Screenwriting Professionally: 2022 edition

Another year, another time to reflect on the highs and lows of my screenwriting efforts. Some big pushes, some amazing experiences, and some terrible reversals. I was also able to finally travel again after nearly three years of being stuck in London, so huzzah!

I had dubbed 2021 as being 'one step forward and two steps back'. Is that also an apt summary of 2022, per what I just wrote? Well, that'll take a bit longer to explain. No more preamble, let's just go!

Jan-Mar (Winter): 

In past entries, I've written that this is the 'quiet' period of the year for me. Not so this time - a few days in, an email lands in my inbox and BAM, won ITV Original Voices and got to be one of the four placements on Emmerdale. It would be an even split - part done at home, part hauling myself up to Leeds and getting to work in ITV Studios. I got the second slot, meaning my tour of duty would start in March.

Don't think that meant I was slacking off though: I was grinding away a pitch for my episode of Doctors. I had sent a script off to a lovely producer on River City. I also got hired to consult on a children's book about disabilities, being published by none other than Penguin Random House (thank you Laura Henry-Allain). A picture book for little kids and their families, it offered a simple and colourful introduction and guide to disabilities, what they entail and how to make a better world for them. It aimed to be supportive, thoughtful and celebratory - no tragedy or sadness, here!

I wished for so long to have things pep up at the start of a year - well, I got it!

Apr-Jun (Spring):  

Busy busy busy! Emmerdale was a rollercoaster, going from storylining to script editing to finally a trial script. Always on my toes and always new challenges, surrounded by a fantastically helpful team. Those were some lively rooms, with no shortage of jokes (and sweet treats to boost morale!) and I even got to visit the interior sets - the Woolpack, the various houses, the prop room, all very cool.

And if you think that was all on my plate, oh ho ho no! I was doing a long overdue rewrite on the pilot script for Brenda and Effie, aiming to extract more from the wonderfully wacky world of Paul Magrs' unique imagination. River City got back to me in remarkable time, we got chatting and I was eventually able to set up for my own episode (bypassing the shadow scheme used by other soaps). It was frantic and tiring, but you know what? It was also exhilarating. Years of strife and struggle, doubt and fears over my own ability, and here was not one but two major UK dramas validating my ability.

It wasn't all sunshine, however: on top of a string of annoying stomach bugs, I also found Doctors sputtering a bit - there was a change in script editors, which left my pitch needing to undergo more rewrites. To be clear, the new person (or interim, rather) was very nice and helpful, but it was now approaching half a year since I'd been given the go-ahead to do an episode, and still it wasn't moving as I'd have liked it to. In addition, due to the new workload, all work on original specs had to stop, meaning I was now two years without a new spec available for my agent. Still, better money coming in than not.

Jul-Sept (Summer): 

And here comes the not-fun part of this trip down memory lane. I wrapped Brenda & Effie and then dove into River City. Got my first payment for the script, which I proudly showed my folks - I HAD MADE IT! What was meant to be the culmination of my journey thus far, the next step into television drama, however, turned into a crushing defeat. So enraptured in my own desire for success was I, I wasn't taking my notice of my own wellbeing. After three years of no real break or holiday (if I wasn't writing, I was planning or doing some other work), my mind was out of it. I hadn't seen my brother or my nephew in even longer, missing out on seeing him grow up. I wasn't spotting things in my work, and that's when mistakes started happening. Big mistakes.

I wasn't happy - every rewrite just didn't sit right with me. Something was missing, something wasn't clicking. I hadn't got the voice of the show right, even if I was writing passable drama with proper structure. With feedback and deadlines tight, an ability to recalibrate was also not on the cards. I was up at dawn, pounding out words without the passion or fun that should come with the craft. It was monotonous, draining and my desperation to finally conquer a personal milestone was likely all that was keeping me chugging. Until I got the phone call that is.

It hurt. The River City staff were kind and graceful, don't misunderstand, but I was kicking myself. I hadn't seen the problems, and now, it was too late. I made a decision: I had to get out. Get out of London, get out of the UK, just get away from writing for a while. Recharge. Re-evaluate. Clear my head and see what changes needed to be done. So, I joined my family over in Spain for their holiday, met up with my brother (but not my nephew, alas) and took the clean country air. No internet, just food and folks. It was exactly what I had been needing for a long time.

