Here’s something I think every young writer who’s fresh out of college and wants to pitch their exciting new pilot idea needs to hear:
You are not that interesting.
Don’t make your protagonist a struggling writer trying to make it in the big city, and then try to tell me you’re not trying to say “Hey, there should be a TV show about ME! ME ME ME ME ME!” You’re not fooling anyone. Especially if it’s a struggling writer and all of his smart-alecky friends. Then it’s “I’m so interesting, AND SO ARE MY FRIENDS! WE’RE JUST LIKE THE FRIENDS IN ‘FRIENDS!’”
Here’s the thing: Most of the country aren’t writers. Most of the country are not creative people. Unless you have lived a long life with actual interesting, unique experiences to relate to other people (you haven’t), your protagonist is just going to come off as another self-absorbed asshole who thinks he’s special just because he’s an artist in a big city, and he/she will only appeal to other assholes who think they are special because they are artists in a big city. In other words, it’s going to be self-indulgent bordering on masturbatory.
Write what you know, yes. But that doesn’t mean only write you and your shitty friends. And hey, if that’s all you know, maybe learn something before you start writing.
