How Do You Be A TV Story Editor?
The next step up in the television food chain up from a staff writer is to become a story editor. In WGA parlance, you are now “a writer employed in additional capacities,” additional to writing, that is. Do not expect, however, to spend a significant amount of time doing any real story editing. In most cases, you have just become a better-paid, better-recognized writer. Step 1 The television writer who can improve a script from draft to draft in the eyes of his or her employer is infinitely more valuable than the writer who can’t. You do that by learning how to take and execute notes. Watch TV shows, not just your own, and write down comments on how each episode might be improved. Step 2 Script notes can come from the showrunner, and other members of the writing staff, the studio, the network, or all of the above. They might be clear, concise, well organized, and sensitive. More often than not, they are quite often opaque and require a fair amount of “reading between the lines.” And t