Oct-Dec (Winter again): 

Coming back to the UK (and boy howdy, had things happened in my absence!), I knew what I needed to do: Get my passion back and write original specs. How? By completely upending my writing methodology and routine, taking help from The Organized Writer by Anthony Johnston. A complete rethink of how I scheduled my day and how much work I took on: if I was to make things right and put myself back on track, I needed to work smarter, not harder. Split the day up by projects into short, manageable chunks.

Result: most output I've done in a long time, with stress down and some comprehensive treatments finally written. They currently comprise a cosy crime, a thriller and a teen drama, with some other stuff kicking around. After such a long gap, it feels incredible.

And  that's not all either: been talking to some shows, so see what comes of that; done some more consultation work on the disability book as well as on a children's project. Doctors is still an unknown, though conversations have been happening.

 

'One step forward and two steps back': to answer myself, is it an accurate summary of 2022? I mean, did I really go backwards at all? I am still grateful for the successes I did have, even with my loss. I got right into the beating hearts of major shows and learnt a lot, even revising and changing some of my own methods along the way. I didn't hit my big target, but I hit smaller ones along the way.

Most important, and this is another point I raised in the last recap: I implemented long overdue changes to how I work. It's a shame it took what it took, but I'm glad for it. We can get so buried in our work and dreams that we forget to take a step back and realize that something isn't working anymore. We need to be able to tap the brakes and rejig: even a few days away can do wonders to clean the cobwebs.

What do I want out of 2023? Well aside from the usual of gigs and pay, being able to get the new specs, however they turn out, out into the industry. Variety is not just the spice of life, but also of an artistic career, and I want to get into more exciting and thrilling genres of TV. I know I have more to offer and i want to showcase that. Film? One day perhaps...

Dealing with Reversals and Coming Back Better

Today, I got the news that many a writer, regardless of field, dreads: 'we are not continuing further with you'. I will no longer be writing the episode of River City I was commissioned to back in July: I simply wasn't able to capture the right tone for the show. 

Now to be clear, the executive producer was very gracious in his phone call with me, and he did offer an open return in the future, which was nice and I am grateful for. He commended the script that I had used to get on the show in the first place, which was also very nice.

Perhaps you expect me to do a big old sobfest and cry and moan. Say how unfair it is and how I was totally great at it.

No.

Fact of the matter is: I wasn't ready and, maybe because of frustration with how other projects had gone, I was banking too hard on it being 'the one' (the magic ticket I have so often denounced on this blog). Even as I was writing the drafts, I couldn't help but have a sense of unease, like something was missing. I actioned the notes, best as I knew how, but something just kept on niggling me.

Did it hurt when I got the news? Of course it did. 

Was I upset for a while? I mean yes, why wouldn't I be? I don't think it's a bad thing to acknowledge that. We are human beings: we feel and feel deeply. There's no shame in saying that and it's not unprofessional. One thing I pride this blog on is honesty and, as a second, transparency. If something doesn't work or changes, I say. If I don't believe something, I say. I don't run away from mistakes and I take them as learning experiences. In turn, I hope you learn from them.

The reality is, these things happen. Talent is no protection against, sometimes, missing the mark, and it happens to everyone and anyone: Paul Abbott got booted off Doctor Who; Peter Morgan has scripts rejected all the time by big producers; William Goldman has a whole treasure trove of 'almosts' in his filmography. My point is, if this does happen to you, don't let it crush you. You're not a hack or a fake or a 'bad writer': you're learning. The issue is not making mistakes, it's not learning from them, which is what I intend to do. What will I do now: Have a break. Regroup, refresh and then go back into specs.

A big thanks to the team on RC, who were genuinely great, and hopefully, not my last trip to Shieldinch.

What is a 'Dedicated' Screenwriter? - A Response to John Fusco

Work ethic is a core part of any writer's life and career - you want to be good and get work? Got to put in the hours to get both, constantly improving your work and widening your net of contacts, be they editors, publishers, or for this blog's purpose, producers in film and TV. A writer must have a level of discipline to ensure they not only write, but get better and produce plenty of spec scripts.

