—————————18—————————

TAPPING INTO TWEENS

More than once, I have been approached by a writer whose specific career goal is to write for the so-called “tween” shows. These young scribes see themselves eventually working for places like The Disney Channel and Nickelodeon on shows geared towards kids between the tender ages of 8 and 12 — those formidable years right before the angst-ridden teens. These writers almost always ask me what kind of material will get them in the door. Should they write a spec for whatever tween show happens to be hot at the moment — or should they go the route of writing a tween pilot?

Here’s the irony — and not to burst anyone’s bubble — but at least in my experience, most of the showrunners on tween shows are there because they’re good comedy writers. Most have worked on mainstream adult shows and many — if given truth serum — would tell you they’d rather be back on adult shows. But, jobs are jobs, and work is work. You have to get it where you can.

So, to answer the question, you could either write a spec for a tween show that’s on the air or you could write a spec tween pilot. Either would be fine. But what would also be acceptable is a spec for any current show on primetime television and that includes racy shows on cable. Showrunners on tween shows will be all too happy to read any good spec script that you have — even if it skews more toward an adult audience. I guarantee you that most of the showrunners didn’t write tween specs to get hired by Disney or Nick. And, because they are around tween scripts day and night, many would welcome a good spec that’s chock full of smart adult jokes. All that said, remember that you need two solid specs in order to get an agent. So, if you know without a doubt that the tween market is where you want to end up, there would be nothing wrong with writing a tween show as your second spec. This would allow you to demonstrate to executives and producers that you understand this age group and are hip enough to write in this arena.

Before we begin talking about the specific elements that go into a tween show, there are a couple of things worth mentioning in terms of ethics. It’s important to understand that tweens are hugely impressionable. They are at an age where peer pressure already exists and it’s about to get even greater for them in the coming years. Therefore, I think writers have to take a certain amount of responsibility and not expose tweens to things that they’re not ready for such as sex, drugs, and violence. Remember, television is power. These tweens are young; their minds take in everything. So don’t reinforce things like racial and gender stereotypes either. There’s no reason for it. And also watch the swearing and “mouthy” language. As with all TV, give your audience something fresh and new. Additionally, keep in mind, that while tween shows may be geared toward an audience made up of 8–12-yearolds, there are undoubtedly loyal members of that audience who are much younger. Little kids always want to be big kids. So if their tween sibling(s) thinks a show is cool, they will probably watch it right along with that older brother and/or sister. That said, I am also a firm believer that parents should ultimately exercise control over what their kids are watching.

Thus, you can breathe a sigh of relief because I am not suggesting that you write a bunch of boring, goody-two-shoes characters. Not at all. For example, if you write a show where there’s a tween that doesn’t like science, oh well. Some tweens are going to hugely relate to that character because they don’t like science either. That doesn’t mean you’re encouraging tweens to hate science. It means you are being real about who tweens are as people, which is precisely what you want to do. You want to write characters that ring true to tweens. That’s what’s going to hook them. But, I’m sure you’ll agree that there’s a big difference between writing about a kid who may not like a subject in school vs. writing about a kid who’s a drug dealer at age 10.

If you want to spec a tween show that’s already on the air, the same rules apply as they do to all other specs. Study the show, come up with a story, write the outline, etc. But, if you want to write a tween pilot, let’s take a look at some of the most important elements that go into this kind of show.

THE PREMISE

The core concept for a tween show doesn’t have to be grounded in reality but it should be easy to grasp. The idea for a tween show should be fun and tap into things that deep down tweens wish they could be or do. For example, the title character in Hannah Montana — in addition to having a cool name — is pretty cool herself. On the surface, she’s a regular kid who has friends and goes to school. But Hannah has a secret: she’s living a double life as a recording star. What tween hasn’t secretly fantasized about being a pop star? So this show fits into an area that’s completely relatable to tweens. Though it’s not necessarily realistic…it doesn’t have to be. Tweens take the leap and buy it. Or how about The Wizards of Waverly Place — a show that revolves around three siblings…who happen to be wizards? Again, not grounded in reality, but definitely tapping into a tween’s fantasy life…as in, wouldn’t it be cool to be a wizard and have all of these awesome powers? So find a premise that’s simple, but relatable, even if its relatability taps into a tween’s fantasy world.

THE CHARACTERS

Let me state the obvious: tween shows call for tween characters. It’s not that you can’t have adults. You just need to make sure that the show revolves around tweens. iCarly is a perfect example of this. It centers on Carly Shay, a teen who, along with her friends, produces her own web show in the loft of her apartment. The show is all about Carly and her buds doing something cool and exciting.

To write tween characters, you need to do some research and hang around with tweens. Find out what they’re into. What do they like? What do they hate? What do they do for fun? Who are their friends? Note: whoever the lead character is in a tween show usually has a sidekick, as in that person’s bff. The lead character may be an average, run-of the mill tween that other tweens relate to, but the sidekick is always fun, bold, and quirky. Speaking of which, you need to give your tween characters flaws and quirks. Tweens will love this element. The trick is, the quirks have to ring true to tweens and at the same time, they have to hit the tween funny bone. Some other types of characters in a typical tween show include someone the lead character is crushing on, and someone (usually rather geeky) that’s crushing on the lead character.

In doing your research ask tweens who their favorite characters on a tween show are and why. Listen to what they have to say. Their answers will help you zoom in on the kinds of characters you need to create. Also, if you have a show idea in mind, talk to them about it. Tweens will give you feedback that will be surprisingly helpful. They may even give you a take on a character or on the show you hadn’t thought of. Don’t discount this tween “focus group.” They are your audience. Their feeback is invaluable. To give you an example, I am currently working on an animated children’s feature. I was stuck on a rather big story element. So, I ran it by my friend’s daughter who is 12. She solved the problem in an instant by coming up with the perfect fix. It was a “wow” moment. I am so glad I brought it up, or I’d probably still be sitting there trying to figure it out.

TWEEN TALK

When it comes to writing dialogue, your number one job is to make tweens sound like tweens. Often when I read tween scripts, the characters sound like adults. Wrong! Tween dialogue must mirror how tweens actually talk in real life. Oh, and make sure you are not talking down to them. Tweens will spot that in a heartbeat and abandon you and your show. Remember, tweens are people. Write dialogue that acknowledges that. And don’t be too preachy. Keep in mind, tweens spend the majority of their day being preached at by parents and teachers about what they should and shouldn’t do. Like the rest of us, when it comes to TV they want to let their hair down, relax and be entertained.

TICKLING A TWEEN’S FUNNY BONE

Jokes don’t have to be brain surgery. They should be funny and relatable. But, you do have to keep in mind what 10-year olds think is funny. For the most part, it’s not going to be what adults think is funny.

CHECKLIST FOR A TWEEN SHOW