Script Editing – D. I. Y

 

 

 

Readers of this blog and writers lucky enough to have bagged an early bird discounted   copy of my book  ‘Writing For Television, Series, Serials, Soaps’ (order here from Kamera Books http://www.kamerabooks.co.uk/creativeessentials/writingfortelevision/index.php?title_isbn=9781843443377)  will know just how much I rate the job of the Script Editor and the vital position they hold within the script department of a television drama production.

It is a complex, detailed, creative and logistical job that does not suit everyone. That is why writers working along side a script editor, as they go through their various drafts of their television script, are in a rarified place. Here they can be assured of one on one attention and will benefit from having their work disassembled, analysed, tweaked, assessed and if necessary, put back together again in better shape than it was before.

For the writer, this process can be an un-nerving one.

So here I have listed the key areas a script editor will be covering at your first draft edit session and the things they will be thinking about when they read your script for the first time.

They are busy people; these script editors. Lots to think about. Give them less to do by nailing these aspects of your script. Do this before your first edit session, as much as you can. They will love you for it. And so will your script.

WHAT’S THE STORY?

DOES THIS RESONATE AND IF NOT, HOW CAN IT BE FIXED?

If the script editor has to ask this question; the chances are the story doesn’t ring true, or grab the attention. This could be solved by going back to the narrative structure and work out if there are any glaring plot holes, or it may be a research problem, in which case, do more of that and make the story feel rounded and real.

DOES THE MESSAGE COME ACROSS?

This is an issue of subtext. If there really isn’t an underlying message to the text/plotline, the story will read two dimensionally and lack an emotional connection on the part of the reader. This needs fixing here, in draft one, because if a weak subtext is allowed to continue being so, the script will die a death on screen.

DO WE CARE?

Again; a question of emotional connection. It is vital that the story line has a relevance and an immediate impact on the emotional imagination of the reader and therefore, an audience. If the script editor is asking this question, it may be a case of going back to the subtext and make sure your message is getting across.

GENERAL STRUCTURE

HOW THE SCRIPT STARTS – the first minute plus the next ten…..

The all important first ten pages. They must rattle along; be full of character detail and the story must be pushed on through these inital stages. In television, the first minute is vital and all the minutes after that. Each minute on screen counts. Make sure this is the case in your script. No extraneous description, superfluous plot points, no rambling or vagueries allowed.

THE MIDDLE – does it sag?

A constant and real problem in even the most professionally put together script. This is always a problem to do with plotting. Make sure your narrative has enough muscle, enough depth, to go the distance of at least 3 acts in a standard episode of television. This may mean stretching your story over an hour of drama, or half an hour, it depends on the format of your show. If the plot line sags, it is because there is not sufficient material to cover the distance. It may also mean you are being too obvious with your initial plotting and have missed a few tangental plot points you can make in the first act, thus adding depth and distance to the second act. Go back to your plot structure. Are you missing any story line connections? What about your characters? Go back to their subtext to motivate further story depth in the middle of our script.

THE ENDING – does it stick in the mind?

Very important that the ending of the script sits well in the mind and in the imagination of the reader (and therefore your audience) Make sure you are hitting both a visual and a narrative-led moment as you end your work. If you are contributing to a long runner, then your ending will often directly affect the script after yours. Make it pay. Leave the audience interested, and engaged.

DO THE SCENES INTERCONNECT AND CUT TOGETHER SEAMLESSLY?

Use your visual imagination here. I always encourage my writers at Script Advice Towers to ‘see’ their scenes cut together, in their mind’s eye as they write. Glaring omissions, in terms of narrative structure, will be obvious if you can ‘see’ your scenes in 3D on screen. Once you have written the first draft, print it out and cut it up. Now, move the scenes around and play with the way the scenes connect. There are often several interesting options as to how the scene structure will eventually look. There will be obvious scene runs in your narrative, which must do so in a linear fashion to make story sense, but in other cases, you can play with time and scene jumps; it just all depends on how clearly you take your reader through the narrative.

THE OVERALL SHAPE – once read; does it hold up?

If your script editor is asking this question, then the odds are you have gone awry somewhere within the scene structure you have adopted for your script. The story sits in the centre of your script; from it resonate your characters and their story arcs. Each one must be clearly described and followed in your script. If scenes have a disjointed nature and the story line is not smooth in the telling, then the overall shape of the script will be undefinied and the writing appear ‘woolly’. Clarity of structure is what gives your script it’s proper, defined shape.

THE CHARACTERS

ARE THEY TRUE TO THE SHOW?

If you are writing an epsiode of an established series or serial, then this is an obvious question for the script editor to concern themselves with. Make sure you are really famililar with the characters; watch a lot of the show you are writing for and read past scripts. Pick out your favourites and work out for yourself, how they ‘tick’. If you truly understand the characters you are writing for, even long-established characters that the nation know really well, will appear fresh and real on screen for your audience.

ARE THEY CREDIBLE AND INTERESTING?

In a new show, or an original piece with characters not yet established in the collective mind of the audience, all characters must be rounded, have solid, layered, detailed subtext. They must all have something to strive for, something to believe in and a journey to go on in each script you write.

DO THEY CARRY THE PLOT FORWARD?

If your characters have subtext and are motivated by it in your writing, then this will not be a question asked by your script editor. If they are not carrying their story weight, the script editor will help you come up with a better, more detailed, resonant story line for the character(s) posing the problem.

ARE THEY SUFFICIENTLY MOTIVATED?

It’s that subtext issue again. Subtext motivates text. Without it you have a one way, calorie deficient plot line that won’t satisfy anyone. And certainly not your script editor.

THE DIALOGUE

DO PEOPLE REALLY TALK LIKE THAT?

Well do they? Try and get your dialogue as real as it can be to both your ear, and that of your script editor. They are the litmus test for this element of your script. Dialogue should have a natural rhythm and flow to it. Replicate that, and you have done the job well.

IS THERE A SUBTEXT TO THEIR CONVERSATIONS?

That thing again. Subtext. Make sure your characters have a steady seam of subtext running through everything they say and do.

IS IT RELEVANT AND CURRENT?

So hard to get right but so important to do so. Dialogue reflects the mores of the day. Make sure your characters speak true to their nature and to their environment.

VISUALS

DOES THIS GRIP THE EYE AS WELL AS THE IMAGINATION?

Television is a visual medium and your script should be strong in terms of character and dialogue and also the visual aspect of the world your characters live in. Make creative decisions about where your characters are in a scene, what the scene looks like and what the action is; a stunt with tons of visual impact, or a small domestic scene peppered with real human detail

DO THE VISUAL PARTS OF THE SCRIPT SUPPORT AND ENHANCE THE TEXT?

