Witty humor around ambling amition
After a series of setbacks IRL, Eron Slate, a U.S. military veteran who retrained as an artist establishes a Discord server to build his tribe. The ones who gather only seem to derail his progress: an old military buddy with manic energy, a nervous software engineer, and his ex-wife wander in (among others).
Watch as they get after their dreams and on each others' nerves in the process.
Episode 101: Pilot - "The Contest We Definitely Won't Win"
12-17-2025: Note
Finished the draft of the pilot!
Admittedly, I don't think it's very funny. But I learned a good deal about writing humor with character constraints.
Usually my humor surfaces organically through a mix of prose and dialogue. You can't do that in a screenplay.
Jokes and gags have to be visible or spoken. Clever wordplay doesn't count.
That handicapped me and made me less sure. But I found something I was at least slightly happy with.
What I like most is that the characters do feel complete, not just punchlines on a page.
Hit the button to check it out.
12-12-2025: Note
There's something different about writing in a screenplay format. One: it adds professionalism to the project. Even if this is just for a 2 - 5 minute short, it feels like it could be expanded into a full pilot episode.
Two: it forces me to think in beats, which is something I don't always do when writing standard prose.
The general rule of (1 min per page) is always on my mind. That helps keep the pacing of the short tight, avoiding the drift that can occur when I write novels.