麻豆约拍 Writers FeedKeep up to date with events and opportunities at 麻豆约拍 Writers. Get behind-the-scenes insights from writers and producers of 麻豆约拍 TV and radio programmes. Get top tips on script-writing and follow the journeys of writers who have come through 麻豆约拍 Writers聽schemes and opportunities. 聽2015-01-27T17:05:40+00:00Zend_Feed_Writer/blogs/writersroom2015-01-27T17:05:40+00:002015-01-27T17:05:40+00:00/blogs/writersroom/entries/bb1fd917-78b9-43c1-bf2f-af0ff6746ce9Christine Entwisle<div class="component prose">
<p><em>Editor's Note: The Writer's Prize is an innovative and prestigious new writing award for Radio Drama which ran for the second time in 2014. The scripts were judged by聽Jeremy Howe (Commissioning Editor, 麻豆约拍 Radio 4 Drama), Kate Rowland (麻豆约拍 Creative Director, New Writing) and award-winning writer Katie Hims. 聽The winner is Christine Entwisle for her script Doyouwishtocontinue which has been commissioned by 麻豆约拍 Radio 4.</em></p>
<p><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05xd508"><em>Listen to Doyouwishtocontinue on 麻豆约拍 iPlayer until 6 July 2015</em></a></p>
<p>This is a strange position to be in. I have been asked to write a blog style piece on my experience of winning the 麻豆约拍 Writer鈥檚 Prize (I don鈥檛 even allow myself to write status updates on Facebook anymore 鈥 long story). People 鈥 real ones 鈥 will read it. This makes me feel a bit panicked. I may be writing this whilst partly lying down, but I am still panicked. In the same way that I am panicked at the thought that in May, people 鈥 yep, again, real people 鈥 will hear the words that I wrote as the sun streams through their kitchen windows on an idyllic spring afternoon鈥 and they will think: blimey, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4">Radio 4</a>鈥檚 gone downhill a bit.</p>
<p>I鈥檓 not used to this. I鈥檓 used to the effort. I鈥檓 used to the rejection - no, actually, you never get used to the rejection but I am familiar, let us say, with the emotional equivalent of being repeatedly punched in the face. And, of course, I鈥檓 used to hoovering.* But this? Winning? Writing something that wins something? Nope. Never happens. Never gonna happen to me. Just isn鈥檛.</p>
<p>When the call came with the unbelievable news that I had won the 麻豆约拍 Writer鈥檚 Prize, I may have burst into tears in the street. If you were the man with the black Labrador that was walking towards me, then I鈥檓 very sorry and I hope the rest of your day went a bit more smoothly. They were tears of shock and happiness. But the overwhelming feeling was one of relief. Massive relief. It felt as though I鈥檇 been underwater for ages and was finally able to come up for air.</p>
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<img class="image" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/320xn/p02hs6z8.jpg" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/80xn/p02hs6z8.jpg 80w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/160xn/p02hs6z8.jpg 160w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/320xn/p02hs6z8.jpg 320w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/480xn/p02hs6z8.jpg 480w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/640xn/p02hs6z8.jpg 640w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/768xn/p02hs6z8.jpg 768w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/896xn/p02hs6z8.jpg 896w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/1008xn/p02hs6z8.jpg 1008w" sizes="(min-width: 63em) 613px, (min-width: 48.125em) 66.666666666667vw, 100vw" alt=""><p><em>The avenue of limes on Hampstead Heath</em></p></div>
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<p>I have never really been sure if I could write or not. I鈥檓 still not. It seems perfectly possible that all three judges could have experienced a collective moment of madness or simply got my name and telephone number mixed up with someone else鈥檚. Believe me when I say that I have seriously considered these possibilities. I am a glass half empty kind of a lass. I know I shouldn鈥檛 admit to this because the other sort are more likeable aren鈥檛 they? The half full brigade? Understandable, I guess. If you were throwing a party you wouldn鈥檛 want a load of half-empty types lining the hallway ... you鈥檇 want a load of devil-may-care effortlessly successful rock climbing half-fulls about the place 鈥 the sort who have 鈥淐arpe Diem鈥 written in cross stitch, framed and hung by the door in case you鈥檇 forgotten to kill yourself already by the time you leave their house 鈥</p>
<p>Sorry what just happened? To continue the story:</p>
<p>Flash back. At school the closest we got to being creative was in English language lessons. Not grammar and all that (you may have surmised), but essays. Fiction. Making stuff up. I was a troubled teen (yawn) so writing stories was a great outlet for my angst. Most of them were about sensitive boys dying in house fires. But there was also comedy.</p>
<p>After a degree in performing arts where the only thing I wrote was scorned at by my most erudite friend, who had written entire plays and been to a proper school (where they did teach grammar), I decided to become an actor. I was ill -equipped for the world of acting however, with no agent and absolutely no idea how to get work. I didn鈥檛 go to drama school because you had to pay 鈥 and also my parents would probably have shot themselves. So, being young and na茂ve, I wrote my first play 鈥楽lipper Trips鈥, so that I could cast myself and get an agent. Then I wrote two more, got an agent and stopped writing for theatre. I started writing comedy for my double act WonderHorse and became interested in screen writing, supported by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK_Film_Council">UK Film Council</a> (RIP) to make several short films. But always directing or producing my own writing.</p>
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<img class="image" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/320xn/p02hs70t.jpg" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/80xn/p02hs70t.jpg 80w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/160xn/p02hs70t.jpg 160w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/320xn/p02hs70t.jpg 320w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/480xn/p02hs70t.jpg 480w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/640xn/p02hs70t.jpg 640w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/768xn/p02hs70t.jpg 768w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/896xn/p02hs70t.jpg 896w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/1008xn/p02hs70t.jpg 1008w" sizes="(min-width: 63em) 613px, (min-width: 48.125em) 66.666666666667vw, 100vw" alt=""><p><em>Things are looking up for Christine's dog Spanner</em></p></div>
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<p>In June of last year I was commissioned purely as a writer for the first time ever by the <a href="http://www.royalcourttheatre.com/">Royal Court Theatre</a> to write a scene to go in a sketch show curated by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Neilson">Anthony Neilson</a>. It was three pages long but I felt like Harold Pinter. 'Doyouwishtocontinue' will be my second ever proper writing commission and my first for radio.</p>
<p>So now I am going to try my very best not to mess up the opportunity of a life time. All sorts of monsters lie between me and a decent rewrite. But I have been matched with a great producer, I have dates and deadlines, and I know that everything I write will be read carefully and responded to. I feel supported and understood and I am being encouraged to write the piece I want to write. The decisions are ultimately mine. Pretty much The Holy Grail?</p>
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<img class="image" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/320xn/p02hs6zl.jpg" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/80xn/p02hs6zl.jpg 80w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/160xn/p02hs6zl.jpg 160w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/320xn/p02hs6zl.jpg 320w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/480xn/p02hs6zl.jpg 480w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/640xn/p02hs6zl.jpg 640w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/768xn/p02hs6zl.jpg 768w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/896xn/p02hs6zl.jpg 896w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/1008xn/p02hs6zl.jpg 1008w" sizes="(min-width: 63em) 613px, (min-width: 48.125em) 66.666666666667vw, 100vw" alt=""><p><em>The definition of hope</em></p></div>
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<p><strong>Advice</strong></p>