When the visual apsect of your script works in tandem and harmony with the written word, then this television drama will begin to sing.

CAN THIS SCRIPT BE REALISED BY A DIRECTOR?

Your script editor will cry – real, salty tears – if you write ‘pan to’ or ‘developing shot’ or ‘long shot cut to mid’ or anything that remotely refers to actual camera shots in your scripts. This is not what is needed. Your script editor will be looking for visual clarity in scenes; so the director will be able to instantly understand and translate for the screen, what is happening, how it is happening and what it all means. So be clear about what a scene looks like, who is in it and what is happening. Use your visual imagination to impart a sense of mood and tone and always remember, less on screen is more. Visual imagery can often surplant the need for dialogue exchanges.

PACE AND TONE

OVERALL, WHAT’S THE RHYTHM OF THE SCRIPT?

Story telling is a lot like music. There is a structure to it that depicts the shape, there is a pace and rhythm that sits well in the inner eye and ear of the audience. Each script has a shape and a timbre, unique to that work. If the effect left after reading your work is a disjointed, jarring one, then your script needs re-tuning. Go back to narrative structure; how you have chosen to tell the story, to your scene structure; how your scenes cut together and your character motivation and personal story arcs. The problem lies in there somewhere.

DOES THE TONE APPEAL?

Some scripts have a ‘downer’ affect on a script editor at first draft read. Some read flippantly, or on one level; rather monotonous and undiverting. Make sure you have light and shade in your work. A good script needs both to resonate.

Then there are the day to day house keeping elements of the script editor’s job to take into account. Your script will have to deliver the requisite length, be on budget, and use the allocated cast available – this stuff you can’t do alone. Your script editor will take you through these areas.

LENGTH

This is something you can sort on your own initially and I recommend you do so as soon as possible in your writing process. Time your script as soon as you have got the meat of the story down and the structure in place. A script coming in at 80 pages which is meant to be for a 60 minute slot should be trimmed to fit before the second draft. If a script is over running a tad at this stage, then there is not too much to worry about. Under timed scripts are a problem though. Address the story line again. It may be a matter of introducing a mini strand or even digging deeper on a character’s motivation.

BUDGET

The script editor will be aware of the budget restrictions in place on your script so be guided here.

LOCATION V STUDIO ALLOCATION

This will have a knock on effect to budget, so make sure you have used the location allocated correctly to your episode. The same applies to the studio allocation. This will form the majority of your script’s internal workings.

CAST AVAILABILITY

Again, take advice. Your script editor will tell you who is available and how they must be used in your episode. If you are writing on a long runner, the Story Document will tell you who is available and what story lines you are writing.

DAY/NIGHT SCENES

Add a night scene without thinking and you have just caused your production team a headache they may not have to schedule. So (again, guided by your script editor) be certain each night scene you write has to be done after dark. If not, then make it a daylight scene or one that can be shot without direct reference to the outside at all!

Get help with your scripts by contacting me on http://www.scriptadvice.co.uk and follow me on twitter Yvonnegrace1

Happy Writing!

WRITING TO GET NOTICED: FIVE WAYS A WRITER CAN STAND OUT IN TELEVISION

 

 

 You have been writing for a while now;  honing your craft;  you are serious about being  a professional writer, one who gets paid for the scripts they produce and you have decided you want to be a Television Writer and As Soon As Possible.

There are doors in your way.

All of them closed right now.   And non open automatically.

Doors worth passing through are like that.  Doors that open automatically do so for a reason.

 

 

Supermarket doors want your money. Shopping Arcades make getting in, and spending money easier by whizzing open with lightening speed, sensing your approach ‘come in, who ever you are, come in come in’.

 

Televison doors are much more selective.

In my book;  Writing For Television; Series, Serials and Soaps I go into more detail as to how you can garner the skill base you need to get through that shut door and into a busy drama production office and so on to a show as a writer, but here for ease and quick reference, I set out the TOP FIVE WAYS to get seen, heard, and commissioned in television.

1/ BE TRUE TO YOUR OWN PERSONAL VOICE

I will take it as a given that you are writing every day.  You need to do this like breathing.  The writing muscle needs consistent and dedicated work outs to keep it in shape.  The way you look at the world, even at the most everyday things, is where your strength as a writer lies.  Only you can tell it how you see it.  So keep doing that every day.  And finish what you start.

2/ GET NETWORKING

There is no longer any excuse for any one of us to hide our talent or to shy away from the public eye.  If you want to be a professional writer working in television, you can be as retiring as you like in your personal life, but you owe it to your creative ability and desire to furnish yourself a healthy writing career, to be as open and as communicative as you can possibly be.  Getting the most out of the social networks available to us as switched on writers is key to getting heard and getting noticed.  There are people out there that can help you begin to push on that door, so make sure you connect with not only like-minded types on Twitter, Facebook, Myspace etc, but also have no fear in asking to connect with producers, script editors and established writers.  In my experience, most people, even if they are quite high up the television tree, are approachable and open to making contact with writers that are serious about what they do.  Just make sure you do the contacting with politeness and grace.

3/ GET UP TO SPEED

Don’t get found out.  Make sure, before you send your work out to people you have made contact with, that your script delivers the polished professional look that will be expected by the industry in general.  So it really is worth investing in a reputable script editing professional or script development exec (like myself!) to make sure your work cuts the mustard.  A professional script editor will be looking not only at the essential creative elements of your script (narrative, structure, characterisation, dialogue, tone, pace etc) but also will obliquely have noted in the first read, whether the layout meets the industry standard.

Layout, scene headings, scene description, page count, all these details are not what will get you a commission, should they be beautifully and correctly present in your script, but they will stop you being commissioned if they are not there at all.

So get your head around the nuts and bolts of script appearance and stick to the rules of script layout.  No point trying to re-invent the wheel when the wheel has been turning smoothly in this way for decades.

4/ BEAT THE ZEIGEIST

Television drama feeds off ideas.  Dramatic stories form the vital food group all television production and broadcasters need.  So the journey to the door, which we endeavour to open, begins with your idea.  Make it a commercially savvy one as well as being a creative and interesting one.

Television drama producers want to make money, appeal to a mass audience, deliver quality on time and to budget.  No one wants to lose money and fail the ratings war.  So ideas must be boyant, strong, and have a rock solid human appeal.

