Thread by @unikunka

So as Hollywood shuts down for 2018 I thought I would leave you guys with some advice for younger writers in the New Year.

The advice is a twist on the classic "always be writing" (which of course never changes). But in the past that always meant "write a feature spec". The last few years though there has been a sea change to writing TV pilots to try and break in to the business...

And obviously rules are never steadfast but from experience and the glut of Peak TV I'm more sure than ever when I say:

DO NOT WRITE A TV PILOT TO BREAK INTO THE BUSINESS IN 2019.

"But, Dan, everyone is doing TV!" Yes, which is why you don't want to be there. You're three years too late.

Even with Netflix and other streamers and the endless TV season there's just no more room. For every show you see on the air there's a hundred shows that didn't make it.

Which means the ideas are gone. They're out there already. They've been pitched or written and they've been pitched or written by writers with more experience.

I can't tell you how many times I've met with producers who tell me they have "A-list packages" on shows they couldn't sell. These are shows with big time writers at the helm.

Well what about staffing? Well what about it...

The downside of having so many TV shows on the air? That many more writers are now experienced television writers.

The competition is simply too fierce for a young writer to even think about breaking into TV with a pilot script or pitch.

And yes there will be exceptions blah blah blah but when I sit down to bet on the horse that is my career I don't shoot for the long odds.

So what's left?

The trusty, dependable feature spec.

Guys, feature specs are back. For the last five years all the ideas, all the talent have run to the flatscreen in your living room.

Will it be easy in the land of comic book tentpoles and branded IP? Absolutely 100% not. But there is a window...

Now you can't write stupid. You need a clean idea (the hard part), you need excellent execution (also the hard part) and you need to write to Hollywood wants.

That means 20-60M dollar genre movies. Thrillers, comedies, horror. Movies that can still get made at the right price. Is it high-concept? Fantastic. Does it have three great starring roles? Perfect.

It's probably harder than it's ever been to be a young working writer in Hollywood. This town will chew you up and spit you out and that's only if you're good enough to get in the door.

But if you're still gonna try? Try smarter. Take all those ideas and stay the hell away from television. "Write where they ain't" my pappy used to say.

And with that I bid you adieu.

Addendum -- for those that think writing a feature spec limits you to features -- one of the best ways to break into TV is to get hired off a feature. Remember there's a good chance the person running that TV show is a feature writer herself!