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.

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
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Get in touch and happy writing!

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!

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

WRITING FOR TELEVISION: WHAT TO EXPECT

Those charming folk at the KFTV website; (use this to search for companies/agencies/individuals in the writing and film making business) link to a blog I wrote about what to expect as a writer, going into television writing for the first time. http://www.kftv.com/guides/2013/10/17/Tips-on-writing-TV-drama

AUTUMN NEWSLETTER – STORY STRUCTURE

WHAT THE SCRIPT FACTORY SAYS ABOUT SCRIPT ADVICE:
We can heartily recommend Yvonne’s workshops – she unravels television like no one else!
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.

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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.'

I am on TWITTER here: https://twitter.com/YVONNEGRACE1
* HELLO
* STORY STRUCTURE
* TASTY LINKS

It has been damp for months. I am human compost. I am rotting from the soles of my shoes upwards. It’s raining again. Autumn; not with the usual blistering display of colours, but I live in hope.

Here is my non-soggy, water retentive writerly newsletter for all writers fighting the gloom of persistent wet.

STORY STRUCTURE

The Net is awash (more water) with advice on story structure.

There are very specific, prescriptive, formulaic ways of making sure you have the per-requisite amount of drama in your scripts and there are rules for 25 minute episodic television drama, half hour Sit Coms, television drama hours and feature film length scripts. If you are a rule hound, there will be something for you within the omnipotent reach of the Internet.

However, I have a confession to make. I don’t do rules. Not prescriptive ones. I am not one of those script consultant types who set out their stall selling ‘This Way or No Way’ theories on how to make your screenplays work.

I just have a lot of experience doing this. For real. Against deadlines and within budget. And for some of this time, I was giving up smoking as well. There’s pressure. Forget what your inciting incident is; who’s got a Silk Cut?

Flippancy aside, there is a true art in structuring a story properly. It’s a lot to do with instinct, and a fair amount to do with natural flair, and a big dollop of experience and then there’s the craft stuff. The stuff you learn as you go along.

There are basic rules to shaping any story, but if you are a writer, chances are, you already know them – innately.

My take on the knotty problem of story structure is that you will already have a strong idea of how to structure your story in the moment you first think of the idea. There will be a natural shape or approach to the story telling part of your idea, that will have presented itself.
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Playing with the structure of a story is both creatively liberating and at the same time, restricting; as all structure gives shape and therefore boundaries within which your story and your characters are free to move about.

Story telling is all about perfect communication. Getting the structure right of your script; ensuring it supports the story you really want to tell; will guarantee your audience will follow you every step of the way.

The three act structure is most commonly used. The Beginning, the Middle and the End. It’s an obvious shape; the set up, the exploration and the resolution. But what you do with this simple three act structure is up to you.

You can sub-divide these three basic sections; you can stretch or shrink any component of this shape.

Your story may best suit a bigger build up; more sub acts within the first act for instance.

Your narrative may depend on a longer middle act; you may want to give your story more development time here; there may be a multi-stranded narrative in need of stretching in this middle, (now fat) act of your script.

The third act; the tie up, may be little more than a epilogue. This is ok. More than ok if your story has dictated this shape.

The key to all story structure problems is at the base root, simple; and the root of story creation begins with a question; what is the natural shape of the story you want to tell?

Does your story depend on flashback, do you feel the need to use montage? V/O is useful here or not?

Does the time line of your narrative (and by narrative I mean the writer choices you make to tell the story dramatically) have a linear pattern? Chronological, straight?

Does your time line flip backwards and forwards; in a non-linear pattern?

Do you have an ensemble group of characters who’s storylines work in tandem with each other?

Or does this group of characters have separate storylines that run parallel with each other and cross against each other?
Does your script have a protagonist who has a linear storyline; but told backwards; entirely in flashback?

These are exciting, variable questions and all of them relevant to the process of getting your story straight (or otherwise) on the page.

Knowledge of structure is essential to all good writing. But prescriptive formulas are to my mind, alarming and cut out the creative process.

Television writing more than any other discipline, demands a respect for and a working knowledge of structure and the rules inherent within it. But (and I speak as a television drama producer with years of experience in making long running serialised television) no-one wants a writer who delivers to formula.

Producers want original voices. Writers who can keep their end up in a highly competitive market by proving they can write slick, structured, polished work to deadline and with a personal flair all of their own.

A little of what I have mentioned here is taken to a dizzy height by the staggeringly clear and very insightful Linda Aaronson. Here is her website. http://www.lindaaronson.com/

Linda has given names to some of the examples of different story structure I mention; if it helps to name the decisions you make in your natural writing day, I would recommend both this site and Linda. There are few to match her.