<p>I don鈥檛 have any advice. Writing is messy. I鈥檓 a mess. My life鈥檚 a mess (you should see my kitchen drawers). But here鈥檚 the thing. I have spent twelve years writing a play that nobody wants and I鈥檓 still writing it. I spent four days writing Doyouwishtocontinue and it won the Writer鈥檚 Prize. Possible conclusions: life is totally random; my theatre play is sh*t (completely possible); I was the only person to enter the 麻豆约拍 Writer鈥檚 Prize.</p>
<p>So here we are 鈥 and this is the reason why life is a mess. You could either think: 鈥渋f the door you keep knocking at doesn鈥檛 open, try another door鈥. But this seems to fly in the face of 鈥渏ust keep going鈥.</p>
<p>I would say 鈥済ood luck鈥 but it always makes me feel like I鈥檓 in a raffle at the fair. Plus if you鈥檝e been bloody unlucky for ages, why would that suddenly change? What I will say instead is: tell the truth. In your writing and to yourself. And write about whatever you want to write about, in whatever way you want to write it. Oh yeah. And keep getting up in the morning.</p>
<p><strong>A note to lasses</strong></p>
<p>I was talking to a very successful playwright recently and she told me that in a writer鈥檚 group she ran, all the young writers were asked to submit a play at the end and the best one would be produced. The class was evenly split men and women. But here鈥檚 the thing. All the lads submitted work and only half the lasses. Upon investigation it was found that those lasses who hadn鈥檛 submitted had held back because they didn鈥檛 feel that what they had written was 鈥済ood enough鈥. Come on lasses. You have enough enemies already without becoming your own worst. Get cracking. Just write the bloody thing and send it off.</p>
<p>*displacement activity, not progressive form of rewrite</p>
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<p><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/successes/writers-prize">Find out more about the Writer's Prize for Radio Drama</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05xd508">Listen to Doyouwishtocontinue</a> until 6 July 2015</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/scripts/2015-original-british-dramatists">Download and read the script for Doyouwishtocontinue</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/writersroom/entries/e26048c4-c3f8-3daa-b5fe-90445ebeb2df">Read a blog by 麻豆约拍 Writersroom's Kate Rowland about the winners of the first Writer's Prize in 2013</a>聽</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/writersroom/entries/d797ecd1-db18-349d-b39c-69e83c7eb8e6">Previous winner Sarah Hehir blogs about the experience</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/writersroom/entries/20d08458-5b54-3615-9ff3-4f22eceb09cf">Watch an interview with previous winner Simon Topping</a></p>
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2015-01-15T15:46:09+00:002015-01-15T15:46:09+00:00/blogs/writersroom/entries/1ce4a665-2cad-43ae-8f46-d4a67df2e3cfSally Stott<div class="component prose">
<p>In 2001, I was lucky enough to go and study at <a href="http://www.tft.ucla.edu/">UCLA鈥檚 School of Theater, Film and Television</a>聽in Westwood, Los Angeles. The campus, which was bigger than most towns I鈥檇 been to at the time, was like Oxford University reimagined by Universal Studios. Here, Baz Luhrmann or Jodie Foster stopping by to do a guest lecture was as much to be expected as vending machines selling mini-doughnuts and never-ending flavours of iced tea. With <a href="http://www.tft.ucla.edu/programs/professional-programs/alumni-screenwriters/">a spectacular alumni list</a>, it was also a place where writing and selling a Hollywood screenplay didn鈥檛 seem an unrealistic or even especially ambitious aim, just something that everyone was doing. As my friend Valerie drove me around the city in her truck, the feeling of optimism seemed to stretch from one end of Sunset Boulevard to the other.</p>
<p>Sound great? I certainly thought so. But, as a writer living in the UK, how exactly do you get to LA if you haven鈥檛 got a Green Card and you鈥檙e not on a university exchange scheme? I decided to find out, by speaking to UK writer <a href="http://www.theagency.co.uk/clients/clientdisplay.html?viewListing=MTk2">Matt Jones</a>, who has worked on TV shows both in the UK and the US; <a href="http://www.casarotto.co.uk/client/melissa-iqbal-19141">Melissa Iqbal</a>聽and <a href="http://www.curtisbrown.co.uk/sam-baron/">Sam Baron</a>,聽the two British winners of this year鈥檚 <a href="http://www.oscars.org/nicholl">Academy Nicholl Fellowship</a>; and agent <a href="http://lindaseifert.com/">Ed Hughes</a>, who looks after a number of UK screenwriters working on movies in the US. Here are a few of their thoughts on the different ways you can 鈥榖reak into鈥 America:</p>
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<img class="image" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/320xn/p02gzcy7.jpg" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/80xn/p02gzcy7.jpg 80w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/160xn/p02gzcy7.jpg 160w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/320xn/p02gzcy7.jpg 320w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/480xn/p02gzcy7.jpg 480w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/640xn/p02gzcy7.jpg 640w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/768xn/p02gzcy7.jpg 768w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/896xn/p02gzcy7.jpg 896w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/1008xn/p02gzcy7.jpg 1008w" sizes="(min-width: 63em) 613px, (min-width: 48.125em) 66.666666666667vw, 100vw" alt=""></div>
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<p><strong>1. Get work as a UK writer 鈥 and use it to propel yourself into the US</strong></p>
<p>When Matt Jones started his TV career, as a storyliner on <a href="http://www.itv.com/coronationstreet">Coronation Street</a> in the late 1990s, he never dreamed he鈥檇 end up in a Writers Room in LA. And yet, just over ten years later this is where he found himself, working on a 鈥渟weary, violent, undercover cop show鈥 called <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2397255/?ref_=nm_flmg_prd_1">Rogue</a>. But it might have never happened if he hadn鈥檛 asked <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0203961/?ref_=nv_sr_1">Russell T Davies</a> if, as a favour, he could write a practice report on a script Davies was working on at the time 鈥 one that turned out to be <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0185102/?ref_=nv_sr_2">Queer as Folk</a>. Matt鈥檚 notes went down so well he was offered a job as a script editor on the series. More script editing work followed, on <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0298672/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Linda Green</a> and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0243183/?ref_=nv_sr_1">Clocking Off</a>. 鈥淚鈥檝e always been very lucky in my career,鈥 Matt says, 鈥淚鈥檝e worked for very talented writers.鈥</p>
<p>It was through script editing that Matt got his first UK writing commission. He was working on a new series, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0197170/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Love in the 21st Century</a>, when the final episode fell through at the last minute. Producer <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0793864/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1">Nicola Shindler</a> said to him, 鈥淢att, you鈥檝e written things. Go home and write this half hour script by Monday.鈥 And that鈥檚 what he did. Next he wrote for <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0244335/?ref_=nv_sr_1">Children鈥檚 Ward</a>, wrote and produced his own original single drama, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0308662/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Now You See Her</a>, and produced <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0377260/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2">Shameless</a>. 鈥淚 wrote in the evenings on shows and then produced in the daytime,鈥 he says, 鈥淚t was crazy.鈥</p>
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<img class="image" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/320xn/p02gzct1.jpg" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/80xn/p02gzct1.jpg 80w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/160xn/p02gzct1.jpg 160w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/320xn/p02gzct1.jpg 320w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/480xn/p02gzct1.jpg 480w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/640xn/p02gzct1.jpg 640w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/768xn/p02gzct1.jpg 768w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/896xn/p02gzct1.jpg 896w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/1008xn/p02gzct1.jpg 1008w" sizes="(min-width: 63em) 613px, (min-width: 48.125em) 66.666666666667vw, 100vw" alt=""><p><em>Matt Jones</em></p></div>
