The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience

How to Write a Bestselling Audio Drama with Writer/Producer Aaron Tracy: Part One


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Yale educator and TV writer/producer, Aaron Tracy, spoke with me about what it takes to make it as a TV writer, breaking into the audio drama space, producing Audible’s most successful original fiction series, and working on the upcoming “Supreme” with Eva Longoria.

Aaron Tracy teaches “The Art and Craft of Television Drama” at Yale University, and his TV credits include Law & Order: SVU, Fairly Legal, The Tap, and Sequestered, a serialized thriller that ran two seasons, for which he was Creator and Executive Producer. 

He is also the Creator, Head Writer, and Exec. Producer of scripted audio dramas for iHeartRadio, Audible, and Spotify, with various production partners. These include an underdog NBA story with Steve Nash, a legal thriller with James Patterson, a historical romance with Shonda Rhimes, and a courtroom drama with Eva Longoria.

His first show to be released, The Coldest Case, a detective thriller starring Aaron Paul, Krysten Ritter, and Alexis Bledel, premiered as the #1 download on Audible in 2021, and has since become the most downloaded show in Audible Plus history.

His audio entertainment company, Parallax, is the home for “prestige scripted audio thrillers and thought-provoking unscripted fare.”

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In this file Aaron Tracy and I discussed:


  • The two paths available to aspiring TV writers 

  • Why you need to always be pitching ideas

  • How audio dramas harken back to the golden days of radio

  • Landing big stars for "TV shows without the visuals"

  • Working with Rob Reiner

  • How to write for the ear

  • Why the journey is the destination for writers

  • And a lot more!

  • Show Notes:

    • The Art and Craft of TV Drama with Aaron Tracy: Part Two
    • Yale University – Aaron Tracy

    • Aaron Tracy Audible Page

    • Aaron Tracy on IMdB

    • Aaron Tracy on Twitter

    • Kelton Reid on Twitter

    • Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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