HOW TO WRITE A DRAMA SERIES TELEVISION OUTLINE

I am fresh back from an amazing time at The London Screenwriter’s Festival, where I did four things of note:

1/ Run my session ‘Sizzle and Substance’with Bafta winning writer and show-runner Barbara Machin and Series Producer of Holby City Simon Harper, about how to navigate the hinter lands between commercialism and creativity in writing and creating series television drama.

2/ Contribute to the session run by the life force that is Pilar Alessandra about how to manage the work/family/life balance.

3/ Flash my cleavage to about 200 people as I clumsily navigated my bra; clipping on my mic before my first session.

4/ Wish Hollywood Legend Joel Schumacher luck, until I realised who he was and attempted to remedy this by adding, rather breathlessly, ‘but you; of course, don’t need it’.

So it was, all round, a rather lovely time.

But what I discussed, with the Prince of Holby City and the Queen Bee of Waking the Dead; the knotty issue in popular television long-form drama, of how to strike a balance between the art form of story telling and the need to keep feeding the ratings machine, still remains fresh in my mind.

For those of you that weren’t there, I wish to share with you some thoughts.

At the Sizzle v Substance Session, we discussed, amongst many other questions:

* What makes a successful drama series/serial?
The answer in a nutshell is the show that has at the point of its creation, the right balance between fresh, creativity and hard-nosed commercialism.
Scott and Bailey.
Shameless.
Broadchurch.

* What works best – pure art or artifice?
Plunging into the nut bowl again; the answer is a combination of both. All successful long form dramas, (essentially those that are episodic and repeating) need a big fat dollop of juicy story at their centre and living in this world, there must be credible, developed, three dimensional characters. They also need a structure, a framework, the scaffolding in place to hold up the creative components of the drama.

Long-form television drama is that illusive hybrid of hard-nosed commercialism and genuine artifice.

With the need to combine the artist and the artisan in mind, when writing successful television drama, here is a story for you:

Back in 1999 I was asked to Produce Holby City series 2. It was expected of me to turn this show around. Holby was then (and still is) a great show, but it was not getting the projected ratings expected of a prime time drama scheduled in the family slot. So I did what any sane producer would do in the circumstances. I appealed to the writers to give me great story.

Within the medical remit of the show (then solely Cardio Thorasic so any condition pertaining to the upper body and heart) writers had to come up with story lines that made a wide demographic sit up and take notice. Cynically, I said we would ‘wrap the medical around’ the essential drive of the stories I was looking for. That is, those that had an emotional heart (forgive the pun) and truth about them. This, in the most part, worked.

But the best episodes of my series, those that gained a 9 million rating and peaked at 10 million at Christmas, where the ones where I had managed to engineer stories that were essentially medical in nature, but those that resonated wider; caused emotional ripples through a variety of characters’ lives.

The example I can give here is the story about a young girl who, suffering from Cystic Fibrosis, had to have both her parents donate a portion of their lung to save their daughter’s life. The father, it turned out, could not contribute. He was not a blood match. And so this story ballooned from a standard ‘I will save you in this medical emergency because I love you’ to a story about long kept family secrets, betrayal and ultimately a fragile re-union between the girl and her real father.

This is an example of a story that has a commercial appeal, and also an emotional root. The Sizzle is there, (the dynamics between a family at war whilst a daughter is dying) but also the Substance (the story ticks all the boxes of a long running drama with a medical precinct).

It’s a knotty problem this. The dual-need to create something fresh, new, different, creative, from a genuinely artistic, credible foundation and that need to also to make this new thing, this new dramatic idea, into a saleable, water-tight, competitive format.

Writers of television drama, have to be multi-facetted by nature.

They are both the creator, or artist, and then the draftsman; they must draw up a blue print for this drama series; make sense of the original artistic splurgings. Then they don the Plumber’s hat. Because they also need to be a hands on practical sort. The sort who can work out all the interconnections between story lines and know how best to maximise the junctions of all those story pipes laid down.

If need be, a television writer needs to know how to make their drama series – flush – or actually work.

You are Jackson Pollock – you splash paint around – but you are also required to bring a bit of Escher to the table; clear thinking, good with line, expert at someone who knows how the bigger picture fits together and to know how to disguise; like all the best craftspeople do, the joints, the joins, the ugly interiors of the drawers and secret compartments of the piece you are crafting out of thin air.

So we need structure as well as innovation in our work as writers and producers of television drama.

Those of you that have bought/shared/looked over someone else’s shoulder whilst they read my book on writing for television; not surprisingly called Writing for Television – Series, Serials and Soaps http://www.amazon.co.uk/Writing-Television-Yvonne-Grace/dp/1843443376/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1400840643&sr=1-7&keywords=writing+for+television – will know that in those pages I go into detail about treatments, story line documents and story lines. I go on a lot about using documents and how to do so to make your stories sing as you write your television scripts – I mention the Series Outline, but I do not go much further than that.

I am remedying this here.

How you write a good SERIES OUTLINE for television:

This document is not a dry thing. It is an exciting, vibrant, layered piece of writing that shows, without the use of mirrors or smoke, what your series drama is all about.

It is a microcosm of all your musings; a distillation of the series as a whole. Like the treatment that goes before this, (in terms of your long running story’s development) it condenses the themes, messages, tone, characters, world, main narrative arcs and episode content down to a manageable number of pages.

It is an extension of your idea, but it is not a sentence by sentence, beat by beat description of your series drama.

Do not confuse your SERIES OUTLINE with an EPISODE OUTLINE or, what is called A BEAT SHEET in feature film circles. We use Beat Sheet too now, more often, in television, (trying to keep it real you know) and I like the term because it does what it says on the tin. A Beat Sheet is just that. Story; laid out, beat by beat.

Producers don’t need to see this in your Series Outline.

They want to see and understand and know the following things from your document:

1/ What is the world in which the story is set? Is it an engaging world and how is it so?

2/ Who lives in this world and what are the characters about? What makes them tick? Are these people identifiable? Who will we love? Who will we hate? Who will we hate loving?

3/ What is the content in broad strokes of the first (pilot) episode? What is the content (again, excitingly, enticing told, not beat by beat) of the middle episode and what again, is the end episode’s content? How does this start? How does this series end?