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<p>But it was as a producer rather than a writer that Matt ended up working in New York and Toronto for a year, on the American version of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1755893/?ref_=nv_sr_2">Skins</a>. At around the same time he was commissioned by UK producer <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0255669/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1">Brian Elsley</a> to write a script about four gay best friends based upon his childhood. It didn鈥檛 get commissioned in the end, but became his 鈥榗alling card鈥 script. 鈥淥ff the back of [that script] I got a job as a writer in America on Rogue, and so I was in a Writers Room in Los Angeles for 10 months,鈥 Matt explains, 鈥淚t was a British Canadian co-production, so they needed British writers. And one of the production companies knew me from working in Toronto on Skins.鈥</p>
<p>Matt thinks that the UK writers who have found work in the US 鈥渕ost successfully are the ones who have established themselves very strongly in the UK first.鈥 However, getting commissioned here isn鈥檛 the only way to attract American producers鈥 interests.</p>
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<img class="image" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/320xn/p02gzcvm.jpg" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/80xn/p02gzcvm.jpg 80w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/160xn/p02gzcvm.jpg 160w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/320xn/p02gzcvm.jpg 320w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/480xn/p02gzcvm.jpg 480w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/640xn/p02gzcvm.jpg 640w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/768xn/p02gzcvm.jpg 768w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/896xn/p02gzcvm.jpg 896w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/1008xn/p02gzcvm.jpg 1008w" sizes="(min-width: 63em) 613px, (min-width: 48.125em) 66.666666666667vw, 100vw" alt=""><p><em>Melissa Iqbal at the presentation of the 2014 Academy Nicholl Fellowships Screenwriting Awards (image: Jordan Murph / 漏A.M.P.A.S)</em></p></div>
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<p><strong>2. Win a writing competition Americans have heard of</strong></p>
<p>Two of the four winners of this year鈥檚 Academy Nicholl Fellowship 鈥 basically the Oscars for new writers 鈥 are British: Melissa Iqbal, and Sam Baron. When I speak to them they are about to head off to Hollywood for an awards ceremony which, I like to imagine, will be a cocktail of glitter, diamonds and emotions 鈥 or, at the very least, provide good opportunities for networking.</p>
<p>I ask Melissa whether she thinks it will lead to more writing opportunities in America. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a fantastic way to break into America,鈥 she says, 鈥淭he Nicholl Fellowship is really well respected, especially in the US, so there鈥檚 been a lot of interest in [my] script, which is fantastic. It鈥檚 a great way to get your name out there.鈥</p>
<p>Sam agrees: 鈥淛ust being shortlisted was incredible, but winning was mind-blowing. [It] opens lots of doors in the US. As soon as you get shortlisted, you wake up to find hundreds of emails from producers, agents and managers all congratulating you and wanting to read your script and meet you.鈥</p>
<p>Both Melissa and Sam point out that it鈥檚 still early days, with <a href="http://www.oscars.org/news/winners-announced-2014-academy-nicholl-fellowships">the winners</a>聽having only been announced in October, but when it鈥檚 difficult to get anyone to read your script in the UK, let alone America, winning a prize, particularly one that is well-known over there certainly seems to help. However鈥</p>
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<img class="image" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/320xn/p02gzcvt.jpg" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/80xn/p02gzcvt.jpg 80w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/160xn/p02gzcvt.jpg 160w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/320xn/p02gzcvt.jpg 320w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/480xn/p02gzcvt.jpg 480w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/640xn/p02gzcvt.jpg 640w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/768xn/p02gzcvt.jpg 768w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/896xn/p02gzcvt.jpg 896w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/1008xn/p02gzcvt.jpg 1008w" sizes="(min-width: 63em) 613px, (min-width: 48.125em) 66.666666666667vw, 100vw" alt=""><p><em>Sam Baron at the presentation of the 2014 Academy Nicholl Fellowships Screenwriting Awards (image: Jordan Murph / 漏A.M.P.A.S)</em></p></div>
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<p><strong>3. Don鈥檛 give up if you don鈥檛 win a writing competition Americans have heard of</strong></p>
<p>Not everyone agrees on what a prize-winning script looks like. Sam says: 鈥淭he thing to remember with these contests is that while they鈥檙e great if you win鈥ou can鈥檛 take it too hard if you don鈥檛 win. The day after I won the Nicholl Fellowship, I got rejection emails from two other screenwriting contests, for the exact same draft of the script 鈥 so it鈥檚 all subjective. A handful of rejections are no reason to give up.鈥</p>
<p>Melissa almost didn鈥檛 enter the Nicholl Fellowship at all. 鈥淚鈥檇 never had much luck with screenwriting competitions in the past,鈥 she says, 鈥淚 was feeling a bit disheartened at the time, but I told myself every competition is different and has different readers, so you never know. Of course I never thought I would actually win!鈥</p>
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<img class="image" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/320xn/p02gzcty.jpg" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/80xn/p02gzcty.jpg 80w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/160xn/p02gzcty.jpg 160w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/320xn/p02gzcty.jpg 320w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/480xn/p02gzcty.jpg 480w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/640xn/p02gzcty.jpg 640w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/768xn/p02gzcty.jpg 768w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/896xn/p02gzcty.jpg 896w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/1008xn/p02gzcty.jpg 1008w" sizes="(min-width: 63em) 613px, (min-width: 48.125em) 66.666666666667vw, 100vw" alt=""></div>
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<p><strong>4. Get an agent with connections in America</strong></p>
<p>When I first speak to screenwriters agent Ed Hughes he鈥檚 about to jet off to LA for the kind of jam-packed business trip of appointments and meetings that I like to think I鈥檓 familiar with purely from reading Julia Phillips book 鈥<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You%27ll_Never_Eat_Lunch_in_This_Town_Again">You鈥檒l Never Eat Lunch in this Town Again</a>鈥. I ask him how he gets UK writers work in the US. 鈥淚deally we hook them up with a US agent and/ or manager,鈥 he says, 鈥淭he US reps can then spearhead looking for US work. But we have also got clients work direct from the UK with US companies. Most often [this is] by getting their feature spec scripts optioned by US companies.鈥</p>
<p>However, as pretty much everyone knows, getting an agent isn鈥檛 easy. 鈥淎 [US] agent is good, but if you鈥檙e early in your career you鈥檒l have a hard time landing one,鈥 says Ed, 鈥淎 good manager is actually a better bet to start off with. They are more focussed on the career development side of things and tend to be more proactive than agents.鈥</p>
<p>Having a well-connected agent and/ or manager certainly sounds useful. Matt, Melissa and Sam all have one (Bethan Evans at <a href="http://www.theagency.co.uk/">The Agency</a>, Tracey Hyde at <a href="http://www.casarotto.co.uk/">Casarotto</a>, and Amanda Davis at <a href="http://www.curtisbrown.co.uk/">Curtis Brown</a>, respectively) although at some point in their careers they didn鈥檛 and still managed to get to where they are now. There are also lots of things you can do without an agent, such as鈥</p>