There is a reason why there is a steady stream of ‘precinct’ dramas like Holby City and Happy Valley on television.  Although these two examples are obviously clearly different creatures, they are formed from the same gene pool.  Their DNA is similar.  A format you can return to.  A strong set of characters to which we can relate.  Both prodcedural (one medical, one police) both informed and infused with relatable characters and cracking story lines that have immediate resonance and impact on a wide ranging audience demographic.

Often the strongest dramas on television are those that cover tried and tested ground but come at the subject from an oblique angle.

In television it is all about the angle.

In Broadchurch, Chris Chibnail cleverly focused on the impact the suspicious death of a child had on the community that child lived in.  In Last Tango In Halifax, the relationship between two oldies (not the most original idea) was explored to perfection by Sally Wainwright as she cast an unforgiving light on the pre-conceptions of the families involved.

If you are coming up with ideas that you then frustratingly see on screen; celebrate, don’t get bitter.  You are doing it right.  You have tapped into the Zeitgeist.  You just have to keep doing it because you will, eventually, be one step head of it, and that is just the right place to be for a television writer.

5/ RELIABLY DELIVER

So let’s say you have done what you once thought unthinkable, and walked through the door and a television person (script editor, producer, development script editor) is asking to see your work. This is now the time to shine.

Only deliver what they asked for.

Do it before they expect it, but once done, do not chase until at least 2 weeks have elapsed. Then do so politely and with an open mind.

If you said you were going to deliver a treatment with your script then make sure you have done.  And make no mistake here, treatments in television are not the chunky tomes they sometimes are in the film industry.  Keep your treatment (your selling document) as succinct and as interesting as you can.  I like to say 6 pages maximum.

Once comissioned, keep up the momentum.  You need to be the writer the industry see as both consistently good and reliably dependable. Be the writer everyone wants to commission.  No point in being tricky, difficult, vague or generally rubbish at meeting deadlines.  Be the good guy.

I hope you get to open those doors – the ones that are presently closed to you.  Use my book and blogs, get professional script editing help and keep honing your craft; remember – you have the key.

Pre-order your copy of my book here – out in June published by Kamera Books

http://www.kamerabooks.co.uk/creativeessentials/writingfortelevision/index.php?title_isbn=9781843443377

Contact me for help with your scripts http://www.scriptadvice.co.uk

Follow me on Twitter: YVONNEGRACE1 and join my group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/237330119115/

Happy Writing!

THE CREATION SPARK

 My son has Chicken Pox. He is not at school and as I type this, he watches his favourite Lego-themed DVD; ‘Clutch Powers’; Malick The Maligned has stolen  Clutch’s father’s Creation Spark….I feel a blog coming on………….

 Do you have a bank of ideas? A space in your head where your (as yet) unwritten ideas come from? Some writers I work with have a drawer (metaphorical or actual) where their ideas languish until realised on paper. Others don’t sweat it, but rather expect their creative ideas to come whilst doing something entirely different. Usually repetitive, or mundane tasks, like housework or driving, or taking a bath.

 I have worked with writers who must finish one idea in script form, before moving on to the next. The opposite also is true and a lot of writers I help, have more than one idea,  at varying stages of development.

 There is no right or wrong way, to creating, devising, grabbing-out-of-thin-air, dramatic conceits for the screen. But every writer I have come across has their particular way; something pertinent to them, that aids the creative process.

 The urge to tell stories is innate all of us. Some people become more obsessed with the process than others and it is this obsession that separates writers from other people; those that like a good story, but are not concerned about the process of telling one well. The latter is a fixation afflicting all writers I work with. And as a writer myself, I empathise.

 The chances are if you are a writer, that you will spend a disproportionate part of your day observing your life in a removed sense; a part of your brain appraising the view from your car, office or kitchen window as a potential scene opener, or the dialogue you over hear on the bus or in the supermarket check out queue becomes great material for a couple of characters you have been bringing to life. Imagery, snatches of dialogue, smells, sounds and the way these things click together, forms the building bricks of future scripts.

 And the key to getting these disparate, eclectic images and snatches of spoken word into the beginnings of a beginning, are the connections, the correlations and the relationships you find between the various components of your script.

 The narrative: story + plot + subtext; must tie into, weave through and relate to, the visual side of your story; imagery and text work together, counter balancing the narrative, or highlighting aspects of it. Both must be present and both have a specific job to do in the telling of your story.

 Your voice; the essential component of all script writing that is particular only to the creator, provides that vital element of a successful piece of screenwriting – the message. There must be a reason why you wrote this script and this reason must come across subliminally, suggestively, subtly, to your audience. It is your voice, your intent, that comes through in the end.

 Why tell your story in script format in the first place?

I hazard an opinion here, that you want to tell your story in scenes, filmed by a camera and cut together to make a cohesive narrative, because you are an immediate sort of story teller. You like narrative that has a pace, a rhythm, a beat.

 Television writers understand the pr0cussive nature of good story telling. There is always an under tow of momentum in anything worth screen time.

 So the idea has hit home. You need to get this down before it either drives you mad, or goes away entirely.

 * Pitch it to yourself in a couple of pithy, grabby, interesting lines. If the idea has a purpose, a message and a natural shape, it will become apparent here.

 * Then do a quick plot outline. A meets B and C happens. Still hold water? Carry on.

 * Write a treatment. No more that eight pages. Six if you can control yourself that much. Less is more. Here’s my blog on definitive treatment writing for quick reference: https://scriptadvice.wordpress.com/2014/02/12/the-definitive-guide-treatments-for-series-and-serials/

 * Scrivener, Final Draft, or doing it by hand, now you need to plot your character story arcs across your script. I use post-its, or cards stuck on a wall. You will be able to see at glance, where your plot has holes, or where you need to beef up a story line for a character. Points of contact, of cross-over and correlation will now present themselves between your various story lines.

 * Write your script outline. Order your scenes roughly. Using broad strokes, don’t get bogged down in ‘he said then she said’ detail; you will hate yourself and it will be both dull to write and duller to read. This document will highlight the push and pull of your story line; the pace and beat of it. If you find it a good read, then the first draft of your script will reflect this.

 Several drafts later, you have your idea fully realised. From creative spark to full script.

 Take heart; it is impossible for your creative spark to be stolen. The world around you reflects back into the inner eye of the writer; Malick the Maligned, be warned.

 Get help with your creative projects: http://www.scriptadvice.co.uk

STORY LINE IMPACT

I have started watching ABC’s ‘Nashville’ and am re-awakening my enjoyment of CBS’s ‘The Good Wife’ on More4.

