WRITING MISTAKES YOU DON’T WANT TO MAKE

I’ve been helping writers via SCRIPT ADVICE since 2007 and it feels the right time now to collate the most oft-made mistakes I see in scripts and hope you find the don’ts useful to know and the do’s easy to apply to your own writing.

 WOOLLY WRITING

As much as possible, screen writing is best kept clean, clear and simple. If the story line is convoluted, labyrinthine, moves across time zones, or periods in time, has many layers of plot that weave in and out of each other, it is very important to keep your layout, your script language and your telling of the story as simple as you can. The more complicated the storyline, the more transparent should be your script layout.

 Why? Because a script is there to be read, understood, interpreted and made into something else; a piece of television, a short, a play for radio or theatre. A script therefore has to be easy to follow and easy to understand.

Take it from one who knows, there is literally nothing, (bar childbirth) as painful as ploughing through a script that is dense, over-written, confusing, woolly, and ill planned.

ILL-PLANNED SCRIPT = BAD STRUCTURE

Get your homework done before you get creative. Plot out all your storylines for each character (each character arc) and also plot your main throughline (your central narrative) and make sure each plotline has a clear, separate and interesting journey through your script, from the first to the last scene. Use what ever method suits you best, post it notes, a white board, a big sheet of paper that you can cut up, do it the old fashioned way or use a spread sheet, whatever it takes. Don’t begin your script until you know where the plot is going, where the big moments are, how each plotline reacts and interacts with another and the overall shape of each character journey. To do this properly you will need to produce the following documents before you write your first script draft:

 A TREATMENT

A BEAT SHEET/or STEP OUTLINE

AN EPISODE OUTLINE

TREATMENT

Usually between 4 and 6 pages, this is a succinct, detailed, visually written, descriptive introduction to your story and is written entirely to clarify character, storyline, tone, genre and format in order for potential producers and commissioners to ‘see’ your drama and to understand it as a piece of workable film or television. It is in short, a selling document and I have written about treatments before in newsletter 11 and from that blog I add here the basic outlay of a treatment again:

 Treatment General Layout:

 Title: 

I love titles. Make yours really sell your idea by being the best you can make it. Favourite Titles? ‘Strictly Ballroom’. ‘A Matter Of Life Or Death’. ‘Call The Midwife’. ‘Roger and Val Have Just Got In’. Sometimes, it’s better that the title describes what’s in the tin so to speak, but also being succinct and summarising either the plot content; ‘In The Line Of Fire’ or giving a sense of the tone and style of the piece; ‘The Unbearable Lightness Of Being’ works better. And a title from my own stable? ‘Full English’ – a comedy drama about running a B and B in Cornwall.

 Format Description:

Is your idea A Comedy Drama? A 4 or 6 or more parter? Is this is a serial or a series? Is it a one off or Single? Action, High Concept, Character driven? Say so here to give the reader a clear idea of what to expect straight away.

There’s a lot on the Net about the difference between series and serials and you may get conflicting opinions on this one, but the definition for me and how I have used it in my career of 20 years (so far!) in television, the definition stands as I set out below:

SERIES:

A drama that is open ended. A core cast of returning characters. The backdrop remains the same and is returned to each week. There may be  several stories per episode which are resolved, but the series storyline; that which is carried by the core returning cast, remains open ended. Eg: Holby City. Coronation Street. (all of the Soaps in fact) Hustle. Merlin. Spooks.

SERIAL:

A drama of more than one or two parts, which has a serial element; a core cast of returning characters and an over-arcing storyline, but in this case, the storyline is ultimately resolved. Eg: Jane Eyre.  State of Play.  A Passionate Woman.  The Lost Prince.

Logline:

Make these as tasty as you can. I like to add a quotation from each character under their name; something they are most likely to say or something that alludes to their particular storyline. Eg: In a treatment I wrote ostensibly about The Eternal Quest For Mr Right entitled ‘A Man For All Seasons’ (another not bad title!) I created a character called PLUM; her quotation was ‘Plum is looking for a man she can spar with; so far, she has only dated those that shop at Spar’. 

Character Biographies:

In each character biog, give a suggestion of the over arc of their storyline across the number of episodes or across the span of the script you are intending to write. Make these people live on the page.

 Episode Outline:

I think this is self explanatory – but be exacting and succinct in your language whilst being as interesting as you can in your outlay of the storyline.  Give the main thrust of the A (or the main) storyline with the smaller, B and C stories if you have them, running parallel.

Main Story Arcs:

Each character has a journey and here you outline what that is in story terms. Again, pithy, evocative language is what we are looking for.

The Central Message:

This will be alluded to in your pithy Logline at the top of the treatment, but here you can extrapolate a bit more and dig a bit deeper.

The Tone:

Throughout the writing of your treatment you must also pay attention to the style and tone of your writing and as much as possible, evoke for your reader the flavour of what they will ultimately be seeing on screen when your Must Have Drama is produced.

BEAT SHEET / STEP OUTLINE

In film; a beat sheet, in television; a step outline. This document is both to use as your reference, to keep you on track as you write your script, and also to show the ‘business end’ (the producer/commissioner) of the writing process, that your script has enough drama, twists and turns, intrigue and interest to hold an audience. There is no need in this document, to go into great detail, but it is important to block out the main beats of the storyline and to mark the major twists and turns of the plot and to note the key interactions between plotlines. Also, to clarify the ending!

A SCENE BY SCENE OUTLINE

Here it is necessary to go into detail.

This is the blueprint for your script. Each scene, as you see it, should be outlined in simple terms, so at a glance, you (and the producer/commissioner) can see how the scenes interact and are juxaposed together. Literally, via this document, you can see how the script works. The scene by scene outline is essential in my view, to get right before you start the business of writing. This is the skeleton of the script, the bones of your story and will reveal it’s overall shape.

It’s also a really useful document to use as you write your drafts, as each scene can easily be referred to and can just as easily be cut or extended as your writing progresses.

 3/ SCRIPT LAYOUT:

OVER DESCRIPTIVE SCENE SETTINGS:

Short, simple, to the point and exact, these are the words that should come to mind when reading a scene setting. There is no good reason to go into any detail here, except to say where we are, whether it is day or night, and if it’s pertinent to the plotline, what year it is. Ext. Int. Time. Place. Year. That should do it.

FLASHBACK:

If you are writing a flashback sequence, or a flashing forward in time, then make this clear here by stating FLASHBACK and when the sequence is over, state END FLASHBACK. Sounds simple enough but you will be suprised by the amount of scripts that confuse the reader for the lack of these simple directions.

MONTAGE:

The same applies to the use of Montage. State the begining of the sequence and the end point. As much as possible, keep Montage sequences to a minimum and make sure they are visual and clearly carry the storyline forward.

OVER-DETAILING THE ACTION IN A SCENE:

Avoid getting too hung up on every action a character does in a scene. Keep in mind that if it does not highlight character, or add a dimension to the atmosphere, tone or story content of the scene, then it is not important to mention. Keep the scene moving – avoid internal observations (that we will not see on screen) and prose-like descriptions. Remember to use the camera as our eyes, and do not stray into novel territory by leaning on description (telling) in your narrative and forgetting the camera (showing) aspect of the story.

 4/ GETTING ADVICE AND TAKING IT WELL

Well I would advocate getting advice wouldn’t I? But it really is worth doing and once you have settled on your script editor, writing mentor, tutor, take their advice with good grace and at all times, avoid taking any of their comments personally. It’s a tough call, but taking notes is hard as it exposes the writer and their vulnerablilities. However, a good script editor will not be afraid to expose their opinions to the bright light of your response so remember that all script edit sessions with your editor or tutor, are an exchange of their creative and professional responses to your work and your reaction to their comments. Both should be delivered with respect and received in the same vein.

 Nothing separates the professional writer from the amateur as quickly as a writer who doesn’t take advice well.

 I help writers write better scripts – check me out here www.scriptadvice.co.uk

PULLING OUT THE STORY

I cut my drama teeth on Eastenders. This fact made two things true about me:

1/ That I thrive on pressure

2/ That I like making stories happen.

To continue in a symetrical vein, this show also made me very good at two things in particular regarding the knotty problems we face when coming up with and constructing storylines and I have regularly called upon these strengths in my career since:

1/ It made me fast at decision making

2/ It made me good at seeing the bigger picture

Whilst I am not suggesting you become a swifter storyliner/creator/writer, I am suggesting that you focus on seeing the over-view of your storylines; how they can travel across not just one hour of drama, but run through a multi-part format.

Sitting around the Story Conference Table at our 3 monthly sessions on Eastenders and discussing storylines (both those pitched by the writers and those created by the script team) exposes you brilliantly to how stories are created and this contact with ideas, concepts, themes, stories makes you soon able to pick out and recognise very quickly, when a storyline has the potential to go more than a couple of episodes and when a truely fabulous storyline presents itself – even if it is only the edge of one that you can see.

Experience teaches you that digging a bit deeper into that idea, will reveal a wealth of other storylines that are off-shoots and tributaries of the initial storyline. So a small idea can often become a huge unweildly beast that needs plotting over many episodes.

I know it was a million years ago, but worth pointing out here as an illustrative example; Tony Jordan,(when writing regularly for Eastenders) came up with the storyline of Phil Mitchell’s affair with his Sister In Law Sharon whilst Grant, his brother, was in prison for GBH. We knew this wasn’t going to be a medium-sized storyline, their affair revealed so many facettes of the personalitites of the three characters involved and the impact of their betrayal of Grant was felt by so many other characters in the Square, that we found we could stretch that storyline to an inordinant length without losing it’s initial impetuous. Grant had a history of violence, so that planted the seed of jeopardy into everything Phil and Sharon did from that point on; the audience naturally waiting with bated breath for when he found out and there would be a filial war on the Square.

We plotted this storyline across a whole year of the show’s output. It ran and ran and ran. No-one, not even Tony had thought it had that much milage but that is the business of storylining, sometimes, it’s worth stretching an idea to the absolute limit to get everything out of it.

The episode that focussed on Grant finding out, where Sharon and Phil had to face the music, got 22 million viewers. Like I said. It was a million years ago.

A lot of writers I help now, via Script Advice and those I have met on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/groups/237330119115/and Twitter https://twitter.com/YVONNEGRACE1 are unsure and unconfident about storylining and making their stories go the distance of  more than one episode. It seems to me that many writers do not have a problem structuring their story across a traditional 3 act single drama. Nor do they even baulk when straying from this set format by writing more than 3 acts into their story structure. No, it is not the single format that seems to give writers the heebie jeebies, it is the 2, 4, 6 parters and (horror of horrors) the continuing drama formats that cause the nervous breakdowns.

 Take a break. Calmly does it. Here’s how to think about longer running formats.

Each character you invent has a journey and a narrative path they must follow in order to earn their place in the first of your scripts. If your idea seems to fit into a format longer than a single, then it goes without saying that you are going  to have to control their journey for longer.

And control it you must. Because there is nothing worse than a sloppily constructed storyline. A badly plotted, mis-managed storyline undermines the whole integrity of the script. Characterisation, dialogue, pace, emotional impact, the message, the tone is directly affected. Get the storyline right, get it structured right and you have the template you need and then you can add all the other bells and whistles.

