Animation Series Writer

Jobs in Animation - TV Series Scriptwriter

Writing for children’s animation is one of the most exciting, challenging, and creatively fulfilling roles in the animation pipeline. As a scriptwriter for kids' TV series, you're not just crafting stories, you're helping shape the imaginations of young audiences around the world. But what does the job actually involve? And what makes writing for kids’ animation so unique?

One of the biggest challenges in writing for children's TV is striking the right tone. You need to entertain, educate, and respect your audience, all at once. Children are smart, curious, and emotionally perceptive. Your job is to create stories that spark joy, curiosity, and sometimes even a bit of reflection.

For younger viewers (like pre-school), this might mean writing very clear and simple plots with lots of repetition and rhythm. For older kids, it means tackling more complex themes like friendship, responsibility, or overcoming fears, but still in a way that’s engaging and appropriate.

Animation is a visual medium, and a good scriptwriter understands how to "write visually." This means thinking about how a character moves, how comedy can be physical, and how action unfolds frame by frame. In animation, you’re not writing just for dialogue, you’re writing for movement.

A great deal of collaboration happens between writers, storyboard artists, and directors. Your script needs to provide enough detail to guide the team, but leave space for visual creativity. Sometimes a gag works better as a look than a line and knowing when to step back is part of the craft.

In series animation, consistency is key. Whether you’re working on an episodic comedy or a character-driven adventure show, kids form deep attachments to characters. Writers need to understand their characters’ voices, values, and quirks to keep them believable across episodes.

This also means working closely with the showrunner and head writer to keep the tone, pacing, and humour of the show consistent. Writers often work from a show bible. This is a document that outlines the world, characters, and tone. It also pitches ideas that fit within that framework.

Writing for animation is usually a team effort, especially on larger series. Writers often pitch episode ideas in a writers' room (in person or virtually), and then draft scripts with feedback at each stage, from outline to final script. You’ll need to be open to revisions, notes, and rewrites from producers, directors, and sometimes even educational consultants (especially for preschool shows).

Deadlines can be tight, and multiple episodes may be in various stages of development at the same time. Organisation and flexibility are key.

A Day in the Life

A typical day might involve:

• Brainstorming or pitching story ideas

• Writing or revising an outline

• Drafting or editing a script

• Attending a notes meeting or writers' room

• Reviewing animatics or voice records for dialogue tweaks

And through all of that, maintaining the tone and voice of the series.

At its heart, writing for kids' animation is about fun. Whether that means wild adventures, silly jokes, or heartwarming moments. It's also a role with real responsibility. You’re shaping narratives that may influence how children see the world, themselves, and others.

Done well, it’s incredibly rewarding. There’s nothing quite like hearing a child quote your dialogue, laugh at your jokes, or recognise themselves in your characters.

Thinking of Becoming an Animation Scriptwriter?

Here are a few steps to consider:

• Watch lots of kids’ animation — study tone, structure, and humour

• Build a portfolio of sample scripts

• Learn about writing bibles and series arcs

• Practice writing with clear, visual storytelling

• Network with industry professionals or consider joining animation or screenwriting groups

Whether you're writing about talking animals, time-travelling kids, or magical monsters, animation scriptwriting is a career that lets you stretch your imagination to its limits and share it with the most honest and enthusiastic audience there is: kids!