4/ SET PIECES. Producers of tv drama LOVE a set piece. What is the image, the exchange, the moment, the climax of a story line in each of the episodes you are outlining here?
In every episode, in every long form drama format worth its salt, there will be one moment, one image, one sequence that sticks in your mind, while the credits roll and beyond.

Similarly, having read your Series Outline, there will be (if you get it right) at least one singular, memorable moment, or series of moments that stay with the Producer/Commissioner. You need to make sure you have these in your Series Outline.

We are dealing with images, albeit ones told in words; black and white on the page.
Visualise your stories and your Series Outline will come alive and sell your series for you.

There are practical elements to get across in this document too:

1/ Setting 2/ Number of characters 3/ Period or no? 4/ Genre 5/ Episode numbers/format length

Tone. Use the hybrid terminology here. It always works. Sci Fi / Peaky Blinders (that would be an awful show but you get the idea) Downton Abbey/Rom Com (similarly; bound to be terrible, but we know what it is about in two five syllables.)

If, in the development process, you have got to the Series Outline stage, chances are, someone with potential money to make it and a potential route to transmit it, is interested in your idea.

Don’t give them a reason to say no.

Make them fall in love with the sheer story content, the characters, the set pieces, the tone and the overall message of your drama series/serial.

They will, from this moment on, try to make their budget fit your ideas.

Get busy.

Get writing.

My group Script Advice Writer’s Room is great resource for writers of the big and small screen. Writers all actually; there are poets and novelists amongst us – writers who write or radio, theatre as well as television and pen screenplays. Join me and them, here https://www.facebook.com/groups/237330119115/

Twitter: YVONNEGRACE1

Script Advice is here to help.

CONVERSATIONS WITH A STORY TELLER

Canadian J Lynn Stapleton is a writer, photographer and Geriatric Care Nurse who follows me on Twitter. She also loves to blog and interview when she can. Here is her recent interview with her friend, the American tv writer Jill Lorie Hurst.

‘Guiding Light’ was the world’s longest running soap opera until it was axed in 2009.  Jill, like so many television writers, learnt her trade and honed her craft on the show. I have EastEnders to thank for my baptism of fire.  So here, in solidarity, I post Lynn’s interview.

I particularly like what Jill says about the collaborative process of television series writing.  Thanks Lynn for a great interview and insight into the working life of a talented writer and also for allowing me to share it here.

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In the several months previous to the American soap opera, Guiding Light, being cancelled and subsequently going off the air, I made friends with numerous other fans of the show, resulting in meeting in a large fan gathering in New York City to celebrate the final official fan club luncheon with the cast. It would also be the start of a wonderful friendship with one of the head writers of the series very soon after.

Holding various positions within the Guiding Light family from Assistant to the Writers, Scriptwriter, Assistant Head Writer, Story Producer and Co-Head-Writer, Jill Lorie Hurst has won a Daytime Emmy Award for Best Writing (2007), and a Writer’s Guild of America Award for Best Writing (2004), along with several nominations in both awards ceremonies over the years.

Over the past few years, we’ve talked on-line and in person about just about anything that strikes our interest, from soaps, to photography, to life in general. For a long time, I’d felt a bit odd asking a friend for an official interview, primarily about scriptwriting, but decided just to go with it and I’m glad I did.

Lynn: What got you interested in working in television as a writer when you were starting out?

Jill: I never thought about television writing until I started working at the front desk at the studio where Guiding Light was taped. You get to know about people when you wait tables or work at a front desk. The quality of people and storytelling at GL made me want to stay forever! I’d grown up writing, loved theater and I watched the [Proctor & Gamble] P&G soaps, but had no career plan. I left college in 1982 and moved from Detroit to New York City. I waitressed for 10 years and my life was pretty full. Full of theater going, travel and friends. And it was the 80’s – NYC was crackly and crime filled. A number of good friends were dying of AIDS. There was a lot going on, but I loved the restaurant, my co-workers, the customers. Luckily, one of my customers, Grace Bavaro, loved me enough to send me across town for a tour of the GL studio. A year later I started working part time at the front desk. I was in my early 30’s then. I didn’t officially join the show til I was almost 35, and I was close to 40 when I became a staff writer! A late bloomer by TV standards. I never thought of myself as a WRITER. I just wanted to be there and be part of the storytelling process and help put out the “product” on a day to day basis. If the environment at GL hadn’t been so amazing, I might’ve gone back to the restaurant business. I like working with good people, doing work I care about. Thanks to the generosity of some terrific people I got the chance to do that at Guiding Light for many years.

Lynn: When you look for inspiration for stories or dialogue, what are things that grab your interest/attention?

Jill: I’m not a big picture story teller – I tend to think in scenes and characters. I am inspired by people I see on the street, conversations I listen to on the bus, looking in windows as people live their lives. My husband, friends and family inspire me. Sometimes a really basic challenge or thought grabs you – like when Ellen Wheeler challenged all of us to come up with stories that would use P&G products. My choice of product turned into an idea that I still want to produce. A place – like the 24 hour laundromat in my NYC neighborhood – can get things going. I think writers need to look around and listen – that’s one of the reasons I don’t wear ear buds and listen to music on the street – or watch TV on my phone – I might miss a good character or setting!

Lynn: Creating storylines for groups of characters in a soap drama involves a lot of planning, organization and development before it even gets to the writing stage. What was your favourite aspect of storylining an idea for a group or for an individual? And conversely, the worst part?

Jill: I love being in a room with a group of writers when someone first mentions a new idea for a storyline or a couple – that moment when everyone stops for a split second to take it in – and then starts talking and tossing their thoughts into the pot. Story stew! I like story boards – using different color markers and squares of paper to lay out days/weeks/months of story. There’s something kind of intoxicating about moving the people and the scenes around, then finally coming up with the day, the week, etc that you’re happy with. I like having the end of the story up there first, so that we know what we’re writing toward. My other favorite job is script editing. It’s a great job. The best part was having the opportunity to assign a day to the right script writer, cheering them on through the week as they write and then, getting a beautiful script handed back to me. I can rewrite a not so good day if I have to – but I get no thrill out of the rewrite. I think I’m kind of good at knowing who’s good at what – who’s funny, who’s heartbreaking, who’s good at killing off characters (really) – and assigning accordingly! My least favorite part of the process is breakdown writing. Glad I had to do it. Don’t like it. Not very good at it.

