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OUTLINING YOUR SITCOM STORY

WHY YOU MUST BREAK YOUR STORY DOWN ACT-BY-ACT, SCENE-BY-SCENE

I know what you’re thinking: now that you have your stories properly structured, you just can’t wait to get to your computer and start writing the script. Not so fast, my friend.

In the professional world of television writing, once a writer has been assigned a story, the first thing he or she does is to write an act-by-act, scene-by-scene story outline. You can think of a story outline as a blueprint to the script. In the same way that a builder wouldn’t blindly start construction on a new house without solid plans etched in stone, professional writers don’t sit down to write a script without the story being laid out in full detail. If the story doesn’t work, the script won’t work. It’s that simple. Therefore, producers insist on having a story outline, broken down act-by-act, scene-by-scene, before the writer begins the script.

In writing your spec, it is highly advisable that you write a story outline just as a professional writer would. First of all, it’s good practice. Perhaps more importantly, an outline is all but guaranteed to save you time and aggravation. Over the years, I have witnessed many a promising young writer enter the writing process with the words, “I don’t need an outline. I know what I’m doing.” The writer then spends several months hammering out the script. Inevitably, once the script is finished and people start reading it, mistakes are found, and holes are pointed out that the writer hadn’t considered. All of the hard work goes down the drain and the writer has to go back to square one and reconstruct the story. A lot of precious time and effort has been wasted.

Often young writers who don’t understand the value and importance of story outlines will argue with me and point to shows that are improvised such as Curb Your Enthusiasm. They’ll say something to the effect of “That’s a great show and it’s totally improvised. They don’t do outlines.” Au contraire, Pierre. Most improvised shows like Curb use outlines. Since they don’t have a script, they rely on outlines, in fact, to keep them on track. I would venture to say that most of the stories in Curb are at the genius level. Look at how tightly and perfectly they are woven together. I promise you that this doesn’t happen by chance. It’s really a physical impossibility that the actors could just show up every day without any kind of story outline and, like magic, every story would just come together seamlessly. I hate to burst your bubble, but even showrunners as experienced as Larry David understand the importance of a good story outline. And if a writer of his caliber doesn’t skip the outline phase, neither should you.

So please don’t delude yourself into thinking that as a first-time writer you can skip the outline phase and go right to script. Comparatively speaking, the story is harder to write than the script itself. Let’s go back to the construction analogy. Which house would you rather live in: one built on a whim by a builder with just a vague idea of what he hopes the house will look like when it’s complete — or one built by a builder who has followed a set of plans designed by a qualified architect? Obviously, the builder without a plan risks wasting lots of time and ending up with a big mess, whereas the builder with a definitive set of plans will probably be finished faster and have fewer problems. It’s the same with writing an outline. The writer who writes without a plan risks getting lost along the way. On the other hand, once you have your story outlined, and you know where you are going, writing the script is not nearly as difficult, nor as daunting.

WHAT A GOOD OUTLINE SHOULD ACCOMPLISH

In a nutshell, a good outline should give an overview of the main action of the story. On work for hire, writers and producers should be able to read an outline and be completely clear on what is going to happen, when it’s going to happen, and how the story will evolve and resolve.

An outline is broken down act-by-act, scene by-scene. Within each scene, the writer tells where the scene takes place (on what set), and when it takes place (day or night). The writer then describes the main beats (points or actions) that occur in each scene, from the moment we enter that scene until the moment we leave it. Outlines are always written in present tense, with as little dialogue as possible. If, for example, you have a really funny joke, you can and should put it in the outline, but avoid adding dialogue just to add dialogue. Again, an outline is a blueprint of your story. Writing dialogue comes in the script phase.

