You see them during the goodnights. They’re the exhausted-looking people in hoodies hovering at the back of the stage while the host hugs the cast. They don't get the applause, but they own the words. Being a Saturday Night Live writer is arguably the most prestigious, soul-crushing, and exhilarating job in comedy. It’s a 100-hour work week compressed into six days. It’s a place where a joke you wrote at 4:00 AM on a Tuesday can be quoted by millions of people by Sunday morning. Or, more likely, it’s a place where your favorite script dies a quiet death in a trash can outside Lorne Michaels’ office.
Getting into that room isn't about luck. Not really. It’s about a very specific type of comedic endurance.
The Brutal Reality of the SNL Writing Room
Most people think the show is written by a relaxed group of friends sitting around a table tossing out ideas. Honestly? It’s more like a legal firm during a merger, but with more wigs. The week starts on Monday with the pitch meeting in Lorne’s office. The host sits there, usually looking a bit overwhelmed, while writers and cast members pitch "half-baked" ideas. If you’re a Saturday Night Live writer, this is the first hurdle. You need to read the room. You need to know if the host can actually handle a heavy prosthetic piece or if they’re better at dry, deadpan delivery.
Tuesday is the marathon. This is the "writing night." It’s legendary for a reason. Writers stay up all night—literally until the sun comes up on Wednesday—to finish their scripts. You’ll walk through the halls of the 8th and 9th floors of 30 Rock and see people slumped over keyboards, surrounded by empty coffee cups and half-eaten cartons of Thai food. Seth Meyers and Mulaney have both talked about that specific Tuesday night delirium. It’s where the "weird" sketches come from. When you're that tired, the filters fall away.
The Table Read: Where Sketches Go to Die
Wednesday is the moment of truth. The table read. Around 40 to 50 sketches are read aloud. Only about 8 to 12 will actually make it to the air. As a Saturday Night Live writer, you’re listening for the laugh. Not just any laugh, but the specific, sharp laugh of Lorne Michaels or the head writers. If a sketch bombs at the table, it’s usually dead. There’s no time for intensive rewrites before the next phase. You just move on. You have to be okay with failure. In fact, you have to embrace it.
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The Different "Types" of Writers at 30 Rock
Not every writer does the same thing. You’ve got the "sketch" writers who focus on the big, theatrical numbers or the parody commercials. Then you have the "Update" writers. Working on Weekend Update is a totally different beast. You aren't worried about costumes or sets; you’re worried about the news cycle. If a major political scandal breaks on Friday afternoon, the Update team has to scrap half their work and start over.
- The Pure Writers: These folks stay behind the scenes. They might be brilliant at structure but hate being on camera. Think of people like Paula Pell or Jim Downey, who shaped the voice of the show for decades without needing the limelight.
- The Writer-Performers: These are the hybrids. They write for themselves. Think Bowen Yang or Tina Fey in her early years. They have a double burden: they have to write the hit, and then they have to kill the delivery.
- The Guest Writers: Occasionally, SNL brings in ringers or gives a temporary spot to someone who excelled in a specific niche, like a standout from The Groundlings or Second City.
It’s a hierarchy. It’s competitive. But it’s also a brotherhood. When you’re in the trenches at 5:00 AM trying to figure out why a joke about a talking toaster isn’t landing, you bond with people in a way that’s hard to replicate in a normal 9-to-5.
How Do You Actually Get Hired?
There is no "Apply Here" button on a website. Most Saturday Night Live writer hopefuls come through a few established pipelines.
The most common path is the "Packet." A submission packet usually consists of a few sketches: a topical cold open, a commercial parody, and two or three "character" pieces. But here’s the thing: Lorne Michaels rarely hires people who just send in a blind packet. He hires people he’s seen or heard about from trusted scouts. This means you usually need to be doing something elsewhere. You’re performing at UCB in New York, or you’re a stand-up with a very distinct voice, or you’re writing for a late-night show like Seth Meyers or Stephen Colbert.
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Take Michael Che, for example. He was a stand-up and a writer for The Daily Show before landing at SNL. Or Julio Torres, whose "Space Prince" vibe was so unique it basically forced the show to create a new category of "weird filmed pieces" just for him. You have to have a "thing." If you’re just "pretty funny," you won’t make it. You need to be a specialist in something—political satire, physical comedy, or high-concept absurdity.
The Evolution of the SNL Voice
The job of a Saturday Night Live writer has changed massively because of the internet. In the 90s, you just had to worry about the live audience. Now? You’re writing for "The Morning After." You’re writing for YouTube clips and TikTok sounds.
This has led to the rise of the "Pre-tape." Writers like the Please Don't Destroy guys (Ben Marshall, John Higgins, and Martin Herlihy) have changed the rhythm of the show. They aren't just writing scripts; they’re essentially making short films. This allows for a level of polish and editing that you just can't get in a live sketch. If you want to be a writer there now, you kind of need to understand film language as much as comedic timing.
Misconceptions About the Job
People think once you’re hired, you’ve "made it." The truth is that many writers only last one season. The "one-and-done" phenomenon is real. It’s a high-pressure environment where you are constantly being evaluated. If you don't get a sketch on air for three weeks, you start feeling the ghost of your replacement hovering over your shoulder.
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Also, it doesn't pay as much as you might think. Yes, it’s a union job (WGA), and the prestige leads to massive deals later, but the week-to-week grind is about the craft, not the paycheck. You’re there for the credits. You’re there so that five years from now, you can pitch a movie and the executive says, "Oh, they were an Saturday Night Live writer, let’s hear them out."
What to Do if You Want the Job
If you're serious about this, stop just "writing jokes" and start producing. The modern path to the 8th floor is paved with self-produced content.
- Build a Packet Every Week: Don't wait for a submission window. Write three sketches every week. Force yourself to hit the Tuesday night deadline even if you’re just writing for your cat.
- Move to NYC or Chicago: Technically, you can write from anywhere, but the culture of SNL is deeply rooted in the New York improv scene. You need to be where the scouts are.
- Learn to Collaborate: The "lone genius" writer doesn't last at SNL. You have to be able to "plus" someone else's joke. If a cast member comes to you with a half-formed character, your job is to give that character a world to live in.
- Study the "Flops": Don't just watch the Best Of DVDs. Watch the sketches that air at 12:55 AM. Those are often the most interesting. They show you the limits of the format.
Success as a Saturday Night Live writer isn't about being the funniest person in the room—it's about being the most useful. Can you fix a broken third act in ten minutes? Can you write a monologue for an athlete who has never acted before? If you can solve those problems, you might just find yourself standing on that stage on Saturday night, exhausted, invisible, and exactly where you want to be.
To move forward, start by analyzing the structure of the current season’s "Cold Opens" versus their "10-to-1" sketches. Note the difference in pacing and joke density. Use that to draft a 5-page submission packet that showcases two distinct "voices"—one topical and one evergreen. Once that's polished, look into the WGA's requirements for associate memberships to understand the professional landscape you're entering.