Lynn: Have you ever had characters that get stuck in your head, demanding their stories to be told? Or had a particular scene becoming very vivid in your head and then have to write it down?

Jill: When you work on a show, the characters live with you and they tend to be a chatty group. If you listen to them, a lot of the story will unfold. Telling a story you love is so uplifting and fun. You can’t wait to get into the meeting, or sit at the computer (or grab your legal pad in my case) or get on the phone with the other writers. It just…bubbles. And when you’re telling a story you don’t believe in – it’s very upsetting. I used to carry on conversations with characters, other writers, the network in my head as I walked to work and I’m sure my facial expressions and mumbling scared a lot of people. Once someone actually stopped me to ask me if I was okay and I blurted. “No! We’re killing Ben today and we’re doing it for all the wrong reasons”. Yikes.

Lynn: What are some favourite pieces of writing advice given to you when you were starting out, that really stuck with you throughout your career?

Jill: Here are a few –
“When you’re writing the emotional/relationship stuff, keep it tight, contained. If the show is long and those scenes take up too much time they will be the first scenes cut and often that means losing the best stuff in the day. Protect those moments”. – From actress/director Lisa Brown

“There is no such thing as a stupid question. Ask the question.” – From producer Mary O’Leary

“Can we tell that story (write that scene) in 9 lines?” – From actress/executive producer Ellen Wheeler

“Don’t tiptoe into your scenes. Walk in, you have the right to be there.” – From writer/producer Claire Labine (when I asked for breakdown writing notes)

Lynn: Following Guiding Light’s cancellation, you had joined up writing for former GL actress, Crystal Chappell’s two-time Daytime Emmy Winner, ‘Venice the Series’ web soap for seasons three and four – and currently fifth season – of the series. What’s it been like switching from writing for a network soap opera to writing for a web platform soap opera?

Jill: Network vs. the web – It’s still serial storytelling, which is the great thing. I love the Venice characters. I’m more of a writer on this show and not part of the rest of the production team, which forces me to use different muscles. I’ve learned to collaborate on the phone, which has always been hard for me! I’m still wrestling with technology and realize how spoiled I was at GL, when I could scribble a scene on a legal pad and stand there looking crazy til Amanda took it away from me and said “That’s okay, Jilly. I’ve got it.” I’m glad our characters can swear and kiss and make love if the story calls for it! I love the freedom, but I miss some of the checks and balances that come with working for the network – they force you to try harder and find different ways to tell the stories you care about. Life is all about picking your battles. When I was on GL and we were answering to both P&G and CBS, we won some important battles, which was great – and we lost some fights that broke our hearts, both as writers and people. I learned a lot from all of those experiences.

Lynn: Are there any other series, either television or web, that you’d love to work on/ work with? Or have you any of your own projects that you’d love to start/continue with?

Jill: We just sent Venice 5 to Crystal and will start the edit as soon as we get her notes this week. I love working with Penelope [Koechl, co-writer] and we have a few ideas we’re discussing. I have to finish my book and there’s another project that needs to be attended to! I don’t think about writing Guiding Light any more – but the Guiding Light actors are so talented and inspiring that whenever I am working on anything, their beautiful faces and voices float through my head. I’d like to write them in very different roles. They are a great rep company. Mostly, I’m looking to tell stories that mean something and work with people I enjoy. That’s the plan. Hey, you made me come up with a plan! Thanks, my friend.

Well, I wish I had a lofty answer, but truth be told, we are sitcom junkies at our house. Modern Family saved our lives this year, along with Frasier, Roseanne and Cosby Show reruns – but sitcoms are serials too – family relationships, overcoming obstacles, love stories! I also love Orange is the New Black, The Good Wife and I think House of Cards is fascinating. Still like Grey’s Anatomy. Catching up on Parenthood, Last Tango in Halifax. I miss Friday Night Lights and Gilmore Girls. I like to think, but I like to laugh and cry and connect when I watch a show.

If you would like to see the interview on Lynn’s blog here it is and a couple of lovely pics to boot of Jill and Lynn in NYC Central Park. http://celtic-dragon.me/2014/08/03/conversation-with-a-storyteller/

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF …… A SCRIPT EDITOR ON EMMERDALE

Regular readers of my blog and readers of my book; Writing For Television Series Serials and Soaps  http://www.amazon.co.uk/Writing-Television-Yvonne-Grace/dp/1843443376/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1400840643&sr=1-7&keywords=writing+for+television – will know how that I started my long career in television drama production via the script editing route.  My baptism of fire was on EastEnders, but here I talk to a busy script editor, working on Emmerdale.

Donna Metcalf’s route to script editing was not a straight forward one. Like anything worth having in life, she had to work hard to get the gig. But as I point out in my recent blog about making connections in the Television Industry – only-connect-making-contacts-in-the-television-industry – every one needs a champion, and once you find that person, you will find doors open easier. Be ready to take the opportunity that arises for you.

Here Donna shares her thoughts about working on the show, her specific role within the production process and tells us how she got in to the business in the first place.

How did you get into script editing for series drama‭; ‬was there anyone in particular who you feel helped you to get to this stage in your career‭?

Getting into script editing was a long hard slog‭!‬ I first heard of‭ ‬it by seeing a job description,‭ ‬and thought it was perfect for me‭ – ‬I wanted a job where I could use the analytical skills I learnt during my English Degree,‭ ‬whilst working in a fun and creative environment.‭ ‬As I had no previous media experience,‭ ‬it took a great deal of hard work and persistence to get my foot in the door.‭ ‬I started off by working as a runner and doing bits and pieces of work experience‭ ‬-‭ ‬I took anything from audience runner on Jeremy Kyle,‭ ‬to script development at Lime Pictures.‭ ‬As these jobs were few and far between and mostly unpaid,‭ ‬I worked as a waitress and receptionist to pay my way.‭ ‬I also volunteered to script read for as many groups as possible,‭ ‬widening my skillset to radio,‭ ‬animation and TV.‭

I found it difficult to find out about script editor training,‭ ‬so did a script reading course at The Script Factory in London,‭ ‬and script reading and script editing courses at North West Vision,‭ ‬where I later became one of their script readers.

