There’s a common piece of advice for writers, and that’s to always be writing. Showrunner Joe Henderson (Lucifer) got a jump start on those words of wisdom as he was already writing stories in second grade, never knowing where those stories, and that creativity, would take him. Henderson recalls:
“I was reading Dungeons and Dragons books and would write stories that either took place in that world or extended it out. I moved on to Star Wars novels and would write my versions of that. I was just always writing.”
With childhood enthusiasm for telling genre stories as the spark, Henderson credits his success and growth to getting notes from his peers and being able to implement them into his writing.
It was during college at the University of Iowa when Henderson was first introduced to screenplays. He connected to them right away, and discovered:
“I don’t love describing a location. I don’t like the heavy lifting of figuring out how to write poetically in action, though I’ve actually learned to do that better and better, but the truth is I like dialogue. I like dynamics and I like character interaction. And so when I read that I was like oh, these are all my favorite parts.”
As a kid in Iowa, Henderson didn’t think he could actually move to Los Angeles, but he and two friends took a big swing and made the move with no money and no contacts. After initially thinking he’d write screenplays, Henderson found that TV was the place for him. He explains:
“I realized TV is where writers truly have a level of power, influence and control and also collaboration. I love working with other writers and when I realized that TV is where I could actually work with other writers, I immediately set out trying to find a way into that.”
Those first years in LA were spent hustling for assistant or extra work to get by. Overall, Henderson’s path to becoming a writer took time. He was an assistant for nine years. He recalls:
“Those were some of the best years of my life because you’re meeting this peer group. You’re meeting people who just want to do something creative. There’s a really exciting time when you first enter this industry and you’re trying to figure out who you are and also, to me, the key is always surrounding yourself with those people that have a similar hunger and positivity.”
For Henderson, the biggest obstacle to breaking in as a writer was those years of being an assistant and just getting his first job. Persistence, and always writing, were essential elements to moving ahead.
“I wrote eight specs. I wrote probably 20 pilots, like I was just a writing machine, because the one thing we can do is we write our way.”
For up-and-coming writers, Henderson says:
“Getting a job is hard, but also the truth of it is, the longer it takes you to get the job the better it is. If I’d gotten a job two years in, I might not have been ready for it.”
He also admits:
“When you get the opportunity, you take it and you try to be as prepared for it as possible. The comfort I try to give people is if it does take a while, see that as a positive. Try to embrace that as this is your chance to be more prepared so when you finally get the job you’re ready to go.”
Part of the preparation process includes getting notes from your peers, real notes.
“Empower people around you to tell you the truth. You need to push that, because no one wants to volunteer a negative thing. Read their script and give them very honest notes and guess what, the next thing they give to you, you’re gonna get some honesty back.”
Many who ask for notes just want compliments, but compliments don’t help someone develop their writing. This is why it’s essential to create permission structures to get actual feedback. According to Henderson:
“I lost friends when I was an aspiring writer because I would give them notes and they weren’t used to getting notes. I would give them constructive notes, but a lot of my notes would be, this is a page one rewrite and that’s okay. Let’s figure out how to make it better and they’d be like, well, this person told me my script’s awesome and then what they’d have to realize is this person just didn’t want to spend the time, and/or make them angry.”
The best notes will come from your peers. You’ll push each other to get better. Henderson remarks:
“The art of giving constructive notes makes you a better writer, and to me the most selfish thing you can do is ask someone else if you can give them notes because you are gonna get more out of this than they will.”
He continued:
“To me, I read someone else’s script and I dissect what’s not working, it forces me to come back to my script and half the time I’m like, yeah, this character isn’t active, and oh, my own character isn’t active. It’s like you’re externalizing your own critical process and in doing so you’re gaining perspective that you can bring back.”
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To staff his rooms, Henderson decides mostly on the page. He reveals:
“I love reading voice. I love reading writers who are doing something interesting on the page and it can be so many different things. It can be clever execution of action lines. It’s almost always dialogue.”
Something Henderson reads for is comedy. He’s a drama writer, but noted that the only thing you can’t teach is comedy. He elaborates:
“How does a joke reflect pain? How does it reflect insecurity? How does a character hide what they’re really thinking with humor?”
If the script is great, then he just needs a meeting to make sure the person can mesh.
“I just want to know about them. I want to get a sense of their vibe. I do want to know passion. What draws you to something? What gets you excited?”
When it comes to staff writers, Henderson is very passionate about reading a spec sample.
“For a staff writer, to me what a spec says is I have done the homework for the job. Like if you’re gonna hire a plumber, I don’t want the plumber to have never actually done any plumbing. Like could this carpenter figure out how to do my plumbing? Yes. Would I rather he’s already done the job somewhere? Yes.”
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Writers should know everyone is rooting for you. When someone picks up that script, they want it to be good, however, it’s also subjective. How does Henderson approach reading script samples when hiring?
“Most showrunners don’t read past page 20, but the only scripts that I read past page 20 are the scripts of people I’m going to hire. You need to read up to page 20 to get a sense of whether or not they could do the job, because in the first five you are 95% sure this person either knows what they’re doing or doesn’t.”
What’s Henderson’s best advice to make sure a script stands out?
“Make sure your first five pages crackle. I’ve read a first page with lazy action lines. This is your first impression and this does not feel crafted, this feels like a first draft. You’re telling me that when I hire you, you’re gonna give me first drafts. Is that what you want to tell me? And the answer is no.”
Those first five pages need to wow, but they don’t need to be too showy or insane. One of the best pilots Henderson’s read recently was very minimalist and simple. Another favorite was self-aware and winky, but also so clever and full of voice he couldn’t stop reading.
In developing a script to be your sample, Henderson recommends:
“I need a first five pages that give me a sense of what the show is. By page 20 I want to know what the show’s engine is… A lot of people save a twist for page 50, but no one’s gonna read to page 50. Move that up. If you think this is my big twist, I need to save it to the end, have faith in yourself that you can come up with something better later.”
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Lastly, Henderson advises writers to keep working on craft.
“Don’t be afraid to make a script better. Don’t be afraid to push it. Don’t be afraid to take notes. You’re not always going to want to take every note, but the better you can get at getting that muscle going, of being able to take criticism and give criticism, the better a writer you’re going to be and the better prepared for a show you will be.”