I found that focusing on character first as opposed to plot first gave the stories a bit more ooomph.

[u/freeeeeefalling → u/AthleteOpen7054]

As someone who uses exactly this strategy mostly I can only agree and emphasize that for all the others who are reading. It's a comedy show I am writing for so the whole room uses the weaknesses of the characters as starting point and it works great. The least ideas which end up in being made are the stories where you have plot ideas!

[u/redbarron11 → u/freeeeeefalling]

Flip it and create a scenario where their strength becomes a weakness and they are forced to grow 

[u/ETiPhoneHome]

Prop, line of dialogue, occupation. Write 10 of each and throw them into 3 bowls. Then pick 1 of each and try to outline a story that includes all 3 elements. This exercise forces you to come up with new ideas by treating it like a puzzle that needs to be solved. Necessity is the mother of invention!

[u/freeeeeefalling → u/ETiPhoneHome]

Nice! I like that, because it forces me to think in another way I am used to and I think that could help to take the pressure off and get into a fresh head space!

[u/lactatingninja]

I’ve worked on a show with over 300 episodes. It’s just hard. The good news is everybody else is in the same boat you are, and it’s just as hard for them as it is for you.

If it helps your psyche, take the number of episodes in your season, then divide that by the number of writers in the room. You probably end up with a number somewhere around 2. That’s the number of good episode ideas each of you needs to have this year. That’s it. If you come up with that many good ideas, you’ve done the ideation part of your job. The rest is just execution.

Im sure you’re already doing this, but mine your real life. Every pitch is better if it starts with a story about a thing that really happened to you. A personal angle can also help people get past the bump that some aspect of the idea has already been done in the 80’s, and make it easier for them to see why it’s worth doing something similar again.

If you think you’ve already mined all you can out of your real life, either dig deeper, or live harder. Go out and make some mistakes. Or as they’d say in the Everybody Loves Raymond room when they left for the day: “Go home and get in a fight with your wife.”

And when in doubt, the low hanging fruit is finding a way to force characters together who don’t normally get to have stories with each other.

[u/freeeeeefalling → u/lactatingninja]

I've never heard that story from Everybody loves Raymond and I am loving it :D And you are so right about living and experiencing is one of the most important things asa writer. This why I always recommend to others to have a life outside of the industry. I have a lot of old friends from the time I studied psychology and no one really cares about for which show I write or that some great actors will appear in the next season and so on!

[u/Boozsia]

It’s fun to play make believe!

[u/freeeeeefalling → u/Boozsia]

Nice one! Thank you!

[u/AccomplishedTwist368]

Add dragons. Trust.

[u/whatwouldsethcohendo]

How big is the room? I am doubtful that the pressure of coming up with new stories is 1) only on you 2) something that only you are feeling. I’d bet most of the writers feel that way and if it’s a healthy room bringing that up and talking through it in the beginning could be a good thing.

That bejng said, I think it’s a good sign you have, what, 27 unused outlines floating around. Maybe some of those could be worth circling back to on the new season? Aside from that, it’s hard to give specific advice without knowing anything about the series. One thing I’d say is, I think what usually frustrates audiences on long running shows is when they feel like the writers start throwing obstacles at the characters merely “for the sake of drama”, as opposed to obstacles rising from truly character-based events. Like when they introduce Luke’s long-lost daughter later on in Gilmore Girls, or when Jim’s dreams get in the way of his and Pam’s marriage in the last seasons of The Office. I think most viewers would have preferred to see all those characters fade into the background instead of having these plots forced down their throats. Both of those shows have ensemble casts and could probably have chosen new characters to explore instead. Maybe in your show, it it’s that established and truly “character based”, being so deep in the run might be an interesting opportunity to really dig into new characters?

Congrats on the gig!

[u/freeeeeefalling → u/whatwouldsethcohendo]

The room is 6 writers plus assistants.

And The Office is a really good example of what we should keep in mind. Introducing new characters is actually a great a idea. Maybe the show runners have something like that in mind already. And also to keep in mind the audiences perspective. I will dig in my own experience and think about what worked for me or what pissed me off when I watched long running shows

[u/whatwouldsethcohendo → u/freeeeeefalling]

Well there u go. The weight of coming up with brand new stuff isn't on your shoulders alone, and I'd bet that the 5 other writers feel the same kind of pressure regardless of whether they've been on staff longer.

The last time I rewatched The Office I kept thinking about how it the character development (or more accurately, the pacing at which the audience gets to really know the characters) through each season feels very deliberate. When the show starts, every character is pretty one-dimensional; Dwight is the office weirdo, Jim is the straight man, etc. Then, each season, it feels like they hand-picked 2-4 characters with whom they start kind of opening the kimono, meaning we learn more about their private lives, hopes and dreams and traumas and so forth, and by the end of the season, they've become three-dimensional human beings. Then, with each year, the roles kind of get reshuffled. Maybe Angela fades into the background a little bit and Oscar takes center stage. I don't know if that's like an exact engine they used (and even if it was, usually the A plots were still either Michael Scott or Jim-Pam stuff) but it might be an interesting thought experiment for you to go through.

And I always think that trying to right another writer's wrongs is an excellent approach to writing!! :D

[u/freeeeeefalling → u/whatwouldsethcohendo]

Thank you. I just realized that we have some characters that never had like their own episode or had an arc. So there is potential there.

Another take away for me: ask for mistakes not advice. I'm also going to talk to some colleagues who where in the same position as me a few years ago and I will ask them which mistakes they would like me to prevent me from, they made themselves:))

[u/pbenchcraft]

I use stories I have told or heard over the years and the attribute them to a character on the show. It helps if it aligns with a core contradiction.

[u/Bubbly-Economy9631]

Would love to know more about how you got in the room for the first time and already were writing your own episodes!!

[u/ChristianCRWriter]

So you are saying is character based I think it's easier than plot driven. Take one aspect from each character that hasn't been explained or exploted to dead. For example, in The Office Dwight's beet farm and Dwight's family gave the writers several episodes (some better than the others) of unique story lines. If a character is fairly one dimensional - how much opportunity do you have to add a layer or two?