This sounds like a lot of work but it is important to do this stuff before you sit down and bash out your first draft of the first episode of your 2/4/6 parter.

1/ IDENTIFY THE THROUGH-LINE OF YOUR STORYLINE:

What is the main thread that runs through it? What is it, essentially, about?

2/ PLOT THE THROUGH-LINE IN BROAD STROKES ACROSS THE NUMBER OF EPISODES:

Do this by using index cards, or sheets of paper, which you can rip up and move about, or use a white board (I love a white board, but you can get away with less overt expenditure!)

3/ IDENTIFY THE CHARACTERS THAT YOUR STORYLINE MOST OVERTLY AFFECTS:

4/ PLOT EACH CHARACTER’S THROUGH-LINE (their journey through the episodes) SEPARATELY IN BROAD STROKES:

5/ PLOT EACH CHARACTER’S JOURNEY NOW IN MORE DETAIL:

Make connections between each character’s storyline, finding smaller and more emotionally resonant story beats.

6/ FILL IN THE STORY GAPS BY MAKING MORE CONNECTIONS AND PARALLELS FOR EACH CHARACTER:

Once you have pulled out your storylines in this way, you will be able to literally see where you can fill in any gaps that occur and where you may have missed a drama beat.

 The key to good storylining is to be both methodical and creative.

 PLOT THE OVER-VIEW THEN ADDRESS THE DETAIL.

I would not leave anything to chance when you are writing an episodic drama. Get a system in place that works for you and stick to it when you embark on structuring your episodes.

Planting the seeds of a great storyline upfront in the first 10 pages of your 1st episode and drawing the storyline out, carefully, with attention to both the broad and the more subtle story beats, will guarantee you have your audience still hooked by the end of your last episode.

When you storyline a multi-episodic drama well, you are taking the hand of your viewer and leading them through the duration of your drama – you don’t leave them stranded at any point, you are in control of their experience the whole time.

Be the boss. Get good at structuring your storylines.  Your work and your audience will thank you for it.

 And if you have a problem: contact me http://www.scriptadvice.co.uk

10 MISTAKES PEOPLE MAKE WHEN WRITING FOR TELEVISION

1/ Believing you, the writer, are bigger than the sum of the show’s parts.

If you are part of a writing team on a series or serial, you are an essential, but expendable element of the scripting process. The script is essential but the writer of that script is not. Without the script, there is no drama but a budget and time strapped Producer can and will make the changes necessary to get the script camera ready within the time and budget restrictions.

 2/ Viewing your script edit sessions as a potential battle ground.

Your script edits with your script editor should be mutually respectful areas of time in the scripting schedule where you have the right to defend notes given but do not have the ultimate sign off on any decision.

 3/ Hiding behind your agent.

Everyone needs a solid professional to fight their corner should a problem with contract, fee, delivery dates, or a personal issue arise during your commission period on a tv show. But be visible and approachable during these times as the production team want to feel they have a champion of their show in you, not an adversary.

 4/ Straying too far off the script document pertaining to your script.

On most long running shows, the script document has been painstakingly produced via a series of Story Conferences and meetings with the Producer and the script team. It is the skeleton, the blueprint and the reference document that the production follows to keep the episodes coherent and cohesive.  Keeping to the brief this sets out when writing your script, ensures an easy, and enjoyable writing experience on the show.

 5/ Being a slave to the script document!

This sounds unfair I know, but the other mistake is often made to the detriment of the writer’s time on the show and to the show in general.  A slavish adherence to the drama beats outlined by the storyliners in your script document will make a rather dull and predictable episode. The Producer hired you for your voice – so do, please, use it!

 6/ Bringing the party to the table.

Believe it or not, there’s many a Series Story Conference been ruined by too much fun and games in the lunch breaks! Keep a sober and level head – even, as the adage goes, when those about you are losing theirs.

 7/ Not listening to fellow writers.

Story Conferences are sometimes rather political elements of the story production process. An oft made mistake is when writers (maybe through their own enthusiasm and keeness to impress) do not listen or take on  board the input of fellow writers when discussing storylines.

 8/ Consistently missing deadlines.

It’s hard, being expected time and again to deliver to a time deadline. But on a long running drama series it is essential that the script arrives when the schedule demands and if you consistently miss this date, it puts huge pressure on every member of the production team.

 9/ Once you’ve delivered, then you are done.

On a series that is often not the case! On a show like Eastenders for example, you will be expected to be available for notes and for consultation with a member of the script team about your script, right up to the point of shooting and in some cases be expected to attend the actual day’s shoot.

 10/ Giving storylines away.

An absolute no no but sometimes, this still happens. Sometimes the Production might welcome a leak, for publicity purposes, but in the main, the writer should most definitely leave any story give aways to those that make the show.

newsletter 12

SCRIPT ADVICE NEWSLETTER 12

WHAT THE SCRIPT FACTORY SAYS ABOUT SCRIPT ADVICE:

“We can heartily recommend Yvonne’s workshops – she unravels television like no one else! www.scriptfactory.co.uk

Find out if I can help you with your current project@ http://www.scriptadvice.co.uk offering writers mentoring, training and script editing services in order to develop their work and talent.  Please pass on this link to your fellow writers.

Or you can join SCRIPT ADVICE WRITERS ROOM@ http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=237330119115&ref=mf

SAWR is all about writing and writers. Here you can share your thoughts about writing, the creative process, the highs and lows of it all. You can also access this group for information about writing workshops that I am currently running, also script editing and mentoring services that I offer. My expertise lies in Television drama but any writer is welcome to share their experiences and their aspirations here.

Or to see my newsletter online, access my Blog here: http://scriptadvice.wordpress.com/

AND INTRODUCING MY NEW BLOG; GEORGE, THE BLOGGING WRITER. Read all about her rocky journey towards television writing enlightenment here – http://yvonblog.wordpress.com/

 CONTENTS

Script Advice – My Work

Story lining – It’s an Art

My Favourite Blogs at the moment

 SCRIPT ADVICE – MY WORK

Apologies, I am about to sound like a Vaudeville act – but I am a Tad Tardy with my Spring Newsletter.  The season of re-growth, new birth, sap rising etc, has definitely sprung and in fact, having given us a thorough soaking, she is now positively cooking us alive like so many boil in the bag cod in her un-seasonal heat wave.

You’ve also been busy.  Which is why I have been and hence the late Newsletter.  I love to read and script edit writer’s work, so I am genuinely not complaining, or making excuses, but your scripts come first; that is, before blogging, newsletter writing, or posting up interesting stuff for the SAWR group and its burgeoning body of members on Facebook.  I have been known also to Tweet but have not done much of any of that stuff because your scripts keep on coming in!

Scripts make me happy.  It’s sad.  But also true.  I love the lay out of a good script.  I love the feel of a deftly controlled drama and to immerse myself in characters and stories created by a writer who obviously wants to tell me something I didn’t know and to entertain, to engage, to make me think.

Of course, not every script I read does all that straight away.  No of course it doesn’t.  Writers are fallible and writing is a process.  And that’s where I come in.

I do a lot of script reports for writers. These are useful documents for a writer to have as a reference when tackling their next draft. I am always constructive and often down right glowing about the work I read – there’s a lot of talent out there! But one of the skills a good script editor needs is tact and I think I can say minus any tongue in cheek, that I chose to be constructive rather than destructive when there is a lot of work to do.

My favourite service on http://www.Scriptadvice.co.uk is my Script Editing Package. There really is a great satisfaction in being the script editor on a script that you see from the first draft, has potential and that by the 2^nd  draft you can see the changes coming through and the work getting better and there is real enjoyment in taking that script further with the writer, knowing now, that it will become a great calling card for that particular writer.  I like the skill involved and I like the process of getting those changes made in the script, with the writer fully on board and enjoying the process.

So thanks all for giving me the continued opportunity to stretch my Scripty legs every day….now, I would like to talk about my obsession – long running storylines…..

 STORYLINING – It’s an Art

There is nothing as frustrating as those times when, in the story lining process, a meaty, potentially dramatic and resonant storyline is not plotted to the fullest extent of it’s potential, and so what the writer ultimately writes in the script, and what the viewers see on screen, is actually a much tamer, watered down, insipid version of the storyline the producer and the writing team discussed around the table at the Story Conference.  And I talk here about long running series and scripts of shows you will know; shows like Holby City, and Coronation Street and Eastenders. These are the shows that I have worked on.  But I don’t want you to think that the story lining that shapes the scripts of long running shows like these particular giants is nothing to do with the story lining that you will be faced with when constructing your scripts. Far from it. This craft, this art, is the same knotty bugger you have to face in any dramatic form.

No-one is saying that story lining is easy – or even interesting – it’s not always, sometimes it’s just a hard plotting slog.  But in the planning of any drama, be it a single or a series, an un-produced or production script, it is essential that your storylines are plotted properly. Story lining is something writers should do in their sleep. Do it a lot. It will get easier and with experience the obvious beats will slot themselves in place without you even noticing, leaving you to concentrate on digging out the beats in a storyline that are not so obvious, but once discovered, will make all the difference to the original idea.

Each beat of each storyline needs to be worked out carefully.  I am not of the school of thought that says ‘sit down and write something and where ever your character takes you that’s the place you’ll end up’ because I for one do not have the patience or the time (and in production both of these things are in very short supply) to dig under a lot of un-necessary, extraneous writing to find the original storyline.

Because believe me, and I say this with a bleeding heart, (having had to steer script editing sessions well into the early hours after a storyline had been allowed to go walk about during the drafting process and ended up infecting a bunch of scripts ready to go to camera) you will write too much, you will veer off the point, you will write yourself into a blind alley if you do not firstly, work out the main and the minor beats in the story line and secondly, work out how this story line impacts and affects the other story lines in your script.

There is a sort of dread that sets in occasionally, from my experience, when you are faced with a white, blank board (I use a wall chart, but insert page or computer screen to make this visual work) when you know you have your character all sorted out nicely, and you know what (vaguely) you want to happen to him/her and you certainly know the best bits of the storyline you’ve conjured up for them, but, there’s those awful stages in between the best bits, that you have to fill in. You have an hour of drama to plot, or even a half hour if it’s a series/soap you are creating/working on/wrestling with.

That’s a ton of story beats and a lot of mini peaks, a whole bunch of shallow troughs and a certain amount of path-picking until you get to the summit – the grand peak of your storyline. And that, (I am sure you will be pleased to read) just about finishes the mountaineering metaphors.

And this is where the skill comes in. This is where the true storyteller comes to the fore; where the teller of tales can shine at the craft of controlling and containing the elements of the story; pulling, teasing-out and revealing the optimum dramatic impact of the narrative.

There are lots of reasons why, between creation and execution, a storyline can fall foul of the production process and ultimately end up a shadow of the original idea, but if you stick to the rule book (there are just a few essentials to remember) when it comes to story lining, your story will not go far wrong and you will find that your story lines naturally weave and loop around and through each other – thus giving your final script a real depth, a fitness, a resonance all of it’s own.

The Basic Rules of Story Lining.

