Simply stated, the Writers Boot Camp is the writer's equivalent of a very practical graduate film school education, where the mantra is "learn by doing." The 20 year-old program started in Gordon's apartment in 1989, with a six-week course meant to encourage novice writers to complete the first draft of a project. Three years later, Gordon decided that his short-term venture was a good start but, ultimately, writers needed longer-term engagement, feedback and training to truly master the skills necessary to work in Hollywood. With that in mind, he formed the "Think Tank," an expansive 22-month term that mixed weekly meetings, teaching structure, and guided writing experience. At the "Mini-Camp," Gordon focused on writing for television, and spoke at length about both the professional practicality of his program, and the creative tools necessary to become a true artist.

 

• The program gets you to write. Gordon made this clear, over and over. This is his primary goal. He implored writers to keep their day jobs, but donate at least 10 hours a week to writing. He said that if you can’t give 10 hours a week to the program, you shouldn’t sign up. (Further, if you really want to be a writer and can’t give 10 hours a week, you should consider your priorities.)

• The program is expensive. Though Gordon didn’t state the full cost of the program, he did say that if you are serious about writing, money should not be a hindrance. You should sacrifice for something you think is important. The costs mentioned above, however, seem extremely reasonable for the amount of hands-on attention students can expect. (And also reasonable in comparison to a university program.)

• The program gets you 10,000 hours of experience. Referring to Malcolm Gladwell's book Outliers, Gordon mentioned that it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert in any activity. Except for rare exceptions, writing one screenplay won't land you a job, but writing five might.

• For TV writers, the program is focused on getting you hired. He mentioned that spec scripts (of existing shows) should be the first scripts aspiring TV writers should write. Along those lines, he advises against writing autobiographical material as a first script. "That’s a waste," Gordon said. While writing one's own story might feel good (and get you writing), it just never pays off. He inferred that people who write their own stories are often "one and done."

• Ideas are easy to come by. But think about this: "Writers are hired for their ability to execute."


• Be your own boss. Gordon said, “When you’ve done the homework, [then] you become an expert.” By learning the "tools of writing," you can apply them to your own work, so you can, essentially, give yourself notes, thereby taking authority over of your own work. One function of his program, he mentioned, was to help the writer find his or her own voice -- to brand his or herself as a unique talent in the entertainment business.

 

• The program trains writers to develop the "conceit" of the show, which is what others might call the “core” or the "main idea.” The "conceit" is the one statement that defines the show. For example, in FOX's House the conceit is "patients always lie." And its main character must decipher those lies to get his job done.

• Characters, too, have conceits that must be seen in action. In the best stories, plotlines and situations come out of characters' innate personality quirks, idiosyncrasies, and secret insecurities which all, of course, rest in the show's main conceit. Gordon stated that you can often "fool people into thinking you’re a better writer with a good character conceit."

• Writers must play off of archetypes, but take those archetypes on a new and interesting ride. Writers can accomplish this by combining archetypal characteristics into a single character, or to match characters in new power struggles. Though most content (and especially TV) is consciously derivative of previous work ("It's all been done before!"), these unique combinations make hit shows work.

• According to Gordon, there are three characteristics of a good TV show: 

     1. A storyline that has never been done (or at least, not recently). Not only must it be it be an incredible idea, but you        must know how it becomes endlessly complicated -- not just a one-time set-up.  

     2. Nail the characters and the story. Sounds simple, right?

     3. TV today must showcase provocative drama -- not just passable drama. Raise the stakes!

• Structure matters, and his program focuses on it. One shouldn't write until the entire story is fleshed out. He said that in the first draft of a project, about seven percent of one's time should be spent writing (and 93 percent thinking and outlining), while on the second draft, 50 percent is spent on re-writing.

• Finally, he wanted writers to ask themselves two "big-picture questions" about their TV projects:

     1. Can I sustain the campaign?

     2. What is this contributing to the legacy of TV? Two big questions that require big answers.

 

I looked online for reviews from Writers Boot Camp alumni, and found over 80 responses on John August's blog. Some loved it, some hated it, as you might guess. Here are the highlights:

 

 

Be aware of your expectations. Negative reviewers seemed to expect something they didn’t get. Most notably, some wanted more credentialed teachers and better industry access. But they all agreed that they wrote a lot.

 

My overall takeaway is this: the program is called “boot camp” for a reason. You write a lot in the time you’re given and you learn a specific, proven system. Of course, there's no clear path to industry success, and there certainly isn't any sure-fire tactic to getting your writing career started. Like most people who sign up for early morning workout "boot camps," success depends on the individual continuing to apply the lessons learned. In the end, the Writers Boot Camp will present you with tools to help you be more productive in your writing and to help you focus your ideas. It's one of many ways to get an advantage over your competition for writing jobs. For more information, visit the Writers Boot Camp website at: Writersbootcamp.com.

 

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Robert Gustafson and Alec McNayr are writers and producers at Space Shank Media, a television and digital media production company. Robert just finished working as a producer on FOX’s American Idol, and Alec’s Twitter humor website "Historical Tweets" was recently named one of “10 Sites Sure to Make You LOL” by CNN.

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