how to start as a writer in Hollywood

unfiltered advice to a young pup, right out of college

A college student asked me how to become a TV comedy writer in Hollywood. Just looking for advice on where to begin, once he graduates.

Sweet kid. I want to help. He’s looking for practical advice. Jobs to apply for. Software to learn. People to meet.

Nice guy.

I WAS him just two short decades ago.

Here’s me. 25 years old. In the dressing room for a production of Richard III in Pasadena.

I was hustling, performing, writing, producing, double-finger-guns-ing?

Whatever I could do to break in. To begin.

Trying to be a writer, in any capacity, doesn’t happen on a linear route.

Especially in Hollywood. The only linear advice to get to Hollywood is to take Fountain Ave, amirite? (IYKYK)

I’m a guy re-inventing his writing life. I once sold a pilot to ABC, so I guess that puts me in the top 1% of writers in Hollywood (pats self on the back).

It’s not linear.

Here’s what I wrote to him:

How to be a comedy writer in Hollywood:

If you want to be in the LA comedy scene—especially in your early 20s—I would start by getting any job you can (to make enough money to live) and committing to showing up at all the live comedy places. They are temples that draw people just like you.

Take classes, go to shows, and befriend people there. Optimize everything to be at those places all the time, As many nights of the week as you can. Live there.

Get an apartment near there. Not the deep valley. Not Westlake. Not Malibu. Not Orange County. NoHo. Studio City. Koreatown. In the middle of it.

UCB, Groundlings, Second City, the Improv, and open mics (Jam in the Van and others) are all around town. I’ve been performing at The Moth, but that’s for erudite NPR listeners. That’s Scotch. You’re Pabst. The Moth ain’t for 23-year-olds. Plus, I don’t want you competing for my spots.

BE THERE with people your age and be working on projects. Have something you’re tinkering on. Ignore your phone. Be in the room.

Make friends, and join other people's shoots. Volunteer to help. Grab drinks. Meet up for coffee. Be one of the "class of 2024" people in those places. 

The more you're there, the more you'll be known, and you'll make friends and opportunities will find their way to you.

You can probably do ten other things to get PA/assistant jobs around town, but I'm not sure that's what you want. PAs aren’t funny. They’re tired.

You want to be a part of the community and put in the decade of work it takes to build relationships. That's the work.

Oh, and WRITE A LOT. Write specs and jokes and essays and all kinds of things. You can never write too much. Get used to working fast and fluid. On a deadline. In different styles. Read this piece from my friend (and speed writer) Jeremy Adams.

Read On Writing (Stephen King) and Bird by Bird (Anne Lamott). Read The War of Art (Pressfield) and The Creative Act (Rick Rubin). Take an online course. Take a UCLA extension course. Go where people are who also want this.

Track down and read as many screenplays as you can. Study them. Analyze them. How many pages? How many jokes per page? How many lines per character per episode? Do the math, then throw away the math. Copy them, steal from them.

When people learn that you write, they'll come to you to punch up things. You'll be surprised what writing opens up for you.

And tell EVERYONE your dream—you want to be showrunner. Don't say anything less. Tell everyone and don't worry if anyone naysays it.

Just keep going.

It will be hard.

Everything worth doing is.

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That’s the work. It’s true for me (not in my 20s), but different. Different times. Different eras. Different priorities. And that’s okay.

Thanks for following along.