 1/ Know your length

Know the natural length of the story line you want to create. Think about it instinctively and you will find you will land on a ball park sort of length. Not all your story lines will need, or be able, to stretch the full length of the 15min, 30min, 60min, 90 min of drama you are writing.  Some stories may be short and sweet and best plotted over perhaps only a third of your script, some may feature in the first 2 thirds and be resolved by the last ‘act’ of your script, but in all cases, every story has a natural length and this you need to ascertain from the start.

 2/ Know your rank

Decide if this storyline is an A or a B or a minor C storyline and plot it accordingly. An A story is one that can best be described as ‘what the episode is about’ – it’s the central theme, message and forms the internal shape of your script/episode. A B story takes up less script space but is important in that it will have the most impact on and resonance to, the A story.  A and B stories run parallel and inter-connect through the script/episode and will influence the majority of the shape of the script. A C story is a minor one, a smaller and shorter story but still important in that it can undercut, contrast too, conflict with, or highlight and augment, the A and B stories. The idea is to get all stories, major and minor, doing a cohesive job together throughout the script.

3/ Look for the detail

Once you’ve got the main beats in place; those moments where the drama literally peaks and the dramatic impact is most intensely felt, then make sure you plot the lesser moments leading up to those dramatic highs. If you fail to carve out the detail of the quieter, subtler, gentler, sub-textual moments in your story line, the over all impact will be lessened and the pay off you are looking for will not happen.

4/ Work the connections

How do your story lines connect? How do they contrast and highlight each other? Look at their separate paths and it will appear obvious at first, the places where your story lines could interconnect and relate to each other. The less obvious moments of interaction and reaction between story lines is your next and more difficult job to identify. How can each story get the best out of itself and the others in the script as a whole?  There are cross-over points in all stories and it is those junctions you will need to identify first. Next, plot in the parallel moments of each story line – when you allow your audience the opportunity to see and follow, your separate stories and spend time with each one.

SOME OF MY FAVOURITE BLOGS AT THE MOMENT:

DOMINIC CARVER (writer and Script Advice Writers Room member) tells us how to sell ourselves, (nicely!) and traverse the twisty road of writer commissions in his intelligent blog:

http://doms-world.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/pimp-yourself.html

STEVEN RUSSELL (writer, director, SAWR member) and all round good egg, has written a sound and pithy myth-busting blog about the knotty problem of loglines; what they are, how to write a good one and what it will do for your script. Well worth a read.

http://lovesmenotfilms.wordpress.com/2012/04/26/laying-down-the-logline-law/

GEORGE THE BLOGGING WRITER shows us how to navigate the tricky waters of writer land in her leaky canoe….(shamelessly self promoting here but she needs all the help she can get) http://yvonblog.wordpress.com/

STAGE 32 is an interesting website for writers keen on film and storytelling in general, and here, the formidable Signe Olynyk writes a really good blog about pitching and how to do it successfully – a skill most writers shy away from acquiring but it’s got to be done! http://www.stage32.com/blog/bones-pitching

PAUL CORNELL is an ex-colleague and a general all round good writer – specialises in writing Science Fiction and is rather good at that too….

http://networkedblogs.com/y31sX

STEVE TURNBULL – SAWR member and writer blogs here about 3 competitions well worth entering if you have the script ready and the deadlines work for you…http://adaddinsane.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/compete-this.html

Many of you will either know of, or be a member of SCRIPT ADVICE WRITERS ROOM on FACEBOOK, but if you haven’t yet joined, please do, it is a vibrant lively community of writers, trainers, learners, moaners, growers and doers and I would love to see you there! Here is the link again – so get clicking! http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=237330119115&ref=mf

 I hope I can help you with your writing; be it a television script, short or full length film or screen play, treatment or outline, novel or radio play, I read and script edit them all and can definitely help improve yours.  Drop me an email@ Yvonne.grace@scriptadvice.co.uk and let’s get working!

 BYE FOR NOW AND HAPPY WRITING.

Yvonne Grace Script Advice May 2012

 

WRITING FOR SOAPS

Very few programmes ever reach the Olympian ratings heights of our much-loved, much discussed soaps. Having spent a large proportion of my script editing and producing career making them, I can honestly say that apart from a memorable shopping frenzy in Marlylebone High Street back when I had an empty new flat to fill and a concrete credit rating, I have rarely enjoyed myself more. However, Soapland can be an unforgiving place and an un-prepared, wet behind the ears writer can come a proper cropper if he/she is not careful. 

 SOME TIPS IN HOW TO BE A GOOD SOAP WRITER

Watch a lot of telly –

It may sound obvious to say this, but I would recommend you watch a lot of television before honing in on a soap writing career.  In my experience, most people engaged in the all-consuming task of making soaps are usually pretty much addicted to the whole process of storytelling and can not get enough of television drama across all genres.  It’s a highly competitive business, this story generation lark and a producer worth their salt is aware of the storylines being covered by their rivals and are obsessed with the task of generating better storylines to appeal to more people. They will love you to bits if you can aid this process.

Have strong opinions about the characters –

It’s hard to be a shrinking violet in Soapland. As a writer, you will be expected to have strong opinions about the characters that populate this world and as a result, you will have to prove you can create story for them. Be prepared to fight your corner (preferably without shedding blood or resorting to name calling) and nurture your favourite characters like you would your real life friendships – it’s always more fun spending time with people you like – and in the workplace, this makes for better results and a more enjoyable experience all round.

Look ahead as much as possible –

Generating story and scripts that fills a year of television drama output is no easy feat. The producer and the script team need all they help they can get from writers that not only understand the size of the task in hand, but can clearly help solve some of the problems inherit therein.  The show will need both short and long term storylines to keep the audience happy and the character groupings productive. I have found in my experience, that writers in general do not come to the story table with long-term storylines as easily as they do the shorter variety. If possible, don’t fall into this trap. If you can get used to seeing the bigger picture and generate material that arcs across a body of episodes and not just one or two, you will be making a vital contribution to the story bank and providing the script team with a firm foundation on which to build a strong through line of stories across a healthy number of episodes – thus lightening their burden. If you can take the attention, they will all fall in love with you.

Have strong story ideas -

As everyone knows in Soapland, stories are like oxygen to the production process. It is vital therefore, that you make sure the stories with which you arm yourself at your first Story Conference are not just one note wonders. They could be anecdotes that sounded good in the pub but in fact fall apart horribly when pitched to a room of fellow writers and a story savvy script team. Again, I may sound like I am stating the obvious, but a lot of ideas do turn out to be turkey twizlers when spoken out loud. Your story will need a clear shape, and in the telling, explore the characters involved and reveal something about them to your audience. If you can’t succinctly summarise your story to yourself in the privacy of your bathroom at home, spare your own blushes – the story needs clarification and talking it up in front of your fellow writers will only highlight it’s flaws.

Familiarise yourself with the script team -

Forearmed is forewarned. Do your homework. Find out, before you enter Soapland, the names of the key players and especially those on the script team who will be able, should you make it a pleasant experience for them working with you, to make your life positively marvellous on the show. Conversely, the opposite can also apply here.

Find out as much as you can about the production process -

Not all soaps are run on the same lines. Show interest and ask questions (when appropriate obviously!) about the process of production without being in the way or a burden.  If you understand something of the pressures your script editor, for example, may be under to deliver your script to deadline, then you go a long way to creating a harmonious partnership and that editor will want to work with you again.

Be positive and helpful to work with -

Script editors are your friends as are the storyliners. These fabulous creative people are here to help your labours run easier and smoother – use them, don’t fight them, they speak on behalf of the producer and so keeping them on side and not fighting every script point because you feel protective about your work will get you a regular slot on the writing team. Being open-minded to script changes, collaborative in your approach to your writing task and even though it may smart, saying yes and doing the rewrites without having a mini breakdown about the time frame they have given you will ensure you get invited back time and again.

Embrace the Fast Turnaround and Keep At It -

Like pretty much everything in life, soap writing gets easier with practice. 

Be organised. You are about to enter a story factory with very fast script turnaround and an ever-hungry camera team wanting to shoot on time with an ever-demanding producer wanting great scripts on time and on budget with an ever-urgent cast wanting their scripts on time and an ever-ready director wanting your script changes to be on time and to make the script better to boot.  Everything is about timing on a soap.  There is never enough time, but you have to work within the deadlines you are given.  Don’t panic. The structure and rigours of soap writing are put in place to help you generate an amazing amount of drama hours in a very little amount of time.

Be Collaborative -

Show respect and listen to the opinions and ideas of your fellow writers. You will have to top and tail their scripts and again, getting your colleagues on side and encouraging them especially at Script Conference will make your life a whole lot easier when you pitch a storyline you think is a winner and it gets the thumbs down.

A word about Rejection -

Take the rejection of your storyline as you would the acceptance of it. Both reactions are from the same soap family and one will more than likely follow the other in rapid succession.

And Last But Not Least -

Keep your interest fresh and true in the show by taking time out to watch it. When you feel jaded – write a radio play and come back to the show refreshed.

 

Remember, good soaps need good writers – and that means you – get out there, get in touch, give it a go and HAPPY SOAP WRITING!

 

 

SCRIPT ADVICE NEWSLETTER 11

WHAT THE SCRIPT FACTORY SAYS ABOUT SCRIPT ADVICE:

“We can heartily recommend Yvonne’s workshops – she unravels television like no one else! www.scriptfactory.co.uk

Find out if I can help you with your current project@ http://www.scriptadvice.co.uk offering writers mentoring, training and script editing services in order to develop their work and talent.  Please pass on this link to your fellow writers.

Or you can join SCRIPT ADVICE WRITERS ROOM@ http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=237330119115&ref=mf

SAWR is all about writing and writers. Here you can share your thoughts about writing, the creative process, the highs and lows of it all. You can also access this group for information about writing workshops that I am currently running, also script editing and mentoring services that I offer. My expertise lies in Television drama but any writer is welcome to share their experiences and their aspirations here.

Or to see my newsletter online, access my Blog here: http://scriptadvice.wordpress.com/

 CONTENTS

 

• HELLO
• TREATMENTS – WHAT’S THE POINT OF THEM?
• INTERESTING STUFF

 HELLO

Well we all know it’s freezing, and moisturizer sales have increased, and comfort food is on the menu and salad is now an anathema – so I won’t go on about the weather – suffice to say, it’s A NEW YEAR and Winter is settling in nicely here at Script Advice Towers. There’s ice over the bird bath and I feel like a Mrs Mean if I forget to break it so the blue tits and the very fat bullfinch that live in our Forsythia can have a drink.  I have recently also discovered a very good use for ordinary salt – I thought you had to have the posh stuff for this to work but you don’t – sprinkle your bargain basement Saxa over your icy drives and pathways and banish ice completely! Ours is the only drive that is still free from snow, even though we have had several repeat dustings over the last couple of weeks – crunchy underfoot yes, but not slippy!

 And for those evenings when you really just want a cup of hot milk and an early night – I would recommend curling up with LOUIS DE BERNIER’S latest – NOTWITHSTANDING – which is a collection of lovely, tightly observed, moving and funny short stories loosely based on his recollections of his rural childhood.

