#Season 6 “Freaky Friday on Crack” (Plec's words) and oh no everyone woke up in each other's bodies but Dawn's science fair is today!

[rhaenin-time]

So back when the TV writing industry was slightly more permeable without connections and TV itself was more episodic, a common way to get your foot in the door was with "spec scripts." Where you'd write your own episode of a show.

You (well, your agent) would never submit a spec script of the show to the show you want to work on to the actual show you want to work on though. Rather, it was only meant to demonstrate that you understood how to write a self-contained story that remained faithful to the overarching story. Consistent in tone and theme and characterization. That not only were you a writer, but a writer able to tell a story someone else asks for, alongside other writers.

So yes, you'd basically submit fan fiction. And your goal was to make it read like a genuine lost script, rather than like... "fan fiction."

Anyways, Julie Plec once wrote a Buffy spec script. And it's EXACTLY what you think.

I mean it, a hellish mix of cringey and boring. All the incompetence and self-indulgence we associate with bad fan fic, but with none of the fun. None of the soul. If you ever feel embarrassed about writing what you consider a particularly cringey fan fic, just remember that Julie Plec not only did worse, but that she wrote it for a professional reason, looked at it, and decided, "Oh yes. This will get me all the jobs." And proceeded to SUBMIT it.

[rhaenin-time]

OH MY GAWD

It's a season 6 “Freaky Friday on Crack” (Plec's words) and oh no everyone woke up in each other's bodies but Dawn's science fair is today!

But most importantly, Xander wakes up in Spike's body and not only does he thirst for blood but he must also learn that Spike has a HUGE DICK and it's SO UNFAIR!

So back when the TV writing industry was slightly more permeable without connections and TV itself was more episodic, a common way to get your foot in the door was with "spec scripts." Where you'd write your own episode of a show.

You (well, your agent) would never submit a spec script of the show to the show you want to work on to the actual show you want to work on though. Rather, it was only meant to demonstrate that you understood how to write a self-contained story that remained faithful to the overarching story. Consistent in tone and theme and characterization. That not only were you a writer, but a writer able to tell a story someone else asks for, alongside other writers.

So yes, you'd basically submit fan fiction. And your goal was to make it read like a genuine lost script, rather than like... "fan fiction."

Anyways, Julie Plec once wrote a Buffy spec script. And it's EXACTLY what you think.

I mean it, a hellish mix of cringey and boring. All the incompetence and self-indulgence we associate with bad fan fic, but with none of the fun. None of the soul. If you ever feel embarrassed about writing what you consider a particularly cringey fan fic, just remember that Julie Plec not only did worse, but that she wrote it for a professional reason, looked at it, and decided, "Oh yes. This will get me all the jobs." And proceeded to SUBMIT it.