Writers often work out their structural problems themselves. Draft by draft. If a story is sticking; if the script is now painful to write, if the narrative is not flowing, then you know there is something wrong with the basic structure. If you are lucky enough to have a script editor working with you, or a professional like myself reading for you, then you will find the impurities in your story structure may be flushed out between you.

A good script editor + writer = potent team.

If you are a writer and also tend to script edit yourself as you go along, please I urge you, gag the script editor in you and get the script writ. Then go back and script edit.
Do not worry about formula. Ask yourself – ‘what shape does my story need to be?’
Then work it out from there. If you get stuck; ask me.

TASTY LINKS

THE LONDON SCREENWRITERS FESTIVAL: Here, the website for what is now the biggest UK film and tv festival dedicated to all things writing related. I have had the pleasure of speaking at their sister forum, the London Breakfast Club and ran a popular session dedicated to storytelling in series and serials. Get your ticket here for next year. Pricey. But great exposure and a challenging, enjoyable experience for writers at all levels. http://www.londonscreenwritersfestival.com/

ROPE OF SILICON: a great site where you download the 2014 Oscar nominated scripts http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/2014-oscar-screenplays-download-midnight-frozen-rush-past/

LA SCREENWRITER: another site dedicated to downloadable scripts – this time, tv pilots from the US
http://la-screenwriter.com/2013/10/11/this-seasons-tv-pilot-scripts/

TV WRITING: dedicated to television in UK and US; downloadable scripts for your reference. https://sites.google.com/site/tvwriting/

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 OCTOBER 2013

GETTING INTO SHAPE – TELEVISION WRITING PART 2

My guest blog for the marvellous screenwriting site Euroscript is now up and live. Part Two goes into script writing, and script editing in more detail. The journey of a storyline on a tv drama draws to a close….
http://euroscript.wordpress.com/

WORKSHOPS – WHAT DO THEY TEACH YOU?

“I am absolutely loving your blog columns. Packed full of amazing guidance from first hand experience. Thanks Yvonne!” Kelly Veno Creative Consultant. Transmedia

I love to teach my television writing workshops. I am a natural born teller of how it’s done.

This could mean several things about me:

* I have years of experience and I am a generous soul who likes to share it
* I am a control freak whose way is the best way.
* I am nosey about writers and what makes them write the way they do.
* I am a social type who enjoys a good chat and a laugh

They all true are actually.

However, running my short courses and workshops, script editing my clients and passing on pages of notes week in week out, does not mean the information goes just one way.

No, here at Script Advice Towers there is a symbiotic relationship going on.

I have just come back from running a weekend workshop on TREATMENT WRITING FOR TELEVISION in Jersey, thanks to the support of the Jersey Arts Trust. I met fourteen writers, at varying levels of experience and covering a staggering age range of 15 years old to late 60’s.

Gathering around the table, the writers came, eager to learn; everyone supportive and interested in their fellow’s contribution and ‘take’ on the exercises I set.

There is a lot to take in on any workshop I run. I believe that information builds skill and practical usage of that information builds a career. So I put everyone that came on Saturday 5th October to the lovely hotel Banjo, in St Helier, pretty swiftly to work.

I run workshops on Treatment Writing, Story lining and Script Editing for television. People that come, do learn, but I do too.

I find that the way a novice writer approaches their writing, or day on a workshop is very revealing to note, as is the way in which the more experienced writers apply themselves to an edit session or a workshop attendance.

Some writers turn up in a flurry of paper, make tons of notes and talk a lot.
Others are armed with their laptop. They listen intently and speak only when they really feel it necessary.
There are the Jokers, the Laugh-Out-Louders, the Interrupters, the Timid, the Boisterous, the Wincers and the Moaners.

There are also the Pitchers. They are the worst sort. Don’t be one of those.

Around a table at any one time, there will be writers there who want to learn, who want to refresh, who want to develop their skill base. It is my job to make that process as enjoyable and informative as possible.

But I also need to keep learning. Because knowing stuff is one thing, (having learnt it in the first place and then applied it to the business of making television drama) passing it on successfully to diverse, unique, different people is another.

Everyone at the Jersey workshop was delightful. But that’s not always been the case.

Over the years I have learned to bury my own ego when delivering a workshop or a short course to a group of writers. This has taken time. (There was a lot of ego to bury!) And the process probably started during the years I was a Script Editor at BBC and then Granada Tv. Dealing with writers under the process of producing drafts of their episode under a time deadline teaches you really early on, to shelve your differences, your sometimes clashing approaches to the writing ethic, and set about getting the bloody job done.

But experienced, and novice writers alike, sometimes fall foul of the process and then no-one gets the experience they wanted.

