TMA Student Spencer White Shares His Experience Working in the BYUtv Writers’ Room in 2024
Last year, I had the opportunity to work as a screenwriter at BYUtv in a writers’ room where we create scripted television series. This has been a lifelong dream of mine, and experiencing it firsthand has been incredible. The process is extremely collaborative and my fellow writers have taught me so much through their mentorship and expertise.
The shows we work on explore how faith influences the everyday motives and decisions of characters. Whether it's my own faith or that of another, it’s essential that these representations feel authentic and organic to the characters, rather than being artificially inserted. Last summer, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a statement on accurate media representation, particularly in response to some recent portrayals of varying accuracy. Working on these shows has made me realize the significance of what we are creating. Every religion deserves honest and respectful representation in the media. What we produce now shapes how others perceive our faith, and this is true for every student at BYU. Even if we’re not creating television shows, the work we do today will impact everyone who encounters it.
In the writers’ room, we constantly pitch ideas to each other — whether for new series, characters, storylines, or even just refining the way a sentence is written. Giving and receiving feedback is crucial in this environment, and I’ve learned what makes feedback effective and constructive, sparking further conversation. My approach to receiving criticism has also evolved, becoming more thoughtful and open as I’ve learned to consider the intent behind each suggestion. There are challenging days when we get stuck on an episode or a scene. It can be disheartening to outline an entire episode only to discard it and start from scratch, but this willingness to start over often leads to breakthroughs that wouldn’t have surfaced otherwise.
Planning a TV series requires an acute focus on the ending. Each episode builds toward the season finale, so we constantly ask questions like: What do we want the audience to feel? How should the characters and their relationships evolve by the end? What actions show this transformation? What underlying messages are conveyed by the outcomes of the characters’ choices? Once we grasp the bigger picture and ensure each scene serves the narrative, we can dive into the specific details of screenwriting.
Understanding your client and their brand is critical to crafting stories tailored to their needs. Their vision may shift during the process and what they require might differ from the original concept. One document might be a straightforward outline to inform an executive, while another might be more narrative-driven, enticing the reader to keep going. BYUtv’s mission is to bring families together through wholesome entertainment, providing a safe, thoughtful space in an increasingly chaotic media landscape. I find myself carrying this mission outside of work as well, embracing its values in my personal projects and striving to create content that touches hearts and shifts perspectives, even in small ways.
As I look toward the future, I aim to bring the same openness and collaboration I’ve experienced at BYUtv to other workspaces, regardless of how they operate. I want to hear everyone's best ideas from the start, not just when something goes wrong. I hope to foster friendships and a sense of community wherever I go — I’ve never felt closer to my coworkers than I do now. Going to work each day doesn’t make me feel like a machine; instead, I feel more connected to my humanity than ever before. I hope to carry that spirit of collaboration, kindness and authenticity into every space I work in, sharing the light that shines so brightly within the walls of BYUtv.