[How to: TV] Beginning the Process

So, I’m going to start outlining the first draft a process for creating a TV series. I expect there’ll be steps missing and lots of rhetorical questions. But this is also the most pro-active and forward thinking about this that I’ve been in a long time.

Feel free to ask questions at any stage.

Where do you start?

Let’s do the broad strokes first.

The Goal is to make money creating something you enjoy.

You do this by creating a world you’ll have fun writing in. One that you completely believe in and care about. Then you sell it - to a production company; to a network; to a funding agency.

In Tom Peter’s book, The Project50, he outlines the project life-cycle as being:
1) Create. 2) Sell. 3) Implement. That works for me – and it corresponds nicely to 1) Creating the show, 2) Preparing the show, 3) Producing the show. But also each of these phases will have their own create-sell-implement moments inside them.

Tomorrow: I’ll begin to outline the Creating the Show phase.

* Also, bear this quote in mind: "Know what the next three or four steps are. Set achievable milestones. Sell each incremental step. At each phase, bring people completed work (not just a concept)," from Peak Performers by Charles Garfield. I'm finding it very useful when it comes to thinking about how to tackle a project.