Here are some key things to keep in mind when attending a workshop:

* Come ready to learn. Keep an open mind.
* Do not think you can use the workshop time to pitch your idea, or use the session to promote your own work.
* Be supportive of others’ work around the table. If you can’t be, don’t say anything.
* Avoid putting the workshop leader on the spot. You are not Jeremy Paxman, you are a writer who has paid to be taught something specific.
* Ask questions. Be inquisitive.
* Get involved. Try not to be shy with your ideas and contribute during group discussions.

Here are some of the things writers have said about my workshops:
http://www.scriptadvice.co.uk/scriptadvice_endorsements.html

Watch this space for future ones and please join me on twitter: https://twitter.com/YVONNEGRACE1 and my Script Advice Writer’s Room on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/237330119115/ to keep up with what I am up to and where I will be teaching next.

Happy Writing!

WHAT I KNOW NOW

It’s a chilly September morning. The heating is on at Script Advice Towers. Another Summer been and gone, for this blogger at least, in a blur of sandwiches, sand in sandals and a bid to keep sane by script editing your work and grateful for it.

And now my thoughts take a philosophical turn…

My career in television is not as long, or illustrious as many I admire in the Industry today; but it represents a fair whack of time. 23 years to be exact.

Falling through the door of the EastEnders Story Conference at Elstree in 1990, late because there was a cow on the line (yes, a cow….) I had no idea then how much I was going to learn, or how long I had ahead of me to put what I had learned into practise.

And of course, a natural ability in understanding, handling, creating and fixing drama for television has to be there in the first place, so you can build on what you already have innately; but I wanted to say here, because it feels like time I did, that I owe everything I learned, and everything I now know about drama, and how to make it for the small screen, to the writers I met then, have met since, and all the television scribes I have worked with.

EastEnders in the 1990’s was a crucible of television writing talent.

Tony McHale; the Lion King of story lining; lifting his head back and roaring with laughter, or disdain, as he passionately defended his story line, was a strong, expert voice around the Story Conference table. He tolerated me and my lack of knowledge; I earned my stripes and to this day, our respect is mutual. The same goes for Tony Jordan. He of the colourful waistcoats and equally colourful stories. Matthew Graham, then a relative green horn to the process, was soon to show his true story mettle. Ashley Pharoah; kind to me in the face of my ignorance, Jeff Povey too; a jolly, sharp, easy going sharer of The Way To Handle Story.

These men, (and in those days, at least in my experience, it was the male voices that shone the brightest on the show) were all to a man, kind, collaborative and willing to let me stumble until I found my feet. You learned on the job. As a Script Editor, editing the work of writers who knew the show backwards, and were assured of their skill as writers for it, you learned quickly to be sure of what you were saying and why you were saying it. And these writers did not let me get away with anything. Sometimes the notes were hard to get across without a certain amount of fur flying. But it was only a moult – never a shearing.

Granada Television, when I went there in the late 1990’s as a Series Script Editor to join Carolyn Reynold’s department, was another hotbed of writing talent.

The Series and Serial drama department was a burgeoning place to be in those days. We were coming up with drama serial formats and pitching regularly to the Network Centre. Granada Tv was in a strong position both creatively and politically, and part of it’s pedigree had been built by the reputation and skill of writers like Kay Mellor, Paul Abbot and Russell T Davis. And it was here that I met and worked with Russell; learning all I now know about story lining, from the best in the business.

Developing drama series ideas with writers like Sally Wainwright, Cath Hayes, Jan McVerry and Julie Rutterford, taught me how to collaborate with creatives and to learn how an instinctive story teller uses, for instance, humour, to get their point across. To this day, and thanks to those women in particular, I look for the humour in a script where possible; it tests the mettle of writers, but done properly, will elevate a script from the norm to the special. The script edit sessions I did with these funny, clever, razor sharp, witty women of television, often ended up with one or both of us in pain, not from the horrors of the edit, but from laughing. The female voices at Granada in those days, rang out loudly.

Writers are truly the best people. Honing the work of talented writers gave me just about the best education in how to make drama better.

There will be edit sessions I will banish to the development incinerator, never to be spoken of again, and there are writers who, at the mention of my name will turn an unhealthy pallor, (we know who you are) but in the main, over the majority of those 23 years I say hand on my heart – it was a pleasure to learn from you.

Thanks writers.

I help writers write better scripts here http://www.scriptadvice.co.uk

Television Writing; Getting into Shape

Those lovely folk at Euroscript asked me to blog for them. Here it is. The journey of a television storyline….get your head around this stuff and you will make an excellent television writer….http://euroscript.wordpress.com/