Of course, what 'writing discipline' is is fairly fluid - does it mean setting page counts? Word counts? Is it how many hours you write every day/week, or even setting fixed times of day? Is it goals for how many drafts/passes you do on a project before sending it out? Well, Young Guns and Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron writer John Fusco, a name those with 90s and 00s nostalgia should know well, offered up this tip (which has seemingly been removed since, given some responses).

                                

Now, in the interests of clarity, the purpose here isn't to cast aspersions on Fusco. Indeed, he's not the first writer to offer this particular advice: before him, George MacDonald Fraser (of 70s Muskeeters and Flashman fame, one of my favourites) opined that a fierce determination, with no exceptions, to writing was the correct path (he had written the first Flashman novel while working as a newspaper editor), as have others. The argument being that writing requires sacrificing any time in the day that could be considered 'you time', including leisure, family, friends and, here, sleep.

Like some responses this comment generated, I can't agree with Fusco here. I get the sentiment, but ultimately I think it's clouded by an important piece of missing context and doesn't take into account an unfortunate contemporary truth: when Fusco started and where many screenwriters start today is not only profoundly different, but that the very way life is structured is different. While this advice is to instill discipline, it may have the unfortunate side effect of doing harm to one's health.

If that sounds a bit hyperbolic, let me break it down more: I've tried to help writers from working class and other lower socio-economic backgrounds on this blog, to give them not only ways to learn craft without an expensive degree, but also ways to navigate the business and get something in return that doesn't require bankrupting yourself into making an all-or-nothing short or indie feature. Too much screenwriting and indeed filmmaking advice, I found, was aimed more at people from well-off backgrounds, who can afford to do all that with little in the way of major inconvenience or consequence. Your short doesn't make it to festival, or your feature doesn't cut it for distribution? Maybe your script didn't make it into some paid script contest? Oh well, Can always bounce back.

That's much harder when not only your money is tighter, but also when your circumstances aren't as carefree. Even before the cost of living crisis we are heading into, we had over a decade of stagnating wages, zero hour contracts, unpaid overtime as 'work ethic' and other predatory practices that lead to working people having both less money and, importantly here, less time. Less time for hobbies and, vitally, less time for personal needs: Friends, family, education and even the ability to change career paths, which no shortage of writers are attempting to do. We've got record levels of depression and mental health issues due to this toxic combination of elements, and yet, the type of advice Fusco is offering presupposes a person with different circumstances.

If you've got other commitments or are overworked or suffer from something that impacts your quality of life, how on earth is taking away what time you have for you supposed to be a good thing? Yes, writing does require graft, but there's a difference between making a choice versus a commitment. If you already have a full day dominated by work, what does sacrificing sleep actually accomplish? You can't write well if you're tired or worried about other things, and it's not like there's some kind of prize for doing it. You may be writing more, but writing is a process full of trial and error - there's no trick to making it 'go faster' or, as Fusco may be implying, prove that you're a 'real screenwriter'.

While I don't claim to have the body of work Fusco does, I can say from my experience I've never met a producer or development person who asked about work ethic or how long a script took to write. What did they care about? IF THE SCRIPT WAS GOOD. 

THAT'S IT.

THAT'S ALL.

Work should be hard on the work, not on the worker. Don't let advice from people who entered the business 20, 30, 40 years ago put you into a compromising position (Fusco himself had his first pro-screenplay made right out of film school back in the 80s, Walter Hill's Crossroads) where you have to choose between your dream versus your wellbeing. It's a false conflict: work when you can and give yourself room to have a life. Be with your friends and family and enjoy hobbies, such as you can: plus, it'll help you find inspiration for stories too. Make your writing schedule work around your life, not the other way around.

Deadlines and targets can be very useful, but be flexible: look at your week and see what can be allotted that isn't going to make it unnecessarily stressful. If you can only write for two hours on Sunday, or on Friday evening, do that. Like I said, no one in the business cares how you write: just that you can write well. When you actually get paid and are in the industry, then you can think about setting down something more extensive. So long as it's on your time and dime/penny, well, you decide what to put in.

