Julia Yorks
@juliayorks
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Professional screenwriter. Amateur adult. Repped by CAA & RMG. hello @juliayorks .com
NYC
Joined April 2010
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I once confided in our show's exec about the toxic work environment in the room and she hugged me and said she would take care of it and the next day I got fired lol
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My first staff writer gig was on The Adventures of Puss in Boots. I made $1600/week.
A WGA staff writer minimum is $5000/week.
THEY ARE THE SAME JOB!
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Lots of chatter on the timeline about LOGLINES--why they're annoying to write, why they're important to write--but I didn't see any advice on HOW to actually write them!
So, here's what works for me. Hopefully it can soothe your logline-writing anxiety! A THREAD:
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Last year, I was unemployed. I couldn’t get a staff job, a showrunner meeting, or a WA gig. I had one WPA interview. I didn’t get hired.
Today, I’m working on the network polish of my original pilot.
Keep writing. You got this.
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screenwriters telling each other to "keep expectations in check" is hilarious because in order to pursue this career you simply must be delusional
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When I was a script coordinator at Dreamworks, I made $750/wk and my reps took 10%. (Long story.) ~$35K salary before taxes. That free lunch (and breakfast!) from the studio was the only way I was able to survive in LA. (I'd even bring tupperware to take food home for dinner.)
To folks commenting that seem to not get it-
they were being paid so little by Disney that they RELIED on getting that free lunch so they could have enough to try to make other ends meet.
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Just a reminder that so many professional screenwriters have never had their work produced. So, if your script gets bought and produced, that's an incredible accomplishment. If your script gets bought and not produced, that's an incredible accomplishment.
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So much talk during this strike about TV writer pay... but what about feature writers?
Let's say you get hired to write a feature OWA (Open Writing Assignment.) Typically, OWAs are based on IP that the production company owns, so the guild minimum is ~$68K for the first draft.
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I have done the unthinkable -- sold a movie I pitched after Halloween and the deal closed yesterday, before Christmas break. Happy holidays indeed!
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5 Things I Would Never Do As A Professional Screenwriter:
1. Publicly talk trash about a movie/TV show
2. Post a logline of an unfinished project
3. Worry about formatting issues
4. Write a spec for free based on IP I don't own
5. Post about meetings online
(A 🧵)
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I thought TikTok was more chill than Twitter until I posted a screenwriting video that went viral and now people are in the comments fighting about whether or not I'm infertile so lesson learned
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One of my screenwriting professors used to say, "People will always hire a good writer who is a pleasure to be in the room with for 10 hours over a great writer who is an asshole." Do with that what you will. 🤷♀️
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When you're hired to write a feature, you usually get 12 weeks contractually to turn around the actual draft.
Here's my typical timeline of working on a project from start to finish which, as you'll see, can be somewhat atypical!
Question — how long do you typically spend on a feature? Mostly I’ve been doing true stories so that entails 3-4 months of research / outlining. And then a couple months on the first draft. Another month on the second. But there’s draft after draft that comes after that…
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The hardest part about being a screenwriter is knowing whodunit 10 minutes into every suspenseful thing you watch
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do another round of stimulus but you don't get it unless you're vaccinated boom problem solved
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All my scenes in Unbreakable were with Bruce Willis. We shot in the rain and he made sure they let me get into the heated pool to warm up between takes. He checked in constantly during the emotional scenes. Just a really good guy. Wishing the best for him and his family
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After 10 months of being unemployed, I got the call that I got staffed. I celebrated by buying new shoes.
A few days later, I was told the showrunner had made a mistake and meant to hire someone else.
I had to return the shoes.
what’s the worst professional rejection you’ve ever gotten? I was dropped as a client by my first manager who ended the call with “I remain a fan.” Turns out that is not fan behavior!
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Screenwriting is so incredibly idealized that most writers--professional and aspiring--are led to believe the value of opportunity is worth more than monetary value. But it's not. If you're doing a job, you should be adequately paid for it, no matter how aspirational the career.
