One Canadian and seven American screenwriters just wrote a five-episode miniseries for German television. And they did so without ever meeting face-to-face.

Part of the select group "Screenplayers" (check the Web page www.screenplayers.net), the writers undertook this collaboration exclusively through the Internet.

Sable Jak, a writer in Seattle, was the catalyst for this group project. Over the past few years, Jak had worked as a screenwriter for John Lenz, a German television producer. When Lenz approached her in late summer with the idea for "Adams," a one-hour police drama that he'd pitch to a German TV network, Jak rose to his challenge and wrote a bible and the pilot episode.

Jak wanted to give this series the best possible chance of getting picked up, though, so she didn't stop there. "I insisted that there should be at least a one-paragraph synopsis for four additional episodes," she said. "I pointed out that in the States you need to show that you can sustain a full season."

She came up with ideas for the additional story lines, and Lenz approved. He took the package to Germany, where the network asked for all five scripts before committing to buy. Lenz wanted Jak to write those episodes alone, but her work schedule wouldn't allow her the time. That's when the idea struck her-why not share this opportunity with her writing group? To qualify for membership, each candidate's work had to be evaluated and approved by the rest of the group, and each member had to prove their accomplishments by citing script sales, options, or contest placements. So, as one of the founding members, Jak felt confident that this group was talented enough to tackle the project. But what she didn't know was how they would handle the unique hurdles they'd have to jump.

Could they function as a TV writing staff? Could they meet the six-week deadline the network set? Could they work over the Internet? Could they write for a German audience?

Using e-mail and www.zoetrope.com, Francis Ford Coppola's Web site, they studied Jak's bible, communicated ideas, wrote, and edited, with Jak functioning as head writer/story editor.

Four writers, including Mary J. Schirmer (St. Louis, MO), Anna Raffael (Sun Valley, CA), Mary Case (Burbank, CA), and Sam Quo Vadis (Vancouver, British Columbia), agreed to write first drafts. Three others, including Betsy Morris (Phoenix, MD), James Barrett (NJ), and Kent Graham (Detroit, MI), agreed to edit. As head writer/story editor, Jak committed to the final polish for continuity and voice.

This account so far makes the process sound deceptively smooth.

Enter artistic differences and temperaments.

"I told the writers to be prepared," Jak said. "When the producer wants something done a specific way, that's the way it has to be done. We had to find a way to make his vision ours."

And the writers could only hope that their efforts to create a hip, American-style cop show would translate well into German.

Pumped by the prospect of a real TV sale and real TV writing credits, and working from Jak's outline and bible, Schirmer plowed through the first draft of her assigned episode over a beautiful weekend in a travel trailer the old-fashioned way-- with pen and paper.

When she rejoined the world, Schirmer had e-mail messages from Jak with subject lines that included the words "changes" and "oops."

"The producer had decided the basic premise of the second episode was okay, but he came up with a few changes that meant completely gutting whatever she'd written," Jak said. "I gutted it as gently as I could."

If the producer isn't happy with the first draft, it's the TV writer's job to hack and add and change until he gives a thumbs-up. And, more often than not, the changes don't end with the producer. When the producer insists on adding or cutting characters, the story editor may insist on putting them back in. When the producer exclaims, "Get rid of the dog!," the network may call back, "No! We want more dogs!" To which, of course, the director may add, "And make them Great Danes instead of beagles!" And the actor may argue, "I don't feel my character would own a Great Dane. Can we make it a calico kitten?" The back-and-forth dance of changing and editing was enough to make Schirmer commit murder. In the script, that is.

Schirmer, who has worked as a journalist since 1987, says, "Since journalists report stories told through the eyes of others and in the words of others, this was excellent training for writing TV shows designed by other artists; in this instance, the producer and the head writer/story editor."

Also, like news writers, these TV writers had to work within a space limitation (making the story fit in between commercial breaks) and finish by deadline, so the editors had time to work their own brands of magic.

Jak sent each writer a story outline that included mandatory scenes and act breaks. "All" they had to do was to make the story fit into approximately 45-page scripts.

Screenplayers founder Sam Quo Vadis undertook the task of writing the final episode in the mini-series. His particular challenge in writing a graceful conclusion was tying up all the loose ends, while Lenz requested changes, while the writers of prior episodes tried to nail consistent voice and action, while the other writers struggled with computer failure and Internet interruption. Oh, yeah, by deadline.

And when all was said and done, the Screenplayers had five tight, completed scripts. They had less hair, more bruises on their foreheads from banging heads against keyboards, and severe after-effects of caffeine overdoses, perhaps, but five scripts, nonetheless.

When asked what lessons they had learned, group members agreed that they had to remember not to get attached to every word they wrote. They also learned that they were, indeed, capable of functioning as a professional unit, and they hope that their success will serve as an example for producers who are considering Internet collaborations.

Helped by the group's entertainment attorney and a German consultant, the writers agreed on contract terms and mailed the product of their labor to Lenz, who will take it to the network. With an increased appreciation for TV staff writers who live in this pressure cooker writing world every day, and with a collective "wahoo," the Screenplayers now look forward to production.