It’s hard at the to-- in the middle.

I wrote before about the WGAW Writer Access Project. It's a diversity program for writers with television staffing experience. The 2010 honorees have been posted. Again writer's spec scripts and original pilots have been uploaded.

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A Writer Lost

With the return of "Lost" for its final season in less than a month, now is the time to look back at its beginnings. Not the pilot script but the script that never made it to air.

Before "Lost" was "Lost" it was "Nowhere;" a realistic island survival pilot written by Jeffrey Lieber. Lieber was given the boot and the project was handed over to JJ Abrams and company and the rest is history. I never heard about any of this till my friend e-mailed me a link to the script. You can read about the story in this article.

"Lost" is one of my favorite shows but after reading "Nowhere" I can say I would have watched and enjoyed this show as well (given its ultimate execution.) Since it was a jumping off point for "Lost" there are a lot of similarities. Though they don't last long. "Lost" has many sci-fi and supernatural elements I personally enjoy. However, I also appreciate entertainment on the flip-side of this aesthetic. "Nowhere" has a very realistic tone. Lieber wrote the hell out of this script.

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Pick A Side

'Sides' are sections of scripts used for casting. They usually run one or two scenes long.

When you spec a show you want to know it inside and out, especially that shows particular script format. It can be hard to find scripts for some shows. While the sides are only excerpts they can provide insight.

A selection from SpoilerTV:

Bones - Episode 5.11 - The X In The File - Casting Sides

Vampire Diaries - Episode 1.14 - Casting Sides

Grey's Anatomy - Episode 6.08 - Casting Sides

Legend of the Seeker - Episode 2.13 - Casting Sides

The Mentalist - Episode 2.02 - Scarlet Letter

90210 - Episode 2.17 - Casting Sides

CSI: Miami - Episode 8.14 - In the Wind - Casting Sides

How I Met Your Mother - Episode 5.11 - Last Cigarette Ever - Casting Sides

Psych - Episode 4.11 - A Very Juliet Episode - Casting Sides

CSI: NY - Episode 6.14 - Sanguine Love - Casting Sides

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Spec Scripts and Pilots

Even after you've gotten your first job or your fourth, television writers always have to have current scripts. This page on the WGA site features spec scripts by diverse mid-level television writers.

Better than the specs, there are also sample pilots. Maybe a future hit series is among these scripts.

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