The former is a big frothy bath of soap bubble and intrigue, set against the backdrop of the Country Song Scene. I am a sucker for a good Country and Western song. These songs are soaps stories in their own right; tunes like ‘It Won’t Hurt When I Fall Off This Bar Stool’ and ‘All my Exes Live In Texas’  hold a particularly warm place in my heart.

The bare-breasted, tell-all-in-a-loud-voice nature of a classic Country Song lyric has a theatricality, a whiff of the melodrama about it and I like that. But there is a subtle emotional under tow that pulls at the heart strings too; it’s not all bluff and bluster. ‘Rhinestone Cowboy’ is such a sad tale of a lonely man; yearning to be popular but clearly looking a bit pathetic in his cheap shirt. ‘I Have Friends In Low Places’ is declared rather too heartily to my mind; smacks of self-preservation if you ask me.

‘Nashville’ encompasses all that is glitter and fringe-fronted shirts about the Country scene; it brings you muscle bound songsters in black roll sleeved t’ shirts who can draw tears from their guitar strings with their manly hands. The women are sassy, perky, naughty and driven. The men are flawed, soul-searching and handsome. Bring it on, I say.

But what separates ‘Nashville’ from an also-ran type of serialised drama with a musical precinct, is the sheer volume and detailing of the story lining.

The same goes for ‘The Good Wife’. Here, there is no flim-flam frippery. It’s brittle, no-holes-barred, in-your-face stuff. The women are massively complex and layered. The men are rather shifty, psychologically slippery and snog-able. It’s a potent mix.

Both series rattle on apace. Both are packed with story and character detail.

Nashville and The Good Wife are very expensive, glossy soaps. EastEnders on steroids and Botox.

And like soap story lines, both shows understand how to layer a character arc so it does not deliver a linear stream of story. In both cases, every character, the lesser and the greater, have at least 3 or 5 (odd numbers are always better in story telling terms – it adds a frisson that evens don’t deliver) layers of subtext going on, underneath their plot line.

Remember when you begin to plot your story lines across your series outline, that your story has to deliver two things at the very least.

VISUAL IMPACT

EMOTIONAL  IMPACT

Nashville is obviously a visual series. The territory it explores is innately so. The Good Wife; not so much. But again, both series use imagery to a maximum at every turn.

In The Good Wife, it is a conscious decision on the part of the wardrobe department to give the female legal movers and shakers a stream-lined, pared down look. Alicia Florrick and her nemisis Diane, are rarely seen without  a Chanel Suit or a jacket with an ‘ A’ symmetrical zip fastening – adding a certain dynamism to their look.

Alicia Florrick is a character bowed under a rich seam of story lining. She is the pivot around which the show’s story lines flow. Her husband ripped her world apart by his less-than pristine public image. She tears herself away and claws a furrow for herself through the rich loam of the legal world. She is a wife, a mother, a business woman, a legal brain, a girl with insecurities with her own girl who has insecurities. She must be both lioness and figure head.

The show never lets it’s audience forget that although Alicia is a political animal, she is a flawed human too. As are her team. The emotional and visual impact is felt.

In Nashville, when Raynar gives an open invite to schemer and self-server songstress Juliette, to join the Grand Ole Oprey, she paints herself into a corner. Her voice is gone. She fears for her gift, she lacks confidence and her self-esteem is battered. She turns to her father for financial support, but he is a dark soul; he will lead her ever further on to the wrong side of the law. But she is trusting. This story line culminates in Raynar being forced, on stage, to sing one of her best-loved songs. Visually the impact is felt at the same time as the emotional under tow kicks in. She manages the high notes – she is back lit, she looks like the Queen of Country. Her audience lift her up.

I have spent the last 20 years working with writers, scripts, stories and story lines. I have made a fair amount of television drama; having the good fortune to learn my craft on EastEnders and then producing some tip top children’s television (Knights School, My Dad’s A Boring Nerd, The Ward) and finally producing Holby City for the BBC and latterly Crossroads for ITV.

I have put much of what I have learned about making drama for television in this book: Writing for Television; Series Serials Soaps. It is packed with information, tips and tricks for writers keen to get in, get on and stay in Television; out in June 2014 by Kamera Books.  The cover is undergoing a re-design, but here’s the link where you can pre-order copies:

http://www.kamerabooks.co.uk/creativeessentials/writingfortelevision/index.php?title_isbn=9781843443377

If you need help with your story lines – contact me http://www.scriptadvice.co.uk

THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE: TREATMENTS for series and serials.

Over the last few months, via my work with writers at all levels of experience and development and through teaching writers at my workshops, I have found that for a lot of you, the area of treatment writing is the most tricky.

There is some really good advice out there regarding treatment writing, but much of it covers treatments for the feature film industry, with the occasional nod towards the smaller screen. I felt the need then, to write a blog that focuses entirely on that which the Television Industry expects of a treatment.

Here are the key areas to make sure you get right and get in, when writing.

Your treatment must have:

 * CLARITY

* VISION

* CHARACTER

* STORY

* A MESSAGE

 CLARITY:

The reason why I have seen so many projects fall by the way side over the years I have spent in development, is because often the treatment does not support the original idea.

The irony here is that the writer in question may have delivered a storming pitch for their embryonic idea during our conversation which may have started with something like ‘what are you working on at the moment?’.

Then, in our follow up meeting (in the words of Frank Sinatra) they ‘go and spoil it all by saying something stupid’.  Not, to quote the song; ‘I love you’ (that would put the kibosh on any potential partnership) but more likely something like ‘ this is the treatment for the idea I had. It’s a work in progress, but I wanted you to have the gist of it’.

No. Treatments are not about ‘the gist’. Treatments contain all of the vital elements of your world. Laid out. In a pleasant black and white font. They will be between 4 and 8 pages long and be above all things; easy to read; a linear trestle table of mixed fare, presented clearly, for a potential buyer to see at a glance.

Treatments contain the kernel, the nub, the essence of your idea. They also should contain the extension, the continuation, the development of the idea you first came up with. The centre of this world, in story terms and it’s attendant parts, must be represented here.

The language is simple, but direct. The phrasing is uncomplicated, the tone reflects the subject of your treatment.

You are not writing a shopping list, nor are you constructing a poem. You are not florid, or over flamboyant but you are, in the name of clarity, succinct.

VISION:

This is not a dry document. This is your potential series or serial distilled to it’s most arresting, alluring components. So it must be not only written with an eye on the visual aspect of your story, (never forget that we are in the business of creating stories for a visual medium) but also contain the element of vision; that is, bring to the table a new way of looking at the world.

The treatment shines a light on the story you present via your own special perspective.

