Coming from a family of writers—his grandfather was a highly acclaimed author of books on Greek mythology, including Heroes, Gods and Monsters of the Greek Myths, which Rick Riordan has referred to as an inspiration for his Percy Jackson series, and a grandmother who also wrote books—TV writer Noah Evslin (NCIS: Hawaii, Hawaii 5-0, Colony, Private Practice) found himself drawn to writing since he was a kid.

“Reading my grandfather’s old, fresh-off-the-typewriter manuscripts when I was a kid... He would be tap, tap, tap, tapping away up in his studio. That life was just kind of a dream to me.”

But Evslin didn’t really start to focus on screenwriting until he’d already begun a career both in academia and running a music business.

“I was probably 26 or 27 when I wrote my first screenplay," he says, finding a way to grow his writing by working it into whatever extra space and time he had.

“If you’re a college instructor you have hours in between classes. I’d use that office to make my phone calls for whatever gigs and bookings we were doing, but that was running pretty smoothly, so I’d have hours in between to write. But when I began [to write], I was in a total vacuum," he admits. "I had no concept of how to break in or what I was going to do next. But I wanted to write screenplays and TV shows and movies about Hawaii in particular—where I’m from—but I began the process in the office.”

After working on his craft, Evslin made the move to Los Angeles in 2008, landing the day after the writers’ strike ended.

“At some point, [my wife and I] decided we just have to do this. We have to sink or swim. I knew almost nobody. We had a box of money from our promotion days—like literally a box of cash. That was our savings. I was 32, so I was older than most people who were coming here for an adventure.”

“I had no idea what to do next and someone had told me about the UTA job list," he continues. "There was a director at Warner Bros. who was looking for an intern. So I was like I have this cash, I don’t need to work for a second. This feels like a way to get some experience. I have none. I’m not of value to anybody. I got the job as his intern. Free job—but I was on the Warner Bros. lot.”

For Evslin, the internship was like a graduate-level education, being able to walk on a studio lot every day.

“I just viewed it as school. I don’t know much about Hollywood, why would anyone take a chance on me? I’m gonna learn as much as I can.”

Looking back, he also recognizes how fortunate he was to be able to take advantage of such a position. It’s not a leap a lot of people can afford to take.

“We were using this cash and my wife’s job, but obviously not everybody can do that. Being able to work for free, it’s a problematic part of the industry in many ways. I’m glad that’s changing now. I think they’re realizing without a lot of family money or whatever, there’s only a certain type of person who can intern.”

In the year that Evslin interned, he was able to land an agent and a manager, which helped him feel like he was on the right track when it came to his writing career. Two years later, he got his first writing gig.

“I felt like this was moving so slowly. In retrospect, that was moving along at a good clip.”

Evslin quickly realized that even with that first job under his belt, there’s not just one break-in point as people might think. You’re always working to build your career and nobody but you is going to keep you here.

“I thought after writing that freelance I was 'in'. That it’s going to be this gravy train and all that, but it’s not. You have to keep on breaking into this business. You have to build relationships and they take so long to build, and you have to prove yourself in those relationships by executing at a level they really like, as well as being personable and all these different things.”

For Evslin, sustainability has been one of the biggest challenges he’s faced along the way. It’s something he’s also seen be a struggle for many of his fellow scribes.

“This business isn’t set up for longevity. There’s just so many ways for people to fall off this horse that’s not only galloping, it’s sprinting down the fairway and if you fall off, you might not be able to grab that horse again.”

The key Evslin has found to help sustain his career is by being proactive and taking responsibility for his own path.

“You have to sort of make your own magic. Some of us have a mistaken idea of what agents and managers do. They sort of hold the door open for you, but they’re not necessarily always opening doors for you. Sometimes they are. Sometimes they’ll give you the introductions you need.”

Whether you have representation or not, you need to be taking an active role in developing your career.

“It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon. You have to keep on putting out new content. New projects. New writing. You’re only as good as your last script. You have to keep on executing.” 

No matter where you are on your path in this industry, there’s a learning process involved and according to Evslin, advocating for yourself is one of the greatest skills an up-and-coming writer can learn.

“You should never give away your agency to agents. You should never give away your ability to make your own contacts and open your own doors. You have to be willing to put yourself out there," he says. "People are often surprised at how free I am at sharing material with people, strangers on the internet. If someone wants to read my screenplay, by all means, they can read it. That’s what it’s for. It exists for people to look at until I find the right person who’s willing to pay for it or give me a job.” 

For those who are trying to break in after having had a successful career in another field, Evslin does see the industry becoming more welcome to writers who are older, as these creatives bring a lot of life experiences to the page. He does encourage writers though to not be so quick to give up that regular paycheck.

“Maybe hold on to that other career you were doing well in. It doesn’t mean you can’t do both. You may love it more when it’s not your day job and you have to sneak it in like it’s your mistress.”

When that job opportunity does arise, Evslin has a few tips.

“You want to make sure that you present yourself well and that you come off as authentic. They want to hire normal people. They want to hire people they can spend twelve hours a day within a small room. ”

And when you do get a job as a staff writer, Evslin adds:

“Don’t be the first one to go home as a staff writer. Be the last person if you can. Show people you’re there for the long haul, that you’re there to support them. Stay at work until the end. Prove yourself so that when moments come up later on, you have these guys to vouch for you with their peers.” 

It's no secret the road to becoming a professional television writer isn’t easy. In his podcast, "Screaming Into the Hollywood Abyss", Evslin regularly discusses the ups, downs and challenges of working in entertainment. From this, and his own personal experiences, he shares this last piece of advice: 

“If you’re not loving this thing and you’re not loving creating content and writing and this world, then maybe there are other careers for you. But if you do love it, then don’t give up, because you will get there at some point.”