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Screenwriting advice on here gets contentious bc people need different things at different phases of their careers. When you're a new writer, you need encouragement so you don't quit. When you've been in the industry for a while, you need to commiserate so you don't quit.
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Some exciting career news--I'm officially repped by a truly incredible team of ladies over at CAA! So thankful for this opportunity and can't wait to see what we cook up together!
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A lot of aspiring writers overlook breaking in through kids content, but the episode orders are bigger, the shows tend to run longer, and the pathway from assistant to writer actually still seems viable. Not to mention the hours are good and the people are great!
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As someone who used to do coverage, the only way you get slammed for breaking “screenwriting rules” is if your script is not that good. If you write a great script, no one cares about the rules! But if it’s not a very good script, “you broke the rules” is an easy note to give. 🤷♀️
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My TV writing advice is that I couldn't get hired on any shows so I switched to features
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My advice to newer writers? Don't ever think that just because you're a "baby writer," (ew gross yuck) you deserve to be taken advantage of.
#WGAStaffingBoost
has shown that there are other ways to get your voice heard. There are other avenues to get your scripts read.
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Kids are understandably sad they won't get to walk at their graduations. Let's make them feel less bad with our bad grad stories!
I'll start. Troy Polamalu walked right before me at my USC graduation and the cheers were so loud, no one heard my name being called.
You go!
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To me, the most helpful way to visualize a script is as a bell curve, with the midpoint being the arc's apex. In fact, when I'm starting a new project, I literally draw a bell curve, and mark it up with my big, broad story beats.
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3.) We do free work because the industry is competitive and we like working, so if execs say, "jump and this project goes," we're already 10 feet in the air.
I absolutely love what I do... but I work really freakin' hard. And too much of that work is unpaid.
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So, how do you write a standard logline? I usually start by plugging my story into a generic template like this:
"A [DESCRIPTIVE ADJ] [MAIN CHARACTER(S)' PROFESSION] must [DO SOMETHING ANTITHETICAL TO THEIR NATURE] in order to [SOLVE A BIG PROBLEM]."
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The thing about screenwriting Twitter drama is it almost never involves working, professional screenwriters
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Me, while writing: “this is trash! burn it! I’m garbage!
Me, getting notes: “how dare you critique my opus “
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Here's my typical feature pitch blueprint:
-Teaser scene
-Logline/Comps/Tag Line
-"Why me?"
-Act One plot with 1-2 set pieces
-Act Two plot with 2-3 set pieces
-Midpoint set piece
-What's driving the Act 2B tension
-Finale set piece
-Q&A
(1/12)
I have my first movie pitch next week. My reps are being very helpful, but I also wanted to ask screenwriting Twitter: do you have any go-to Pitching 101 resources? Any favorite tidbits of advice? I'd love to hear.
Thank you 🙂
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First, the basics:
-A logline is a short (1-2 sentence) premise of your story.
-In my USC screenwriting classes, I learned that the perfect length of a logline was 26 words. (Why 26? IDK. I'm sure 24 or 28 words work equally well. The point is not to get too lengthy)
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The entertainment industry is a game of following your momentum. Wanted to be an actress, got attention for writing. Wanted to write comedy features, got staffed in animation. Wanted to write genre shows, now working almost exclusively in features. Go where the work takes you.
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I do script consults, and I can typically tell if a screenwriter is a pro before I read a single page of their script. How?
PAGE COUNT!
Scripts by newer writers tend to be waaaay longer than industry standards. The best skill you can learn early is how to edit yourself!
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The hardest place to be in your career IMO is that momentum lapse after the 1st big win--1st staff job, 1st freelance ep, 1st OWA. No advice per se, but I remember it well, and if that's where you're at, know it's just a matter of time until your next big win.
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My first gig as a staff writer, I was paid $1800/wk and I wrote fifteen episodes of TV. FIFTEEN EPISODES.
The WGA minimum for a staff writer is can be up to $5069/wk and they MAYBE get one episode.
I love my job, I love my coworkers, I love cartoons, but also... we're doing the same gig as WGA writers and they're making twice as much as us, soooo?