I am not advocating that you re-invent the wheel here. Far from it. I hope your treatment contains a dramatic idea that hits the Zeitgeist and that is in turn, both creatively inspiring and also commercially savvy. We don’t want something too crazy. Just different. In a good way. I know…. it’s not easy.

There are the tried and tested areas that producers love; the medical precinct (or backdrop) the fire fighters, the police procedurals, the murder mystery formats and the period drama serials. There will always be at least one of these dramas in the mix of a commercially viable channel, but within these ‘safe’ areas; there is room for experimentation.

If you are going down the route of the ‘been before’ subject than make rock solid certain it has a angle, a take, a vision that is purely new and purely you.

CHARACTER:

Often when I am talking telly, the subject of characterisation comes up. It is one of the legs on which the edifice of television drama is built.

Characters inform the world of your treatment. It is through their eyes that ultimately, your audience will see your world.

Avoid at all costs cliche and it goes without saying, two dimensional, stereotypical characters. You are a story teller; you have a narrative vision and you have created these characters to carry your story across more than one episode of drama. I am probably on fairly safe ground then when I say, ensure you have created characters solid and developed enough to carry your story lines.

Characters enact the text (they do things) and they motivate the subtext (they feel, react, and behave accordingly). So give your characters something to do and something to believe in.

In the treatment, each character you create has a job to do in narrative terms. You need to clarify what this journey is for each character and bring a suggestion forward, of what they are going to learn in the process. Tease here. No need to lay it all out. Keep something back. But engage the reader in a guessing game as to what will happen next for your characters.

A treatment containing fabulous, rounded, likeable, unlikeable, engaging characters will always leap off the page. Often it is at this hurdle that treatments fail however.

This is because carefully crafted characters have to do something, learn something, affect something and say something before the treatment will work. In short. There has to be a story.

STORY:

Well am I stating the obvious here? Probably, but as is the case when I find myself discussing the need for great characters in drama treatments, along comes the sister obvious point; let it have a story.

The hardest part of treatment writing is often the demands a good one makes on your skill in being succinct, pithy and lean when it comes to summing up the idea in an easily digested paragraph.

We call this the logline.

What’s this about? Who is it about? What are the stakes here and How does it end?

This is ‘Full English’; a series I wrote a while back about the world of the Bed and Breakfast.

‘Evelyn Moon makes Boudicca look like Pam Ayers when it comes to fighting the battle of the full house every holiday season. Her bete noir comes from an unlikely source from which not even her Grade II listing can shield her’.

 Next you need to nail the structure. And this is where the all import serial element comes in. Make sure you have created enough ‘legs’ in your story, to go the distance of more than one episode.

You may chose to tell your story through the eyes of one character; originally, in series one of ‘Life On Mars’ for example; we saw through Jon Sim’s character, what the world of 1970’s police procedure looked like. Or, you may want to introduce your world through an ensemble cast. For example; Last Tango In Halifax begins with a couple of characters, sending shock waves through their families, or in the case of The Syndicate, Kay Mellor takes us through the process of winning the lottery via her tightly knit group of characters.

Either way, which ever structural route you chose, you must lay this out clearly in your treatment, so a potential producer can see at a glance, how the story unfolds from the first episode to the last.

At treatment stage, it is not necessary to go into beat by story beat of each episode. It is however, important that you show the broad strokes of each episode, taking the narrative from the first through to the last episode.

You can go into more detail for the first episode, but again, try and write this as engagingly as possible. There is nothing as dull in the drama landscape as a treatment that says ‘then she says, then he says, then this happens after that happens’. We don’t want to know this. We do want to know what the main beats are in the episodes you propose to explore and we do want to know how this affects your characters and the main protagonist(s).

A MESSAGE:

A good treatment does not preach but it does leave the reader with a firm message.

What is it you want your potential producer to be thinking about when they have finished reading?

A special treatment leaves a taste in the mouth that the seasoned producer and reader of many treatments, will enjoy savouring for a while.

A story is only as good as what it says about the world. You are presenting in your treatment, your take on a subject matter and describing a world created by you for the purpose. This is a credible, dramatic world of human dynamic and action, but unless you want the reaction to be ‘so what?’ have something to actually say and say it as clearly as you can.

For example, a story about a group of characters winning big money on the lottery turns out to be a salient commentary on how money changes people. (The Syndicate). A Detective Sargent, via his rites of passage experience on a Caribbean Island, discovers never to judge a book by it’s cover and learns to ditch his preconceptions about other cultures (Death In Paradise).

To Sum Up

A typical treatment will have the following components:

TITLE.

FORMAT.

LOGLINE.

THE STORY TABLE.

THE CHARACTER BIOGS

THE MESSAGE

Learn more about the skills necessary to be a writer for television, in my new book: Television Writing: Series. Serials. Soaps out in June 2014. You can pre-order your copy here:

http://www.kamerabooks.co.uk/creativeessentials/writingfortelevision/index.php?title_isbn=9781843443377

Get in touch via my website if you need me to help get your script on track: http://www.scriptadvice.co.uk

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/YVONNEGRACE1

Join my group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/scriptadvice/

Happy Treatment Writing!

HOW TO STORY LINE FOR SERIES TELEVISION – workshoptastic!

The London tube strike and the resulting crush and cram across our dear capital, could not diminish my hard-boiled enthusiasm for the day ahead and the workshop I was about to run for the Indie Training Fund in Hoxton Square.

Delivering a packed five hour workshop to a room of focussed, eager to learn writers is to me, a great big lovely thing and I always get a real buzz from doing my Script Advice workshops.

This is one of my favourites.

 Story lining is a skill all writers should have in their bag of tricks, but it is often over-looked, or ignored completely. Often it seems, creatives prefer the noise and fluster more frequently made about letting the muse hit and seeing where it takes you.

I am not of that branch of thought. Mine is the old school. The ethos that says there is a happy balance to be created between creation of a rough idea, and the execution of that idea into a fully fledged, coherent, structured story line across an episode of drama.

And this workshop is based purely on that ethic.

I created and wrote an extended treatment of a series idea called Harkness Hall which I use as a blue print for the workshop. Using this document, delegates create their story lines and come fully prepped on the day.

I ape a true Story Conference at the workshop; so each writer is expected to create, pitch and discuss their story lines and those of the other writers around the table. It is a collaborative, inclusive experience and always involves a lot of mental leg work.

I aim to initiate this creative process, then, using the raw material delegates bring on the day, I plot across a variant series length, the story lines we have to work with.

At first, a white board, divided into episode blocks, with the characters running vertically down the side, is empty and can be a daunting sight. A desert of story. Only blocks to fill.