You should also steer clear of the huge temptation to direct your script by writing in camera angles. Remember, you are the writer, not the director. The director will be more than capable of choosing his or her own shots. So, only add shots in an outline (and script) if they are 100% pertinent to the telling of your story. A word to the wise: if you are going to add shots or use any type of TV lingo, be sure you are using it correctly. Many a day, I have seen outlines and scripts that are overloaded with direction that doesn’t make any sense. It’s as if the writer feels that by using television jargon producers will think he or she is a professional who fits right in. You won’t fit in if you have used the language incorrectly. In fact, just the opposite will happen.

GOOD WRITING IS KEY

A good outline should read like a good novel. The same is true of your script. I don’t mean that it should be written in the same style as a novel, but rather that the writing is so crisp, the story so compelling that a reader will not be able to put it down until the very end. A well-written outline shouldn’t be all flowery and wordy. Here, less is more. You are looking to describe the action in your story with as few words as possible. The key is to find the precise word or words for what you are trying to say. For example, does the character merely “enter” the room — or does he “slink” into the room — or does he “bull” into the room? Choosing just the right verb for what you want a character to do not only makes the read accurate, it makes it all the more interesting and exciting. You want to say what happens using as few words as possible. You want to choose words that best express the character’s emotions through action.

In writing an outline, you definitely want to think back to high school English. Varying your sentence structure can greatly improve the read. Avoid run-on sentences. Use proper punctuation and grammar. It matters. You are a writer. This means that everything you write — outlines included — must be written well.

FORMAT MATTERS

When it comes to writing outlines and scripts, there are certain rules for formatting that writers must adhere to. More and more, I notice young writers who, when it comes to format, are either sloppy or lazy — or sloppy and lazy. Somehow, they seem to be under the impression that format doesn’t matter; as long as the material is good, agents and producers don’t care how it is presented. They are dead wrong. Unfortunately, what these writers don’t understand is that agents and producers will never know how good the material is because they won’t bother to read it. They will get to page one, realize they are dealing with an amateur, close the script, and that will be that.

Professional writers follow industry standards. What this means is that when you work as an agent or a producer or anyone else in the business, you read scripts all the time. Your eye becomes very well trained to spot even the smallest error or deviation from standard format. So, when a script or an outline comes across your desk that is formatted any old way, it immediately screams one of two things: either the writer is pedestrian and doesn’t know how scripts are written — or the writer knows, but doesn’t care. Neither scenario bodes well for the writer.

HOW LONG SHOULD AN OUTLINE BE?

Perhaps one of the questions I am asked most often is, how long should an outline be? Unfortunately, this is a question for which I don’t have a specific answer. I am more about quality than quantity. The most important thing about your outline is that it is well-written — that the story is properly laid out so that it is clear what the problem is, what is at stake for the characters, and what the resolution is.

There is no set number of pages, and in fact the actual length of an outline can vary depending on the story, and how many scenes are involved. When writing a traditional multi-cam sitcom, you will probably have fewer scenes than a single-camera comedy does, though in a multi-cam sitcom, the scenes will probably be longer. If I had to make a rough estimate, I would say six to ten pages, depending on how many scenes are involved. Obviously, since single-camera shows have more scenes, those outlines might be more in the ten-page range.

In terms of quantity, the one thing you really need to look out for is that you don’t have too many scenes. Keep in mind that the next step after your outline is to write the script. So everything in the outline will need to be translated into action and dialogue. If your outline has too many scenes and those scenes are too long, you will have a difficult time getting it all into the script. Typically, a multi-cam comedy comes in at around 45–49 pages, while a single-cam comedy comes in at around 30–35 pages. It is important that you bring your script in at around these numbers because that is industry standard. That said, you don’t want your outline to be 20 pages. If it is, you need to cut. Otherwise, your script will come in way too long. Often, young writers have problems cutting things. Get used to it. Cutting outlines and scripts is something you will do every day once you become a professional writer. Also, rest assured that once an outline or script is cut for time, it will ultimately read a lot better. Plus, don’t forget that the more scenes you write, the more expensive it is to shoot. So look carefully to see if any scenes can be combined. You also want to look at the purpose of each scene. Ask yourself why the scene is it there. How is it moving your story forward? If it’s not, get rid of it.