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<img class="image" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/320xn/p02gzcwl.jpg" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/80xn/p02gzcwl.jpg 80w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/160xn/p02gzcwl.jpg 160w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/320xn/p02gzcwl.jpg 320w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/480xn/p02gzcwl.jpg 480w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/640xn/p02gzcwl.jpg 640w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/768xn/p02gzcwl.jpg 768w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/896xn/p02gzcwl.jpg 896w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/1008xn/p02gzcwl.jpg 1008w" sizes="(min-width: 63em) 613px, (min-width: 48.125em) 66.666666666667vw, 100vw" alt=""><p><em>Handprints on the pavement outside the TCL Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard</em></p></div>
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<p><strong>5. Write a spec script Americans might like 鈥 but make sure you like it too</strong></p>
<p>Some scripts feel perfect for an American audience. Others feel like the writer has been so dazzled by imaginary gold dollar signs that the characters, dialogue and story have disappeared under pile of estimated earnings calculations.</p>
<p>Ed suggests writing 鈥渟everal great US-set spec [scripts]鈥 and to 鈥渨rite commercial material鈥 but also 鈥渉igh-quality material, of course.鈥 Regarding what American executives are looking for, he says 鈥淸There are] probably less period drama movies in the US than the UK. More genre TV shows get made in the US as there are more outlets for that kind of thing and more of an appetite too. More sports movies get made there than here. They love a good inspirational true story sports movie鈥 One thing executives will ask for is a strong voice or unique point-of-view. But also big ideas and concepts really appeal.鈥</p>
<p>Talking about her Nicholl Fellowship-winning script, Melissa says: 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 write it for an American audience, but I do tend to write quite commercial stories and usually genre. Having said that, I took the opportunity to write something a bit different鈥bviously scripts should be written with some thought to how they might be marketed, but everything else should be from the heart.鈥</p>
<p>Sam explains how he came to create his prize-winning script: 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 write it with an American audience in mind 鈥 although I do love lots of American movies, particularly character-driven American indies, and I did set out to write the film I would most like to see, which is how I鈥檓 convinced all films should be written 鈥 so perhaps it happened accidentally.鈥</p>
<p>In the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/">麻豆约拍 Writersroom</a>聽we often read screenplays aimed at an American audience where the characters talk in a strange, heightened movie-inspired kind of language that doesn鈥檛 exist in real life or, indeed, movies (at least, not good ones). Like a lot of British writers, something Matt struggled with 鈥 when he was writing Rogue 鈥 was getting the America characters鈥 voices right. 鈥淚t鈥檚 easy to work out the words you need to use,鈥 he says, 鈥渂ut what鈥檚 hard is to realise what the phrases are that we use that they think sound really weird. And there are lots of those.鈥 So how did he manage to avoid them? 鈥淚t was really about being in America, reading other scripts and watching the actors,鈥 he explains.</p>
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<img class="image" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/320xn/p02h1r13.jpg" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/80xn/p02h1r13.jpg 80w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/160xn/p02h1r13.jpg 160w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/320xn/p02h1r13.jpg 320w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/480xn/p02h1r13.jpg 480w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/640xn/p02h1r13.jpg 640w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/768xn/p02h1r13.jpg 768w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/896xn/p02h1r13.jpg 896w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/1008xn/p02h1r13.jpg 1008w" sizes="(min-width: 63em) 613px, (min-width: 48.125em) 66.666666666667vw, 100vw" alt=""><p><em>Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame</em></p></div>
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<p><strong>6. Work in other areas of the UK film and television industries</strong></p>
<p>鈥淚t鈥檚 not what you know, it鈥檚 who you know,鈥 people sometimes say 鈥 and a good way of getting to know people is by working with them. Matt had jobs as a storyliner, script editor and producer before becoming a full-time writer, which led to some great contacts in the industry, such as Russell T Davies and Nicola Shindler.</p>
<p>Sam has also worked in other areas of film and TV and started off 鈥渕aking no-budget films with my friends as a teenager鈥. He explains: 鈥淭hey often didn鈥檛 even have a script, but we had an unexpected success when one of them went viral.鈥 After going to university, he got a job as a runner. Despite doing long production days he describes how 鈥渆very evening and weekend I would write, and lots of my Nicholl script was written in the margins of tattered call sheets on set, and then carefully transcribed on the night bus home.鈥 After two years of writing his script, along with jobs in Development at Ealing Studios and as a script reader for 麻豆约拍 Drama and 麻豆约拍 Wales 鈥渟ome very supportive colleagues introduced me to my agent at Curtis Brown, who started getting me meetings with lots of producers, and soon after that I won the Nicholl Fellowship.鈥</p>
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<p><strong>7. If you can, take a trip to LA</strong></p>
<p>Ed regularly visits LA and thinks writers who want to work there should aim to do the same, if their circumstances allow it. 鈥淵ou need to be ready to get over to LA at least a couple of times a year, for maybe two weeks at a time,鈥 he says, 鈥淟A is the main place [in the US]. There鈥檚 not much happening in New York or elsewhere.鈥 Obviously, this won鈥檛 be possible for everyone, but sometimes writing work can take you there.</p>
<p>Matt moved to LA to work on Rogue, since being part of a team of writers in a Writers Room meant he needed to go into the office every day. 鈥淚 think you really have to be in America to write American TV,鈥 he says. 鈥淎ll of the big shows have a Writers Room鈥ou get a weekly wage. You are employees.鈥</p>
<p>Whereas Matt works in his home office when he鈥檚 in the UK, in LA it鈥檚 very different. He talks about juggling writing an episode with other responsibilities, such as storylining and polishing other writers鈥 scripts: 鈥淭hey wouldn鈥檛 let me go home and write my [episode]. I said, 鈥楲ook, I鈥檓 not writing the script because I鈥檓 doing 10-hour days in the Writers Room.鈥 [The showrunner] said 鈥榊ou鈥檝e got four days. Go in that room and write a script.鈥 I said, 鈥楥an鈥檛 I go home?鈥 and he said, 鈥楴o, I need you around.鈥 So I sat in an office for four days and wrote.鈥</p>
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<img class="image" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/320xn/p02gzd0g.jpg" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/80xn/p02gzd0g.jpg 80w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/160xn/p02gzd0g.jpg 160w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/320xn/p02gzd0g.jpg 320w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/480xn/p02gzd0g.jpg 480w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/640xn/p02gzd0g.jpg 640w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/768xn/p02gzd0g.jpg 768w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/896xn/p02gzd0g.jpg 896w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/1008xn/p02gzd0g.jpg 1008w" sizes="(min-width: 63em) 613px, (min-width: 48.125em) 66.666666666667vw, 100vw" alt=""><p><em>Los Angeles skyline</em></p></div>
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<p>While becoming a Hollywood writer might often seem exciting, glamourous and well paid, it鈥檚 not all dark sunglasses, large cheques and apartments overlooking Santa Monica Beach. Ed explains: 鈥淸American] TV is more stable business these days, for sure. On the movie side there is not much of an indie scene in the UK, whereas there is a good indie scene in the US, which means more targets to aim for and hopefully hit.鈥 However, 鈥渃ompetition is fierce and [in the US] TV is now filling up with movie people looking to reap the benefits of the TV world.鈥 Does Ed think writers get treated better in the UK or the US? 鈥淚 think they get a hard time wherever they are generally!鈥</p>