 TREATMENTS – WHAT’S THE POINT OF THEM AND HOW TO WRITE ONE WELL

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, they are part and parcel of the writing experience for all committed, serious, trying-to-make-a-go-of-it writers. The reason they are so important is primarily because unless you want to write scripts for yourself and maybe read them out after Christmas dinner around the turkey carcass, you will need to sell your idea to someone who can make it happen on screen for you and this is a sure fire way of getting your idea, your voice, your message, your talent and your craft across.  Convinced? Hope so because this business of treatment writing will not go away and if you are, like a lot of writers, not the best at tackling them, here are my tips to writing better treatments. 

 Incidentally, these tips focus on my work and experience which is in television treatment writing and selling, but apply the same principles to your film project and you won’t go far wrong.

 1.      BE SUCCINCT

I run workshops about how to write better treatments; there’s one coming up in June at the NFTS ( Storyline Plot and Development – see details under Interesting Stuff below) and for the first part of the workshop I spend a bit of time talking about what this word means. Succinct, brief, concise, pithy, to the point, sound bite, morsel, nugget, anyway you cut it this treatment writing business is about getting to the point and sticking to it. Avoid at all costs, extraneous, superfluous description and rambling in general. In this document, you will be presenting your idea as pared down as you can get it and as in the art of perfumery, you will be condensing the essence of your idea and by doing so, you will be revealing the best bits and tempting the reader to want more. Less, in treatment writing like in so much else, is More.

 2.      BE VISUAL

Astonishing I know, but very often I find myself reminding writers that we are working in a visual medium and so by the very nature of what we do, we must be visual at all times. In this treatment, you are not only drawing in your reader (who may then become your buyer, your audience and ultimately your critic) by the use of words and your ability to present a tempting tale, you are also encouraging them to visualise with you your story, your characters and the world you create in microcosm. So, every image you present in the treatment must be the right one, the only one and the very best one to do the job you give it.

 3.      ENJOY THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Here’s another odd revelation in regard to the craft of writing; some writers need to be reminded that we are in the business of communication. So, enjoying, exploring and experimenting with our Mother tongue and the way you in particular express yourself, is key to getting your script right and therefore, should be central to writing the seminal treatment. Treatments are about description, imagining, underlining and highlighting the best story elements of your intended story, the best characterisation and the ‘feel’ of what you intend to develop in your script. So taking control and mastering the art of enticement by deft use of our descriptive, romantic and arresting language will result in an open, alluring treatment that grips from the start.

 4.      BE ENTERTAINING

Commissioners and Producers can be a jaded bunch – I speak not only from general, but also personal experience of this!  So be as entertaining as you can in the writing of your treatment. We are in the business of communication, education, distraction and entertainment so make your treatment sing in all of these areas.

 THE GENERAL LAYOUT OF A TREATMENT:

 Title: I love titles. Make yours really sell your idea by being the best you can make it. Favourite Titles? ‘Strictly Ballroom’. ‘A Matter Of Life Or Death’. ‘Call The Midwife’. ‘Roger and Val Have Just Got In’. Sometimes, it’s better that the title describes what’s in the tin so to speak, but also being succinct and summarising either the plot content; ‘In The Line Of Fire’ or giving a sense of the tone and style of the piece; ‘The Unbearable Lightness Of Being’ works better. And a title from my own stable? ‘Full English’ – a comedy drama about running a B and B in Cornwall.

 Format Description:

Is your idea A Comedy Drama? A 4 or 6 or more parter? Is this is a serial or a series? Is it a one off or Single? Action, High Concept, Character driven? Say so here to give the reader a clear idea of what to expect straight away.

 There’s a lot on the Net about the difference between series and serials and you may get conflicting opinions on this one, but the definition for me and how I have used it in my career of 20 years (so far!) in television, the definition stands as I set out below:

 SERIES: A drama that is open ended. A core cast of returning characters. The backdrop remains the same and is returned to each week. There may be  several stories per episode which are resolved, but the series storyline; that which is carried by the core returning cast, remains open ended. Eg: Holby City. Coronation Street. (all of the Soaps in fact) Hustle. Merlin. Spooks.

SERIAL: A drama of more than one or two parts, which has a serial element; a core cast of returning characters and an over-arcing storyline, but in this case, the storyline is ultimately resolved. Eg: Jane Eyre.  State of Play.  A Passionate Woman.  The Lost Prince.

 Logline:

In a word, summarise your idea as entertainingly and as succinctly as you can – here to focus your mind a bit and because I found it also good reading, is a website from a writer who focuses on the job of selling to Hollywood but what he says here about Loglines is true in our domestic UK market as anywhere. http://www.writersstore.com/writing-loglines-that-sell

 One Paragraph of tasty description setting out the world:

Here the job is to be as descriptive and evocative as possible – imagine you are writing in prose, what the reader will ultimately see on screen – so take us through perhaps 2 or 3 key scenes written as if you were writing your script as a novel. 

Character Biographies:

Make these as tasty as you can. I like to add a quotation from each character under their name; something they are most likely to say or something that alludes to their particular storyline. Eg: In a treatment I wrote ostensibly about The Eternal Quest For Mr Right entitled ‘A Man For All Seasons’ (another not bad title!) I created a character called PLUM; her quotation was ‘Plum is looking for a man she can spar with; so far, she has only dated those that shop there’. 

 In each character biog, give a suggestion of the over arc of their storyline across the number of episodes or across the span of the script you are intending to write. Make these people live on the page.

 Episode Outline:

I think this is self explanatory – but be exacting and succinct in your language whilst being as interesting as you can in your outlay of the storyline.  Give the main thrust of the A (or the main) storyline with the smaller, B and C stories if you have them, running parallel.

 Main Story Arcs:

Each character has a journey and here you outline what that is in story terms. Again, pithy, evocative language is what we are looking for.

 The Central Message:

This will be alluded to in your pithy Logline at the top of the treatment, but here you can extrapolate a bit more and dig a bit deeper.

 Throughout the writing of your treatment you must also pay attention to the style and tone of your writing and as much as possible, evoke for your reader the flavour of what they will ultimately be seeing on screen when your Must Have Drama is produced.

Here is Charles Harris Charles Harris; experienced award-winning writer-director, founder of ScreenLab and a director of Euroscript – more about them here: http://www.euroscript.co.uk/ and his take on writing treatments – he focuses on the business of treatment writing for film scripts, but the essence of treatment writing is the same for television or film scripts – I will let him take over where I left off…..

 Three Tips for Writing Treatments

Writing a good, compelling, readable treatment is tough. It’s difficult enough to write a cinema or TV script – but then to boil the whole thing down from 90+ pages to one or two…! However this is a crucial part of a screenwriter’s job.

A treatment is just another word for outline or synopsis and I’ve written hundreds in my career. They all demanded 100% of my attention and pushed me to the limit of my writing skills. However, as a result I not only became a much better writer, I started making more sales.

So here, from the sweat of my brow and the depths of my experience, are three of my top tips for getting that treatment to work for you rather than against you.

1. Go for broke

Most treatments are flat, uninspiring things. Writers are so worried about getting the story down in short form that they forget to use their literary skills.

Go for the very essence of the story – in a very, very few beats – don’t try to tell us everything that happens. Instead, give us the emotion. Develop a distinctive voice that reflects the characters and setting. Unfold the theme and the meaning (in a treatment you are allowed to tell as well as show! In fact you must).

2. Be disciplined

Don’t ramble: write to length. If the treatment is for someone else, then deliver the length that they want. You will need treatments of different lengths for different potential buyers. If two pages (as for this year’s Euroscript Screen Story Competition) then make it two pages – in standard font, properly laid out and spaced. No cheating by leaving out paragraph spaces, or using 1mm margins!

If the treatment is for you, as part of developing the script, then you still owe it to yourself to keep it short and crisp. You will learn far more about your story by being disciplined than by allowing yourself to go on and on.

I believe the best way is to start with a short paragraph and then grow it organically step by step (I go through this entire process with you in Exciting Treatments).

3. Keep improving

Keep polishing, revising and improving your treatments as you write each draft of the script and then keep doing the same as you start sending the treatments out. As you keep refining, so you learn more about the script itself – characters, emotions, theme – and so both treatments and script become sharper.

I always obtain paid professional feedback before sending out a treatment, even though I give feedback to others. Everyone needs another pair of eyes.

 INTERESTING STUFF

 UPCOMING WORKSHOP ON CAREER DEVELOPMENT IN TV AND THE FILM INDUSTRY; Apologies for the long link – this from SCREEN YORKSHIRE – If you think you need some help getting a leg up or just some focussed attention on your career path, this could be the one for you – Northern Based Nicky Ball – Career Development Manager tells you more here: http://www.linkedin.com/news?viewArticle=&articleID=5573754948845310004&gid=2600652&type=member&item=94390465&articleURL=http%3A%2F%2Fcancareersleedsmarch2012-esli.eventbrite.co.uk%2F&urlhash=W-kv&goback=.gde_2600652_member_94390465

 INKTIP – their strap line is ‘getting the right script into the right hands’ – impressive website full of really great links and ways to get your script out there and read by industry professionals. You have to register your work and become a member – I think it looks seriously impressive for screenwriters who want to get connected and get their work out there.

http://www.inktip.com/index.php?cat=sa&scat=home

 STEVEN RUSSELL – here, writer /producer /blogger and SCRIPT ADVICE WRITERS ROOM MEMBER Steven talks about how to manage that nutty and knotty problem of exposition in your script writing – a useful storytelling tool no doubt, but a hard one to control correctly: http://lovesmenotfilms.wordpress.com/2012/02/07/a-useful-use-for-exposition-in-your-script/

 CHARLES HARRIS – is another experienced writer trainer and I am gladly promoting his fabulous website: http://chasharrisfootloose.wordpress.com/

 PHIL GLADWIN – here I am promoting the opposition – but hey, the guy really knows his onions so I would recommend a good look at this very informative website and his book on screen writing could be a good addition to the bookshelf this year too…needless to say, he also is a member of SCRIPT ADVICE WRITERS ROOM..

http://www.screenwritinggoldmine.com/98-screenwriters

 SHORT COURSE FROM SCRIPT ADVICE AT THE NATIONAL FILM AND TELEVISION SCHOOL – STORYLINE PLOT AND DEVELOPMENT

Check out the details here for my course and others – this is a good place to hone your craft in screen writing and disciplines surrounding the business of writing great scripts. This is a 4 day course that I have designed specifically for the NFTS and I would love to see you there in the Summer….

http://www.nfts.co.uk/index.php?module=Shortcourse&action=Moduleshortcourse&Department_id=38&course_id=361&courseapplication=1171

 Many of you will either know of, or be a member of SCRIPT ADVICE WRITERS ROOM on FACEBOOK, but if you haven’t yet joined, please do, it is a vibrant lively community of writers, trainers, learners, moaners, growers and doers and I would love to see you there! Here is the link again – so get clicking! http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=237330119115&ref=mf

 I hope I can help you with your writing; be it a television script, short or full length film or screen play, treatment or outline, novel or radio play, I read and script edit them all and can definitely help improve yours.  Drop me an email@ Yvonne.grace@scriptadvice.co.uk and let’s get working!