You should also make sure that your acts are fairly balanced both in the way of scenes and length. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but if you have three scenes in one act and fifteen scenes in another act, you are on the wrong track.

ONLY TELL WHAT HAPPENS WHEN IT HAPPENS

When writing each scene, you want to think visually. Imagine the scene in your head. Where does it takes place — and what happens from the moment the scene begins to the moment the scene ends? One error I see often is that new writers tend to write things that won’t translate to the screen. For example, “Linda storms into the restaurant, mad at Bob because last week she told him to pick up the dry cleaning and he didn’t. There was a blouse that her mother gave her for Christmas a few years back that she was planning to wear to a party tonight and now, because Bob didn’t get the dry cleaning, she can’t.” Wrong. All this information must come out in pictures and dialogue. The correct way to do it would be: “Linda storms into the restaurant. She barks at Bob that he neglected to pick up the dry cleaning as she requested. Now, she can’t wear her favorite blouse — the one her mother gave her for Christmas — to the party tonight.” See how much simpler that was? Remember, viewers won’t have a copy of your outline — or your script for that matter — to follow along with. So, you can’t write what a character is thinking or things that happened last week. All of that information must be revealed by the characters in the moment. Only write what is happening in the scene right now.

PASS ON PASSIVE VOICE

When writing your outline, and eventually your script, you want to avoid any and all forms of the verb “to be” — which, by the way, has to be one of the strangest verbs in the King’s English. This verb is overused and downright dull. Your goal is to write sharp and solid, using action-oriented verbs. So, for example, your natural tendency might be to write “Anne is playing the piano.” That’s rather stale, isn’t it? A better way to convey it would be “Anne plays the piano.” See how much better that sounds? Or, to take it a step further: “Anne bangs away on the piano.” Do you hear how that’s a much more interesting read? I would suggest once your outline is complete, you hit the “find” button on your software program and look for the verbs “is” and “are”. Then replace them with carefully chosen, precise active verbs that say what you mean. Write using active voice and your work will be all the more crisp and exciting.

LEAVE OUT THE “WE”

Another thing I see new writers do a lot that they shouldn’t is that instead of writing what happens when it happens, they somehow feel compelled to start every other sentence with the words, “we see.” It goes something like this: “We see Tom climb up the tree. We see him reach for an apple. We watch as he teeters. We see him fall out of the tree. We hear a tremendous thud”. Let me try this one on you: “Tom climbs the tree and reaches for an apple. He teeters, then crashes to the ground with an enormous thud.” See how much better that sounds? You don’t need to write the words, “we see” — nor do you need to write the words, “we hear.” Not only are they extraneous, they ruin the flow of your writing. And here’s the thing: if you just write what happens in the scene, I promise you we will see it. We will hear it. The director will shoot what you write. So do avoid the words “we see.” You don’t need them, so save the space. You’ll have room for more jokes.

SAMPLE OUTLINE FOR SITCOM

What follows is an outline of the first few scenes of an animated comedy called Heidi X. The outline was written by Hilary Donoghue, a student in my Writing Television Pilots class at Emerson College. It is reprinted with Hilary’s permission. Animated scripts can be written in either single-cam format like South Park or in multi-cam format like Bob’s Burgers. It just depends on the show. Hilary has chosen to write her script in the single-cam format. Her pilot is about a young robotics genius who has terrible luck with women, so he builds his own “perfect” girlfriend. Give it a read, and when you are finished, I will point out some of the more important formatting issues.

First of all, note that Hilary’s outline is typed in Courier Point 12. That’s the industry-accepted font for scripts and outlines.

Notice, right off the bat, Hilary tells us what act we are in. The words “ACT ONE” are in capital letters, centered, and underlined. You should follow this rule, and note that the same will be true when you get to subsequent acts.