 But I tell my writers to have faith. Everyone is always surprised as to how quickly this board fills up with story.

 An idea is never wasted in an environment like this. Not all story lines are accepted; mostly I find writers come up with short run ideas, that will only cover one or two episodes. But these embryonic ideas often form the foundation of a much bigger story and one that can strap across three or more episodes.

 The skill is recognising what story line constitutes a single and what could run for much longer.

 This takes practise. The answer lies in creating stories that not only have a built-in impact, but also ones that affect and influence other stories in the series.

How characters aid and abet each other via their individual story lines, is the measure of a truly engaging, exciting drama.

Issues; political, social, religious, are an important back drop to relevant, vital story lining. But I push home the fact that without the human dynamic, without the character-driven motivation behind these story ideas, the impact may be powerful, but the message lost.

 The best stories marry human condition with the social condition of the time.

 So it was, that at the end of a very productive, tiring, creatively fuelled day, we had a 6 episode series, featuring a varied cast of 12, which discussed and explored: Nazi art theft, geriatric manslaughter, sex, drugs and naked dog walks…just another day at the story creation coal face.

 Thank you writers. Let’s keep learning. Keep creating. Keep on story lining.

 If you need help with controlling your creative muse, I am here http://www.scriptadvice.co.uk.

WRITER SELF – ESTEEM

Writers are their own worst enemy.

As a Producer, I had no problem believing in my opinions on drama, on television writing, on scripts; why some worked and why some didn’t. I felt confident that I knew how to fix scripts that were not up to scratch and blissfully full of myself on how to bring a wide audience to watch the resulting drama on screen.

Then my career took an interesting turn and I set up http://www.scriptadvice.co.uk to help writers write better scripts. My self assurance has not deserted me. I find myself solid in my self-belief when writers come to me for help. ‘Here’, I say, (rather kindly I like to think) ‘let me sort this mess out for you’….And then there’s the workshops and short courses I run. You have to have a ton of self-confidence to not only run a successful course, but to actually enjoy running writing courses for paying writers.

You can be a stroppy lot you know.

And like in any walk of life, if you say you know what you are doing, woe betide you if you actually don’t. So I come prepared; armed with knowledge and a significant grounding in the techniques of television writing to impart to those that want to know. There’s no hiding when you do something like that.

But it’s ok you see, because I do not suffer from a lack of Self Esteem. Not in this scenario anyway….

But now we come to the crux of another matter entirely.

I also write myself. And this is where it gets messy very quickly.

Self-assurance; that calm, strong place you go to when you are certain of yourself and in what you believe, is Absolutely Absent when I begin the writing process.

I have the idea, (they come quickly and regularly; like sneezes; exploding into being when I am usually doing something mundane like polishing my son’s school shoes or un-gunking the kettle.)  I will begin to think the thread of the idea over (this is the fun bit) it doesn’t feel real yet, so it won’t matter if it all melts into a nonsensical mush after half an hour of mulling. Then I will, (if the idea doesn’t reveal itself as being the exact same premise as something already on screen, or isn’t, by my probing, unveiled as the worst idea yet) commit it to treatment form.

I am still ok by the way, at this stage, on the Self-Esteem Front. Feel pretty fine actually. The hell is to come though.

The Treatment, as readers of my blog, and members of my group on Facebook will know, is the document I bang on about a lot. It sorts the rather rubbish ideas from the potentially really good ones. Get a good treatment written and you are half way there.

Here’s a blog of mine on how to approach the writing of Treatments. I also go into detail about the step outline and the episode outline, which are stages 2 and 3 before we get to the cliff face which is The First Draft.

https://scriptadvice.wordpress.com/2013/05/03/writing-mistakes-you-dont-want-to-make/

And here we are. At that cliff face.

This is where my self-esteem takes a nose dive. A belly flop. A comedic slip on the banana skin of dignity and goes flying. And I am sure, many writers suffer the same humiliating collapse.

I think it is normal.

I know this to be true. So there isn’t any need to panic.  Or beat yourself up about it.

You have come a fair way down the road to writing your first draft of this idea you had when you were stuck on the M25.

You have tested out the merits of your idea; its stories, characters, themes, and they pretty much stand up to the test of your scrutiny; so that should be enough. Surely?

The next stage is the true test. Writing the script.

Planning and plotting is taxing graft; can be really frustrating, not a little laborious (particularly if your script carries a complicated plotline, so in the planning of it you have to make sure you have begun the narrative process with character A and character C before character B is aware of what A and C knows etc) and in the end, this writing adds up to one thing.

Hard bloody work.

And you must begin this process (knowing what lies ahead) with all the confidence and self-belief you know you once had. Or must you?

The creative process is never straightforward and without that voice saying ‘Is this really interesting? Is this engaging? Do you know what you are doing here? Why should anyone care about this story, these characters?’ as you are writing, perhaps you would never make your script any better.

So I suggest that we should all listen to that dissenting voice; get a bit of a mad on and forge ahead anyway, inspite of the negative whine in one ear.

Annoyingly enough for me, my inner critic’s voice often sounds like a well known celebrity. Jane Horrocks harangued me throughout the writing of my first commissioned script and latterly, (because let’s face it, he can do just about anything) Benedict Cumberbatch is sniffing pithily as I write my series outline of an idea I am currently working on.

It is through the process of facing up to the doubter in you, that you will  create a piece of writing that you truly believe in. And then….well, a lovely thing happens. Self-Esteem comes home.

This entity without which you are not truly happy, has been out for a long walk but is now back, muddy boots in the porch, fluffy slippers on and making a cuppa whilst you get on with your writing.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Here are a tasty few websites I rate highly and links to script writing competitions/initiatives that are a good way of getting firstly, your script written (you have to write to deadline) and secondly have your script read and assessed by people who not only care about writers and writing, but know what they are doing.

 http://www.redplanetpictures.co.uk/prize.php

 http://www.rocliffe.com/forum.php

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/about/the-writers-academy

http://talentcircle.org/event/talent-circlefilms4lifered-planet-pictures-short-film-script-competition/

http://awards.screenwritinggoldmine.com/

 If you want my help in anything related to writing contact me: http://www.scriptadvice.co.uk

Join my group The Script Advice Writer’s Room: https://www.facebook.com/groups/scriptadvice/

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/YVONNEGRACE1

Now, me and Mr Cumberbatch have a script to finish…..

Confessions of a First Commission

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM SCRIPT ADVICE TOWERS….