My first big break was a short contract at Emmerdale covering the Script Secretary role,‭ ‬however,‭ ‬this was only temporary and I was soon back to temping.‭ ‬After a pretty fruitless year,‭ ‬the assistant Producer,‭ ‬Tony Hammond asked me to come back and I’ve stayed ever since‭ – ‬starting as script secretary,‭ ‬then Emmerdale archivist,‭ ‬assistant script editor‭ (‬a role which I created‭) ‬and then Script editor.‭ ‬I have so much to thank Tony for,‭ ‬because he was always willing to give me a chance‭ – ‬and eventually,‭ ‬it paid off.‭

To be a good script editor,‭ ‬you need to genuinely love writers and working with them.‭ ‬How many writers do you work with regularly on the show,‭ ‬and what,‭ ‬from your experience,‭ ‬could you say are the best sort of writers to work with‭?

My favourite part of the job is working with the writers.‭ ‬We currently have‭ ‬25‭ ‬writers on the team,‭ ‬so we’re never short on variety‭! ‬I find it really important to have a good working relationship with our writers,‭ ‬and the best edits are with writers who embrace the notes and want to discuss how to make the note work in the most exciting way possible.‭ ‬I love a good mixture of enthusiasm and creativity,‭ ‬and work hard to ensure‭ ‬the writer still feels they have their own stamp on the episode.‭ ‬It’s always easier if the writers are open to changes and want to have a healthy discussion rather than‭ ‬dig their heels in or passively take notes.‭

Note giving is a delicate job to do well.‭ ‬What are the techniques you use to get the best out of your writers and how do you handle giving tricky notes‭?

The key for me is to know the writer,‭ ‬that way I can deliver my notes‭ ‬appropriate to each writer’s temperament.‭ ‬I fully appreciate that writing is a lonely profession,‭ ‬and pouring your heart into something just to be given notes must be a difficult thing.‭ ‬So I make sure I’m always tactful and positive.‭ ‬I try to be as honest as possible,‭ ‬but also supportive and enthusiastic.‭ ‬If there’s an issue in the script,‭ ‬it’s often because the writer didn’t quite believe what they were writing,‭ ‬so I try to locate the problem so the next draft can be as strong as possible.‭

Can you briefly outline a typical script editing day for you on Emmerdale‭?

Emmerdale works on a monthly cycle,‭ ‬so for script editors,‭ ‬our week will generally alternate between first draft edits or publishing week.‭ ‬Each week tends to consist of a reading day,‭ ‬a script meeting where we go through scripts page by page,‭ ‬then I prepare edits and get on the phone to writers.‭ ‬A typical day would start at around‭ ‬9am.‭ ‬I usually work on the train to Leeds,‭ ‬prepping my edits,‭ ‬then pretty much as soon as I get to work I’ll be on the phone.‭ ‬I chat through headline notes on story changes and character through-lines,‭ ‬then we go‭ ‬through‭ ‬page by page.‭ ‬I tend to do about three edits a day,‭ ‬and in‭ ‬between that I’ll answer my emails and get calls from set.‭ ‬When a script is filming,‭ ‬we get regular updates on timings‭ – ‬often having to look for cuts or add extra material,‭ ‬but we also have to be available for any on-set issues.

How many scripts to do edit at any one time‭?

We tend to work on a block of four scripts at any‭ ‬one time.‭ ‬This can mean having four at first draft stage,‭ ‬four at publishing stage,‭ ‬and up to two blocks in production,‭ ‬where we’re on call from‭ ‬7am to‭ ‬7pm every day for any on-set issues or queries.

How many writers do you work with‭?

25.

How many script editors are there on the show?

There are‭ ‬4‭ ‬script editors,‭ ‬1‭ ‬assistant script editor,‭ ‬and‭ ‬2‭ ‬part-time‭ ‬series script editors.

Does Emmerdale use storyliners.‭ ‬And if so,‭ ‬how is your job affected by their input‭?

Yes,‭ ‬we have a team of storyliners as well as a story producer and story editor.‭ ‬Our stories are generated at story conference every month,‭ ‬where the storyliners go away and write story strands and a storyline document is produced.‭ ‬We use their story document when reading first draft scripts‭ – ‬it’s important to see what the intention of the story was,‭ ‬as well as understanding any decisions the writer has made,‭ ‬and to check that all story beats are covered.‭

Lastly,‭ ‬can you sum up what it is like,‭ ‬working on a huge juggernaut of a show like Emmerdale‭?

Working on Emmerdale is a dream come true.‭ ‬I couldn’t‭ ‬wish to work with a better team of people‭ ‬-‭ ‬there’s a‭ ‬wonderfully friendly atmosphere here.‭ ‬It’s a very busy and challenging job‭ – ‬the hours are very long and it can be stressful.‭ ‬There isn’t a day that goes by that I’m not thankful for where I work.‭ ‬I’m very passionate about Emmerdale,‭ ‬and when you work with so many talented people,‭ ‬it’d be impossible not to give it‭ ‬100%‭ ‬every day.‭

Contact me for script editing help and editorial advice on your work here http://www.scriptadvice.co.uk
Follow me on Twitter: YVONNEGRACE1
Join my writer’s group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/237330119115/

Get in touch and happy writing!

ONLY CONNECT – MAKING CONTACTS IN THE TELEVISION INDUSTRY

Writing is a solitary exercise. But the business of getting your writing read, talked about and appreciated is just the opposite. You need to be a focussed solitary scriber, and then morph when the time dictates, into a sociable, approachable type who is more that happy to talk about your work and ask questions of those that are experienced and able to help you get in and get on in the industry.

Even if you have a writing partner; someone with whom you work to create and construct your drama scripts, there is always that point in the creation process where you must turn the collaboration switch to ‘off’ and get on with making your part in the writing process your own. You need to get your head down and start writing.

If you work solo, (like most writers in my experience do) then it can be really hard to put on a convivial face and go off to rub shoulders with, most likely, writers like yourself, who work alone and then feel they have to socialise for the good of their work.

 But I think its important that you do this.

The television industry dictates that writers be both disciplined (in terms of getting the pages done in a structured, accessible time frame) and also able to turn on the sociable charm when the time is right.

