Ep 4 - What it’s Like to Work in a TV Writer’s Room

The Creative Cut Up

Send us a Text Message.

Felicia Pride is an award winning (and working) TV and film writer, producer, and director. And one of her happy places is being in a writer’s room. Currently working on Bel-Air S3, with past rooms including Grey’s Anatomy and Queen Sugar, she shares what a healthy writer’s room looks like, her journey to getting staffed, and insight for aspiring TV writers looking to get hired in their first room.
Get our FREE minicourse Developing a Writing Process, Practice, and Schedule!
Join We Create Daily, powered by Patreon, our hub for bonus content, exclusives, discounts, and more resources to support your craft and career.
Follow us on Instagram.
A breakdown of our chat:
(00:04:39) Felicia’s first experience in a writer’s room with Queen Sugar
(00:07:18) Thoughts on comedy vs drama
(00:08:27) How Felicia learned her way around a writer’s room
(00:10:39) Co-writing episodes and the hierarchy of a writer’s room
(00:13:44) What it means to break an episode
(00:15:12) The process of writing and rewriting an episode
(00:16:34) What writers should expect working in a writer’s room
(00:18:57) The types of experiences that helped Felicia strengthen her storytelling skills
(00:20:33) Ways to land your next writer’s room job
(00:21:08) Understanding your job in the writer’s room
(00:22:33) Three takeaways to help aspiring writers land their first writers room job
(00:25:29) Know your superpowers
(00:26:35) Three things a writer must know how to do
(00:27:31) Our How We Create segment where Felicia, Dria, and Georgette share things inspiring them this week
HOW WE CREATE Recommendations
Felicia: Tanya Trotter’s (of The War and Treaty) Grammy nomination for Best New Artist at 50
Dria: Inspired by her mother’s second act
Georgette: Ryan Leslie “You Know My Speed”
LIKE WHAT YOU’VE HEARD?
Please rate, subscribe, review, and tell a friend. The reviews really help our podcast reach other storytellers like yourself and be more discoverable across platforms.
TAP IN
Sign up for The Opportunity Roundup, our free, signature newsletter.
Join We Create Daily, powered by Patreon, our hub for bonus content, exclusives, discounts, and more resources to support your craft and career.
If you need help getting back into your creative practice, grab your copy of The Creative Comeback Workbook & Journal.
And check out The Lab, our hub for courses and workshops.
PRODUCTION CREDITS
This podcast is a production of The Create Daily. It was produced by Georgette Pierre and executive produced by Felicia Pride. It was edited by Wize Grazette of the Indie Creative Network.
Our newsletter or show notes may contain affiliate links, so if you buy through them, we get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). We only recommend stuff we actually dig.*