3 Easy (?) Things You Can Do To Get Better At Writing Sitcoms

Why Forrest Macneil Couldn’t Be a Psychopath (with Andy Daly)

How do you make a character likable when they’re doing terrible things? Just ask Andy Daly! Actor, comedian and writer Andy Daly (Review, Eastbound & Down, Silicon Valley) goes deep on the chaos of the Hollywood development process, and on his own comedy process. We dissect the origin story of Comedy Central’s Review, and the creative note from debate champion and director Jeff Blitz that saved Forrest Macneil from being a "psychopath." We also talk improv (we’ve done it together a few times), a failed pitch we did involving an autographed photo of O.J. Simpson, why Andy avoids traditional stand-up (but not completely), and why one might want a bound volume of one's unproduced scripts. Andy gives me a lot of great insights into writing comedy, creative integrity, and how to deal with fussy executive vice presidents named Dan Blithers. Support Andy: Check out his incredible work and subscriber content at https://www.google.com/search?q=https://patreon.com/andydaleypatreon.com/andydaly [http://patreon.com/andydaly] and follow him on Instagram @TVsAndyDaly. Subscribe to Punching Up so you never miss an episode, and feel free to leave me a 5-star review, just to goose the algorithm(which we should all be doing all the time).

The "Second Draft" of Life: Notes from the Universe and New Beginnings

Welcome to Season 2 of Punching Up with Sean Conroy! I'm Sean, and just so you know, this episode gets pretty intensely personal. I'm a TV writer and comedian, and because of some stuff that's gone in my real life recently I've decided to try treating my life like a script. I'm gonna be 60 in a little more than a year, and I'm trying to change some things, both physically and creatively. I even gave myself a deadline- writers love deadlines! (Listen and find out when mine is). Take a listen to why the "shitty first draft" is a writer’s secret weapon, the difference between pure data and moral failure, and why it is never too late to write your own second draft. 📝 WORK WITH ME THIS SUMMER:Want to finish your sitcom pilot by midsummer? Sign up for my upcoming 6-week Sitcom Pilot Writing Workshop starting late June. Space is strictly limited: https://www.seanconroy.com/classes

Decoding Your Sitcom Pilot's DNA: Shortcut To A Better Script

There's a lot of stuff I think about now when I'm starting to figure out how to write a TV pilot script that I would have liked to know when I started out, if somebody was like "hey here are some screenwriting tips for beginners." And writing that script doesn't mean developing a TV series, but it feels like that is something you have to have in the back of your mind when you start, or at least it's something that helps. What is the show gonna be like after the pilot? I was watching trailers for a couple of shows (Mad Men, Reservation Dogs, Deadwood, etc.) and it gave me an idea (honestly, a stroke of genius) for what some people might find a helpful writing exercise. Give it a shot and let me know what you think.

Creative Discipline: Why Showing Up is 90% of the Battle

I've been working on my creative process lately, struggling with overcoming perfectionism and writing consistency, and I feel like I'm kind of winning. A little. Discipline is to creatives as ice cream is to lactose intolerants, but these days I've somehow acquired (ulp) (at least temporarily) some creative discipline. WIth the help of my trusty yellow legal pad and my Sanford uni-Ball 207, and my knowledge of cursive writing, I'm getting some done. See if you can relate on this episode of Punching Up with Sean Conroy.

Writing 4 Pilots a Year: Ed Herro on Overcoming Creative Fear

In this episode I talk to Ed Herro, who wrote for (among other things) Jeff and Some Aliens and American Housewife. Most recently he co-created and co- ran The Sticky for Amazon Prime. In this showrunner interview, we get into a lot: the importance of sitcom pilot writing when you're starting and as you continue in writing for television, some great ideas on writers' room etiquette when you're starting out, and when you've been there a while, and lots of other fantastic gleaned-from-experience TV writing tips. Ed even gets into some thoughts on how to pitch a TV show. He recommends a couple of great books on writing, some of the classics like On Writing, and Save the Cat, and Bird by Bird. This one is a gold mine for aspiring writers (and me)z.