Next come the magic words “FADE IN” in caps, followed by a colon. They appear on the left, on their own line. I have noticed that some writers are starting to leave the “FADE IN” and “FADE OUT” off of scripts and outlines all together. Not me. I am a believer in using these words, as I think they nicely bookend acts.

From there, Hilary starts to write her story, scene-by-scene. The writing is quick and casual. This is a story. It must move.

Let’s look at her first line: “INT. M.I.T. CLASSROOM – DAY”. This is known as a scene heading or a slugline. It is in all caps and underlined. Scene headings are important, as they give us quite a bit of information about where and when the scene takes place. When writing a scene heading, the first question you want to ask yourself is, where does the action take place — inside or outside? In Hilary’s story, the first scene will take place inside an M.I.T. classroom. The word “INT.” means interior. If the scene takes place outside, as some of her later scenes do, the scene heading starts with EXT., which means exterior or outside.

After the interior or exterior, you then want to list the specific set. In Hilary’s story, it is obviously a classroom. So INT. M.I.T. CLASSROOM means that the scene takes place inside a classroom at the well-renowned university. When listing sets make sure that you are consistent. Once you have named a set, if you go back to it later in your outline and script, be sure you use the same scene heading. Otherwise, it can get confusing.

Now that you have added the set to the scene heading, you want to tell us what time of day the scene is taking place. You don’t have to be exact. Just give us a rough idea, by using words like “DAY” or “NIGHT” or slight variations such as “MORNING,” “AFTERNOON,” “EVENING,” “DAWN” or “DUSK”. On occasion, you will likely see the word “CONTINOUS” instead of an actual time of day. What this means is that the scene is taking place the exact same time as the previous scene. When using the term “continuous” just make sure that there is no break in time or action. If a scene takes place even few moments after the previous scene, then it’s not continuous. In Hilary’s scene heading, notice that the set and time of day are separated by a hyphen, which has one space on each side. At the risk of sounding picayune — which I admittedly am — be sure to be consistent in the use of hyphens. Often writers will use a combination of hyphens and dashes in the scene heading. Again, this is sloppy, and a lack of attention to detail. Be a perfectionist. It is the underlying principle of good writing. One last thing to note in Hilary’s scene heading. In parentheses is the word “FLASHBACK.” This is to let the reader/producers know that the scene does not take place in present time. It happened earlier. If you are writing scenes that are flashbacks, you should definitely notate them in this way. However, most scenes take place present day, which will be assumed, unless you tell us differently. Thus, you don’t need to write anything.

After the scene heading, Hilary writes what happens in the scene. Scene descriptions should be brief but poetic. In other words, write what you mean quickly, but write it well. A few things to note: because this is a single-camera sitcom, it is written film-style. Therefore, each time a new character is introduced, that person’s name appears in capital letters. This rule applies only to the first time we see that character.

Another thing to point out is that when Hilary writes a character, she gives a brief description. Notice that while she describes each character physically, she doesn’t give hair and eye color. You want to avoid this unless you have a very specific reason for including it, as it limits casting possibilities. Also, use a few words to describe the character in terms of who that person is at heart. Is he a nerd? A hipster? A rock and roll dude? Finally, note the (19) in paretheses for all of the characters. You always want to give at least an approximation of how old your characters are — and this is again, for casting purposes. If you just write, “Lisa walks in”, how will we know if you mean 92-year-old Lisa or 5-year-old Lisa? It makes a big difference. In Hilary’s script, it happens that her characters are classmates, so they are all 19. But, of course usually the ages of characters will vary. By the way…you only need to describe new characters in your script. If you are writing Parks and Rec it is assumed that everyone reading knows Leslie and crew. But, if you create a new character in your episode…such as Leslie’s third cousin…you need to give a few words of description, both physical and emotional. This is also helpful to the actor or actress, so they get a feel for how the role should be played.

