Arts & Entertainment, Writing

Developing the Concept

Lesson time 12:21 min

Show titles, story bibles, tone, structure - Shonda walks you through how to take your idea and turn it into a fully-fleshed out concept.

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Topics include: An Idea vs. a Premise • Story Bibles • Show Titles • Structure and Tone

Shonda Rhimes

Teaches Writing for Television

In 6+ hours of video lessons, Shonda teaches you her playbook for writing and creating hit television.

Preview

Here's the difference between an idea and a premise. An idea is, what if I wrote a show about gangsters? A premise is, really, filling that out. It's, what if I wrote a show about modern day gangsters who lived in New Jersey, and that gangster went to see a therapist on a weekly basis, because they had problems? The Sopranos. That's the difference between an idea and a premise. And, I think that makes it really clear, because the more specific the idea is, the more it becomes a premise. That's a good way to think about it. Really, you're taking an idea, you're sort of honing in on it. You're thinking, I want to do a show about surgeons. I want to do a show about surgical interns. I want to do a show about female surgical interns, and how hard it is to be them. I'd love to do a show about female friendship while they're surgical interns. They need to be competitive. A woman whose mother was a famous surgeon, and what's that like to have that as your history, and then you're struggling to live up to something. The more specific you become as you think about who the characters are, and what the world is, the better it can be. Anybody can say, I want to do a medical show, but you have to do a medical show that's about something very specific, in order to make it an original idea. I want to do a show about astronauts, yes, but that's not the same as wanting to do a show about a very specific piece of that. Think about journalism. Who, what, why, when, where, and how? If you can't answer those questions, you don't have anything to talk about yet. You really need to be able to say the who, and the what, and the why, and the when, and the where, and the how. And, as well, what are the central conflicts? What do the characters need? What do they want? What are they searching for? You should be able to tell somebody your premise in a couple of sentences, and have it be able to be clearly stated, so that they can understand it. I want to do a show about competitive surgical interns, at the center of which is Meredith Gray, a woman who is hiding the fact that her mother has Alzheimer's. You really want to be able to be concise, so that when you're telling your story, you know what you're talking about. If you don't know what you're talking about, no one else will, either. [MUSIC PLAYING] I think when you're developing a story-- I don't necessarily think of it as, there needs to be this character, this structure, it has to be this genre. I don't think of it that specifically. I mostly-- and I think that it's more organic this way-- I mostly try to think, who am I telling a story about, and what story am I telling? I look at it that way, and I really try to make sure I can tell a story. I don't know if that's helpful, but, for me, everything is about the journey of the character. Who is this person? What journey are th...

About the Instructor

When Shonda Rhimes pitched Grey’s Anatomy she got so nervous she had to start over. Twice. Since then, she has created and produced TV’s biggest hits. In her screenwriting class, Shonda teaches you how to create compelling characters, write a pilot, pitch your idea, and stand out in the writers’ room. You’ll also get original pilot scripts, pitch notes, and series bibles from her shows. Welcome to Shondaland.

Featured MasterClass Instructor

Shonda Rhimes

In 6+ hours of video lessons, Shonda teaches you her playbook for writing and creating hit television.

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