 I have had the pleasure of working with some great writers who are now at the top of their game and showing by the sheer calibre of the work they are now producing, the way forward for lesser experienced television writers, making their way up. Writers like Russell T Davies, Sally Wainwright, Jonathon Harvey and Tony Jordan. If you were ever in a position to ask any one of them if they, as they were starting out, had a champion, or if there was a person they felt they could point to that helped them, when they needed it, I believe each writer could come up with more than one name.

 I had my champions too.

 We all need at least one.

 So where do you find your champion? The person(s) who may turn out to be the people you, when asked the question, sometime in your future you happily name as the individuals that helped you most?

 There are many ways you can potentially meet like-minded writers and also connect with professionals that can either champion your work themselves, or suggest others that can.

 I suggest you spread your area of connection wide.

 Initially, I would encourage you to join a good writer’s group. I run a very good one on Facebook. My members come from all over the globe and represent all levels of writing experience. Many are professional writers who, like myself, genuinely enjoy sharing their knowledge of the industry. It’s a great place to start.

 The Script Advice Writer’s Room:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/237330119115/

Another good way of opening up communication with others in your chosen field, is to use online forums. Phil Gladwin runs a great one here. His organisation the Screenwriting Goldmine also runs writing competitions and workshops:

http://www.screenwritinggoldmine.com/forum/

 In general, the BBC website for writers is a good place to bookmark. You can download scripts and keep up with the initiatives they run.

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

 Attending workshops on writing and those that teach the skill base needed to work in television as a writer is a good way of making contacts and building useful friendships with other writers.

 I run workshops for the Indie Training Fund regularly and throughout the year.

http://www.indietrainingfund.com/courses/production/how-to-storyline-a-series-for-television/

 Euroscript is very good for writers wanting to connect with others and they also run courses throughout the year:

http://www.euroscript.co.uk/

 Engineering meetings between writers and Producers, Commissioners and key players in the Industry is a central aim of the Rocliffe Forum:

http://www.rocliffe.com/index.php

 Attending festivals and specific events aimed at networking and sharing of information related to screenwriting is a great way of building your connections and making potential key connections with useful to know people.

The London Screenwriters’ Festival is a brilliant, exciting, informative and genuinely friendly event run by people passionate about the business of writing for the big and small screen. This link takes you to the page showing some of the speakers of this year’s event. You will notice I am there and very pleased to be so!

Speakers

 Raindance run both a film and television festival:

Home

My book attempts to bridge that gap between you, the solitary writer who wants to get in to Television and stay there, and the Industry itself; comprising of important people you need to get to know and to make them aware of your existence.

Here’s a lovely review on Amazon by writer Mark Davies. I add it here because he highlights my intention when writing it, which was to metaphorically hold the writer’s hand through what can be the labyrinthine nature of the Television Industry.

 ‘Rather than a dry how-to style text book, reading this book is like being invited to spend the day with an expert and having her take you by the hand for a tour of Television Centre, and being introduced to everyone you could ever need to know in the process. Then imagine someone following you the whole day with a camcorder and giving you all the footage afterwards so you can rewind to your favourite sections and live them all again. And again!’

Follow me on Twitter: YVONNEGRACE1. Here too, it is almost too easy to hook up (in cyber space) with a whole new strata of writers, producers, script editors and agents who may well take up a big space in your future.

 You don’t know who’s out there till you get your sociable coat on and venture outside…..

 Check out my website for my script reading and script development services and to access my blog and find out what I am up to over the year.

Home

 I hope to be able to help you in the future.

 Good Luck and Happy Writing.

 

STORY STRUCTURE – STORY LEGS – HOW TO CREATE THEM

Here I am: on Charles Harris’ blog:

Today we have the first of a fascinating two-part post from guest blogger Yvonne Grace on story structure for TV series and serials, Creating Story Legs. Yvonne is an experienced writer, script editor and producer of TV series and serials, and the author of a brand new book on writing TV series – details of the book and her own sites at the end of the blog. 

Everyone has a story. Whether you believe your story is mapped out at birth – by a higher Deity; God. The Universe. Your Mum. Or if you believe you are in control of your own personal life path; so it begins when you take your first breath and every thing that happens to you and every choice you make alters and changes that life path as you go through your days, Season by Season.

Whether you control this or Madam Betty or Jesus or Jiminy Cricket – it matters not in my analysis here because I can say categorically that there is a beginning, there will be a mid point and you will have your ending. You will ultimately get there. To that end point. To the point where you (unless you have a sudden death – which is a no no in a writer’s opinion, as this does not leave room for reflection and sage reminiscences) where you – get to say a few sage reminiscences, or maybe emit a line or two from your heart which may go viral – later – when you won’t care and may well be circumnavigating the globe as a gas.

Everyone that has been and gone before us shows us – the story tellers of the now, that there is a path to be trod. The beginning, the middle and the end. And that is called the 3 act structure. In most screenwriters’ parlance. But that is too simple for us television types.

We do not, as a rule, hold with the restrictive 3 act structure mantra.

We like things much messier than that.

Episodic television often has a multi-act structure. Anything from five acts upwards; depending on the length of format (30/60/90 mins).

Plot Twists and the Penultimate Out Point.

In television it is often easier to think of splitting your story line into the bigger act chunks (say 5 for the sake of argument) and then dig into each act giving at least 3 twists per act. Then at the mid point of your act structure (act 2/3) there are a couple more plot twists, and by the 4th and 5th act, your storyline will begin to feel properly expanded, explored and layered. In the final act, you will come to the Penultimate Scene before the End Scene.

Penultimate Out Points are very important in television – writers need to plot and plan the lead up to The Out Point – or end. The scene before the final scene is often just as compelling as the end scene itself. It feeds the final scene. It leads us there.

Example of a Plot Twist;

Last Tango In Halifax by Sally Wainwright

Caroline, the professional, slightly icy, permanently preoccupied 40 something mum, is, in the mind of the audience, a character that knows exactly what she is doing from the minute she wakes up to the moment she goes to bed. Her story is one of control and also having to be the coping grown up adult. Not least because her marriage is a failing shambles; largely due to her failing, shambolic estranged husband.

So when we see her drop her guard and in fact fall in love with someone it is a surprise and doubly so because the person she falls for is female. Ball breaking Caroline we expected. Lesbian Caroline who has to learn to let go, we did not.