Write at your speed. If you're not enjoying the process and learning from it (what I think a 'dedicated writer' should strive for), then what are you actually achieving?

I'm writing River City!

It looked like it was going to be a quiet summer after I did my time with Emmerdale... and now I have just gotten commissioned for an episode on BBC Scotland's River City! Created by Stephen Greenhorn (who also wrote some David Tennant Doctor Who episodes that I have nostalgic fondness for!) this long running drama is, to sum up logline style, a Scottish Eastenders: all about the trials and tribulations of a working class neighbourhood in Glasgow. Love, secrets and lies in a half hour - what more could you ask for?

 

As if that wasn't enough, there was no trial or scheme this time - I sent a spec, they liked it, we talked and bam, got the real deal. My first guaranteed broadcast drama credit, and my first broadcast TV episode since Pablo (and not for lack of trying either).

 

 

 

Big, big thanks to Joanne Sneddon and Isabella Barber on the show, for giving me this opportunity, as well as Michelle Goode of Writersofluid, whose notes service helped polish the drama script that got me onto the trial in the first place (indeed, the same that got me Doctors, Emmerdale and my agent. A gift that truly keeps giving). And not forgetting my friends and family either, who've had my back and kept me going. 2022 has truly been a whirlwind year, and knock on a whole forest's worth of wood, this won't be the last of it!

(P.S. The longtime reader may be wondering 'hey, what happened to Doctors?' Well, on top of my commitment to Emmerdale's Original Voices, there have been a few changes in personnel, meaning I got put on the backburner. With luck, it shan't be a lot longer till I have something to talk about there...)

WHAT GOES IN A SCREENWRITER'S CV? - Screenwriter's Survival Kit

Curriculum vitae, CV or a resume - whatever you call it, almost every job requires one. It's basically a combined work history along with a quick pitch for you yourself and your skills. When it comes to writing, there will be times (especially when you are without an agent) where you will be asked for one, or it will be handy to have to provide a little more context about your and your work.

However, just like there exist many templates for non film/TV CVs, what a CV in this field needs to look like varies. For writers, my advice is one of emphasis: sell YOU and what YOU OFFER. A bunch of waffle about your hobbies or some swimming prize at school (or for that matter, a long list of where you went to school) won't help. Focus on what you write/have written, what you've won and what makes your voice different and special. 

Let me breakdown on what to include (this is what has worked for me in the past, and it's how I was taught by a film producer). This applies both to total newbies and those of you who have/'are building a small body of work. Maybe you've even scored your first commission (congrats!) and want to know how to best present/highlight that. Here's my steps:

1. Full name. Ideally in a bold font. I'd also recommend keep this, 2 and 3 center-aligned: it's more appealing. Don't bother with wacky Publisher designs and colours.

2.  Contact info and personal websites - your blogs, your social media profiles (that you want to share - all this is info you have to be okay with a potential producer/collaborator looking at). Also, when you get an agent - put their details here.

3.    Write a Brief introduction – this is just a quick summary of where you’ve studied and what you’ve worked on. Succinctness is really key here, and tie it all into your goals to work in this industry - 2 paragraphs and boom. Why does it make YOU matter, why does this make YOUR STORIES special.

4.    Your credits – everything you’ve worked on in film/TV, and I do mean everything. Episodes, features, shorts, web series etc. Don't fuss too much over the chronological order - focus on the ones that you think are the best/have gotten the most attention. If you can, include hyperlinks to them. 

5.    Development – any other script projects you are working on right now AKA your spec scripts. Don’t need to be finished, and despite the name, don't have to be ones you have sold to a real production company: just mention them quickly here with a logline (a short description that contains the hero, villain and the conflict of the story) and if there is a treatment available (always good for gauging interest and building a little early interest).

6.    Additional credits – everything that isn’t film or TV. These will be useful if you're newer to screenwriting and need to bulk up the CV. Books, short stories, comics, podcasts, plays, games, visual novels etc. Like with social media, only share what you want people to see (I'd avoid fanfiction, though fan projects like fan films or audios can be used, depending on the quality of the production).

