John and Craig discuss commencement, the official moment to start writing. It can be easy to get pressured into free producer rewrites, starting to write before a deal is done and other pitfalls of blurry boundaries, so the WGA is introducing the Start Button, designed to help writers define their timeline and let the Guild be the bad guy.

We also answer listener questions about procedural television, binge-watching, and crossing the line in dark comedy.

Links:

• Signed Arlo Finch bookplates are available with a copy of your receipt.
• Tickets for the Scriptnotes Holiday Live Show are on sale now.
• Scriptnotes, Ep 296: Television with Damon Lindelof
• Start Button for WGA members
• Dungeons and Dragons Art and Arcana box set or just the book
• This Chemical Is So Hot It Destroys Nerve Endings -- In a Good Way by Matt Simon for Wired
• T-shirts are available here! We’ve got new designs, including Colored Revisions, Karateka, and Highland2.
• John August on Twitter
• Craig Mazin on Twitter
• John on Instagram
• Find past episodes
• Scriptnotes Digital Seasons are also now available!
• Outro by Andrew Burns (send us yours!)

Email us at [email protected]

You can download the episode here.