Example of a Penultimate Out Point;

Happy Valley (again co-incidentally, penned by Sally)

The scene which leads us to the long-awaited confrontation in the narrow boat between Catherine the beleaguered, take no prisoners Cop/Grandmother, her vulnerable grandson Ryan and the psychopath Tommy, is an exterior of that volatile, tense internal scene, shot in the boat, where Catherine attacks Tommy and rescues Ryan from his clutches.

This ultimate confrontation is set up subtly by Sally. Catherine, the Cop and her long suffering sister Clare, rush down the steps to the canal path below. Clare tries to slow Catherine down; she doesn’t want her rushing in where angels fear to tread. Catherine couldn’t care less. They both stumble and fall. Catherine hurts her still bandaged arm. It looks bad. This scene sets up the preconception that things could only now, go from bad to worse.

The Story Necklace, Moments, Milestones and Back Story

Across the Series or Serial (The Long Form Format), writers creating story legs for their storylines need to think in the following way;

Firstly, that your storyline – the main throughline of the series you are writing – otherwise known as the Serial Story Arc, is a string on which you hang the beads of each separate episode in the serial as a whole.

Example of Series Story Arc

The Series Story Arc is that which is summed up in the logline, or selling paragraph of a series idea; it is what the drama (enfolding over a number of episodes) is actually about.

Orange is the New Black:

Piper Chapman’s wild past comes back to haunt her, resulting in her arrest and detention in a federal penitentiary. To pay her debt to society, Piper trades her comfortable New York life for an orange prison jumpsuit and finds unexpected conflict and camaraderie amidst an eccentric group of inmates.

There is a shape to each episode, set by the tone and style of the Serial Story Arc. Each episode reflects that story and the style of writing within it. Also, each episode is defined by the characters within and the stories they push and develop through the episodes.

In this way, each episode gives the Series or Serial as a whole, a cohesive, ‘branded’ quality that reflects both the creative, dramatic intention of the Producers, but also the expectation of the audience. (And so, this cohesive product, is delivered to the right demographic who accept it willingly, and expect more).

Secondly, that within your Long From Format, each episode also has a strong narrative throughline that pertains purely to that episode. This is often called The Story Of The Week. This story is introduced and resolved in each episode. The serial element of the format being carried by the core returning cast. And this serial element is what links each episodic ‘bead’ to the next one.

Example of a Long Form Format show with a story of the week structure:

Taken from the BBC website, here is a précis of a Doctors episode. To illustrate the A and B story line point, I have split their logline into two.

The A story: After discovering their shocking secret, Niamh faces a race against time to save the lives of three young men.

The B story: Karen rediscovers her fearsome maternal instinct.

Not all Series and Serials have a story of the week format. Broadchurch, for instance, does not. The Serial Story Arc; the search for the killer of the dead boy found in Ep1, forms the backbone to this show. But each episode does rest and focus for longer, on the particular players in this story of a community torn apart by a child murder.

In this way, each week we have an A story that focuses on the motivations/actions of for example, DCI Ellie Miller. The next instalment’s A story line is focused on that which drives DCI Alec Hardy.

In each Long Form Format show, there will also be a sister story line that runs parallel and concurrent with the A story line, so for example, we see how Alec Hardy’s behaviour affects and influences Ellie in a B story.

A smaller, less significant but non the less colourful story line will under pin ‘the big guys’ (the A and the B) and form the C story line. In a series like Holby City, or Doctors for example, this will often be a more comedic story line; one to add light to the darker elements of the episode.

To be continued in Part Two…

If you want to write for television and learn more; there are a few ways Yvonne can help you:

Check out her website

Like her business page on facebook

Join her excellent group on facebook

Buy her book: Writing for Television; Series Serials and Soaps from Amazon

Follow her on Twitter: @YVONNEGRACE1

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!

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.

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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…..

NEWSLETTER 18 – LATEST FROM SCRIPT ADVICE

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.

I am on TWITTER here: https://twitter.com/YVONNEGRACE1
Or to see my newsletter online, access my Blog here: https://scriptadvice.wordpress.com/

Hello Again.
It’s a hot end to the Summer, and I have been juggling entertaining a five year old with Olympian energy levels, and keeping the wheels of Script Advice turning, so things have been really busy lately, here at Script Advice Towers.

I continue to help you with your scripts, and if you haven’t used me and my expertise yet, please do, I guarantee after you have used my report service, or my script editing package, you will feel more focused and more confident about your work and be assured of ways to fix the problems you may have encountered.

WHAT I HAVE BEEN UP TO

In October, I will be running a script workshop for the Jersey Arts Trust and taking the members of the Trust through the ins and outs of creating, shaping and writing treatments for television and also editing a draft of their own scripts. I always enjoy working directly one on one with writers.

I am also editing my book TV WRITING – SERIES AND SERIALS (working title) which is to be published in May 2014 by Kamera Books. It will be a jam-packed, entertaining read, about the television industry and how to work happily within it as a writer.

I will soon be supplying the Indie Training Fund http://www.indietrainingfund.com/; suppliers of training to the television and film industry, another packed, entertaining, informative workshop on Story Lining for Television Series. To furnish this workshop, I have written my own bible for a soap/series entitled Harkness Hall. I find it really interesting how each writer’s interpretation of the same groupings of characters with the same backdrop, creates totally individual approaches to story lining the show each time I hold a workshop.

THE LONDON SCREENWRITING FESTIVAL OCTOBER 2013

The Biggest Screenwriting Festival; I spoke there last year, it is a great place to meet, share information, get your work across to people in the industry and learn. Check the details out here.

Home

THE SHOW MUST GO ON/LSWF 2012

Here is a link, to fellow script consultant Michelle Goode’s site where she gives a summary of the talk I chaired at the London Screenwriter’s Festival last year. It makes for interesting reading, and if you were not able to attend, then this is the session in sound bites. The session was called THE SHOW MUST GO ON and we covered just about every aspect of writing for long running shows during the hour long session.
http://www.writesofluid.com/writing-for-soaps-london-screenwriters-festival-londonswf-scriptchat/#.UieAWpVwbIV

INTERVIEW WITH WRITE SO FLUID ABOUT TELEVISION AND WORKING IN IT

Michelle has also interviewed me recently, about the job of Script Editing, and how I got into television and the route I took to become a producer. Here is a link to the chat. There are some useful tips for writers keen to work in television here.
http://www.writesofluid.com/tuesday-chat-interview-with-tv-script-editor-and-consultant-yvonne-grace/#.UiiOM5VwbIU.