#PayAnimationWriters
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Think about A QUIET PLACE:
"In a world [that is overrun with deadly extraterrestrials with ultra-sensitive hearing], a [pregnant woman and her family] are forced to [live in silence]."
That's all I got!
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Good morning, new followers! Thanks for the add!
For those of you who don't know me, I'm a professional screenwriter. Got my start writing on your kids' favorite shows. Now, I write movies and talk all things screenwriting on TikTok and on my podcast, THE BABY WRITERS PODCAST!
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And, by comparison, a positive agent story: Last year when I had been without steady work for nearly 2 years, my current agent--who just moved to Verve!-- and manager REFUSED to take commission on my freelance projects. They knew I needed the money.
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@TylerDinucci
Making a left turn off of Los Feliz Blvd. I got into a car accident there and Mandy Moore showed up at the crash site bc she knew the guy that T-boned me.
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A decade as a screenwriter has taught me to tune out apocalyptic industry messaging.
When people want what you're selling, they buy it.
Focus on making your work the best it can be, and ignore the rest.
It’s Quiet, Too Quiet, in Hollywood: Where Are the Deals?
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Writing is what gets you the meeting, but pitching is what gets you the job.
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-Unless it's a biopic and the protagonists/villans are well-known people, don't include character names in your logline.
-Give us the concept, aka the PROMISE OF THE PREMISE! Not the plot points.
-Intriguing, but vague is good. Convoluted is not.
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If my story centers around a BIG EVENT, I'll use a "When/Then" template, like this one:
"When [A BIG EVENT HAPPENS] in [OUR SETTING], our [DESCRIPTIVE ADJ] [MAIN CHARACTER(S)' PROFESSION] must [SOLVE THE PROBLEM]."
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When you finish a commissioned script AND a network pilot AND find out you qualified for WGA healthcare all in the same damn week
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You're probably like, "huh?" But plug in the premise of a movie you know. For example, SILENCE OF THE LAMBS:
"A [young, female] [F.B.I. agent] must [rely on the help of an incarcerated and manipulative murderer] to [catch a like-minded serial killer before he strikes again]."
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Just checked out THE FUGITIVE script to see how they wrote the St Patrick's Day parade chase scene and imagine my surprise to learn it wasn't in the original script! They filmed it without so much as a rehearsal during an actual Chicago parade. 10/10. Chef's kiss.
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Personally, my work has a lot of world-building, so the majority of my loglines follow the "IN A WORLD WHERE" template:
"In a world where [RULE OF THE WORLD], our [DESCRIPTIVE ADJ] [MAIN CHARACTER(S)' PROFESSION] has do [DO SOMETHING THAT GOES AGAINST THAT RULE]."
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Thus, a job that was supposed to be 12 weeks--and most importantly paid me a fee commensurate to that length of time--actually took around 36 weeks of working full time hours.
That comes out to ~$1900/wk, which is far less than the lowest paid writer in any WGA TV room.
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2.) Studios aren't really buying scripts anymore. They're buying packages: a script + a prod co + a big piece of talent attached. More attachments = more notes to address, but a higher chance of the project getting greenlit.
And finally--
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So, why do we do it? Why do we keep saying "yes" to free work?
1.) The real $$ comes if the movie goes into production, so we'll do anything in our power to not only ensure that it does, but that we're the primary writer on it. (Sole writer credit = huge bonus!)
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Here's more info about the 8 Sequence Method:
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Just a fun fact that in features, it typically takes biz affairs 6-10 months to close a deal. So, if a feature writer didn't sell anything pre-strike, it's pretty unlikely they'll see a check in 2023. (It's meeee.)
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WELP, I guess I don’t need to rush to finish that spec after all
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That's it! That's the thought process behind my beat sheet template.
It has totally changed the way I think about story... and if you decide to use this FREE DOWNLOADABLE TEMPLATE, hopefully it can help you too!
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In my opinion, the best thing aspiring professional writers can do is find a community of other entertainment industry people at their same level—fellow writers and assistants and PAs—and help each other rise together.