 BYE FOR NOW AND HAPPY WRITING.

Copyright Yvonne Grace Script Advice February 2012

FIVE BASIC, ESSENTIAL SCRIPT WRITING DO’S AND DON’TS

Marketting Bods beavering away in the back rooms of Consumer Cathedrals like Waitrose and Sainsburys use the words Basic and Essential to draw the wider slice of the human consumer-pyramid towards products that are vital to the average kitchen cupboard.  It’s no different in the world of writing – here then a list of my FIVE BASIC, ESSENTIAL things to get right and to avoid getting wrong in your script writing, for budget-savvy writers (this advice is free!) who also want to avoid slipping below the Good Writing radar.

1/ SCENE DESCRIPTION – GEOGRAPHY and CONTENT: DESCRIBE WHAT YOU WANT US TO SEE – NO MORE NO LESS

Two things to remember here: don’t under describe your scene but also don’t over describe. Both mistakes on the page cause confusion and irritation in a reader. No-one likes to have to trawl through pages of description to get to the vital information of the scene. But the flip side of that is a tough place to be as well. There is nothing more tedious than having to work out for yourself where characters are at the top of a scene, or what they are doing – what it is, in fact, that we are looking at. So my rule of thumb is this; imagine and visualise for yourself before you put finger tip to keypad or ballpoint to paper where your characters are and what image you want us to see at the top of the scene. It sounds an obvious thing to say, but writing for the small or big screen means you have to use your visual imagination as much as you do your verbal skills to get your story across. Tell the story in pictures as well as words. So what is it you want us to know? Tell us succinctly but with a touch of description to keep the top of the scene alive. Set the scene – literally – paint it in words but chose yours carefully and remember – we need to get a move on here – this is not a novel – so place your characters and prepare for them to move the story on.

2/ CUT TO THE CHASE – KEEP UP THE STORY MOMENTUM – HAVE CONFIDENCE IN YOUR STORY

I know it’s a tough one – but never allow yourself as a writer, to procrastinate. Your characters can, if you demand it, in order to further a plot point or build some tension in the narrative, but you the writer need to ensure you ‘get a wiggle on’ throughout the writing of your script. You are in control of not only the imagery and dialogue, but also the pace and mood of the story. It’s a truism that many writers lack faith in their storylines and worry that if they truely do push the script on they will run out of story before they complete their all important third act. My advice is always to allow the story to build the momentum it will naturally and if the writing begins to stall and the story to wane then more invention is required from you. Do not apply the brakes, thus holding back the plot incrementally scene by scene, do push your foot on the accelorator and give the storyline and your script some welly instead!

3/ CONSTRUCT A SHAPELY SCENE – INTRO/DEVELOP/END

Here’s another cliche but a true one (like most cliches in fact). Each scene must have a beginning, a middle and an end. So many writers forget this basic essential fact when bringing their story together in script form. Introduce your scene, develop it’s particuar theme and end it on a definite, clear note. This might be on a visual image, or an expression, or on a parting word; but do end your scene. Do not leave it and your characters hanging.  It’s sometimes easier to write the meat of the scene and harder to give it a good opening and ending, but it is essential to get this right in order to keep your overall control of your story intact. Ask yourself some basic questions when beginning to write a scene: ‘what is this scene about? What is the job of this particular scene?’ What must I put in and what can I leave out?’ ‘How do I need to leave this scene in order to push the story along?’ Be tough, be exacting and be clear with both yourself as the writer and with your scenes.

4/ VISUALISE, VISUALISE, VISUALISE

I can not stress enough how important it is for the writer to visualise, to imagine, to literally paint with words both your characters and the world they populate. Television, film, are visual mediums and the vitality and impact of your story on the small or large screen is dependant on your skill as both wordsmiths and visual storytellers. A lot of writing pitfalls can be avoided if your visual imagination is strong. Try literally, to ‘see’ the scenes as you write them and in so doing, create an atmosphere or a feeling using a simple but effective description of a room, or lighting, weather, a colour, an item of furniture, a picture. Couple a strong visual imagination with a skill in writing real, grounded, credible dialogue and your script is virtually writing itself!

5/ ONLY CONNECT – MENTAL EDITING

This is a tough one but if you can do this, my guess is that you may have dallied a while in pitfall number 1 and grazed a knee in pitfall 2 but I think you will have skipped lightly over 3 and 4 with little effort. Again, I make the same point but as you are in the business of writing in a visual medium, it is essential that you try and visualise how each separate component of your story, (in scenes) will cut together, and once positioned, how it will look, how the story will hang together and what the overall style and tone of your script will be.  Doing this will ensure you do not fall into another trap (perhaps on a sub-headed list of essential do’s and don’ts!) of allowing yourself too many jumpcuts within the narrative. Where a character literally seems to leap from one set/location to another as if they have jumped time between scenes. When cut together, unless these jumpcuts are explained in the visualisation of the scene, the script will both read and look disjointed. Try and keep in your head as you write, the pace, the tone and the style of your narrative.  The placing of your scenes along your narrative through line is very important. Scenes do not necessarily have to follow a linear pattern of storytelling and chosing to abutt one scene in particular with another can add atmsophere and story intrigue which you may not have actually scripted intentionally. Play with the narrative in your mental edit and in so doing, you will be controlling the pace of your story and where you want your audience to relax and where you want to up the pace.

That’s my TOP FIVE BASIC, ESSENTIAL SCRIPT DO’s AND DONT’s – I hope you find them useful – any feedback is always useful and look out for future DOs and DON’T lists from me@ http://www.SCRIPT ADVICE.co.uk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SCRIPT ADVICE NEWSLETTER – AUTUMN EDITION – 10

WHAT THE SCRIPT FACTORY SAYS ABOUT SCRIPT ADVICE:
“We can heartily recommend Yvonne’s workshops – she unravels television like no one else! http://www.scriptfactory.co.uk
Find out if I can help you with your current project@ http://www.scriptadvice.co.uk offering writers mentoring, training and script editing services in order to develop their work and talent. Please pass on this link to your fellow writers.
Or you can join SCRIPT ADVICE WRITERS ROOM@ http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=237330119115&ref=mf
SAWR is all about writing and writers. Here you can share your thoughts about writing, the creative process, the highs and lows of it all. You can also access this group for information about writing workshops that I am currently running, also script editing and mentoring services that I offer. My expertise lies in Television drama but any writer is welcome to share their experiences and their aspirations here.
Or to see my newsletter online, access my Blog@http://www.scriptadvice.co.uk

CONTENTS

· HELLO
· SCRIPT ADVICE WRITING TIP – MIND THE GAP
· GEORGE THE JOBBING WRITER – AGENT AGONY
· INTERESTING STUFF

HELLO

I love Autumn. It is a season that compliments me. Summer – you will find me grumpy, covered in heat rash and sun factor 50. Spring – more sprightly but rather pasty. Winter – brittle and entirely dependent on moisturizer; so it is in Autumn that I come into my own. I am a natural red-head, (these days augmented by the delights of home colouring – thank you Casting Crème!) and I fancy, as I walk through the woods at the back of our house, picking my way through what I hope are worm casts and not suburban dog poo, that I rather blend in with the golds, coppers and rust colours dancing in the trees above my head. I am not allowed to wax all Nature for too long, as Number One Son, in a burst of curly leaves and stripey wellies, comes hurtling along the path towards me; his voice echoing up the sides of the valley; ‘mummy, my wee is actually coming!’

Onwards and upwards…

SCRIPT ADVICE WRITING TIP – MIND THE GAP

I often come across in my SCRIPT ADVICE script editing and mentoring work, writers who have a tendency to over-write where it is not necessary and to under-explain when it is.

This is a tricky balance to get right in narrative heavy work, but one that is essential to achieve if you want your writing to come off the page with polish and finesse.

One of the most often repeated pit falls when writing dialogue-heavy scenes in, for example EASTENDERS (I mention this soap as opposed to any other because I have script edited this show) is that line of dialogue which is so ‘on the nose’ it’s practically sitting on your face. Never a good look. So – in dialogue, too much obvious explanation is a very bad thing indeed.

In scene setting the same applies. There is nothing worse than reading great long ribbons of scene description, when all you really want to know from the writer at this point is: where we are, who is there and what they are doing in the scene.

The reverse is true when I am reading an exchange of dialogue that is so cryptic it would fox T S Elliot (and we all know how much he depended on footnotes to get his point across!)

Subtext is the life line of any interesting, engaging, emotionally compelling work, but too much subtlety in the text and not enough explanation in the dialogue will result in lots of scratched heads and an over-riding sense of frustration and confusion.

TIP: Think about what you don’t want your characters to say in the scene. What must you leave out in order for the plot to be developed and the characters to grow and learn with the narrative?

The gaps in a plot are just, if not more, important in the true telling of a gripping storyline. Let your characters fill in the gaps for your audience when you chose to give them the information you have been withholding.

Chose your moment. Maximise the impact of that piece of information and write the moment that the penny drops.

GEORGE THE JOBBING WRITER – AGENT AGONY

SC1 – Bar Your Own Bum – Islington – Table by the window – 12 Noon

I like Hope-The-Nice-Script Editor; she’s always so nice about my WESTENDERS scripts, but she should’ve told me Poppocatapetl was boss-eyed. She’s sitting across from me, glass of Oyster Bay in hand, one eye firmly fixed on the door jam and the other on me – I think. She’s telling me she was conceived half way up a Mexican mountain, which is why she’s got that ridiculous name, thank God she answers to Poppy.

I am trying to focus on her face – well, the bit between her eyebrows actually, because I think that way it will look like I am looking at her, and listening, when in actual fact all I can think about is what the hell I am doing here, nodding sagely and trying to look like an accomplished, mature writer when I feel just the opposite.

This club she’s taken me to is full of ‘faces’. I know I am supposed to know who is on the next table, because Poppy did a double take and hissed excitedly behind her menu that ‘Uptown Manor’ was ordering the Moules’. I don’t recognise him – probably because I don’t watch the show – this because I can’t keep my eyes open past 9.30pm since I have taken on a regular writer slot on WESTENDERS and Uptown Manor is on at 10pm. He’s very loud and smells of Patchouli – which I really hate.

Sc 2 – Bar Your Own Bum – Islington – Seats by the fireplace – 1.30pm

We’ve had lunch – it was mainly liquid – and now Poppy is suggesting another bottle of wine which seems like a great idea since now we have these amazing squishy seats to sit in and I can pretend I am one script away from a BAFTA and Poppy is telling me how ‘incisive’ she finds my work and how I seem to ‘hold the zeitgeist in the palm of my hand’. Blimey, even though I am one bottle of wine past sober, I know that what she just said was utter crappola. I don’t hold anything in my hand but a trusty Bic (I do my first script pass in pen) but Poppy, I am realising fast, likes the sound of her own voice and as we sit, me sinking lower in Italian leather upholstery, she perching forward alarmingly in her very tight Teirry Mugler skirt – I am beginning to think that getting an agent was not a good idea after all. She has just told me her percentage of everything I earn – WHAT? Do I have to pay her to write my scripts?

