Writers’ Rough Drafts – Episode #60 With Jeff Trammell

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Jeff Trammell is an animation staff writer, story editor, and voiceover actor. As a writer for the Nickelodeon Writing Program, he was one of four participants selected from over 2,000 applicants. During his time there, he worked in writers’ rooms and on the content staff for shows like the “Breaking Drafts” YouTube series, Glitch Techs, and Harvey Beaks. He moved on to the Cartoon Network after his time with the program ended, first as a staff writer for the animated program Craig of the Creek, and eventually as a head writer and story editor of the show. 

A former student with the Upright Citizens Brigade improv comedy troupe and Sketch Comedy Writing class, he has been nominated for an Annie Award from the International Animated Film Association for Outstanding Writing in a Television, Broadcast, or Video Game.

What You’ll Learn About Writing This Week:

• How there is storytelling in everything—including professional wrestling
• Why reading other writing in the genre you are interested in can teach you how to do it yourself
• How to navigate the TV writing world when you’re just starting out (and aren’t living in Los Angeles or New York)
• That sometimes, writing just to see how it goes is an accomplishment without ever having to publish
• Why it can actually work in your favor to be the new person willing to learn 
• The differences between working on an established show and building a new show from the ground up
• Finding ways to share your experience and show how you are unique to find others who will identify with you

Mentioned in This Episode (Links and Resources!):

• Nickelodeon Writing Program
• Spec scripts
• Donald Glover
• The League 
• Fred Rubin
• Upright Citizens Brigade improv
• Harvey Beaks
• Glitch Techs
• Amalia Levari
• Over the Garden Wall
• Amphibia
• Craig of the Creek
• Little Big Awesome
• Steven Universe
• The Proud Family
• Static Shock
• “Power Punchers” (Craig of the Creek episode)
• Wings
• King of the Hill
• Parks and Recreation
• Star Trek
• The Librarians

Fun bonus: Jeff in cartoon form! 

You Can Find More of Jeff and His Writing On: 

• Twitter, @MrJeffTrammell
• Cartoon Network, Craig of the Creek (airs on Saturday mornings at 9:00/9:30 a.m. PST or on the Cartoon Network app)
• His other TV show writing credits, Little Big Awesome, Harvey Beaks, Amphibia

Tweetable Quotes From This Episode:

• Proving to yourself that you can overcome challenges: “I find that, with writing, the hardest thing is the actual writing … sitting down to do it is a daunting task.” – @MrJeffTrammell on #WritersRoughDrafts
• The learning experiences that come with being new to a writing program: “You come in with an ego, like ‘I won the thing, I must be pretty good,’ but you can always do better, which is a great thing to learn right off the bat.” – @MrJeffTrammell on #WritersRoughDrafts
• Being open to changing your work is an important lesson: “That was a huge thing for me: Learning this story doesn’t work and it would be easy to scrap the whole thing, but some of these parts are salvageable, so how do I make it work?” – @MrJeffTrammell on #WritersRoughDrafts
• Why representation matters on “Craig of the Creek”: “I know how important it is … because I lived it.” – @MrJeffTrammell on #WritersRoughDrafts
• The fun side of working on a team of TV writers: “We all have this unique perspective, and we get to put that in the show.” – @MrJeffTrammell on #WritersRoughDrafts
• “You never know what will happen if you try, but you know what’ll happen if you don’t. Always try if you want it or if you think you want it. I’m living proof of that!” – @MrJeffTrammell on #WritersRoughDrafts