In the interview, I say at one point, that the most common problem I come across in script editing writer’s work is: ‘a lack of structural knowledge; how to plan and map the storyline across the duration of the script’.

Here is a link to a blog I wrote a while back about plotting: PULLING OUT THE STORY. I cover most of the main issues regarding story lining in this and hopefully, if you haven’t read it already, it will prove useful for you when structuring your next screenplay or episode of television.

FINDING YOUR SHAPE

There is a lot of information on the Net about plotting and structuring screen plays. The given advice on basic structure for screenplays is the three act structure. However, this is not always suitable to follow if your story is multi-layered, or if you want to strap your storylines across more than a single; and write a series or serial format.

If you want to create a swiftly paced, high octane, impactful drama, with twists and turns aplenty, then you may be looking at creating a structure that has a six, or an eight act structure. It all depends on the type of story you want to tell.

It helps too, if at the inception of your idea, you work with a shape; literally, a drawn outline of the story as a whole, to which you make your storylines stick as you progress through the script.

Linear:
Some stories are mainly linear in shape. The narratives flow in the same time frame, and run parallel to each other, at times crossing when the storylines meet at a given dramatic point.

Non-Linear:
Others have a non-linear shape; a narrative line that travels back and forth through the time line of the story, and the characters’ journey. Here there are flash backs and scene montage.

The Circle:
Others are cyclical. All points begin at the same point and come full circle to meet the end point at the same time.

The Wheel:
The focal plot point in the centre, the main protagonist, like a circus Ring Master, controls the fates of the ensemble of characters who also populate his/her world. Or, there is a single, inciting incident which affects all other stories. Out from the centre then, dart the storylines, like spokes from a wheel.

It helps to visualise your storylines before you commit them to your story board, or your card system, your white board or your computer; (which ever story lining system works for you). In this way, you can keep a sense of the whole thing in your head as you progress through your script.

Don’t let the science of story lining and story structure blind you, and take your confidence away; when it comes to story structure, the rule is simple. All storylines have a natural shape. Identify for yourself where the main drama beats are; where the story peaks and where the dips or troughs are. Then go back. Revisit the storyline and make sure you have as many twists and turns as you can make and as many connections with the other storylines as you can.

Once you have done this, the over all shape or number of acts in the script itself, will be clearer for you.

Start with the storyline. Not the number of acts.

USEFUL INFORMATION:

I blog for other sites too, here I am on two knotty issues facing writers;

TELEVISION WRITING; GETTING INTO SHAPE
My blog for Euroscript: http://euroscript.wordpress.com/

HOW TO MAKE YOUR SCRIPT, SCRIPT EDITOR FRIENDLY
Me on the Screen-Lab Blog: http://www.screen-lab.co.uk/

USEFUL WEBSITES:

BASIC QUESTIONS ON SCREENWRITING ANSWERED
If you are getting started, this is a good site to use which can answer basic questions, to more taxing ones, concerning screenwriting.
http://screenwriting.io/

TV WRITING – WEBSITE – DOWNLOADABLE SCRIPTS
This is a great site to give you a clear idea of what a television script looks like, if you are struggling with format issues.
https://sites.google.com/site/tvwriting/

SCRIPT COMPETITIONS UK
From Script Angel website, a list of current screenwriting contests. These are recommended to writers as a way of getting their work out there and assessed.
http://scriptangel.wordpress.com/2013/08/31/screenwriting-contests-updated-september-2013

BBC WRITER’S ROOM
A good source of information and accessible blogs, interviews and links to screenwriting tips and competitions.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/

THE DAILY SCRIPT
This is another site whereby you can download a script of the day.
http://www.dailyscript.com/

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Join me on Facebook at the Script Advice Writers’ Room; http://www.facebook.com/groups/237330119115/
Here’s what Phil Gladwin of http://www.screenwritinggoldmine says about it:
‘It’s run by Yvonne Grace, a seasoned BBC producer, and her … incredible energy, passion, and dedication (in true, old school BBC style) means new links, new resources, and a very nice community of like minds on a daily basis.’
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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 SEPT 2013

NEWSLETTER 14

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.

 I am on TWITTER here: https://twitter.com/YVONNEGRACE1

Or to see my newsletter online, access my Blog here: https://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:

 * HELLO

* ATTENTION PLEASE! (the shortening attention span in tv)

* Interesting Stuff

 HELLO

 We live, here at SCRIPT ADVICE TOWERS, in the highest part of the Sussex Weald. It’s rather lovely a lot of the time, but right now, and seemingly for most of the Summer, my house and garden are sulkily wrapped in a grey damp mist; a grumpy combination of rain and condensation. Added to, no doubt, by the multitude of sighs and groans emitted from the mouths of desultory residents of the Upper Sussex Weald who have (unwillingly) learned to swallow the fact that living in a hilly part of damp Britain means that rain and general moistness ensues on a daily basis. My curly hair is now more pubic than ringlet. Not a good look.

 Onwards.

 ATTENTION PLEASE!

 It’s sometime in the 1970’s and Coronation Street is on the telly. I am approximately 10 years old (my exact age is on a need to know basis) and I have decided I feel sorry for Elsie Tanner. She makes light banter and tries to be brusque and show her harder edge, as she chats with her friend in the room at the back of the Rovers Return. She is waiting on Alan her husband and we all know (my mum, my sisters and me, all watching from the green and grey flocked settee we had for about 30 years) that her feckless husband will come home drunk and not be able to eat his Christmas dinner.

 Except the dialogue doesn’t say this, she just shows this to us by what she choses to talk about instead. Subtle acting. Detailed, closely observed performance generated by true depth of character.

 It is hard to tell, watching the squat black box (tellys were like laquered bricks back then) if the writing informs the acting or the other way round but all I know is that I totally believe in Elsie Tanner and am waiting with a delicious dread for the moment Alan will come lurching through the door of their lurid sitting room set, and a marvellous, passionate, explosive argument will ensue where (I secretly hope) Elsie’s normally laquered hairdo would get messed up as she lobbed an ashtray at Alan’s head.

