One big mistake most writers make when writing a sample pilot is that they don't first develop the TV show. 

When I first started teaching pilot writing classes, I was surprised by how little the writers knew about the world, characters, and future of the show by the time they started writing the first half-hour of it. 

What makes a reader say "WOW, my boss has to read this THIS WEEKEND," is when the entire TV show - all its seasons and many, many episodes - is readily apparent in the script for the first episode. 

How do you do this? You don't start by writing. You don't even start by outlining. You start by developing. 

The process I teach mimics the actual process of developing a TV show, pitching it to producers, studios, and networks, selling it, getting commenced, and writing the pilot. (Which I've actually done - that whole process - twice. Parts of the process many more times!) 

The process starts with watching TV like a TV writer - and thinking broadly about your vision for your show. This gives you have a lot of clarity about what you want this show to be, and it becomes very easy to start making decisions about what goes into the first episode. 

Who am I? 

I’m Julia - I’m a Los Angeles-based screenwriter, writing coach, and postpartum doula/lactation educator. I started my career in entertainment as a development assistant for Modern Family star Ty Burrell’s production company before selling my original multicam pilot YOURS, MINE & PAUL’S to 20th Century Fox Television in a competitive situation; it later sold to ABC with Burrell producing and Sarah Hyland attached to star. My next pilot, MARRIED WITH FRIENDS (also a multicam), sold to CBS in the room; I then went on to adapt the Israeli TV series THE STYLIST into a feature film for Amazon Local Originals. I also developed an original single cam pilot, MORE KIDS THAN PARENTS, with Fanfare Productions, and wrote on the scripted audio series THE GOOD LIFE (Broadway Video and Audible). 

During the 2023 writers’ strike, I staved off credit card debt (kind of) by teaching pilot writing classes through the Upright Citizens Brigade Training Center, and discovered that not only could I do, I could also teach :) I am now a sought-after screenwriting coach with an in-depth curriculum for three-act structure in half-hour pilots, and after observing my students’ challenges that could not be addressed by understanding how an effective pilot is structured, I developed tools to help screenwriters to overcome procrastination, writer’s block, and career stagnation. My coaching has been described “a magical drug,” “a godsend,” “perceptive as hell” and “legit brilliant.”