Sc 3 – Bar Your Own Bum – Islington – Still by the fireplace – 3pm

I love the smell of Patchouli – so sophisticated in a man. GARY WISER – star of Uptown Manor and I are now firm friends. We know each other intimately and are finding each other hilarious. Poppy is now squatting rather than sitting, in the fireplace of this marvellous club she’s brought me too, surrounded by a ton of pumpkins – how clever to put Autumnal fruit in a fireplace instead of wood – so artistic. We can all see Poppy’s knickers but no-one is saying anything – mainly because I have lost the power of speech and am trying not to appear drunk as I try and get up out of this ridiculously squashy chair – it’s like coming out of the birth canal.

Sc 4 – Bar Your Own Bum – Islington – Ladies – 5pm

OMG. I know I am drunk because I have just been talking to myself in the mirror. I saw Sue Johnston do it once in a scene in BROOKSIDE – she knew her hub was having an affair and was scared to blow the whistle because she still loved him – so she looked at herself in the mirror and said over and over to her reflection, ‘just do something – just do something’. And I am about to. I am about to leave. With Dignity. Just have to find Poppy.

Sc 5 – Bar Your Own Bum – Islington – Somewhere On The Stairwell – 5.30pm

Well. That could’ve gone better. I sort of tripped I think. I obviously have fallen down most of the stairs because I find my self throwing a croissant-shape, precariously balanced on this tiny landing and really hoping I can get upright before anyone sees me. Hello – someone has.

Sc 6 – Ollie’s Caff – Islington – 6.30pm

Thank God I met June. She sort of scooped me up in her enormous Pashmina and I got to my feet without too much dignity lost. She found my bag, discovered my shoe, and we waved goodbye to Poppy who appeared to be fast asleep in the fireplace on a pile of orange fruit – we thought it best to leave her to her slumbers.

We didn’t find Gary Wiser. June even paid the bill. Which I am sure was huge. Poppy and I both owe her.

She’s telling me that she admires my work but thinks I need a push up the backside. She’s just called me complacent. She hasn’t mentioned so far, that I am holding anything in my palm and I am pleased about that.

We are downing great mugs of Builder’s Tea and I have just polished off a pile of Bacon Sandwiches doused in HP. I never knew Pig could taste so good.

June is telling me that Poppy is a very good deal clincher and then lists with astonishing memory recall about a million clients that Jarvis Black (the agent Poppy works for) has on it’s books. It is impressive and there’s no doubt that Poppy, given more food and less alchohol, would be dynamite in any contractual meeting. But.

I just like June. I like her warmth, her bright colours, her untidy hair and the way she eats with her spine – she loves her food this woman! She knows her stuff – been around a hundred years and when she showed me the client list of her agency June Pepper Inc. I already felt at home.

So that’s it. Deal done. I know June Pepper lacks the glamour and pazzaz that Poppy and her international conglomerate agency does, but I would much, any day of the week, be represented by someone named after a sunny month than an unstable Mexican volcano.

INTERESTING STUFF

BBC WRITERSROOM NEWSLETTER

Here below the latest offering from those busy beavers at the BBC Writers Room:

Welcome to the BBC writersroom newsletter.

Face 2 Face with Stephen Butchard
————–
BBC writersroom and the Manchester Literature Festival will be hosting a special Q&A event with award-winning screenwriter Stephen Butchard (Stolen, Five Daughters, House of Saddam) on October 18th at 7pm, in MediaCity, Salford.

Tickets are free and can be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis by emailing writersroom.events@bbc.co.uk with Stephen Butchard in the subject line.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunity/face_to_face.shtml

The Fades
————–
Writer Jack Thorne talks about the genesis of his brand new supernatural horror for BBC Three, The Fades, and shares the script from Episode 1 on our blog.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/writersroom/2011/09/the_fades.shtml

Scripts
——-
Our scripts are in PDF format – if you can’t read them, download Adobe Reader from http://www.bbc.co.uk/webwise/categories/plug/acrobat/acrobat.shtml?intro

The Fades, Episode 1 by Jack Thorne

http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/insight/downloads/scripts/thefades_episode1.pdf

Rastamouse, ‘Da Crucial Plan’ by Michael De Souza and Genevieve Webster

http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/insight/downloads/scripts/rastamouse_dacrucialplan.pdf

The Hour, Episode 1 by Abi Morgan

http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/insight/downloads/scripts/thehour_episode1.pdf

Don’t forget you can browse through all of the scripts in our script archive.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/insight/script_archive.shtml

Submitting your script to BBC writersroom
—————————————–
Want to write for the BBC? Find out what to send us on our script submissions page.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/writing/submissions_writersroom.shtml

Blog
—-
Newsjack’s Gareth Gwynn gives his advice on submitting sketches for the show, Corey Montague-Sholay talks about his first writing job working on EastEnders: E20, and we get an update on the Get a Squiggle On competition masterclass from Usman at BBC writersroom North.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/writersroom/

Opportunities
————-
Collabor8te
Deadline: 03 October 2011
Win a budget of up to £10,000 to have your short film developed and produced.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunity/collabor8ate_2011.shtml

Newsjack
Deadline: 17 October 2011
BBC Radio 4 Extra’s topical sketch show is now open for submissions of sketches and short jokes.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunity/newsjack_2011_2.shtml

Face 2 Face with Stephen Butchard
Deadline: 18 October 2011
An opportunity to put your questions to Stephen Butchard, one of the leading screenwriters of his generation.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunity/face_to_face.shtml

Channel 4 Drama presents….4Screenwriting
Deadline: 01 November 2011
Channel 4 Drama are looking for 12 talented writers who currently have no broadcast credit.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunity/4screenwriting_2011.shtml

Immersive Writing Lab Competition
Deadline: 21 November 2011
Create a cross-platform storyworld and win a £6k development fund.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunity/immersive_writing_lab_2011.shtml

Steyning Festival Theatre Trail 2012
Deadline: 02 December 2011
Steyning Festival Theatre Trail 2012 is seeking 6 new plays from playwrights in the South East.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunity/steyning_festival_theatre_trail_2012.shtml

The BBC Writersroom Future Talent Award for Writers
Deadline: 15 December 2011
Opportunity for north-based student/recent graduate drama writers to access development opportunities and mentoring from the BBC.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunity/future_talent_award_for_writers.shtml

IDEASTAP– is a great looking website which is useful to tap (obviously!) in to now and again. Here, the marvellous Sam Bain talks about sitcom writing and the essential need for deadlines to keep the brain focused on getting that script finished….

http://www.ideastap.com/ideasmag/the-knowledge/sam-bain-writer

This from SOFLUID – a really good blog written by Michelle Goode – SCRIPT ADVICE WRITERS ROOM member on Facebook and all round good egg….

http://michellegoode.blogspot.com/2011/10/twists-in-tale.html?m=1

BAFTA ROCLIFFE NEW WRITING FORUM

http://www.facebook.com/pages/BAFTA-Rocliffe-New-Writing-Forum/128863457425?sk=wall

IMAGINE BLOG
(from Jonathon Harvey SAWR member and all round good guy)

http://www.imaginehq.com/2011/09/26/25-insights-on-becoming-a-better-writer/

SCRIPT WRITING IN THE UK – I love the writing and blogs of Danny Stack and here is his blog focussing on trial ep writing for soaps – really really good info here

http://dannystack.blogspot.com/2009/12/shadow-schemestrial-scripts.html

SCREENWRITING U – is a great source of tips and analysis about the knotty business of writing screenplays. This blog is great at two things – almost stating the obvious, but definitely highlights the blend of comedy and action in films like GROSSE BLANK and why they are successful

http://www.screenwritingu.com/screenwriting-articles/170-when-action-and-comedy-merge.html

NEXT MOVIE – This is makes for some interesting and amusing reading…

http://www.nextmovie.com/blog/funniest-actresses-funny-hollywood/

And now a bit of space given over to those hard-working folks at THE LONDON SCREENWRITERS’ FESTIVAL……..

Are you thinking of going to the London Screenwriters’ Festival this year? We think you should.

The festival is a three day event running from October 28th to 30th (Friday through Sunday) for professional screenwriters and filmmakers. There are over seventy sessions and one hundred industry speakers (including some really big players). There will be five hundred people in attendance and the three days promise an intense networking and learning experience that is designed to educate, inspire and connect.

Latest speakers announced today are David Reynolds (writer ‘Finding Nemo’, ‘Mulan’), Ian Brennan (writer and creator of ‘Glee’) and Joe Cornish (‘Attack The Block’, ‘Tin Tin’ for Spielberg).

DISCOUNT
If you use the discount code PRO-SCREENWRITER you can get a discount of £30 off the ticket price, taking it down to £270. Use the discount code when you buy your ticket. And remember, tell your accountant too as the ticket is tax deductible!

We built the event for you, so what will you get if you attend?
· Improve your writing by learning directly from the biggest and most successful people in the industry. Check out the speakers here. http://tinyurl.com/LSFspeakers
· Increase your chances of success by networking with other professional film makers and screenwriters.
· Tailor the festival to your needs – there are so many sessions to choose from, you can make the whole event unique to you and your project or career. http://tinyurl.com/LSFsessions
· Meet our speakers. You can get face time with our industry experts in intimate Script Chat sessions. http://tinyurl.com/LSFchat
· Pitch your projects to producers and agents in our Speed Pitching sessions. http://tinyurl.com/LSFpitch
· Start right now – get immediate access to our online delegate network where hundreds of other delegates are now networking and watching last years session videos.
· Keep the learning alive, we film most sessions so you can watch the ones you miss or revisit the ones that resonate with you online later.
· Get inspired. More than anything, our delegates report a massive surge in passion and confidence post the festival.

Sign up now.

http://www.londonscreenwritersfestival.com

I hope I can help you with your writing; be it a television script, short (or full length) film or screen play, treatment or outline, novel or radio play, I read and script edit them all and can definitely help improve yours. Drop me an email@ Yvonne.grace@scriptadvice.co.uk and let’s get working!

BYE FOR NOW AND HAPPY WRITING.
Copyright Yvonne Grace Script Advice Oct 2011

SCRIPT ADVICE NEWSLETTER – SUMMER – 2011 – issue 09

WHAT THE SCRIPT FACTORY SAYS ABOUT SCRIPT ADVICE:

“We can heartily recommend Yvonne’s workshops – she unravels television like no one else! www.scriptfactory.co.uk

Find out if I can help you with your current project@ http://www.scriptadvice.co.uk offering writers mentoring, training and script editing services in order to develop their work and talent.  Please pass on this link to your fellow writers.

Or you can join SCRIPT ADVICE WRITERS ROOM@ http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=237330119115&ref=mf

SAWR is all about writing and writers. Here you can share your thoughts about writing, the creative process, the highs and lows of it all. You can also access this group for information about writing workshops that I am currently running, also script editing and mentoring services that I offer. My expertise lies in Television drama but any writer is welcome to share their experiences and their aspirations here.