I thought to herald in the New Year, I would give you a new blog. A new style. George the Blogging Writer lives in my head mostly; she does have a blog on my website www.scriptadvice.co.uk but I haven’t written a George Blog for a while.

Here, she is struggling with the concept of being a commissioned writer. It’s a tough call. You have struggled for so long and believe maybe, that your day will never come and then it does. Here is how George copes with the pressure…..

Enjoy. If you need help with your writing, get in touch: yvonnegrace@scriptadvice.co.uk

EXT: BROCKWELL PARK – SE LONDON – 11am

There’s nothing wrong with a brisk walk in the morning. Am just getting some air. Lovely. Oh look, a Blackbird. No, it’s a Crow. Raven?  It’s looking at me now. I hate birds that don’t hop. They have a horrible mechanical walk and this one’s coming right for me. Bastard. Just pecked my fake Uggs. Gave it a swift kick. Missed obviously.

I’m on this bench because I am panicking.

Two days ago I was over the moon. June, my (am practising sounding casual when I say this) Agent…has landed me a commission on Westenders. I did the leg work to be fair. Smoozed Scary Producer Paula Tether and then did a stint at the Story Conference, wrote some story ideas, another script about Vaginas, (not the biological ones, mine are metaphorical) and with Hope the Nice Script Editor on the show doing her bit to smooth the way for me, I have landed my first professional gig.

So with all this help, all this good will, all the legwork done and a fair amount of dignity lost I should be happy right? I should be diving in and getting my hands dirty – crafting my first draft of episode 2,257 of Westenders.

But I can’t do it you see. I don’t have it in me.

INT: BREAKFAST NICHE – MY FLAT SE LONDON – 2 hours earlier.

I was ready. Primed. Laptop balanced and ready on Breakfast Bar, coffee in lucky Eyore mug ready. Ping. There, email received as promised. (They get up early in Westenders world.)

‘Hello George, Thank you for attending our recent Commissioning Meeting. I have pleasure in attaching the storyline document that covers your block of episodes. Your number is 2,257. I also attach notes from the Commissioning Meeting to use as a reference and our Bible of the show. Let me know if you need anything else. Regards Kath.’

Ok time to print. Storyline document. Not sure what all this means. Hold on. So according to this, I have an A story, a B story and a C story. My A is ‘Trisha suspects she is being followed’ – doesn’t sound very A to me. What if I think the B is the A? ‘There’s problems at Soapy Suds’ Really? That’s a B storyline? What’s my A again? O God, that’s just typical. I wanted the episode where Trish confronts her stalker but that’s gone to 2,260 – who’s writing that ep? Arse. Letty the new girl. She’s got the juicy ep. I get the set up ep. I’m beginning to feel panicky again.

Better print off the Bible. It’s huge. Page after page of back story, character profiles, current character arcs, long and short running storylines, info about the sets, the exterior and interiors of the show, the tone, the ethos, the blah blah blah, I was scouring the flat for more paper and only just stopped myself feeding kitchen roll into my printer before I realised I was losing it.

Deep breath. Start again.

INT: BREAKFAST NICHE – MY FLAT SE LONDON – 1 hour earlier

So now I am writing. I have decided not to stress about the document, I have my own notes that I took at the Conference I am doing fine so far. I know I need to write three main storylines, with the centre of my episode being the A story. I’m still using their storyline of Trisha and how she suspects she’s been followed, but I’ve relegated that to a B status and I’ve come up with a totally independent, one-off story idea for my A story; am betting Paula Scary Producer will admire my ingenuity.

Then the harp music. No, not Celestial script help – my mobile ringtone.

That was June, checking up on me. I know she’s trying to help but she mentioned the fact that I need to do an episode outline before I do the first draft. I had forgotten that. Hope, my Script Editor suggested I do this, to ‘ease me into the process’. And Hope is obviously trying to help as well, but that means that the two weeks I thought I had to write my episode, is split in half and now I have to get my head around the outline before I write the episode.

June said she’d take a look at it for me before I send it to Hope. Oh crap. All this help just makes me feel worse. What if my outline stinks and both June and Hope see me for what I really am? A talentless documentaphobe?

I get off the phone sharpish from June. She’s given me the deadlines I have to meet and told me my first payment won’t be paid until I’ve signed the Contract. Followed by another payment when I deliver my first draft.

Dry mouth panic. Can’t find the Contract. June said I had to sign it pronto and email it over. Frantic seconds pass whereby I literally throw the contents of my bag all over the flat. Found it. Emailing it took longer. This is because I had to unplug the microwave so I could use my printer to scan the contract and in the process managed to knock my mug tree (complete with mugs)to the floor smashing them all.

Suddenly, creativity seems a long way away from what I’ve signed up for.

INT: BEDROOM – MY FLAT – SE LONDON – 1 hr 30 mins earlier

Am now under the duvet. I know I’m being pathetic. Sod it. Sometimes, a duvet-hide is all I can manage.

I had another phone call. This time, from Letty Leadbetter, the writer who is even newer than me, and who has the best episode in our block of four. She’s so insufferably perky. I loathe perky. I never do perky. She’s also rather nice actually, which makes it all much worse. She wanted to know how I ‘was getting on.’

Letty at school would’ve been the girl who said ‘oh, me, I never do revision’ and then proves to be the only one in the class who got straight A’s. She’s like that. She passes exams like most of us do figs.

‘Oh, it’s going really well thanks’. I pipped back at perky Letty. ‘loving the process’. (like I do smear tests)

 I got rid of her quick. Then an email pinged in to my inbox.

‘Hiya, Carol here, thought you’d appreciate my cliff hanger. Here it is. Good luck, have fun!’

Again, she’s being really helpful. She’s an old hand is Carol. The cliff (or pick up point) from the previous episode, is noted in the Story Document, so technically Carol didn’t need to do this but it was nice of her to offer me the human touch.

Perhaps I should get back to the document. Try again. My A story doesn’t look so good now. Would Paula Scary Producer appreciate my introducing a totally new character for one episode? And would the fact he was in a wheelchair smack of tokenism?

Then the bloody phone. This time a text.

Hello. Steve here. What’s your cliff going to be? I need to know because I’m cracking on here and may even get my draft in before the deadline if you are able to send me the pick up point of your ep? Cheers!

EXT: A PARK BENCH – BROCKWELL PARK – 11am

So I went for a walk. And I found this bench. And so now, has this tramp.

