Nate Federman

@natefederman.bsky.social

TV writer currently on Big City Greens / Second normal thing / Jamband apologist

Everyday is full of new waking nightmares. Billionaires and politicians tearing apart our social contract. Efforts to outsource all labor to AI. Jamgrass! To stay sane, I’m focused on the stuff I can do to make things just a little better. Inspired by posts on here, I started donating platelets.

The stuff they give you when you donate platelets: A black American Red Cross Platelet donor bag. With a red bag containing a Hello Kitty American Red Cross toy in it.

For anyone who wonders why gas prices matter, please understand that the reason you're seeing higher prices on EVERYTHING in the stores is because of transportation costs skyrocketing due to Trump's pointless, stupid war.

A graph and the text explaining it, which reads: On the major Los Angeles-to-Dallas freight lane, a typical truckload now requires roughtly $1,430 of diesel, based on the national average diesel price — up from about $600, or 72%, from the day before the Feb. 28 strikes on Iran.

Unwritten rule of the writers room: if a story point has been “room canon” for at least a full episode, don’t come in one day and say, “this doesn’t work” unless the VERY next thing you say is a workable alternative. Pointing out holes is easy. Pitch the fix not the problem

Nate Federman@natefederman.bsky.social · 3w ago

UNWRITTEN RULES OF THE WRITERS’ ROOM: You probably don’t want to wear a “funny” t-shirt to work. You definitely don’t want to wear the same “funny” t-shirt more than once. #Scriptsky #Screenwriting

The Hollywood Palladium played Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” as the walk-out music at last night’s Courtney Barnett / Built To Spill show. As soon as it started, nearly every face I saw, lit up and sung along. It was one of those small but beautiful moments of humanity that I cling to these days.

Dolly Parton was a brilliant singer and songwriter, but an even better human. If you don’t know much about her, I recommend listening to the Dolly Parton’s America podcast. We lost a great one today. pca.st/podcast/9936...

Dolly Parton's America

In this intensely divided moment, one of the few things everyone still seems to agree on is Dolly Parton—but why? That simple question leads to a deeply personal, historical, and musical rethinking of...

pca.st

The first batch of episodes of Big City Greens Season 5 dropped on Disney+ today. I wrote, “The Farmies,” “Caging Cricket,” and “Trainer Tilly,” but you should check out all the episodes. I think S5 is our most consistently funny season to date.

During a thinking walk on the Hermosa Beach strand, I see two dudes with weighted vests walking towards me. They’re having a VERY INTENSE conversation. Politics? Relationships? Working through trauma? No… When they passed, all I heard was, “Beef bone broth, bro! Beef bone broth!”

The few times I’ve been tasked with reading writers for staffing, I’ve always read the shortest scripts first. Showrunners are insanely busy - if your script is bloated, there’s a good chance they won’t read the whole thing. Make it compelling and concise.

Adam Mallinger@bitterscriptreader.bsky.social · last mo.

Because last week’s sale is going to be used as a shield by the worst kind of writer, remember that it’s not 190 pages that makes a script great, it’s that it didn’t FEEL like 190 pages to anyone who read it. Most people trying to be writers struggle to make 120 pages compelling

My kids got back from summer camp and loved it! Not surprising. Every camp is different but they all seem to share 1 thing: kids are encouraged to be weird, silly, and wild. And during a developmental period when most kids are nervous to be their authentic selves at school, camp encourages it.

This is important information, and… you should know that animation artists are dealing with similar issues and get paid a lot less. I have peers who are experienced and good wondering each time they get a job, if it will be their last. Hoping something changes for good or we won’t have an industry.

Nate Federman@natefederman.bsky.social · last mo.

Going back to work next week after a 4 month hiatus, so this week’s #Scriptsky #Screenwriting thread is on THE ECONOMIC REALITIES OF BEING A TV WRITER. The short of it is, if your goal is to make a lot of money, do anything else besides trying to be a writer. 🧵1