Or to see my newsletter online, access my Blog@http://www.scriptadvice.co.uk

Contents:

·        Hello

·        Agents: where to find them and what they should do for you

·        Interesting Stuff

Hello

So its finally decided to turn up – Summer that is, and as I type, the sun is bursting through the leaves of the Magnolia outside my office; throwing into glorious relief the smeary little boy palm prints smattering the lower third of our glass French windows. Thankfully, due to the cloudy nature of our British Summer, the slatternly nature of my housework does not poke my conscious for long before the sun dips behind a pale grey blob and the handprints miraculously disappear – that’s better – on with the Newsletter!

Agents: where to find them and what they should do for you

It is a prickly truth that if you do not have an agent but want to be taken seriously as a writer and are keen to work within the media industry doing just that, then you are in a catch 22 situation which is never an easy place to be.

Most production companies, commissioners, script editors, directors and producers expect the writers whose work they make/commission/work on to have an agent. If you do not have one, then the chances are that these key people, essential to your advancement in the world of drama on the small screen, will not be familiar with your work.

About 100 years ago, when I was starting out in the television industry, it was still possible to encourage new writers; literally fresh out of the theatre or having just written a radio play, into the world of television writing.  These writers did not, in the main have agents as they were very new to the writing world and it was Script Editors like myself going to the theatre, listening to radio drama and taking note of writers they liked the work of that often resulted in very inexperienced writers being thrown into the deep end of for example, Eastenders. This may or may not be a good thing; there were quite a few writers who crashed and burnt via this high octane introduction to television drama writing, but for a healthy amount of writers, this opportunity was all the leg-up they needed to get started, get confident and get noticed as part of the new wave of writing talent.

And even before I cut my teeth in television drama as a Script Editor, I had the enviable job of being a sort of writer talent scout for Channel Four which involved going to lots of fringe theatre plays all over London and listening to the radio and generally getting acquainted with who was writing what and then telling Allon Reich about them. (This was all before he started Producing and Exec Producing a clutch of some of the Best British films in the last 10 years which takes us back almost to primordial times). But the fact that there was such an opportunity for me, and for writers in general, to do this sort of thing, proves just how different the landscape looks now.

These days it is getting increasingly tough to get your work noticed and read if you don’t have someone singing your praises, fighting your corner and networking for you in the form of a good agent.

There are some production companies that are open to reading ‘spec’ scripts:

Rather than duplicate the research already done by the marvellous Hayley McKenzie; Script Editor, Mentor and general all-round fabulous scripty sort of girl, I add here without shame, the list she has compiled on her website Script Angel. This is a list of the companies that are open to reading work from un-represented writers. http://scriptangel.co.uk/ProductionCompanies.aspx

Then there is:

THE WRITERS ACADEMY http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/writing/writers_academy.shtml

And the

BBC WRITERS ROOM http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/

But getting an agent should be a priority and so with this in mind I would suggest that you write a really good script, that you are proud of and that you know shows off your talents and use this as your ‘calling card’.

It is also a.good idea to buy the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook 2011 and this website is a useful source of info and help

http://www.writersandartists.co.uk/

Amongst the many literary agencies promoting the work of writers in all genres I would start with a small list of some of the best, with whom you may want to get acquainted:

http://www.curtisbrown.co.uk/default.aspx

http://www.mbalit.co.uk/

http://www.davidhigham.co.uk/

http://www.blakefriedmann.co.uk/

An agent should:

Make you feel good about your work and confident in your talent

Be good at networking and actually do a fair amount of it

Get you contacts you could not get yourself in the industry, with script editors, producers and production companies

Spread your name around at networking occasions and generally within the industry, as someone with talent that is not only available for work but is also pursuing their own projects. 

Represent you and your talent in a professional, approachable and enthusiastic manner.

Your agent can also help in an editorial fashion; highlighting the strengths of your work and showing you where they feel you may need development. This should be done constructively.

(And obviously, the opposite applies to the above list for the agent you must avoid at all costs….!)

Good luck with your search and above all, remember that talent and self-belief are a powerful combination – you will need both to get in and get on, within the writing industry.

I like what SAWR member and all round good egg writer David Bishop blogs about rejection – here’s how to stay focused and keep the faith….

Got my BBC Writers’ Academy rejection email yesterday, as did many others.  I didn’t progress from the longlist of 156 to the top 30 candidates. Bad news: there were at least 30 scripts entered that were better than mine. Good news: I can now make plans for September-December.

Curiously, I was less affected than when I last applied in 2008. Back then the Academy seemed like the be-all and end-all of my ambitions. I’d done a successful trial script for Doctors, but couldn’t get a story of the day pitch banked to save my life. I didn’t have an agent, didn’t have many prospects. It was crushing.

Fortunately, I had the Doctors shadow scheme ahead to help quell my disappointment. That led to my first commission in 2009, and things have snowballed from there. I now have an agent, three eps of Doctors to my name and have written five eps of Nina and the Neurons, due for broadcast on CBeebies this year.

The Academy is no longer the sole focus of my ambitions. Getting in would be a brilliant turbo-boost, accelerating me from 30 minute to hour-long drama. It’s a big leap, and one not easily made. The Academy would have helped with that transition, giving me direct access to the likes of Casualty and Holby City.

But the Academy is not the only way to make a great leap forwards. Writing a great, original spec script can get you noticed. If you live in Wales, Scotland or Ireland, you could target one of the drama series made locally. The BBC runs shadow schemes for all its continuing drama series, in addition to the Academy.

Don’t forget radio drama, a great place to hone your craft as a writer. The BBC commissions dozens of new scribes every year for that medium. One credit there makes you a more credible prospect. And there are plenty of other schemes and competitions, like Get A Squiggle On and the Red Planet Prize.

If you pin all your hopes on a single opportunity like the Academy, it’s like staking your mortgage on a long shot at the Grand National. A few people end up smiling, but most lost out. So for everyone who got their rejection emails yesterday, I know exactly how you feel. It’s time to shrug, and move to the next thing.

Onwards!

BBC WRITERS ROOM NEWSLETTER

I recommend signing up for this little beauty – there’s always something to interest in their regular newsletters. If you are unfamiliar with script layout and want your work to look professional, you can download scripts from this newsletter following the link they give below.

Rapid Response: #Hackgate
————–
Do you have an urgent response to the phone hacking scandal? We are looking for 5-10 minute scripts for film, TV, radio or online; dramatic or comic, that we can publish on our website as the fastest possible response to the rapidly unfolding events surrounding #hackgate.

Find out how to send us your script:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunity/rapid_response_hackgate.shtml

TV Drama: The Writers’ Festival
————–
A big thank you to all who attended this year’s Writers’ Festival.  We’ve posted some audio excerpts from The X-Files writer Frank Spotnitz’s session on U.S. style Team Writing, and from Paula Milne’s masterclass on The Night Watch.  Stay tuned for more highlights in the coming weeks.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/writersroom/2011/07/team_writing_us_style_-_frank.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/writersroom/2011/07/the_night_watch.shtml

Alfred Bradley Bursary Award 2011
————–
BBC Radio Drama North are looking for talented writers based in the North of England, with compelling stories to tell.

The Alfred Bradley Bursary Award is an opportunity for new writers to win a bursary of £5000, have their work produced on BBC Radio 4 and secure a twelve month mentorship with a Radio Drama Producer.

Find out how to enter:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/writersroom/2011/07/alfred_bradley_bursary_award_2.shtml

Scripts
——-
Our scripts are in PDF format – if you can’t read them, download Adobe Reader from http://www.bbc.co.uk/webwise/categories/plug/acrobat/acrobat.shtml?intro

The Night Watch by Paula Milne
http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/insight/downloads/scripts/the_nightwatch.pdf

Every Child Matters by Chris Reason (Sony Gold award winning Afternoon Play for Radio 4)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/insight/downloads/scripts/every_child_matters.pdf

Hefted by Bill Grundy (BBC Future Talent Award winner 2011)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/insight/downloads/scripts/hefted.pdf
Don’t forget you can browse through all of the scripts in our script archive.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/insight/script_archive.shtml

Submitting your script to BBC writersroom
—————————————–
Want to write for the BBC? Find out what to send us on our script submissions page.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/writing/submissions_writersroom.shtml

Blog
—-
Charlotte Riches talks about this year’s Alfred Bradley Bursary Award and BBC Future Talent Award winner, Bill Grundy shares his experiences of TV Drama: The Writers’ Festival 2011.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/writersroom/

Opportunities
————-
Random – Spoken Word Competition
Deadline: 27 July 2011
See your words made into a short film and broadcast on Channel4.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunity/random_spoken_word.shtml

Rapid Response: #Hackgate
Deadline: 01 August 2011
Send us your 5-10 minute scripts in response to the phone hacking scandal.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunity/rapid_response_hackgate.shtml

The Alfred Bradley Bursary Award 2011
Deadline: 15 September 2011
Opportunity for northern writers to win a bursary of £5000 and have their work produced on BBC Radio 4.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunity/alfred_bradley_bursary_2011.shtml

Sixty Second Stories
Deadline: 03 October 2011
Opportunity to produce a sixty second story for a feature film that will premiere at the 2012 Berlinale.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunity/sixty_second_stories_2011.shtml

INTERESTING STUFF….

If you fancy dipping your toe into the world of commercial comedy, this is a great book to have on your shelf;

Elephant Bucks: An Inside Guide to Writing for TV Sitcoms

Publisher Marketing: A comprehensive guide to writing a highly commerical and saleable spec sitcom script and launching your career as a TV sitcom writer.

www.amazon.com

 Twelve Point: Julian Friedmann (the Friedmann bit of the very good literary agency Blake Friedmann) set up this website as a follow-on from his informative magazine Script Writer Magazine (to which yours truly has contributed articles about story lining and soap writing for television) and I recommend it as a good source of information and help to writers of all genres.

http://www.twelvepoint.com/

The Writers Guild is definitely a website worth book marking. And here to, there’s an interesting article about writing for long running medical dramas – well worth checking out:

http://www.writersguild.org.uk/

Circalit is a great website which focuses on all aspects of novel and screen play writing and where you can find info about competitions and have the chance to key into a wider creative writing community:

http://www.circalit.com/

This is a catch-all type website for those who want to know what films, theatre, and festivals are coming up and going down across the country:

http://www.list.co.uk/

Here’s a very useful interesting website for scribes of all genres:

http://www.screenwritinggoldmine.com/

BBC WRITERS ROOM – lots of great ‘ins’ for all the talented writers out there…

http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunity/index.shtml

SCRIPTWRITING IN THE UK

I love this blog and website, what Danny Stack says here is very clear, clever and right on the button

 http://dannystack.blogspot.com/2005/12/beat-sheets.html

SCRIBE SLICE

Should you want to feel connected to a writer community…this could work for you

http://www.scribeslice.com/

BRITISH COMEDY FORUM

Excellent website for information about upcoming writing opportunities and general stuff

http://www.comedy.co.uk/forums/writing_opportunities/

WRITE THIS MOMENT

This is worth checking out if you want to dip your toe into the more commercial aspects of writing – you have to become a member, but I thought it looked interesting

http://www.writethismoment.com/

WRITE WORDS

Bringing together all the latest writing jobs and opportunities, worth a look

http://www.writewords.org.uk/jobs/

LONDON INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL

http://www.londonindependent.org/screenplay.htm

screenplay writing

Impressive looking website keyed in to screen play writing

http://www.kaosfilms.co.uk/

And a final word from BROADCAST MAGAZINE about making a splash across the Pond from Russell T Davies, creator and show-runner behind TORCHWOOD and his preferred Exec producer Julie Gardener and their move to LA to create the 4^th series of this popular British show, in a co pro with an American production company.

http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/5029355.article

TORCHWOOD: MIRACLE DAY
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

The fourth run of Torchwood is a co-pro with Spartacus cable network Starz and will air on BBC1 on 14 July, six days after its 8 July TX in the US.