INT: BREAKFAST NICHE – MY FLAT – SE LONDON – 12 noon

I am amazed at Pete’s philosophical frame of mind. Pete is the tramp I met. He was ever so helpful. (Another one.) But this time, I didn’t feel worse, I felt relaxed and inspired at the same time. He told me he’d been a Life Coach years ago. But his drinking took it’s toll on him and his wife, and now he’s here and she’s in Wanstead with a Central Heating Engineer. Which he said was a good choice on her part, because her new hub would never be out of work as our Winters are getting colder.

He said I was my own worse enemy and offered me a can of Special Brew.

INT: SITTING ROOM – MY FLAT – SE LONDON – TWO WEEKS LATER

Well that’s that. Just emailed my first draft to Hope.

June did have to threaten to tie me to my laptop and I had about a million more nervous breakdowns before I finally ditched the A story I was trying to force into my episode and use instead the A story they had given me in the first place.

As soon as I stopped trying to fight it, the storyline document helped, not hindered me writing my outline and then the first draft of my episode.

And now I expect clarion calls from above and a rainbow outside my window and Mr Cumberbatch to deliver my pizza which I’ve just ordered as a treat.

But of course, non of these things happen. I do get a short but friendly email from Hope saying thanks for my ep and she will be in touch regarding my first edit session with her.

I look out of the window.

Pete is on his bench. I am a writer. All is well with the world.

HOW TO STORYLINE A TELEVISION SERIES – WORKSHOP

Chain Link Fence (Photo credit: camknows)

ATTENTION ALL STORY-TELLERS!

If you follow me on Twitter, or are a member of my facebook group Script Advice Writer’s Room, then you will know a bit about how much I am obsessed with structuring and shaping stories for television.

It’s in my DNA. I can’t listen to an anecdotal story without internally strapping the various beats of the tale across my mind. Anyone would think I do this for a living…

Just as well then, that the Indie Training Fund have asked me to run a one day workshop next year for them.

How To Storyline A Series For Television Workshop.

In this, I ape what it is like to attend a Story Conference. You, the workshop attendees, are the writers who have been asked by the Production, to come and pitch, and plot, a particular block of episodes for the (fictional) Series HARKNESS HALL. I am your Executive Producer and I will take you through the process of story creation, plotting, structuring and planning a new season of this series.

It’s intensive, collaborative, creative, exhausting, practical and hugely enjoyable.

Here’s some comments from writers who have attended my storylining workshop for the Script Factory:

“Yvonne is a powerball of energy, humour, and wisdom. There is never a dull moment in this hands-on course, which provides an authentic taste of what it is like to take part in a storylining conference, but in a safe and supportive environment. Never have so many storylines been created in such a short time by so few! A real creation experience.” Gale Barker – Writer

 “Yvonne’s storylining workshop was superb. Her enthusiasm, experience, and ‘tell it like it is’ humour made the course an invaluable learning tool. It stretched all of us, giving practical structure advice that crosses and informs other related media – I loved it.” Sue Nelson – Broadcaster

 ” A highly productive and refreshing experience that showed me how collaborative ’round table’ writing is actually done. An enriching and enlightening practical workshop. Yvonne is an excellent and insightful tutor who creates both a relaxed and productive atmosphere to work in.” Lee Ramseyer – Media Student

WHERE: INDIE TRAINING FUND: HOXTON SQUARE, LONDON.

http://www.indietrainingfund.com/about-us/find-us/

WHEN: FEBRUARY 6th 2014 – 10am – 5pm

 COST: £50.00 to all freelance writers

 MORE INFORMATION: tel: 0207 3487 0354 email: info:indietrainingfund.com

I hope to see you there!

www.scriptadvice.co.uk

WINTER ROUND-UP THE BEST OF MY SCRIPT WRITING BLOGS

Snow crystals 2b (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The nights are drawing in, 2013 is putting it’s feet up.

Now, with Cocoa in hand, I feel is a good time to give you the best and most popular blogs I have written on screenwriting, over 2013. All in one place. So you know where to go.

Over the past year, Script Advice has been busy and I have had the pleasure of working with writers and their scripts in various ways:

Running workshops; (thank you Jersey Arts Trust for hosting my Treatment Writing Workshop Weekend in October this year.)

Conducting Script Edits with you, on your features and television drama hours, both series and serial formats, over Skype and telephone.

Reading and writing Script Reports for writers new to the game and the more experienced, seasoned writers.

Next year, I will be running exciting workshops for the Indie Training Fund; http://www.indietrainingfund.com/

‘How To Storyline A Series For Television’; more details on this one to follow – I hope I will see some of my blog followers and members of my writer’s group on Facebook; Script Advice Writer’s Room there.

My book is out in May next year too; published by Kamera Books; Television Writing: Series and Serials. More information on that nearer the time as well.

I hope you follow me on Twitter so you can keep up with my blog posts and the writing information I tweet over the writerly web. https://twitter.com/YVONNEGRACE1

Similarly, here is my Facebook group which I would love you to join. It’s a great place to keep up with all things screenwriting related https://www.facebook.com/groups/237330119115/

Without further ado, and not gift-wrapped, but it’s the thought that counts….here are my most popular blogs on the business of script writing:

 * FIVE SCRIPT WRITING TRIPS AND SLIPS:

FIVE SCRIPT WRITING TRIPS AND SLIPS

 * SHORTENING THE ODDS:

SHORTENING THE ODDS

 * INT: A SCRIPT EDITOR‘S MIND:

INT: SCRIPT EDITOR’S MIND – HQ – SCRIPT ADVICE TOWERS – DAY

 * STORYLINING – IT’S AN ART:

STORYLINING; IT’S AN ART

 * SCRIPT EDITING – THE LOW DOWN:

SCRIPT EDITING – THE LOW DOWN

 * WRITING MISTAKES YOU DON’T WANT TO MAKE:

WRITING MISTAKES YOU DON’T WANT TO MAKE

 * PULLING OUT THE STORY

PULLING OUT THE STORY

 * TEN MISTAKES WRITERS MAKE WHEN WRITING FOR TELEVISION:

10 MISTAKES WRITERS MAKE WHEN WRITING FOR TELEVISION

 And over on the Euroscript Website; two popular blogs I did about the journey a storyline makes from conception to production….

 * TELEVISION WRITING; GETTING INTO SHAPE PART ONE:

Television writing – getting into shape

 * TELEVISION WRITING: GETTING INTO SHAPE PART TWO:

Television writing – getting into shape (part two)

The Festive Season is upon us, but believe me, it’s not just the smell of a good mince pie and the sound of a popping cork that makes me say that I genuinely love helping writers write better scripts, and if you’ll have me, I hope to do this next year too.

Here’s to working with more of you in 2014. Cheers!