Stop, Collaborate, and Listen: Amanda Pellegrino on Writing for TV Versus Writing a Novel

I like to say I’m a TV writer by day and a novelist by night, which isn’t always literally true (I tend to write best in the mornings), but it gets the message across. Over the past six years as a writer’s assistant and writer, I’ve found a nice balance between these two jobs—one is solitary while the other is collaborative, one is freestyle while the other is formulaic. In both mediums, I’m building a world, creating characters, coming up with plots and twists. However, the process in which they’re executed could not be more different.

Writing books is a one-woman job. While writing my debut novel, Smile and Look Pretty, I was between TV gigs, so I scheduled my entire day around working on the book. Since I’m most productive in the mornings and evenings, I’d wake up around 8:30 and write until noon. I wouldn’t count words or set any kind of goal aside from typing until my alarm went off. Then I’d take a mid-day break and go for a long run in Central Park, usually listening to music or a true crime podcast. That helped me refresh and come back to the book with new eyes. In the afternoon, I worked from a coffee shop and wrote until around 6 or 6:30 before calling it a night. There were definitely days when the only person I spoke to was my barista.

Once I’d submitted my manuscript draft, I got notes from my editor, and the process became more collaborative. Conversations involve anything from “Change the book from first person to third person” (which I did for Smile and Look Pretty) to “This chapter needs to move faster” or “Can we cut these paragraphs?” But even after I receive this feedback, it’s just two people—my editor and me—writing, revising, and perfecting.

In contrast, writing a TV show is a team sport from day one. Most recently, I was a writer on Showtime’s American Rust. For this project, eight writers sat in a room all day “breaking story.” That means pitching ideas, discussing character development, and coming up with plot lines until the general idea for every scene in every episode is written on an index card and pinned to a bulletin board. Together, the writers are responsible for creating every detail of the story.

After the episode is written, the notes process is extensive and involves even more people. First, the showrunner and executive producers might do some rewriting. Then, the studio and network offer their feedback. Once the episode goes into production, department heads—such as locations, props, and directors—get involved to bring to life what we’ve written.

For example, a scene with two main characters talking on a plane can receive any variation of the following notes:

From the producers: “It’s too expensive to shoot on a plane, can they already be at their destination in a coffee shop?”

Rewrite.

From the director: “I know the scene is in a coffee shop, but we found this diner that is much more interesting to shoot in. Can we change it to a diner?”

Rewrite.

From the assistant directors: “The script says ‘the diner is full and someone is ordering at the counter.’ Can you write a few lines for the patron and waitress to exchange before we cut to our main cast?”

Rewrite.

From props: “Here’s a menu from a local diner. We think everyone should be eating breakfast food, based on time of day. Perhaps they order an omelet instead of a burger?”

Rewrite.

From wardrobe: “On the plane you said they’re wearing suits. Since they’re just at a diner now, would they lose their jackets to be a little more casual?”

Rewrite.

As TV writers, we’re involved in every aspect of the storytelling process. We build a world and create characters and settings, and then those things are eventually budgeted out and interpreted by their incredibly specialized department heads—sets are built by production designers, characters are inhabited by actors, shots are planned by directors and directors of photography. Because of that teamwork, all aspects of the story often become even better than we could have imagined.

Our writing must be specific and concise enough to give all the other artists involved enough world-building so they can take the script and run with it. We come up with the ideas, and everyone else uses their expertise to help us execute it.

In both situations, I’ve learned that a person and a story thrive when surrounded by a strong and supportive team—big or small. In Smile and Look Pretty, I wanted to explore how meaningful a supportive working environment can be in someone’s life, examine what happens when a group of young women doesn’t have that, and showcase the community they create when navigating tricky situations and searching for validation at work.

I love my jobs and am incredibly fortunate to experience writing from two very different points of view. The main similarity between the two—the most important to master—is the classic advice to “kill your darlings.” I’ve learned through both forms of writing that I can’t be precious with my story. Things change, scenes get cut, characters evolve. But that’s how the storytelling magic happens.

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Amanda Pellegrino’s Smile and Look Pretty is available for purchase anywhere books are sold.