Tips for the Trenches

They exchanged stories, asked plenty of questions, and fielded advice from fellow WGAW members who —not so long ago—had themselves been staff writers. Above all, the more than 70 members who attended the Guild’s recent Staff Writer Boot Camp came away with knowledge that they would put to practical use.

“I wish I would have attended this before my room had started,” said Evan Washington, who became a member in July, “because everything about set etiquette and navigating the politics were things that I kind of had to learn on my own. But with the information I was given today, I felt like I was headed in the right direction.”

WGAW Staff Writer Boot Camp co-founders Kyle Harimoto and Glen Mazzara. Photo by Moises Marquez.

“It was incredibly informative,” added Maia Henkin whose became a member this month. “I especially enjoyed hearing the other writers speaking about what it’s like being a writer in a room that’s going into production, going on set, essentially the tricks of the trade. Every room is different, so hearing everybody’s experience was great.”

Now in its ninth session in 10 years, the boot camp is designed to give first-time staff writers a one-day crash course in the skills and tools they will need to achieve success in their new profession. The event covered such topics as what is expected of a staff writer, the writing process as it applies to staff writers, coming to a writers’ room prepared, handling social media, getting your ideas heard, dealing with actors and directors, proving your worth, and many others.

Boot camp co-founders Glen Mazzara and Kyle Harimoto conceived the event because they saw the need for bridging the gap between staff writer position and making it to the next level. The two emphasize that by getting their first staff writer jobs, boot camp attendees have already beaten the odds.

“So we thought let’s give them the knowledge to understand the landscape that we came into, how competitive it is and how to create a competitive advantage,” said Harimoto.

“I hope the writers who attend the boot camp take away a philosophy and an approach on how to do their job, so that they gain a realization that not everything that goes wrong is going to kill your career,” added Mazzara. “We can learn from our mistakes. We need to be part of the team. If people can learn to collaborate with other artists in a professional way, and not just make everything about themselves, then hopefully they can have a long career.”

WGAW member Kiley Rossetter attended the Zoom version of the boot camp held during the pandemic. Now, having just completed the first season of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy as an executive story editor, she returned as a panelist to share her thoughts on set etiquette, proving your worth, on-set crises and other topics on two of the boot camp panels.

WGAW Staff Writer Boot Camp panelist Kiley Rossetter. Photo by Moises Marquez.

The event, she noted, was the first time she had been to the WGAW offices.

“It was amazing,” she said of the experience. “We got a little bit of this during the strike. To have this sense of community, even if we can’t prepare them for everything they’re going to face, just knowing there’s a whole roomful of people who have faced a version of what you’re going to go through, that there’s somebody else who has experienced this before and they’ve survived and still have a career. Hopefully that’s something we can communicate in these panels.”

Fellow panelist Shawn Parikh also emphasized the importance of reminding the boot camp participants to keep a positive mindset while on set and also to celebrate the fact that these staff writers are living their dream.

Even as a panelist, Parikh also picked up some insights.

“Because I work on a multi-cam series, I had no idea about location scouting and about how you go to set alone with the showrunner. That was interesting to hear,” said Parikh who is working on the third season of Night Court. “So now I’m on my toes if I ever get staffed on a single-cam.”