 Me and my family – like millions of viewers then and still today, were not disappointed. Soaps guarantee that the loyalty of their regular viewers is rewarded with murder, intrigue, betrayal, affairs, robbery and lots of high octane argument. People, after all, are much more interesting when they are behaving badly. And of course one of the main jobs of a long running drama series like Coronation Street and it’s (younger) sisters, is to engage as many people as possible on as many nights as frankly, the Network can get away with ordering from the Production Company. And they order these shows in bulk.

 When I worked on Eastenders, it was transmitted twice a week and just as I had run my Script Editing battery almost down to the last spark, Alan Yentob informed the Production Teams that we were soon to go into factory mode and transmit (and therefore produce) 4 a week. There was of course, a loud and vociferous reaction to this news – how can we make more when there’s only so many hours in the day etc but all complaints were met with stoney silence from ‘Upstairs’ and we of course, got on with the job in hand.

 Looking at the Coronation Street of the 1970’s and comparing it with how the show looks now, there is one glaring difference to my eye. It’s not the absence in 2012 of Rayon, Nylon and backcombing, nor is it the fact that in the ’70’s the sets had a wobbly tendency(production values have increased across the board since those heady days of covering everything in sticky back plastic and hoping the scene struts at the back of The Rover’s Snug would hold out for another recording) no, it’s the length of scene and the amount of dialogue in those scenes. The main difference is, in short, in the writing and the way in which the script is put together.

 Watching an old episode of Coronation Street on my laptop, I am struck by the sheer amount of screen time given to say, Elsie, as she anxiously walks around her living room, touching up her makeup in the mirror over the fireplace, eyeing the un-opened bottle of wine – should she have a glass? No, she’s going to wait. And when she is joined by an astonishingly young looking Emily Bishop, the dialogue is still subtle, cleverly observed, but layered with subtext and comedy. Again, as in the case of the performances, the dialogue is saturated in character. These women sit and talk. And the scene goes on. It’s nearly 5 minutes long. I remember when I was script editing Eastenders, if a scene ran to more than 3 minutes it was unusual. This is because today’s television drama is a much more frenetic creature and our audiences now, although still wanting character, intrigue and emotional voracity, also want action, colour, and things generally going on.

 So the scenes in television drama scripts got shorter over the years and less dialogue was written per scene, less exploration of character is possible and more is made of the text, not the subtext of what we see on screen.

 Our attention span is getting shorter. And as always, Soaps, mirroring the Zeitgeist, reflect this trend.

 As a script editor I waged my own private battle against writing that was ‘too on the nose’. By that I mean too obvious, stating the plotline, describing what you see, and generally being crude and lazy. So phrases like ‘a penny for them?’ and ‘we need to talk’ were banned from the episodes I worked on. Writers had to find other, more character-driven ways to bring out in a scene the fact that a person was clearly not concentrating or that a character had a lot on their mind.

 I believe that audiences don’t like obvious dialogue either. We all love the richness and colour of really good character-driven writing but not all of us are aware of this when watching our favourite Soap, or drama series, we just know when it works, because when it doesn’t, we stop engaging with the people on screen and caring about whether they are going to die, going to marry, going to get rich, get pregnant, get over him/her or not, and turn over.

 Although I owe a lot to Eastenders I have to say Corrie in my view sits heads and shoulders above it and so it is this show I will finish by crediting with a big gold star. The turnaround on this show, the sheer amount of episodes that have to be written, cast, recorded and transmitted in order to meet the rigours of their contracted output, is phenomenal. And still, albeit with shorter scenes, more action than subtext, more big bangs than characterful whimpers, the writing remains subtle, it illuminates character and highlights our humanity and most magnificently, our lack of it.

 INTERESTING STUFF

 LONDON SCREEN WRITERS FESTIVAL – THE SHOW MUST GO ON

Here I am, with Tony McHale (vetern long running drama writer/director/story producer, Tracy Brabin (ex-Corrie actress and now writer of Shamless, Hollyoaks and more) and Damon Rochefort (veteran Corrie Producer/writer) talking about (amongst the gossip and the anecdotal chat!) about Writing For Long Running Drama and how to keep your work fresh and watchable – date for you diary if you havent already bought your ticket: OCTOBER 27th SATURDAY – check out the LSWF website for the schedule and all the other marvellous events.

http://www.londonscreenwritersfestival.com/whats-on/sessions/writing-for-soaps

 FOR A DISCOUNTED TICKET – CLICK ON THE LINK FROM MY WEBSITE AND USE DISCOUNT CODE YVONNEGRACE – http://www.scriptadvice.co.uk

HOW TO GET INTO TELEVISION AND STAY THERE

I did a Breakfast Talk recently for the LONDON SCREENWRITERS FESTIVAL. I have my notes (16 pages in all) available for sale on http://www.paypal.co.uk. My PayPal ID is yvon.grace@btinternet.com and the notes are £7.99. If you want some solid, entertaining, informative pointers as to how to go about this business of television writing, these are the notes you need.

 TV WRITING:

useful website where you can download produced tv scripts. This is great if you need to get your head around layout issues and the general vocabulary screen writers are required to understand and use.

https://sites.google.com/site/tvwriting/

 INK TIP:

An excellent resource for writers – register your script here and keep yourself up to date with products and services aimed at professional writers.

 BRIT WRITERS:

An innovative and go-getting initiative aimed at promoting all writing on all levels. They interviewed me recently and here’s the link to the interview – but have a trawl around too. They run regular writing competitions, with great prizes and a spangly award ceremony coming up in December where rumour has it, Yours Truely may be awarding the Brit Writers Prize for Best Screenwriter 2012.

http://www.britwriters.com/news/from-script-to-screen-yvonne-grace.html

 SCREENWRITERS FRIEND:

A useful list of top notch agents and their submission requirements – some still accept unsolicited work

http://www.jengovey.co.uk/screenwriters_friend/screenwriter_agents_uk.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 am always chuffed to get more followers so here’s the link to me on Twitter again:

Tweets by YVONNEGRACE1

 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 www.scriptadvice.co.uk October 2012