The 10-part serial is based on a simple premise: one day, people across the world stop dying. They keep ageing, and get sick, but they never die. The result is an overnight population boom, and Miracle Day investigates both the mystery behind the miracle and its consequences for society.

I hope I can help you with your writing; be it a television script, short (or full length) film or screen play, treatment or outline, novel or radio play, I read and script edit them all and can definitely help improve yours.  Drop me an email@ Yvonne.grace@scriptadvice.co.uk and let’s get working!

 BYE FOR NOW AND HAPPY WRITING.

Copyright Yvonne Grace Script Advice July 2011

script advice newsletter – Spring

SCRIPT ADVICE – NEWSLETTER 08

·        Spring is here!

·        Story telling for Telly

·        Short Courses from SCRIPT ADVICE and other interesting stuff

WHAT THE SCRIPT FACTORY SAYS ABOUT SCRIPT ADVICE:

“We can heartily recommend Yvonne’s workshops – she unravels television like no one else! www.scriptfactory.co.uk

 

Find out if I can help you with your current project@ http://www.scriptadvice.co.uk offering writers mentoring, training and script editing services in order to develop their work and talent. Please pass on this link to your fellow writers.

Or you can join SCRIPT ADVICE WRITERS ROOM@ http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=237330119115&ref=mf

SAWR is all about writing and writers. Here you can share your thoughts about writing; the creative process, the highs and lows of it all. You can also access this group for information about writing workshops that I am currently running, also script editing and mentoring services that I offer. My expertise lies in Television drama but any writer is welcome to share their experiences and their aspirations here.

Or to see my newsletter online, access my Blog@http://www.scriptadvice.co.uk

SPRING IS HERE!

At long last I can see grass where formerly there was mud and the Magnolia is about to burst forth with such a gorgeousness of budding flowers that, typing this and looking out of the office window at the unfurling creaminess of each folded petal, I feel the urge to go all Robert Frost and wax lyrical about sap rising and the strangely lyrical sound of a wood pecker hammering the heck out of the oaks in the nearby wood.  It’s been a long winter but at long last the air smells like the soil is beginning to do it’s job and get stuff growing again, and in this vein of re-birth and new growth – on with SCRIPT ADVICE NEWSLETTER for SPRING!

STORY-TELLING FOR TELLY

If you have ever sat across the table in a restaurant, pub or bar, and listened to a long, boring, interminable, flat, dry, tale told in painstaking detail by a relative, friend or just someone whose chair leg is intertwined with yours, and found that you can not escape this hell because either a/ you are linked to this person by bloodline and gene pool or b/ you can not get past without taking their shin bone marrow with you, then you will no doubt agree with me, that telling a good story is a skill not everyone possesses.

And amazingly, the truth is, that this is even the case amongst writers.  The skill of telling an engaging, teasing, compelling narrative within the pages of a script and in scene form, with a beginning, middle and end which delivers a connective cohesion from the first scene to the last, is very much what the business of television story telling is all about and a particular craft that all writers wishing to get on in television, to pay their bills by writing and to ultimately get commissioned, should definitely get their heads around. Being creative and having a good idea is no longer enough. Being able to creative characters and write good dialogue is also a must, but having the confidence and skill to handle a layered narrative which rattles along and produces the pre-requisite peaks and troughs of an accurately timed television episode is where the real job lies.

Where can you learn this rigorous, exacting skill? Writing for series and soaps, that’s where. I firmly believe that once you have earned your stripes on programmes like EASTENDERS and HOLBY CITY you will be able to tackle absolutely any writing challenge you may meet in the future.

This is not to say (and I must stress this) that our series and soaps much loved by television audiences, are mere training grounds for writers, but they are, by nature of their format and disciplines, excellent arenas within which you can hone and develop your story-telling skills and where you will learn how to structure, pace and deliver a compelling episodic story which will be enjoyed by millions.

Soap-land is where great writers grow up.

Lisa Campbell from Industry Bible, Broadcast Magazine on the value of Soaps –  with which I heartily concur:

It may be going too far to suggest that without EastEnders there would be no King’s Speech, but director Tom Hooper is just one example of the scores of people who have worked on the BBC’s continuing dramas and honed their skills.

And it’s not just directors, writers, producers and commissioners; we can add Kate Winslet, Aaron Johnson and Orlando Bloom to the list.

So it is no doubt with some relief that the BBC greeted the largely positive findings in this week’s National Audit Office (NAO) report into the costs of producing continuing drama.

It showed that the cost per hour has tumbled by 20% over the past eight years at the same time as audience approval has increased – testament to the dedication of BBC in-house teams and the many freelancers who ensure that the continual squeeze in budgets hasn’t led to a continual decline in standards.

The Trust-commissioned report concluded that costs were tightly controlled, but – and it’s a big but – said it is impossible to tell whether the shows represent value for money. This was exactly our reaction when we saw the figures, which are published for the first time.

Without any context or comparisons, they are pretty meaningless. A 2010-11 budget of £29.8m for EastEnders – 3.5p per viewer – sounds like a bargain, but without any benchmark, without any figures from other broadcasters, how can we tell? I can’t see ITV rushing to provide the numbers for Corrie any time soon.

While the report made some sensible recommendations, the Trust has rightly rebutted one: that the series should have some ‘audience-related performance objectives’. This is exactly why bean-counters’ scrutiny of output sets creatives’ hackles rising.

While it is right to expect channels and genres to have key objectives, trying to apply them to individual programmes risks hampering creativity and reducing it to nothing more than a box-ticking exercise. Bafta award-winning series need creative freedom to flourish, and as we’re constantly hearing, there’s quite enough red tape at the BBC already.

The NAO acknowledges that purely financial and quantitative measures only tell part of the story. It fails to mention, for example, the series’ role in our national culture, in refl ecting contemporary issues or in fostering talent. Series such as Holby, Casualty and Doctors are as relentless as they are rewarding, but those who have served their apprenticeship always acknowledge that without it, they wouldn’t be where they are today.

It was a similar story with The Bill, hence the strength of reaction among the drama community after its demise. Its loss places even more responsibility on the BBC and, as continuing drama boss John Yorke asserts, without such series, there wouldn’t be enough jobs in the UK drama industry to sustain it, nor enough trained people to man it.

So to put a value on that? Priceless.

OTHER INTERESTING STUFF

SCRIPT ADVICE COURSES:

Announcing 2 new courses designed by yours truly and hosted by those lovely people at the NFTS.

National Film and Television School: www.nfts.co.uk

Storyline Plot & Development

31 May 2011 to 03 June 2011

This is a four day course exploring the business of creating, plotting, shaping and developing  storylines and ideas for long-running dramas.

SUMMER SOAPS HOW TO WRITE FOR SERIES TELEVISION

I am so looking forward to running this one, it will be intensive, collaborative and challenging and there will be great guest speakers to give you the chance to put your questions to professional writer/developers currently working in the industry.

The dates are July 4^th – 8^th and then a three week gap for writing. Followed by another two days for script editing.

Check out all the details of both courses on the NFTS website. And if you have any questions, email me at Yvonne.grace@scriptadvice.co.uk.

Hope to see you at one or both!

LONDON SCREEN WRITERS FESTIVAL: http://www.londonscreenwritersfestival.com/blog/2011/04/send-in-the-clowns/

This is an informative and all round jolly nice blog from Hayley McKenzie, Script Editor and Script Consultant – what she says here about the need for writers to get their head’s around comedy writing is very true – read and take heed! (Also, if you can, I would check out the London Screen Writers Festival – an excellent place to network and get inspiration!)

I chaired this forum a few years back for the Script Factory and would recommend a visit – they are generally great all round drama types and are always appreciative of the courses I have run for them check it out:

THE SCRIPT FACTORY: http://www.scriptfactory.co.uk/go/Training/Article_963.ht

The Script Factory TV Forum

…is a two-day training and networking event devoted to writing for the small screen (or even the plasma HD-ready widescreen…). While Film and Theatre traditionally require the audience to come to you, television reaches them right where they sit. If you are serious about a career writing drama – and want to actually make some money doing it – then spend two days with us finding out how to get your work into living rooms across the land.

Through a combination of training and guest speakers TV Forum aims to inspire participants to consider how their talents, ideas and aspirations may be suited to the wide range of TV drama opportunities, from soap writing to original single dramas or innovative sitcoms. Over two days, we aim to give screenwriters an essential overview of the current TV landscape coupled with the language, resources and industry knowledge required to further explore how to forge their own TV writing career.

BBC DRAMA WRITERS ACADEMY: Applications for the 2011 BBC Drama Writers Academy will be open on 11th April 2011.  Check out their website for more details http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/writing/writers_academy.shtml

Script Advice meets IN DEVELOPMENT: I will be Guest Speaking at their first Development Meet in London April 12^th at the BFI Benugo Bar, where I will be most likely drinking a glass of something lovely while passing on some of my knowledge and experience of SCRIPT EDITING AND PRODUCING for Series Television. Details below in an email from Sarah:

Dear Development Friends!

Let’s celebrate Spring! April’s In Development drinks gathering is taking place on Tuesday 12th April, at The Benugo Bar, BFI Southbank, from 7.30 p.m.
Our featured guests this month are Yvonne Grace and Philip Shelley, coming along to chat with us about combining work as a script editor and producer in TV and moving between these roles. Both have an impressive list of TV credits on numerous hit shows which you can check out on their profiles.
If you’d like to come along and chat to them informally over a drink, gain some insight from their experience and share some of your own, then please RSVP to this email.
We’ll be in the bar until closing and look forward to seeing you soon!
Sarah and Hannah
In Development
www.indevelopmentuk.blogspot.com

BBC – About the BBC: The real value of Continuing Drama

www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/aboutthebbc

In the BBC official blog, John Yorke writes about the benefits of getting your head around series storytelling

Here’s useful source of info for all budding writers of any genre:

http://essentialwriters.com/

Here is a link to Laurence Timms SAWR member blog NOONE CARES ABOUT YOUR BLOG LAURENCE – I think this link is really useful – thanks L!

http://laurencetimms.wordpress.com/2011/04/06/where-to-find-tv-jobs/

WRITERS GUILD OF GREAT BRITAIN

And a last mention to the WGGB because they do such a lot of work behind the scenes for professional writers

http://www.writersguild.org.uk/

I hope I can help you with your writing; be it a television script, short (or full length) film or screen play, treatment or outline, novel or radio play, I read and script edit them all and can definitely help improve yours.  Drop me an email@ Yvonne.grace@scriptadvice.co.uk and let’s get working!

BYE FOR NOW AND HAPPY WRITING.

Copyright Yvonne Grace Script Advice March 2011