SCAD’s seventh annual aTVfest hosted Karen Kirkland, vice president of talent development and outreach at Nickelodeon, for a special workshop, “Navigating the World of Television Writing,” targeted to students who want to write specifically for television. Kirkland, who has over 26 years of experience navigating the entertainment industry, offered advice and tips for aspiring television writers who want to take the initial steps toward a successful writing career.
“For those of you who want to write for television who only have one spec in your portfolio, what’s the reason you don’t have another spec?” Kirkland asked.
“For those of you who struggle with focus, I’d like you to forget the goal of finishing a draft or finishing a pilot or finishing the spec, and I’d like you to commit to the process of doing the work,” Kirkland said. “Michael Jordan never showed up for practice as if it were practice. He showed up as if he was playing THE game. Whether you are staffed on a show right now or not, if that is your end goal, whatever your end goal is, it doesn’t matter. What matters is are you doing the work? Are you showing up for yourself every single day in the way that you need to show up, one-hundred percent?”
Throughout the duration of the interactive workshop, Kirkland frequently challenged those in attendance to apply the mentality of “showing up for themselves” and focusing on improving their process of writing through creating an efficient schedule and atmosphere.
“You forget the goal of making the major motion picture,” Kirkland emphasized. “You commit to the daily, weekly, hourly process of taking the steps to make that happen, and so when I ask that question, ‘Who’s showing up for themselves every single day?’ a lot of people don’t raise their hands. So what process, what systems do you have in place that’s going to get you where you need to go? What environment have you created for yourself at home and in your space that’s going to allow you not just to write but to be productive when you write?”
