Even though America's Got Talent has been on the air since 2005, until a few years ago I'd never seen an entire episode. Instead, I watched whichever Got Talent videos were trending on YouTube from any of the franchise's shows around the world, from Susan Boyle's stunning I Dreamed a Dream audition in Great Britain to 14-year-old Jack Vidgen wowing the judges in Australia singing Whitney Houston's I have Nothing.
While I’ve enjoyed the individual performances that went viral, actually watching the show has been a revelation. From being able to watch the failures as well as the successes to tracking each performer’s progress from their first audition to their place in the finals (for those who make it that far), every time I watch an episode of America’s Got Talent, I come away inspired. While my singing days are done, the inspiration I feel now is all about writing.
Although, as writers, we’ll never have the chance to read an excerpt from our work and have thousands of people spring to their feet, give us a standing ovation, and chant our name (but it’s fun to imagine, anyway), there are many lessons that we, as writers, can take away from AGT. Here are 7 of them:
