Do You Need an Apprenticeship to Become a Screenwriter?

There is no book that you can read that will give you the step-by-step process on “once you do these 23 things, boom, you’re a professional screenwriter.” If you do see a book titled that, please don’t buy it. Smells like a scam. The word “apprenticeship” isn’t a common term that is used in the industry. The more common term is “screenwriting fellowship”. A lot of the Studios/Networks have these fellowships that you can apply for, and if you are selected, it might be a 6-month program where you are working with other writers selected for the fellowship and get some mentoring from professional screenwriters. These are very competitive and hard to get. And even if you are able to get in one, it does not guarantee that you will get staffed on a TV show.

Every screenwriter has taken a different path with how they got to where they are. There is a bit of a linear path people can take with regard to writing for a TV show, and we will talk about that more in a bit.

But the other big element is social media. Social media has changed the game. If you can create something that is so good and so unique and build up your own audience, Hollywood will come to you and want you to write for them. Congrats! You just skipped some steps and don’t even have to worry about getting a fellowship. But you didn’t skip putting the work in.

In this article, we will dive a little deeper into some of the paths that I have seen or paths that I know people have taken to get to that professional writing level. And I am sure there are infinite other ways people have gotten there, too!

How Hollywood Writers Learn the Craft

Like professional athletes, writing is a craft, and you have to master it before you can turn professional. Athletes work on their craft for 10-15 years before they ever turn pro. If you want to become a professional screenwriter, you are going to have to treat it that way. You can’t really expect to give it your best go for 1 year and hope to turn pro. It is going to take years and years of writing and studying and getting better. And honestly, that’s how it should be.

Like anything, you have to study the craft, and you have to study from the right people. Unfortunately, for the most part, having a film degree doesn’t really mean anything for wanting to become a professional screenwriter. If you went to NYU or USC, maybe that would be more appealing, and it might present a bit more exposure? But I don’t think it gives a huge advantage. There is no magical building in Hollywood where you walk up to the front door and knock, and show them your college degree, and then they hand you a piece of paper and say, “Great. Report to Warner Bros. Studio tomorrow morning at 7 am to start your screenwriting career.” No one is really going to care where or if you have your degree. What they do care about is do you know how to write and how to unpack the story. And the best way to do that is to study from people who have done the job.

A lot of these film professors have never really done the job professionally. Many of them are just reading books that other people wrote about screenwriting and teaching. Sure, you might learn some very basic foundational stuff, and it will cost you 100k for that degree. Very different learning from someone who has done the job professionally, like Michael, vs. someone who teaches at a small university in Maine. But knowing just the basics isn’t going to get you far in your screenwriting career.

Screenwriting jobs come and go. And no matter what level you are at, you are always competing with other writers to get the job. It’s not like “once you’re in, you’re in.” You have to keep battling to stay in year after year. As does everyone else. But getting that first professional job is probably going to be the toughest. After that, it gets a tiny bit easier only because you are not yet established as a professional screenwriter and have the credits to back that you know what you are doing.

Alternative Ways to Gain Experience

Earlier, I spoke about a more linear path that you can take in the industry that can help you become a professional screenwriter. But here is the catch. Even if this linear path happens to you on starting on day 1 when you arrive in Hollywood, at a minimum, you are 4-5 years away from being a professional screenwriter. And that’s if every piece falls into place. Let me explain.

On a TV Show, you have maybe 10-12 professional writers who are at all different levels. Executive Producers all the way down to Staff Writers, which is your “entry-level writer”. And by entry-level, I don’t mean that it’s a job that anyone can do off the street. This is just the first level of what is considered a “professional TV writer”. In Writers Rooms, there are also roles that are more referred to as “support staff”. And you guessed it, their job is to support the professional screenwriters. And those roles are:

Showrunner’s Assistant
Writers Production Assistant
Writer’s Assistant
Script Coordinator.

So let’s talk about these more for a second.

The showrunner’s Assistant is the right-hand person to the Showrunner (head writer/Executive Producer). They schedule meetings, sit in on notes calls, and do everything else an Executive Assistant would do. They are basically involved with all of the same elements that the Showrunner is involved with, they just aren’t really making any decisions. If you are able to get this job, you will learn so much about all the things a Showunner has to do.

Writers Production Assistant is the person who orders the lunches, makes copies of the scripts, organizes the office, and is the runner for anything the writers may need. This is the only real “entry-level” position on TV Shows. You are not necessarily involved with any sort of creative participation. But you are working with people who are. And you will get to know them, and they will get to know you. If you get this position, you want to make sure you can make those genuine connections.

Writers Assistant is a person who sits in the Writers Room and takes notes and organizes everything that is being talked about. This includes jokes, story ideas, character arcs, etc… This role is so important because so much stuff is talked about in the room, and it all needs to be kept track somewhere. And if you can keep everything super organized and provide the writers with the necessary notes that were talked about, you will make their job easier, and they will like you, and this is such a good way to build a relationship with them.

The Script Coordinator also sits in the Writers Room and is really responsible for anything that has to do with the distribution of the scripts. They also help with notes and all of that stuff. Most of the time, this person was the Writers Assistant in the past, so they have spent a lot of time in Writers Room. This role is basically the last role you would need before you became a Staff Writer, from the linear POV.

So, in a perfect world, each of these roles leads to the next… in theory. So if you started as a Writers PA, then on season 2, you might be bumped up to Writers Assistant. Then, on Season 3, you might get bumped up to Script Coordinator, then on Season 4… if all the stars aligned, you might get bumped up to Staff Writer. And that is what I meant by linear path. And you can see how that would take years, even if things fell into place quickly. That doesn’t take into account shows getting canceled or anything like that. You may even end up being a Script Coordinator, Writers Assistant or Writers PA on a few different shows for a few years.

But you can see how if you can get that role of Writers Assistant or Script Coordinator, you are going to be in that room all of the time with the writers. And that is where you are going to learn so much about the craft, and that’s what can catapult you forward. And a lot of times, depending on the Showrunner, they might even allow you to write a freelance script for the TV Show. This is a huge opportunity for you, and this is that big break where you will get your first “Written By” credit.

The other best way to gain experience is to find a way to meet and work with writers who are at the same level. Like in Michael’s course, you get access to his private Facebook group. This is a group of incredibly supportive people who are trying to make each other better. They do weekly writing sprints, table reads, and short film competitions. This is the group of people that you want to stick with because when they rise, you will be with them. When you rise, they will be with you.

And you know all of these people are going to be able to make you better because they learned from someone who has done this professionally for over 28 years. You can’t get much more experienced than that.

Conclusion

These fellowships are highly sought after, but in my opinion, they are not necessarily the easiest/best way to make your career. You should absolutely apply for them if you can, just don’t bank on that being the only thing. Keep writing. Find a way to get one of those Production Assistant positions on a TV show. That’s what the key is. You want to surround yourself with industry professionals who have been where you are. And you never know who knows who in this industry.

But again, it all comes down to your ability to write and tell stories. If you are not taking the necessary steps to make that happen, then you won’t make it. No one is randomly going to knock on your door and say, “Hey, I know this might be random. But do you happen to want to be a screenwriter by chance?” You are going to have to put in years of work first to hone your craft and compile your sample scripts.

Michael has some free lessons you can watch, so you can start your journey and learn more about story structure and the storytelling process.

I encourage you to sign up. It’s free! Literally no excuse. It’s free! And just in case you don’t know what “free” means, “free” means “FREE.” Do you know what ISN’T free?

Having regrets.

But what IS free is Michael’s free screenwriting lesson.

Did I mention that these free lessons are FREE?