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Don't worry -- this was a few years ago. I'm good now!
Five months after this happened, I sold my first TV show. Today, my first studio feature starts production!
This industry is wild. Be kind, don't screw people over, and wait until the cash hits to buy those shoes.
After 10 months of being unemployed, I got the call that I got staffed. I celebrated by buying new shoes.
A few days later, I was told the showrunner had made a mistake and meant to hire someone else.
I had to return the shoes.
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If you want to be a TV writer, why would you limit yourself? Staff or sell — you should just aspire to be working!
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Because feature writers are subject to endless rounds of free work.
Known as "producers' passes," these are countless rounds of edits that the execs will "suggest" you do before the script is submitted to prodco higher ups or the studio.
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The poetic justice is that when I eventually got promoted to staff writer, I had already left Gersh and my manager. Since they insisted on taking their $300/month off the top of a script coordinator's salary, they lost out on thousands of dollars in writer's commission.
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Imagine my surprise this AM, while casually scrolling through actor breakdowns, to see one for MY VERY FIRST STUDIO FEATURE! You guys, I'm crying!
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ENOUGH with the threads about screenwriting competitions! If you want to apply, go for it! If you don't, don't! If you placed, great! If you didn't, okay! Do what you think you need to do! Some of it will work! Most of it will not! It's a really hard industry! You do you!
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So… the network passed on my pilot.
I feel so incredibly fortunate that I got to spend the past year getting paid to develop a world I’ve been dreaming about for over a decade. (1/3)
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#ScreenwritingTwitter
!
Meet THE BABY WRITERS PODCAST, your weekly dose of screenwriting hot takes, biz news, & chats with pro "baby writers" on their recent success and how you can do it too.
Launching mid-Oct wherever you listen. Subscribe now!
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To break this one down, plug in the premise of JAWS.
"When [a killer shark unleashes terror] [on a small beach town], it's up to [a local sheriff], [a marine biologist], and [an old seafarer] to [stop the beast]."
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A little vulnerability but I'm personally terrified about a strike and it's making me feel crazy and also poor that no one else on my timeline seems to feel the same way? So, if you're also terrified... you're not alone!
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I hate even asking, but if you like my tweets, could you please subscribe to my YouTube channel? If I get to 1000 people, I can monetize my account. Strike times are tough, but trying to keep all of the free screenwriting resources coming!
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I didn't quit my day job until I got staffed. I even had to go back to my day job between gigs after 3.5 years of being a pro writer.
The key is to finding something that's flexible enough to take generals and doesn't zap your creative energy.
Stop telling emerging writers to just quit their day jobs and go for it. Not everyone has the means to do that.
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Most contracts give you 12 wks to write said draft. As a weekly rate, that's marginally higher than a staff writer's fee, around $5600/wk.
But, while the common refrain in TV is that rooms are getting cut short, the pain of features is that jobs are taking way too long.
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The strike has put any sort of life progress on hold. Getting vulnerable here, but was hoping to start a family this year. They say there's no right time to have kids, but can't help but feel like being on strike with no income is the wrong time, right?
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My last one-step assignment (meaning I was only contractually guaranteed a first draft) actually turned into three (count 'em, three!) drafts--a first draft, and then two other essentially page one rewrites.
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My husband and I wrote a script together and not only are we still married but readers on
@theblcklst
called it "an exceptional piece of material" and "a perfectly crafted screenplay" so I'd say that's pretty good for a Monday
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Twitter is like: “If you’re happy and you know it… DON’T clap your hands. It’s performative and offensive to anyone who may be happy but doesn’t know it yet.”
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What's the number one question I ask emerging writers after reading their scripts?
"What is this story about?"
A quick
#screenwriting
🧵
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Hey Writer Twitter!
I got dropped by my agent at Verve recently.
I'm pretty nervous about where this leaves me for staffing season, but since that's literally why
#WGASolidarityChallenge
and
#WGAStaffingBoost
were born, it's time to be my own agent.
