

The best format to follow is a three-act structure - beginning, middle, and end. But if you keep them all short, there's breathing room. Remember, your goal is to keep all of this information on one single page, so three paragraphs are better than five.

TV PILOT TREATMENT EXAMPLE HOW TO
Refer to the logline link above for more on how to write effective loglines.ģ-5 SHORT PARAGRAPHS OFFERING A CLEAR BEGINNING, MIDDLE, END You’re presenting the core concept, the main protagonist, the protagonist's main objective, and the stakes at hand - all within 25-50 words (fewer the better). It's all about giving the reader everything they need to know in one single page. The format needs to be uniform for every project you feature within a written pitch. The presentation should be simple, professional, and articulate in how you present your story. You shouldn't include anecdotes about where you came up with the idea or stories about its development. Thus, there should be no mention of your personal preferences, struggles, inspirations, or anything like that. It's all about the project you are trying to pitch. It has to be easy to read, well-written, and straightforward.Ī written pitch isn't about you and your story as the writer. Offer a Professional, Articulate, and Organized Presentation A story summary is the best way to connect with the reader without having to go into subplot, twists, turns, and all of the other elements of the plot. In short, plot is boring to read within a written pitch. You can also touch on tone, atmosphere, and themes present within the story as well. When you summarize the story, you're introducing the core concept and how that concept rocks the world of the characters. When you explain the plot, you're going into details about the various plot points from A to Z and everything in between. There's a major difference between explaining the plot and summarizing the story. Readers live vicariously through your characters, so you engage them within a written pitch by presenting the key elements of location, conflict, characters involved, and the stakes at hand.ĭon't Explain the Plot - Summarize the Story

And you get readers invested by portraying what conflict they are up against and how that conflict is going to affect them physically and emotionally. The purpose of the written pitch is to showcase the best broad strokes of the story and each major character. Get Them Invested in the Story and Characters Written pitches have to be short, sweet, to the point, easy to read, and uniform. This isn't the document that you want to be overly creative, decorative, or busy with - it's all about getting to the core of the concept, story, and characters. Here we cover the basics of how to create the most concise and effective written pitch in simple fashion.