<p>Matt explains some of the differences between writing for American and British television: 鈥淸In the US] there鈥檚 a massive investment in the writing process. We [writers] mapped scenes out and pitched things over and over. There was much less rewriting than in Britain and consequently when we wrote our first drafts, we wrote them very quickly. I wrote mine in four days.鈥</p>
<p>However, you don鈥檛 need to go to the US to experience the American way of working as, increasingly, it鈥檚 being adopted here. Matt has recently been working on <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2310212/">Mr Selfridge</a>, which runs a mini-Writers Room. He says: 鈥淕radually producers have learnt that it鈥檚 better to spend a bit more money initially so writers can spend more time with the lead writer and really feel a series and understand what it is... But you鈥檙e still undergoing the process of writing drafts, getting notes and rewriting. That鈥檚 the same whether you鈥檙e in a Writers Room or home office.鈥</p>
<p>鈥淚 think people love to be negative about both the British film industry and the whole notion of Hollywood,鈥 says Sam, 鈥渁nd I鈥檓 sure they have their reasons, but I think there鈥檚 brilliant creative work happening in both places, in film and TV.鈥 Melissa agrees. 鈥淚 used to think Britain didn鈥檛 like big concepts,鈥 she says, 鈥淭his couldn鈥檛 be further from the truth.鈥</p>
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<p>Unlike writers who spend many years trying to get to Hollywood, Matt never had a dream to do this. For him, living in LA and writing for a US television show was a surprising but enjoyable opportunity. It 鈥渃ame out of the blue,鈥 he explains. 鈥淎nd it was great, it was a fantastic experience. But my first love is British television.鈥 He鈥檚 currently working on two new pilots: one for Channel Four and one for 麻豆约拍 America, but he would like go back to LA in the future.</p>
<p>Nearly 15 years after I was in America, I feel the same. And so, as Melissa and Sam head off to Hollywood for their awards ceremony and Ed rattles through his 鈥渃razy schedule鈥 of meetings there, I start planning ways I too can step out of a plane at LAX into the world鈥檚 most glamourous car park. 鈥淒ear UCLA, you know you said 鈥榠f ever I want to come back鈥?鈥欌 Dear Nicholl Fellowship, do you ever use British script readers鈥?鈥 鈥淒ear Valerie, do you still have the truck鈥?鈥</p>
<p><em>Sally Stott is a script reader for the 麻豆约拍 Writersroom and regular contributor to the 麻豆约拍 Writersroom blog.</em></p>
<p><em><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/writersroom/authors/dc2b5f1a-d614-3b2c-949d-435d88f993e7">Read more posts by Sally on our blog</a>聽</em></p>
<p><em> <a href="http://iamstott.com/">Find out more on her own blog</a>聽-聽including a blog about her time in LA and other stories</em></p>
<p><em>Sally Stott is on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/sallystott">@sallystott</a></em></p>
<p><em>Watch interviews with <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/be-inspired/nicola-shindler">Nicola Shindler</a> & <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/be-inspired/bryan-elsley">Bryan Elsley</a> on our website</em></p>
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2012-10-29T14:50:26+00:002012-10-29T14:50:26+00:00/blogs/writersroom/entries/4150e246-837a-3929-86f4-060224daf10dPaul Ashton<div class="component">
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<em>Established writers talk about how 麻豆约拍 writersroom can help new writers.</em>
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<p>Whenever we do live events 鈥 Q&As, masterclasses,
workshops 鈥 writers always want to know about success stories. As we鈥檙e so busy
beavering away making things happen for as many writers as we can, it鈥檚
sometimes easy to forget to make a fuss of those times when the magic really
works.<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/about/success-stories-and-commissions"> So here鈥檚 more info about some of those success stories</a> 鈥 original shows
that came out of our work, and 麻豆约拍 shows/strands for which writers have gone on
to write. <br><br>At a glance, it鈥檚 well over 100 writers who have gone on to be commissioned
and produced for TV and film, and well over 200 for radio - which by any
standards is a very real success rate. We鈥檝e had writers go on to be nominated
for and win a BAFTA, we鈥檝e had an OSCAR nomination, we鈥檝e had Imison,
Tinniswood and Sony award winners. But more importantly, we鈥檝e had writers who
have developed a long-standing relationship with the 麻豆约拍 - in some cases
various parts of the 麻豆约拍 鈥 and writers who are now some of the most
sought-after talents and voices of their generation. And for each and every one
of them, it all essentially started with a script.</p><p><em><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/about/success-stories">Find out more</a> about some of the writers who we have developed.</em></p><p><em>Explore opportunities for writers on our <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunities/">Opportunities page</a>.</em></p>
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2012-09-10T11:27:48+00:002012-09-10T11:27:48+00:00/blogs/writersroom/entries/f78f1230-2f87-3aec-8456-55d235cddf08Debbie Moon<div class="component prose">
<p>Wolfblood was inspired by a shelf of second-hand books. Which just goes to prove that writers can get inspiration from pretty much anything. I was standing in a charity shop, browsing the books, when my brain somehow read half of one title and half of the one next to it, producing a new title聽 - Wolfblood.聽 鈥淚nteresting,鈥 I thought. 鈥淲hat鈥檚 a Wolfblood?鈥澛 And thirty seconds later, I was dashing out of the shop to buy a notebook and pen and start scribbling...</p><p></p>
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<img class="image" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/320xn/p00ydf5n.jpg" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/80xn/p00ydf5n.jpg 80w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/160xn/p00ydf5n.jpg 160w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/320xn/p00ydf5n.jpg 320w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/480xn/p00ydf5n.jpg 480w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/640xn/p00ydf5n.jpg 640w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/768xn/p00ydf5n.jpg 768w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/896xn/p00ydf5n.jpg 896w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/1008xn/p00ydf5n.jpg 1008w" sizes="(min-width: 63em) 613px, (min-width: 48.125em) 66.666666666667vw, 100vw" alt=""><p><em>Image from C麻豆约拍's new drama Wolfblood</em></p></div>
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<p>I knew pretty quickly what the story was about: a girl who鈥檇 always kept a secret, abut her family and herself, and a boy who threatened to betray that secret to the world by refusing to live the way she did. It would riff on werewolf clich茅s, but it wouldn鈥檛 be bound by them. Being a Wolfblood wasn鈥檛 a curse, but just who they were; they would have to change at full moon, but could also transform at other times. There would be echoes of The Incredible Hulk, Jekyll & Hyde, and perhaps most all, The X-Men, who often had more problems with just being teenagers than with defeating super-villains鈥</p><p>What I didn鈥檛 really know was what to do with the idea. I was more used to writing genre pieces 鈥 science fiction, crime, thrillers 鈥 and I鈥檇 never written for children. But when the writersroom announced an open call for children鈥檚 drama scripts, in association with C麻豆约拍, the opportunity seemed too good to miss.</p><p>When Wolfblood made it through to the final round, I was among the eight writers whisked off to a remote conference centre for a few days of intensive development. This also functioned as an introduction to the unique challenges and possibilities of writing for eight to twelve year-olds. Children view the world very differently to adults, and the desires and emotions that would drive an adult drama may not appeal to them. It鈥檚 also a challengingly wide age group to write for: you can鈥檛 scare or bore the younger viewers, but neither can you pitch the story too far towards older viewers. A good C麻豆约拍 show has to have something for everyone.</p><p>To my amazement, Wolfblood was one of two projects chosen to be developed by C麻豆约拍 鈥 and then the real work began! 鈥淒evelopment鈥 is probably the most accurate term in television: you鈥檙e taking something largely unformed, like a negative from a camera, and developing it into the best possible version of what that negative contained. Characters get bigger and bolder, locations and plot evolve to reflect the themes of the series, backstories, rules and mythologies are tweaked to ensure we have interesting places to take the characters. </p><p></p>
