by Erik Bork | Aug 1, 2015
I think the best television characters want something they can never have — and spend every episode pursuing it. What makes them compelling is that they are under siege, in some way, by the world around them, and unable to secure that version of their life that they...
by Erik Bork | Jun 19, 2014
I teach in this low-residency, mostly online MFA in Screenwriting program — and highly recommend checking it out! Download the...
by Erik Bork | Apr 7, 2014
“Premise pilots,” in my experience, are not seen as a good thing. But the definition of a “premise pilot” seems to move around a bit, depending on who you ask. Some sources on the internet say that a “premise pilot” is when the...
by Erik Bork | Jan 4, 2014
I eventually watched HBO’s THE WIRE, over a decade after its five-year run began. Once I started, I found myself binge-watching through the first three seasons. This show was never a clear hit with audiences, and didn’t win many major awards. But WGA screenwriters...
by Erik Bork | Sep 17, 2013
What most interests me about Downton Abbey is how it so masterfully demonstrates two qualities that I am obsessed with, when it comes to good writing and good serialized TV writing, especially. 1. It makes us care about the people. God, does it make us care! To me,...
by Erik Bork | Sep 7, 2013
I’ll be speaking again this year at the “Screenwriters World” conference in Los Angeles. It takes place September 27-29 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Century City. I’ll be speaking on “Writing the TV Spec Script” on Friday...
by Erik Bork | Jun 28, 2013
I couldn’t resist creating a chart that breaks down the recent WGA member-voted “Best written series of all time” by decade and type of show. What conclusions, if any, can be drawn from this? (If you have trouble viewing the document below, you might...
by Erik Bork | Mar 26, 2013
Script Magazine has published my new article delineating the two types of stories on television — “procedural” and “personal” — which are easy for writers to get confused by. It’s being posted on their website in connection...
by Erik Bork | Oct 15, 2010
I found this week’s MODERN FAMILY (“Strangers on a Treadmill”) to be a good example of how bare bones a “story” can be, and still have a beginning, middle and end. (Or, if you will, three dramatic acts of Setup, Complications,...
