Crafty is as Crafty Does (and boy does it!)

I've finally finished Alex Epstein's Crafty TV Writing. I say "finally" because this book is a treasure trove of ideas and rules and hints and suggestions, and it's easy to go back and forth amongst the chapters and apply it all to what you're doing. You read one kernel of wisdom and in light of that, turn to another chapter with a brand new understanding of other concepts.
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Alex does an excellent job of laying it all out for you giving you the plusses and minuses of working in the TV biz. The book has helped me solidify some of my ideas I've had for series (or mini-series) and showed me what was going to work and what wasn't - especially since I haven't worked in television (yet). Bottom line:

Every spec monkey who is writing a
tv spec for next year's staffing season or for the Disney Fellowship should own
and highlight this book!

I fully expect my copy to become dog-eared and fat from use, and that's a damn good thing. We need more books like this that eschew the philosophical and get to the practical. Actually Alex doesn't eschew the philosophy so much as show you how it's put into regular practice on TV shows.

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The one gripe I would have with the book is the fact that we didn't get to see the entire Charlie Jade script. I would have liked to do a side-by-side comparison of sorts between the beat-sheet and the script. So Alex, if you want to send me that script I'd appreciate it.

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Don't wait. Get it today and get crafty.