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<em>Jimi is the school bully and his side kicks Liam and Sam are never far from him.</em>
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<p>The real elephant in the room, though, was money for the visual effects. A show where characters regularly take the form of wolves is never going to be cheap 鈥 and it was vital that the wolf-forms felt every bit as real as the human characters and the dramatic Northumbria locations. A co-production deal with ZDF/ZDFE brought in European funding, and with German FX house Trixter on board, we were finally ready to go鈥</p><p>As I and the team of other writers raced to finish the scripts, filming started 鈥 in the coldest, wettest and generally most hostile February for years! Cast and crew shivered through night shoots in the woods, presumably cursing my name... </p><p>For me, the major attraction of television writing is that you鈥檙e creating a starting point for a collaborative effort. Your ideas don鈥檛 just sit there on a page 鈥 they inspire others to contribute their ideas and skills to a work that鈥檚 bigger and better than any individual鈥檚 contribution. What started as a random made-up word is now a whole dramatic world brought to life by dozens of talented people. And now the audience can share that world too.</p><p>So, welcome to Stoneybridge, where no one is quite what they seem 鈥 but be careful in the woods, especially at full moon鈥</p><p><strong><em>Debbie Moon is the writer and creator of <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01mtsh2">Wolfblood</a>, a brand new fantasy action drama for C麻豆约拍.聽 Watch the first episode today at 17.15 on C麻豆约拍.</em></strong></p><p>聽</p>
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2012-05-15T09:38:17+00:002012-05-15T09:38:17+00:00/blogs/writersroom/entries/a38d84ac-c816-3283-82dd-2abded21b7daRachel Delahay<div class="component prose">
<p>Henry鈥檚 calling. I know what he wants. It was the deadline for our short plays yesterday and yes, shock horror, I missed it. I ignore the call, send over the piece and call him back ten minutes later 鈥渟hocked鈥 and 鈥渟urprised鈥 his email blocked it the first time. (and people ask if I鈥檓 still acting!)</p><p>Despite this ropey start (I won鈥檛 even get into the details of how my first draft included a character whose name changed half way through) the play, after one night at the<a href="http://www.live.org.uk/"> Live Theatre</a> in Newcastle was selected to be transformed into a radio play for 麻豆约拍 Radio 3 show, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01h629r">The Verb</a>. Amazing! They see my play, a play about race, about skin colour and hierarchy, a play that鈥檚 cast list read something a little like this- SAFIA-BLACK, TANIA-ASIAN, PETER-MIXED RACE鈥 they saw this as being the perfect play for鈥. Radio?! Hang on a second鈥</p><p>But somehow it worked, without the line 鈥淗ello Tania, my India friend鈥, appearing once (though I did try and fight for that line to stay in). And I had done it. Had my first professional radio play produced by the 麻豆约拍! My mom was beyond proud, and convinced me over the phone, as she made her way around Aldi, that this could possibly bump us up to middle class, meaning winning on every level!</p><p>Only that wasn鈥檛 it. It wasn鈥檛 enough that I鈥檇 made the deadline (kinda), completed the rewrites, and conducted several telephone meetings with the director to ensure we were all on the same page. Oh no, now they wanted me to do an on-air interview to discuss the issues raised in the play. Don鈥檛 get me wrong, in true actor style, I am actually very fond of talking about myself and my work but the pressure of persuading what I assumed would be the textbook Oxbridge listeners of 麻豆约拍 radio, that I had something important to say was proving a little too much. The only real thing I know about my play is it鈥檚 theme touches on Shadism. The only real thing I know about Shadism is that it probably isn鈥檛 a real word. This was going to be fun.</p><p>Mom assured me not to worry, as I was one of them now, just with a slightly more regional accent, and a cheaper education but after that, basically cut from the same cloth. I was not so convinced. My vocabulary isn鈥檛 as big as I鈥檇 like and there was a massive worry I wouldn鈥檛 understand the questions or be capable of constructing a coherent response. Being from Handsworth, I was used to verbal arguments being won with a passive aggressive 鈥渨hatever鈥, or in extreme situations gunfire, but I was savvy enough to know probably neither of these would suffice at the beeb.</p><p>Now I know what you鈥檙e thinking (if you鈥檝e made it this far into my rambling thoughts), how on earth does someone who struggles to articulate themselves end up as a writer, but this is precisely the reason why. In real life I鈥檓 the person that comes up with the perfect retort an hour after everyone鈥檚 gone home! On paper my thoughts can make logical sense (this piece perhaps excluded).</p><p><br>In actual fact the interview was a breeze. The brilliantly welcoming team up in Salford, along with cake dropped the pressure no end. Yeah, some words were thrown around that made me wish I鈥檇 brought a thesaurus but everyone was interesting and passionate about their work which made me excited about mine. In fact maybe a little too excited. </p><p>Getting on a bit of a soapbox I threw out statements I might have only felt comfortable enough to say in front of friends to then look around and see that I was obviously the only minority in the room. That wasn鈥檛 too awkward鈥 but I figured if they considered anything to be too radical, or generalising they鈥檇 edit stuff out. And they didn鈥檛.</p><p>Lesson learnt- trust yourself a bit more. </p><p><em>Rachel Delahay聽was one the 10 writers selected for our Writersroom 10 scheme to support emerging theatre writers.聽 Her play, 'LockSmiths' was broadcast on Radio 3's 'The Verb'on Friday 11th May -<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01h629r"> listen back to it on 麻豆约拍 iPlayer.<br></a></em></p>
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2012-04-13T10:58:29+00:002012-04-13T10:58:29+00:00/blogs/writersroom/entries/16d639d5-0812-3d22-9a8f-c84d07eeedc4Jimmy Osborne<div class="component prose">
<p>鈥淭here鈥檚 no point entering,鈥 said an optimistic friend through a mouthful of sandwich. 鈥淭here鈥檒l be hundreds of submissions. The odds are not good.鈥 I鈥檝e only just seen the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/writersroom/posts/hackgate">Writersroom Hackgate Rapid Response</a> competition with six days to the deadline. 鈥淒on鈥檛 waste your time 鈥 you鈥檝e no chance,鈥 is his ego-bolstering parting shot. I don鈥檛 tell him he鈥檚 got egg mayonnaise down his chin. Six days to write a ten minute play? He鈥檚 probably right鈥ut what if, hang on, what if I set it in someone鈥檚 voicemail? And what if鈥?<br><br>One day of thinking. Two days of writing. Three days of rewriting and it鈥檚 in. A week later <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/scripts/this-is-jack">鈥淭his is Jack, Leave a Message, Alright?鈥</a> is selected as one of the winners and is published online by the Writersroom. Brilliant. Take that Egg Mayonnaise Man. Job done. Thing is, I like this play that didn鈥檛 even exist two weeks ago. If the Writersroom like it then maybe someone else will. Two months later it鈥檚 performed as part of the Little Pieces of Gold showcase (advertised on the Writersroom). The audience really go for it. Three days later an agent gets in touch. They saw 鈥淭his is Jack鈥︹ Would I like a chat? Have I got anything else to show them?<br><br>Over the last nine months this is what I鈥檝e heard more than anything else 鈥 鈥淲hat else have you got?鈥 A single script (especially a short) can get people to take notice, but everyone wants to know what鈥檚 next. I鈥檇 been working on a full-length play, 鈥楳eat鈥, with up and coming theatre company FallOut Theatre. The play wasn鈥檛 in bad shape, but the Hackgate competition really got me fired up 鈥 not in bad shape isn鈥檛 good enough. So I rewrote the play the way I wrote the short 鈥 fast, not worrying about what anybody would think, just writing what mattered to me. The agent liked it. Job done.<br><br>I start the next play. While I鈥檓 doing that I send 鈥楳eat鈥 and 鈥楾his is Jack鈥︹ to Theatre503 and between them they get me a meeting. The Hackgate win gives me something concrete to talk about and a little (much needed) credibility. <a href="http://www.theatre503.com/">Theatre503</a> give me some great critical feedback on my work and we resolve to stay in touch. Earlier this year they offered <a href="http://www.fallouttheatre.com/">FallOut Theatre</a> a slot in their 2012 season for 鈥楳eat鈥. Job done.<br><br>Except that it鈥檚 never 鈥榡ob done鈥, is it? You finish one story and another begins itching at the inside of your head, or you see a competition and it kick-starts an idea, or someone says that it can鈥檛 be done so you do it anyway. The main thing that the rapid response taught me was to only think about the story I wanted to tell and how to tell it my way. Get it on the page. Leave the worry, the 鈥榥o chance鈥 and egg mayonnaise to someone else. <br><br><br><em>Jimmy Osborne was one of the three winners of the 麻豆约拍 writersroom Hackgate Rapid Response callout.聽 Download the script for his entry - </em><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/scripts/this-is-jack">鈥淭his is Jack, Leave a Message, Alright?鈥</a><em><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/scripts/this-is-jack">. </a><br><br>Jimmy鈥檚 play 鈥楳eat鈥 will be on at <a href="http://www.theatre503.com/">Theatre503</a> from 5-30 June 2012.</em><br><br></p>