Most of Hilary’s scenes are short and sweet. However, sometimes you might be writing an outline where a scene is a bit longer. When that happens, break the scene into several small paragraphs. Not only does this make the outline easier to read (huge paragraphs can be difficult on the eyes), but it helps with the flow of the writing. A good place to break is where the action or emotion shifts or changes. Just make sure that you don’t indent the new paragraph. Everything should line up on the left.

From the first scene, Hilary begins to move though her act, each scene pushing the story forward. You should do the same. When your act is finished, the words “FADE OUT” go to the right of the page. (Note: that I said “FADE IN:” appears on the left, while the “FADE OUT” goes on the right. This is correct.) Then skip a space (or two) and officially end your act, with the words “END OF ACT ONE,” which are in capital letters, centered, and underlined. (Please see the script at the end of Chapter 12 where this is clearly illustrated.)

A FEW MORE RULES

In outlines and scripts, stay away from bold and italics. If you want to put emphasis on something — especially in dialogue — underline it, like this . If you are underlining more than one word, do each word separately like this .

When writing scene description, you never want to refer to the reader as “you.” Instead, television writers use “we,” which incorporates both the reader and the writer. I have previously advised you to steer clear of using this lingo. However, every once in a while, you may need to resort to it. Do so sparingly. But the most important take away here is never, ever use the word “you” when referring to the reader. In that case, it’s always the collective, “we”.

Be sure that you have a scene heading for where the action takes place. Sometimes, new writers forget this important detail. For example, let’s say the scene heading is INT. BEDROOM – MORNING. The scene description says that Bill and Mary lay in bed, watching television, when the doorbell rings. Mary volunteers to get it. Suddenly, the next action has Mary opening the door, and in walks Mary’s mother. They have a whole conversation. But, the writer forgot to change the scene heading to INT. LIVING ROOM – MORNING. Think of it like this: your scene heading tells the director where the action takes place, and thus where the cameras should be set up. Until you tell the director (and everyone else) that you are changing location, no one is going to move.

In single-cam comedy outlines and scripts you can capitalize words, even in mid-sentence, to emphasize sounds or if you want to be sure that something stands out. But again, don’t overdo this, as it can be extremely distracting to the reader. Remember though, words in dialogue should never be capitalized, even if a character is angry and/or yelling.

Each time you begin a new act, you must start on a new page.

You should always include page numbers. In television scripts, the page number will be in the upper right hand corner. The number will be followed by a period. (e.g. “13.”).

Each page of your outline must end in punctuation. If the last sentence on the page doesn’t fit, then go to the next page and begin the new sentence there.

HOW MULTI-CAM SHOWS DIFFER IN FORMAT

You will see in the next chapter that the format for multi-cam scripts is significantly different than single-cam scripts. In terms of outlining, however, they are pretty much done the same way. The only real variance is that in multi-cam outlines, scenes will be assigned either a letter or a number, depending on which the show chooses to use. So let’s say, for the sake of argument, that Hilary’s pilot was written as a multi-cam sitcom. Her first scenes would then begin like this:

SCENE A

INT. M.I.T. CLASSROOM – DAY (ONE)

Harry Harper (19), a high energy hulk encourages Scottie Wood (19), a mousy nerd to ask his cute classmate, Annie (19), out on a date. Scottie thinks back to all of his recent failures with women

SCENE B

INT. MOVIE THEATER – NIGHT (FLASHBACK) – TWO MONTHS AGO

Scottie and Jenny (19), pretty and well-dressed watch from the back row. He attempts to pull the old “yawn and stretch,” and hits Jenny in the head with his elbow. She rubs her head, but smiles. Scottie tries again. He hits her again. She looks annoyed now. Scottie makes a third attempt and smacks Jenny in the head once again. This time he continues undeterred and he finally puts his arm around Jenny. She grinds her teeth audibly as satisfied Scottie puckers his lips and slowly leans in closer.