So... I need a job!
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Question for fellow pro screenwriters--what corporate jobs are we "qualified" to do?
Feeling a bit like Liam Neeson with a very particular set of skills that aren't transferrable to any other career, particularly one that pays well.
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But, the 8 Sequence Method is also a pretty cool way to think about story! In a 100 page script, each sequence would be 12.5 pages, and have a beginning, middle, and end. Thinking about a script that way feels so much less scary to conceptualize!
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There aren't a ton of resources out there for re: how to pitch a TV show or movie... so, I made one! In this video, I walk you through an actual series pitch of mine, then analyze it, step-by-step. Hope this helps!
#ScreenwritingTwitter
#PreWGA
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Newer writers often limit themselves by focusing on what can get MADE. But professional writers know the reality is most things never get made.
To make a career in this biz, write the thing that's going to get you HIRED--the idea you love that showcases your original voice!
QUESTION—
What the hell do you do if you have an original spec idea that’s epic — in the vein of Game of Thrones x Marvel — as an emerging writing that you MUST write? Obvi it’s not recommended as a nobody like me.
Right answers only, lol.
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YOUR GIRL MADE THE TRADES!
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This in NO WAY means that writers are salaried at $5000/week for an entire year! It's more common than ever for rooms to only run 8-10 weeks. Some run 20. You've hit the lottery if you staff on a broadcast procedural that runs 40!
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Not every scene needs to advance the plot, but it needs to do SOMETHING. It needs a purpose.
I tell my script notes clients to try reverse outlining. Go through your script and find the “why” of each scene. If you can’t pinpoint a purpose, you might not need it!
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After much back and forth, they "kindly" agreed to "only" take 5% each, because, like my dad said, "5% of something is better than 100% of nothing." So, I was down 10% per week, reducing my take home to $28,183/year. That $300/month was nothing to them. It was everything to me.
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The writers in my room told me to leave my reps. Even the recruiter at DreamWorks said it was unheard of and "if you were my daughter, I'd tell you to fire their asses." But I was a "baby writer." (ugh, that term.) I didn't think I could leave. Who would take me?
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3. I would never worry about formatting issues.
All of the hullabaloo on this app around WE SEE and bolded sluglines is silly. As long as you're consistent--and your script is good--nobody cares.
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I simply cannot stress enough that
#screenwriters
do not need to spend money on pitch decks.
Unless you are repped and/or have attached a major piece of talent (needle-moving producer, director, actor), you don't need a deck.
Why?
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If you’re having a slow moment in your career, just go on vacation! As soon as you touch down, you’ll have an outline due, seven zoom meetings, and an audition to figure out how to put on tape in your hotel room!
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If you're on a show and a support staffer gets a freelance episode, a nice thing to do is offer to read their draft and give notes before they hand it in.
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Just wanted to shout out the
@WGAEast
meeting last night. We didn't pack the Shrine or have special guests, but something about watching cynical New York writers erupt in applause for two hours straight is pretty fucking special.
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Every pitch I’ve sold has been verbal only. No deck. No fancy stuff. Just me, tellin’ a story! Highly recommend!
Here’s a wild idea: Let writers use their words to pitch stories execs can visualize in their minds instead of playing elaborate slide shows, teasers, and sizzle reels.
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And if you like this thread, check out my podcast, THE BABY WRITERS PODCAST! We’ve got 3 episodes up, and another one coming to you on Monday!
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1. I would never publicly talk trash about a movie/TV show.
The industry is very small. Like, scarily so. Save your criticisms for the group chat because someday, you might want to work for/with someone involved in the project you publicly trashed.
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For those of you unfamiliar with Save the Cat's template, you can find it here:
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This writing is ~*chef's kiss*~ but I think it's a misconception that this breaks "screenwriting rules!"
It's the balance of the sharp, concise action and the longer more "prosaic" action that really makes this sing. If it were all one or the other, it wouldn't be as magical.
Peter Gould’s script prose goes against what every book on screenwriting I’ve ever read says you should do, and feels much better & more exciting for it
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