Join a panel of Nickelodeon Writing Program alumni for a conversation about how to get your first writing job, securing the famously challenging follow up, and how to build a successful, sustainable, and satisfying career as a TV writer.

Panelists:
Jeff Trammell – Creator & Executive Producer, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
Hunter Toro – Story Editor, Bupkis
Mia Resella – Story Editor, Young Jedi Adventures
Gabriel Garza - Co-Executive Producer, The Winchesters

Jeff Trammell
Jeff Trammell is the Head Writer and Executive Producer of the upcoming Marvel Studios animated series, “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man”. Since moving to Los Angeles in October of 2015, Jeff has written for over a dozen shows, most notably the Emmy, Annie, NAACP and GLAAD nominated Cartoon Network Series “Craig of the Creek”, in which he worked as Head Writer and Supervising Producer. In addition to writing for television and comic books, Jeff is also a voice actor, having worked on Cartoon Network’s “Craig of the Creek” and “The Fungies”.

Hunter Toro
Hunter was a Nickelodeon Writing Fellow in 2021. She has since staffed on shows like True Story, Digman!, Bupkis, and St. Denis Medical. Her feature BOY FALLS FROM SKY was selected for the 2023 Black List.

Gabriel Alejandro Garza
After starting as an animation writer on Nickelodeon’s Penguins of Madagascar, and later co-creating the live-action sitcom Bella & The Bulldogs, Gabe listened to the advice of the life-sized Yoda in his office and followed his big geeky heart – leading him to the writing staff of CW’s The Flash. During his 100+ episode tenure, Gabe became an Executive Producer on the hit series. After Flash, Gabe wrote for The Supernatural spin-off, The Winchesters, and sold a new TV series to Amazon’s Freevee based on an IDW comic book. Other Gabe work includes screenplays for Warner Bros. Animation and Universal Pictures. His cats are sometimes proud of him, for cats.

Mia Resella
Mia is an alum of the 2016 Nickelodeon Writing Program and has written for a variety of shows and networks, including the GLAAD-award winning DEAD END: PARANORMAL PARK, Disney’s THE GHOST AND MOLLY MCGEE, Cartoon Network’s CRAIG OF THE CREEK, Nickelodeon’s TINY CHEF, and more. They were recently Story Editor on the Emmy-award winning Star Wars show YOUNG JEDI ADVENTURES from Lucasfilm and Disney Junior. Before discovering their passion for animation, Mia wrote and produced a live action short with Bad Robot where they received mentorship from some of the best minds in the biz. They are currently working on an unannounced feature film and unannounced animated show.

Moderated by Kate Blatchford - Sr. Manager of Creative Talent Development & Outreach, Nickelodeon

Time Stamps
0:00 - Introduction
2:45 - First jobs
6:45 - Accepting your first writing job
7:52: Examine your situation
9:33 - Growing towards the light
10:50 - Cultivating relationships and experiences
11:39 - Affording to be picky about your first writing job
13:10 - Finding your second job
13:27 - Making a good impression on your first job
15:59 - Be prepared
20:09- Opportunities within opportunities
22:49 - Having a good writing sample
24:33 - Being represented by a manager/agent
26:34 - The importance of an agent
27:56 - Using your resource well
31:48- When should I get a manager/agent?
32:30 - Being a good match with your representative
35:14 - Strategizing to find writing jobs
35:36 - Being authentic and genuine
36:36 - Looking at content, people, and workflow
39:01 - Riding the wave
41:28 - Learning opportunities
42:33 - Knowing what you want
44:52 - Finding balance between paying bills and having your dream job
45:06 - Save your money
46:55 - High risk - High reward industry
47:30 - Another means of income
52:16 - Pitching and selling original material
52:41 - Multitasking 53:20 - Being staffed
54:35 - Getting to know the executives
55:43 - Don’t waste time
57:11 - Getting that Dream job
58:20 - Working at Dead End Paranormal Park
1:01:14 - Just getting paid to write
1:02:21 - Getting a show that speaks to you
1:04:32- The dream is the journey
1:05:46 - Writing time for a script and turnaround time?
1:09:34 - Tips for writers that do not live in CA
1:09:56 - Get involved in comedy groups and set
1:10:50 - Applying to a writing program
1:11:36 - Meet people as much as possible
1:12:54 - Applying to the Nick Writing Program
1:14:33 - Take big swings and be bold
1:17:48 - Remember what is unique about you
1:20:23-Funny samples with character driven stories
1:21:53 - Controlling nerves before pitching