PW 5000 Assignment 2

                                                                                                                                                                           

Jesse Ports

Professor Watman

PW 5000 - Professional Writing and Rhetoric

9/24/10





         Welcome back! As we gear up to write another season of Real Stereotypes of the East Coast, there are a number of things to remember in order to make this show a rousing success. We’ve done a great job in the past, but when you, as writers, take a more active role in the show’s direction it allows the filthiness of our content to really shine! This document contains a blueprint for using all of our resources to truly branch out this season and take control of the show’s “stars;” if followed correctly, these principles will make you the show’s true stars, recognized around the industry as the team of writers who are best able to manipulate and provoke the show’s cast into becoming the shallow, sexy, wild, and, at times, disgusting caricatures that America wants to see!

         View these ideas as a chance to make your job easier by utilizing all of the resources available to you. Combine your own ideas with those of your fellow writers, the other departments, our executives, the cast and, of course, the audience; by doing this, you will maximize your abilities and keep our show successful! On top of the show’s success, being a contributor who can use these techniques will make you stand out and could help you land a top spot on a future season. So don’t just skim these principles; study them, learn them and make them part of your everyday activities on the job, and you will see the results they can produce.



                                                                                    The T.R.A.S.H. Principles



         Use these guidelines to encourage yourselves to be well-informed, prepared writers who can guide our cast into the plotlines that our TV audience, advertisers and network executives want to see. Most importantly, have fun while you write!



T – Take Advice

         Writing should never be a solitary action, and this is certainly true on our show. Use all of the resources around you to maximize your ability to create compelling storylines that emphasize the characters’ faults and general derangement. Given the type of people we cast to begin with, you may think that this won’t take much work, but there are a lot of similar shows out there and we don’t want to settle for average! Obviously you’ll bounce ideas off of the other members of your writing team and the head writers and producers, but you’ll gain a better understanding of the show’s goals if you reach out to other departments and resources surrounding our show. Take time to stop by some of our executives’ offices to discover the level of class to which they’re trying to sink in the new season, and share their vision with the rest of your team. Some of your plotlines directly affect the amount of money we’ll have to spend on our cast, so check continually with our financial department to see what kind of budget we have for travel, housing, etc. You should be referring back to as many groups as possible during the writing process; this may take some extra time initially, but you’ll learn that it makes your job easier in that you will have far fewer revisions at the end of the week when your scripts are due. Don’t just stay in your own niche – involve yourself with every aspect of the show, become an expert, and you will have an edge to become a head writer next season!                                                                                                                                                                         



R – Recognize Your Material

         Your material in this case is primarily the cast of the show. Given our show’s history, you should have a general idea of the type of people you’re starting with, however, each season should be known for a particular event or plotline that really emphasizes the character’s weaknesses. It could be a fight, a series of personal problems, or complicated inter-group relationships. It’s up to you, the writer, to fish these plots out of the cast’s personalities. Talk to them as soon as they get on set, chat with them between shoots, use casual conversations and, of course, the confessionals to find the subjects that might set them off and take the show in a more interesting direction. Once you have this information, share it with the other writers to find the best avenue for exploitation and exhibition. The characters won’t always show their most dramatic sides on their own. Think of yourself as an artist; you have to shape them and mold them into the type of people we’re looking for.



A – Audience Involvement

         Ultimately, there are two groups to which our product is directed: our television audience and our advertisers. The TV audience is the most important; their attention is what keeps us in our jobs. Keep track of ratings, both of our show and our competitors, to see what’s working and what’s simply boring people. Work with our marketing and research department to develop polls for our customers to see what they look for in our show. If they want two characters to develop a spicy romance, then work with your team to write events that will lead them in that direction. If they want to see a vicious catfight, well, we’ll see what we can work out. Advertisers also need to be kept in mind. Believe it or not, there are some things that may be over the line, and if we go too far with a certain topic it’s possible that our advertisers could pull out, putting our show in the crosshairs for network executives looking to make some cancellations and shed some dead weight. We want to find that balance between pushing our show to the limits of what society can stomach without alienating any viewers or advertisers, and continual discussion between these groups, as well as our own experienced team of writers, will help us accomplish this goal. Remember, our audience and advertisers keep us employed, and your ability as a writer to improve our product can benefit not only yourself but everyone involved with the show.



S – Social and Situational Authority

         This is where you can make your mark as an individual writer. By being active in your team and continually coming up with ideas and revisions, you can gain social authority among our department as someone who can ferret out the lowest in our cast members, someone who really has a nose for trash. Make it your goal to become the go-to person in our department when we need a juicy plotline or intriguing development between characters. Developing your reputation in this way will allow you to take advantage of the time when we’re at a deadline for the week’s episode and need someone to step up and write something that really stirs the audience’s bile, getting them to embrace a side of humanity they would usually shun. Showing your talent and experience in this situation will not go unnoticed; we’re always looking for those writers who can perform in the clutch. Your input will not only benefit your career but can also have a noticeable effect on the direction of the show and possibly the entire network!                                                                                                                                                                         



H – Have Fun!

         This may seem like an unimportant aspect of the process, but the enjoyment you get from the writing process will shine through in our final product. Some writers may feel as though they have to hold back due to their system of ethics and morals; if so, this job may not be for you. These cast members know what they’re signing up for, and our audience tunes in to see one thing: the degradation of people whom they deem lower than themselves. Recognizing and embracing this ideal will allow you to relax, come up with great ideas and work with those around you to create the most entertaining, scintillating and trashy TV show on the air!