One thing I've always struggled with as a writer is "paralysis by analysis"- maybe if I read THIS book or follow THIS method or use THIS structure I'll get it right, and everything will be easy. So in this episode I talk about some of the things I've done that have helped me get better at writing, and also specifically helped me get better at writing sitcoms. For example, you know how every sitcom nowadays makes fun of improv comedy for being dorky? Well, guess what's one of the most useful things I did when I was learning? Check out the episode, rate and review, all that podcasting stuff.

TV writer and comedian Sean Conroy and his guests talk about how to write a great sitcom pilot, how to have a career in comedy, how to develop good habits as a writer, and his struggles with all of those things. He gives the advice he wishes he'd gotten earlier on, and gets advice from guests that he hopes it's not too late for. If you're a fan of comedy, this show is for you.

Have you ever seen a movie trailer and thought, "That’s my idea!"?

This week, Sean Conroy shares a devastating morning spent on Twitter discovering a project that mirrored his current screenplay beat-for-beat. He talks about an old project he co-wrote that collided with a Tim Allen movie, the famous Art Buchwald vs. Paramount case and why it matters (and why it doesn't), and some incredibly useful wisdom (at least in this case) from Steve Jobs (the guy from Apple).

It’s a masterclass in creative persistence, the myth of stolen ideas, and why execution always wins. Don't forget, your unique "Polar Bear Pappy" perspective is irreplaceable (so don't worry about mailing a copy of your scipt to yourself).

The cold open of your sitcom pilot may be the most important two pages you will ever write in your life, unless you write a long ransom note for yourself or jot down an ancient family recipe to pass on. You have so much work to do in those two pages: you have to introduce us to a world we will want to inhabit, introduce us to characters we're going to want to spend time with, and you have to hook us with hard, funny jokes (it's a sitcom- it needs com). In this episode I talk about two of my favorite-ever cold opens (I have about a hundred), both of which coincidentally (seriously, I chose them first then realized it) use punk rock at the top of the show- AP Bio and Reservation Dogs.

I’ve always written all my TV scripts according to a very methodical screenwriting process. I break the story, do somestory mapping, write an incredibly detailed script outline (including lots of dialogue and jokes), THEN write the script. That has always been my creative philosophy in the writers’ room (where I’m working with lots of other writers), and I’vepretty much stuck to it when I have been on my own.  But I’m trying to write a feature, and I’m finding feature film writing a little different from TV script writing. I have a story, and I really like it, but it’s only part of the movie, and as I have tried to figure everything out I’ve felt—not necessarily writers’ block, but maybe writers’ speedbump. Like, you know those speedbumps that are the same color as the pavement and you don’t see them til you hit them? Like that. So I’m trying to just dive in.  Leap and the net will appear. We’ll see how it goes.

What happens when a high-stakes commercial real estate lawyer decides to trade the courtroom for a writer’s room? This week I talk to Marcus Perkins Bejarano, a graduate of the Nickelodeon Writing Program and writer on the Victorious (with Ariana Grande!) spinoff, Hollywood Arts. Marcus talks about his journey from a Dallas law firm, to an MFA in Musical Theater at NYU, to a writing fellowshipt, to a writers' room. We get into the "interview gauntlet" of Hollywood fellowships, the unique challenge of "group writing" for sitcoms, and why being just a little bit delusional could be your greatest superpower as a writer (obviously it would be X-ray vision for just anybody).

All comics have horror stories. Some involve heckling. Some involve check drops, or check disputes. Some are... quieter.

This is mine.

In this episode I'm talking about the worst set I ever had, which happened at the legendary Stand-Up New York.

I went up after two A-list comics whose sets primed the audience for chaos (because they were dirty or obscene or over the line or whatever) (think Rickles and the Dice Man but funnier and also way more offensive). It's hard to follow filthy with time travel and William Makepeace Thackery.

But I tried.

I'm a comedian and a writer, and in this episode of my podcast I'm talking about when to follow the 180-degree rule in filmmaking and when to break it for the sake of a laugh. And obviously I'm doing this to make a larger point. Using a hilarious short film video moving picture project I made called "Sex Beards" as a case study, I'm talking creative instincts, the reality of the writer’s room, and why you shouldn't panic when a joke doesn't land during the third table read. Learn to trust your comedic voice. Or at least mine.

What does it actually take to break into a Hollywood writer’s room? In this "A M Anything" episode, AKA "Ask Me A.," producer Dean Sharp and I get into the business of television. We talk about the reality of landing an agent, the complex hierarchy of WGA rooms, and how residuals really work. Wanna get better at jokes? Wanna know why I love Seinfeld's Marine Biologist episode so much, and why you should go watch it like ten times in a row? Wanna know if I would ever buy a shirt for $100 then not wear it for a decade or so?

Listen, and you will know.

Why do some sitcom pilots feel like a sprint while others feel like a slow crawl?

In this episode I manage to apply Newton’s Laws of Motion to the reading of a pilot script, and explain why I stay in motion (that is, continue reading), and what forces act against that motion (boredom, confusion, lack of stakes, small print, andmuch much more).

I’m taking a look at two successful major pilots: the highly anticipated The Office spinoff, The Paper (created by Greg Daniels and Michael Koman), and the medical sitcom St. Denis Medical (from Superstore creator Justin Spitzer).

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

If you’re a writer (or aspiring writer) looking for comedy writing advice to sharpen your own spec sitcom pilot writing, I share a little of the stuff I’ve learned over the time I’ve been doing it (you’re welcome to agree, disagree, ignore, or a little of all three).

Watch the pilots of St. Denis Medical and The Paper (preferably before but even after you listen to the episode), then email me with your thoughts at [email protected]. And don’t forget to like and subscribe.