Every Monday on my Instagram page (follow me @seanconroy) I publish a writing prompt. Using it helps me start the writing process for the week going downhill (not in terms of quality, just ease of effort). Here’s the one I used today, and what I wrote:

Write about a character who finds an odd-looking egg in the forest. When they take it home, they never could have predicted what was inside it.

I was out for a walk on I think a Tuesday, usual route. Crossed the stream, went up to the alder grove, tunred left, past the stumps, blah blah blha. Then I was like, fuck it, it’s Tuesday, or Weendsay or whatever, what if I wnet left instead of right?

Wild.

So I did.

And not 8 minutes later I hit a clearing, and right in the middle, just sitting there like a bump on a log, was a log. And on top of the log was the biggest egg I had ever seen. It was about 7 feet in diameter, 7 feet tall- so not ovoid, like you get at the chicken ranch, but round, like a home coordination module.

Now the first rule of walking in the forest is leave no trace, so I knew immediately I had to get that thing out of there.

It was a struggle, but I’ve been doing a lot of carry exercises with oddly shaped objects, you know beanbg chairs, armoires, my son (the younger one, Robert- he lloks like a bag of basketballs on stilts- not Peter, he’s just a good loking kid).

SO I managed to get my arms partway around it and lever it up and somehow roll and toss ande carry it all the way back to the bunker. The kids were excited when I brought it through the portal into the front decompression area and hosed it down. They started chanting the samw way they do when we are at a meet, but instead of chanting the names of the what they would do to the competitors from the opposing factions, you know “Cripple the tall guy with a hammer! Cripple the tall guy with a hammer!’ or “Pull that beard! UYank that beard! Pull that beard! Yank that beard!” and so forth (maybe we need to plan ahead a little) they started chaning “Open it! What’s inside? Open it! What’s inside?” It would hve been better if the chant was just “Crack it open! (clap clap, clap clap clap) Crack it open!” and so forth. But whatever. Love them. They’re my kids!

So I took out a hammer and a chisel, and started chipping away at the shell. For a while. It took me at least an hour to make a noticeable whole, the shell was tough, and all the while I’m going “What the f is in here? Some kind of scaly thing? A flyer? Teeth? Something big, that’s for sure.”

But finally a got a 6 inch whole in it and I tipped so some of the runny stuff started puring out, gusing really, sooooomuc. The albumen or whtever. Right? And suddenly

LITERALLY TIMER WENT OFF HERE AND I HAVE NO DIEA WHAT WAS IN THERE.

LIKE THE TITLE ALMOST SAYS, I'm teaching a new pilot class!

What follows is: bad news, good news, advice, the way, and a bonus.

THE BAD NEWS:
The Writers' Strike is probably coming. This means things are kind of frozen in the television industry right now. Nobody wants to commit to anything new if it's just gonna go away for a month, or 6 months, or (gulp) longer)...

THE GOOD NEWS:
...which means this is a perfect time to get your ducks in a row. Get your scripts ready. Be ready to hit the ground running when things open up again. Networks and streamers will be thirsty for content, and if you have a portfolio of work that shows off your skills, maybe they'll want that content from you.

THE ADVICE:
The most frequent question I get from students and other people who are interested in writing for television is, "How do I break in?" My success comes down to three factors:

1) Hard work
2)Relationships
3) Luck

When I started thinking about getting into writing for television, I took a sitcom writing class, and started writing scripts (hard work). I became friends with a guy in an improv class (relationship!). Right after I moved to Los Angeles, he sold a pilot and asked me to work with him (and lots and lots of other people) on making it (my good luck- right place, right time). After the pilot got picked up to series, he asked me if I could give him a script that he could show to the producers, the network, and the showrunner. By then I had written 6 or 7 television sitcom scripts (more hard work).  I had one I thought was worth showing to people, and I guess it was, because I got hired.

I can't help with luck (nobody can), or with relationships (classes, meetups, therapy, Tinder, elderly matchmakers...). But I can help with the hard work part. 

THE WAY:
I'm offering another Master Class in Writing a Sitcom Pilot. 

The class starts April 23, 2023. It meets Sundays from 1-4 PM PST, on April 23 and 30, May 7, 14, 21, and 28, and June 4, 11, and 18. 8 of the sessions are group sessions with the rest of the class, which I operate as closely as possible to an actual writers' room-  from the introduction and development of the pilot idea, to the pre-writing and outlining of the pilot, to actual scenes, everybody is responsible for everybody.  Then there is a 9th meeting, which is one on one with me, to discuss the actual script you've finished. The cost of the class is $550. The size of the class is limited, so sign up now.

THE BONUS:
Sign up before April 8 and get an extra 30-minute phone/Zoom session with me, two weeks after the class ends, to discuss the rewrite of your pilot script, or whatever the next project you have decided to work on is. 

Go here to sign up now: 

Or, go to my website for more info on the classes, and some testimonials:

https://www.seanconroy.com/classes

Good luck, everybody! Stay safe, and keep writing.

best


Sean

PS No ducks were harmed in the writing of this email (hilarious!) (look forward to more jokes like these) (that was only one "joke," if you can call it that)