Ever dreamed of writing a TV show but didn't know where to start? Now's the perfect time to pick up your pen (or keyboard) and dive in - no experience needed, just your imagination.
In a new series, screenwriter Ray Lawlor - creator of RTÉ's popular black comedy series Obituary - offers some tips for the budding TV writer...
Writing a TV pilot is the second most difficult task in screenwriting. You need to establish your world, introduce your characters, craft an episode for this week, and also expand the story to show the audience that this show has the potential to run indefinitely, so it’s worth investing their time. Unfortunately, pilot episodes can be the worst episode in the series. They’re clunky, have too much to do and can be riddled with exposition. That’s why when you read a great pilot, you know you are in the hands of a master.
As for the hardest thing to write as a screenwriter, well, that’s the outline for the entire show: those six episodes. Taking this enormous story that’s trapped in your head and transferring it onto the page can be daunting. The only advice I can give someone on how to make it easier is the same way one eats an elephant: one bite at a time. In this case, one scene at a time until you rub your eyes and realise that you’ve written the whole thing.
To put it into perspective, it took me a year to write each season of Obituary.
So, if writing one episode is a marathon, then writing a full season is a chess game. It begins with a beat sheet, spanning days or weeks, mapping out every twist and turning point. Then comes the outline: a roadmap linking your episodes while balancing mini-arcs within each story. Only afterwards do you write the scripts. On Obituary, a beat sheet might take a week, an outline a few more weeks, and each episode script three weeks.
If your gut whispers to you that something needs to be changed or cut, do it immediately.
Series writing demands balance. Each episode needs its own tension, but everything must feed into the season’s engine. A joke, a revelation, or a secret in episode one can pay off in episode six. With Season One, to my horror, I reached the last episode and discovered that I had over an hour’s worth of story to tell in 43 minutes. My inexperience was exposed, and it was something I promised would never happen again. Imagine my surprise when it happened all over again in Season Two. Still, Season Two of our show is a big step up. Because it has to be. Everything you write must be better than the last thing you wrote.
Writing an entire season is less about filling pages and more about orchestrating a world where characters breathe, choices have weight, and every episode propels the story forward. And you need to trust your instincts as a writer. If your gut whispers to you that something needs to be changed or cut, do it immediately. I don’t know why, but it always works.
These six articles only scratch the surface of what it takes to write two series of TV. But if they help even one budding writer out there, then I’ve done my job. The best advice I can give to any writer is not about writing, but about helping young, upcoming writers. The more of us there are, the stronger we become.
I hope you watch and enjoy Season Two of Obituary. Hundreds of people wore themselves thin making it, along with all the wonderful people in Donegal who were so generous with their country and time. Getting something made is tough, but it’s also a privilege, and all of us in this crazy business should never forget that.
Season 2 of Obituary is on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player - catch up with both seasons here