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2011-02-25T10:17:32+00:002011-02-25T10:17:32+00:00/blogs/writersroom/entries/6323c834-1896-3e5c-a293-3060ad99b4b9Ceri Meyrick<div class="component prose">
<p><strong>Oscar nominations and other news</strong></p>
<p>It's Oscar weekend, and Writers Academy graduate Tom Bidwell has been nominated for his short film <em>Wish 143</em>, made through the Writersroom's scheme 麻豆约拍 Drama Shorts. </p>
<p>Tom's inspiring story as a writer is told in this Guardian article: </p>
<p>http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/feb/24/oscar-nomination-tom-bidwell-short-film</p>
<p>And, if you haven't seen it when it was posted here before, here's his film: </p>
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<p>Tom teamed up with Casualty director Ian Barnes to make his film, and in addition, former EastEnders director, Tom Hooper is up for awards for hot favourite best film <em>The King's Speech</em>. All in all a good week for Continuing Drama.</p>
<p>" A huge percentage of our continuing drama graduates have gone on to play major roles as directors, writers, producers, script editors and commissioning editors, across not only the British television industry but the American one as well.", says John Yorke, Controller, Drama Production and New Talent. </p>
<p>We even made a film about it...</p>
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<p>In addition this week Continuing Drama has announed the appointment of an External Writers Ombudsman to look after the interests of writers working for the department. Tony Garnett, the hugely experienced and respected independent television producer has agreed to take on the role.</p>
<p>The purpose of an ombudsman will be to offer writers the opportunity to benefit from Garnett's wealth of expertise as a script editor, screen writer, director and producer when they feel they need third party guidance beyond the 麻豆约拍 or Writers Guild. </p>
<p>The new role is set to support 麻豆约拍 Continuing Drama's on-going drive to attract and develop the highest quality talent and place writers right at the heart of the drama production process. The new role has been set up with the blessing of the Writers Guild who work to protect the interests of all writers working in the industry.</p>
<p>And finally, Writers Academy applications will be open this year from 11th April. For details of the online application process keep you eye on this site. </p>
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2010-07-20T09:13:09+00:002010-07-20T09:13:09+00:00/blogs/writersroom/entries/23a3b880-00e1-3d35-9a54-034fa21d3cd0Ceri Meyrick<div class="component prose">
<p>Two theatre writers and six TV writers make up our selected eight this year. The standard of writing was amazingly high, so it was a tough choice. So big congratulations to...</p>
<p>Patrick 麻豆约拍s<br>
Fiona Peek<br>
Paul Matthew Thompson<br>
Natasha Langridge<br>
Peter McKenna<br>
Matt Broughton<br>
Andrea Page<br>
Matthew Barry</p>
<p>... and we are really looking forward to working with them all over the next year.</p>
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2010-06-28T13:47:25+00:002010-06-28T13:47:25+00:00/blogs/writersroom/entries/3d944536-27b0-35b2-b9bc-002158fda6adCeri Meyrick<div class="component prose">
<p>We've now shortlisted our Writers Academy entries down from over 600 to 150 and now to 24 - all of whom will be coming in for workshops in the next couple of weeks. We will then select a dozen of these for interview to pick the final eight. This is the first time we will have met many of them, and also the first time in this process that they will be considered on anything else but the quality of their writing.</p>
<p>To everyone else who applied - you should have had a "No" from us by now. If anyone hasn't - please get in touch with us. </p>
<p>We do not offer any feedback at this stage, and I wanted to try and explain why, as I know some people find this frustrating, after spending so long in applying and waiting for an answer. </p>
<p>- The scripts are all read several times by different people (we share the load amongst many of the Script Editors/Researchers/Readers/Producers who work in the drama department - i.e. the people you'll eventually be working with) and so focussed feedback on individual scripts is impossible with the sheer volume we're dealing with.</p>
<p>- So often I end up telling people simply that I thought the scripts that got through were better - sharper dialogue, clearer characters, better stories etc... not really what people want to hear. "So you're saying my dialogue's bad then? That's not what I've been told" is what they tend to come back with. Of course I don't mean that, but the fact is the Writers Academy is a competition - we take a decision on one script - it's rather brutal, but necessary for this scheme to work. I would say, however, that I and my team spend the rest of the year considering scripts from agents at (relatively) greater leisure, so get yourself an agent and you and I can have a longer conversation about your work in the future.</p>
<p>Finally, I broke down the final 24 according to what kind of scripts they were - as I always get asked this by people trying decide what to submit. It looks like this:</p>
<p>TV Screenplays - 9<br>
Film Screenplays - 6<br>
Stage Plays - 6<br>
Radio Plays - 3</p>
<p>Interesting in the light of recent debates on the blogs about where TV development people source their writers from. Can I just say that I source writers from ABSOLUTELY ANYWHERE, and I don't actually care what medium the script is in if it's good. </p>
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2010-02-24T23:09:21+00:002010-02-24T23:09:21+00:00/blogs/writersroom/entries/d0efd052-6127-3d9c-82b3-9f7737f0c1c1Dominic Mitchell<div class="component prose">
<p>I always find the suicide of a successful artist shocking. Such as Alexander McQueen this past month. Take a profile shot of his life and all seems gleaming: World renowned in his chosen field, rich behold comprehension, famous friends and famous admirers. He achieved everything this society says you need to achieve to be content. But for whatever reason, tragically, it wasn't enough. With the eroding of religion we need a new type of heaven to look forward to. A man made mortal heaven where everything will be okay. Better than okay. Blissful. The new heaven is "Making It" in whatever stream of life you choose to swim; medicine, finance, sport, art, politics. You name the career, there's a divine peak everyone's trying to reach and when you manage to reach this golden summit you are assured that All Will Be Well. </p>
<p>I don't count myself any less of a climber in the Peak Distinct of Attainment. Starting out I would spend hours rambling around the Internet Movie Data Base, searching out writers who I respected and scrutinize the year of their first big break with the year of their birth. If I calculated that they had made it in, say, their early twenties. I'd become agitated and depressed. But if I found out that they'd made it, say, in their late thirties, I'd rejoice; "there's still time," I would think, "I still have an enough years to break on through". This is a ridiculous practise, of course. It helps to develop your skills as a writer in no way whatsoever, while simultaneously injecting severe doubt and insecurity into your head. Comparing careers is like crack cocaine for the struggling writer - the laptop and data base sites become the paraphernalia and the information becomes the freebase. I've been off it for years, but sometimes, late at night, I'll catch myself on doodle.com checking out Anthony Neilson's D.O.B. </p>