Notice in this case, the character’s names are not in capital letters. That’s because in multi-cam scripts, character names are not generally capitalized. Another thing that multi-cam shows do differently is that, after the first scene, they add a reference as to how much time has passed since the previous scene. In Hilary’s second scene it is a flashback, but she has added a reference of “two months” so that we know when it happened in relationship to the present. Keeping with the idea that Hilary’s script is a multi-cam show, here is how her last scene would look in outline form:

SCENE F

EXT. M.I.T CAMPUS – SAME DAY (DAY 1) – A SHORT TIME LATER

Harry continues to encourage Scottie to talk to Annie. Scottie catches up to Annie and asks her on a date. Annie hesitates and when she can’t come up with an excuse, she throws herself in front of an oncoming bus.

In multi-cam scripts, you must also keep track of what day it is. I don’t mean Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc., but rather what day is it in terms of the last scene you just wrote. This is important for wardrobe. So, you will always start on Day One. If the next scene takes place on the same day, it continues to be Day One. However, if the next scene takes place the next day, it becomes Day Two. When the script calls for a new day, we don’t want our characters to still be walking around in yesterday’s clothes so we need to make sure that each new day is notated. This information goes on the scene heading line. Hence, the DAY (DAY 1) with the “DAY 1” in parentheses. Each show does this a tad differently, which is another reason to try to get a copy of a script for the show you have chosen to spec.

READING YOUR WORK, OUT LOUD

I always tell writers that they should read their work out loud — and this includes outlines — before handing it in to anyone. This advice is seldom taken. I know, because I constantly get outlines where a word is missing, sentence structure isn’t varied, the same verb is used repeatedly, etc., etc. On the occasions that I actually hear these writers read their work out loud, I watch in quiet amusement as they catch their own typos and mistakes, and find themselves stumbling over their own words. If a writer can’t read his or her own outline smoothly, how do you think a producer will ever make it through? There is something about reading your work out loud that allows you to really hear it. I can promise you that if you do this, you will immediately realize where things are off, and thus you will be able to give it another pass before sending it out.

GETTING FEEDBACK ON YOUR OUTLINE

Once you have finished your story outline, it is imperative that you get feedback before diving into the script. Again, this is where you will likely learn if your story is working. It is ideal to get feedback from people who understand television writing. However, if that isn’t feasible, look for people that watch the show you are writing. Tell them up front that you want them to be honest in their critique of your work (and when they are, don’t make them feel badly about it). The danger in giving your work to family and close friends is that they may be reluctant to tell you the whole truth if they think it might hurt your feelings. You need to make them understand that if your story isn’t working, you would rather hear it from them now rather than from producers and agents later.

For me, the general rule of feedback is to remember that everyone has his or her own opinion of what’s good and what’s not. At the very least, you should look for feedback from three people before moving forward. If two out of three or all three make the same comment about something, you should definitely take note. This is a red flag that something isn’t working. If three people out of three people all come to the same conclusion, chances are so will agents and producers. Now is the chance to change things.

However, if people are pointing out different things, then you should listen and consider what they have to say. If it works for you, great. Go ahead and incorporate whatever it is and you will probably have an even better outline and script. If it doesn’t interest you, you obviously don’t have to use it. Remember, whoever is reading your work is doing you a favor, so try to listen to the criticism without being argumentative. There is nothing worse than a defensive writer.

The one danger in receiving feedback is that some people may look at your story and have an entirely different approach. This can make you rethink the entire story. Be careful about this. There are a gazillion ways to tell a story. You have picked the way that you want to tell it. Just because someone has a different way doesn’t mean that way is better. It could be that it is just a different path. Of course, if that approach is definitively better, then it might be worth making the change.

CHECKLIST FOR STORY OUTLINE

If you answered “yes” to all of the above, then you are finally ready to begin writing your script.