<p>As I carried on up the mountain of Making It I found that, like all promises of promised lands, there were pit stops, sub divisions, side roads and above all mirages. Another person's accomplishment was another's disappointment, and one's person's perceived failure was...you get the idea. When I was in York one time for a new playwrights conference I met a fellow scribe who knew me by name - we'd never met before but he had heard about me and was "very excited" to finally be introduced. I was flattered but I was also completely bemused. I did not consider myself successful in any sort of way (not according to my ordnance survey map of Great Achievement) but here was this lad looking at me thinking I was on the divine path to Making It Nirvana. Hmm. </p>
<p>When we finally get to Making It Nirvana we expect certain things to evaporate instantly. Such as loneliness and poverty. These of the two biggie burdens that we demand to be taken off our tired shoulders. Though this doesn't always happen. I know two very successful scribblers that have achieved the peak and still suffer the same old frustrations. A playwright friend of mine and winner of the prestigious George Devine Award was telling me the other day that he still can't afford to give up his day job in a bookstore. Even though he has commissions coming left right and centre and a residency at a top new writing theatre. Another writer I know whose show got 5 star reviews last year and was in the running for national awards, got so lonely at a party once that he ended up in a corner reading the Guardian. And not the fun G2 section either. This playwright had to fend off isolation with just the World Affairs pages. Ugh. </p>
<p>So even if you get to the summit you still have to contend with real life I guess. Real life never goes away. Which pisses me off somewhat as I was lead to believe that real life would be magically got rid of when you manage to reach Making It Nirvana. But then I consider - would I want real life to be disposed of? Would that make me, in some way, I don't know, artistically buggered? Think about the true success stories, the ones who rocket past the Making It plateau and storm into the realm where yes indeed real life can be blasted apart along with any kind of human struggle. These titans in the sky get million dollar deals and Oscars galore and then turn in very bad art very quickly. Their next project, once in the cosmos of success, is often rotten and riddled with clich脙漏s.<br>
Is it possible perhaps that to continue to make good art, Making It Nirvana must always be kept out of reach, there to be climbed but never conquered? <br></p>
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2010-01-22T11:15:53+00:002010-01-22T11:15:53+00:00/blogs/writersroom/entries/abbddf85-5f30-3219-bdc8-b9d2738586bePaul Ashton<div class="component prose">
<p>Jo Ho's original new drama series for C麻豆约拍, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00qbvzt">Spirit Warriors</a>, begins today at 5.45pm. Jo came to the attention of C麻豆约拍 through one of the regular meetings we have where representatives of departments from across the 麻豆约拍 come together to discuss writers. Her calling card script was recommended to the C麻豆约拍 development team; Spirit Warriors is the eventual result of the conversation that began when they invited her in for a meeting to discuss her ideas on the basis of her script. You can also read our <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/insight/jo_ho.shtml">interview </a>with Jo.</p>
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2010-01-15T11:22:57+00:002010-01-15T11:22:57+00:00/blogs/writersroom/entries/4f81ec32-98a7-3469-8856-149a1b3f81a3Paul Ashton<div class="component prose">
<p>Next week, the original series <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/insight/al_smith.shtml">Al Smith</a> developed during our Radio Drama Series residential scheme in 2008 is being broadcast during <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/">Woman's Hour</a>. </p>
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2009-11-26T12:31:51+00:002009-11-26T12:31:51+00:00/blogs/writersroom/entries/b2869aa0-2088-3db6-9944-b5912ad11d2fCeri Meyrick<div class="component prose">
<p>It's Week 11 of the course and the writers are all redrafting their "graduation" pieces - an episode of Doctors. If these scripts are deemed OK by the show, they will then pass on to their full commisssioning round on Holby, Casualty and EastEnders starting in January. As this will be the first piece of TV drama some of them will ever have have made, it's a big moment. </p>
<p>It's been a rollercoaster few weeks for us and them, and it always goes by in a flash, so it's hard to believe it's nearly over. They've written wonderful adaptations of fairy tales - some of which I'm sure will get made as films one day. They've stood on sets and watched filming. They've structured and restructured the same episode of Holby City. They've watched a lot of telly and lots of movies. They've had wonderful generous sessions with Russell T Davies, Richard Curtis, Tony Jordan, Peter Bowker and a host of other writers at the top of their game. But most of all they've written, written and rewritten. </p>
<p>So they're about to go off and do one of the hardest and most rewarding writing jobs in television. Any advice you want to give them, you writers out there? The experienced and the less experienced... what should we tell them?</p>
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2009-10-01T12:43:47+00:002009-10-01T12:43:47+00:00/blogs/writersroom/entries/ba7b5ab6-242e-3556-a861-2cc7e9f2ba7cCeri Meyrick<div class="component prose">
<p><strong>Busy Busy</strong></p>
<p>So the course is up and running, and the writers have been working away for three weeks now up at the classroom in Elstree. I won't embarrass them by talking about them, but perhaps I'll persuade one or two of them to contribute to the blog soon. Anyway, it's all going very well. They've had lectures from John Yorke on structure, character, and from others on production, casting, acting and formatting. They've had set visits to EastEnders, Holby and Doctors, and are already working away on their first Doctors script. This morning we've had Richard Curtis in talking to the group - a huge treat. </p>
<p>Last night we had a bit of a reunion of all five years worth of writers. They all still seem to be mostly friends. And the sense of being together as a group each year, still helps them through the toughest commissions. That, and the paranoia that they think everyone else is doing better than they are!</p>
<p>Also today sees the launch of the new Continuing Drama pages on the writersroom website. We've put up a lot of information about the various ways we get new writers on to the shows - through our Shadow Schemes and the Writers Academy. There is also an interview with John Yorke, who talks about what writers need to write for Continuing Drama. We hope the pages will be a source of information for writers and agents alike, and much of what is on there comes from questions asked by regular contributors here. So... thanks.</p>
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2009-08-25T11:07:59+00:002009-08-25T11:07:59+00:00/blogs/writersroom/entries/80a03578-72bb-3c7b-88b2-fa8dc56aecdfCeri Meyrick<div class="component prose">
<p><strong>"Is It Fixed?"</strong></p>
<p>...I hear some of you ask. "Don't you just give places to writers you know anyway?"</p>
<p>It's true we do know many of the writers who make it on to the course. But that's because me and the team spend the rest of the year reading work and meeting writers. It's our <strong>job</strong> to know as many writers as possible. We read submissions from agents, go to the theatre, speak at courses, attend readings, talk to other parts of the 麻豆约拍, get scripts sent from the Writersroom - all year round. I have - oh - fifteen scripts from writers who's work I've never read on my desk at this precise moment. </p>
<p>However, the joy of the Writers Academy application process is that total unknowns (to us) make it through. I've had a look at this year's short list to give you an idea. </p>
<p>28 writers were shortlisted for the workshops. Of those...</p>
<p>Six were writers who's work we hadn't come across at all<br>
Six had applied in previous years (one of those had got through to the interview stage and one had been shortlisted in previous years)<br>
Six were writers whose work we knew because their agents had sent it to us<br>
Five were writers whose work had been sent to us by the Writersroom<br>
One was a writer I met on a Writersroom course<br>
Two were theatre writers who we'd met after seeing their work<br>
One was recommended to us by Radio Drama<br>
One was recommended to me by a Script Editor</p>
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