7.    Education – as you build more credits, you won’t really need this, but list where you’ve studied at University level. No need for anything earlier than that - doesn't serve any purpose. If you went on a specialized course, or a major school (like Met Film, NFTS etc.), it may be worth mentioning a notable teacher or mentor from the industry. Never know who you could bump into out there, after all, and a familiar name can always be a hand.

And there you have, seven steps to a more useful CV. Hope that helps out.

Your Script's First Draft Will Suck... and that's fine

They call it the vomit draft for a reason. Like it or not, you will never get everything right on the first try with a script. Heck, it's unlikely you will, even on the second or third. A good writer gives themselves the breathing room to not only create, but to make mistakes and learn from them. You have to develop a critical eye and know what makes a compelling story tick. How do you find three-dimensional and complex characters? 

Cracking dialogue? 

Deep and resonant themes, raised through engaging conflict?  

Rewrites. 

Understandably this can be a hard pill to swallow for newer writers: if you're trying to juggle a day job, the thought of your ticket to fame and fortune being a long haul is unappealing. You want success and you want it now, so why can't your script be gold the first time?

Because writing, like art and science, is an experiment. 

IS THERE A WAY TO SPEED IT UP?

Depends on what you mean - if you want to write quicker, be more of a free wheeler (or pantser, as in 'by the seat of your pants') in your method. 

If what you mean is 'can I cut crap sooner?', that's a tougher question. There are some things you can try, but so much of writing is, as stated, trial and error. You'll never be able to get everything fixed the first time through, because it's the first time. Something that looks great in an outline can utterly collapse in script form. I speak from experience. It's not worth becoming one of these paranoid 'I must get it all done now now now' writers because you will never get work out there with that mindset.

SO WHAT THEN?

Here are some things you can do to help your first draft writing be less painful and speedier.

• Read lots of scripts: The more you read, the quicker you'll be able to sniff out crap in your own material. In fact, I'd argue these will help you more than watching the movies, as you will see how their tricks were done. Like a magician, you can't do a trick if you don't know how it was done. Furthermore, don't just read the Oscar winners: read junk! You'd be surprised how much you can gleam from reading the three terrible scripts for Tim Burton's Superman Lives, or two different drafts of the Will Smith (topical reference?) bomb Wild Wild West.
• Get a proofread and break down: whether it's from a writer's group or a script editing service (as always, shop around and get a good deal), get a second pair of eyeballs on your treatment or beat sheet. They will give you notes, and from there, develop a more detailed feedback breakdown.
• Scene by scene brainstorm: A handy tip from William M. Akers (New Adventures of Superman) in his book Your Screenplay Sucks!: 100 Ways to Make it Great. Take each scene in your outline and give them a whole page, write a basic description of what it does and then the rest of the page is just brainstorming ideas to make it better. Don't worry about spelling or grammar or anything, just splurge everything and anything.
• Space it out: A classic tip I've shared before, but one I will bring up again. Don't do too many rewrites on the same project back-to-back, and try to shake up the genres you write in. You might find some inspiration in working on a horror and then a comedy versus two horrors consecutively. With a treatment, because it's not a script and so you're looking at it from an 'outside' perspective, I think this reset is important to help clear your thoughts and see the weak points.
  

Also, attitude is important: acting bigheaded and defensive when people do comment on your work, or even when you yourself go over the idea and dismiss any possible issue, is unhelpful. There's a time to defend your work, and there's a time to be open and experiment. If you want a first draft that will be worth anything in the long run, the latter is what you need to do.

SHOULD I GAMBLE ANYWAY ON A SUBMISSION?

It's not worth it - yes there are those one-in-a-million stories like John Hughes writing Ferris Bueller in days, or how fast Stallone wrote Rocky, but those films were in constant refinement and had the advantadge of, y'know, money and studio support. You're on your own so you have to adjust your expectations. It's not worth blowing a potentially great contact or contest shot by submitting something that's not ready.

WHAT IF IT DOESN'T WORK AFTER I'M DONE DRAFTING? LIKE AT ALL?

It happens, and it's nothing to be ashamed of. 

It's not.

Sometimes, ideas don't generate the stories we think they can and that's fine. So as long as you're not promising it to anyone, this isn't a big worry. You didn't fail, it just means that idea wasn't right or you didn't think through or break it down enough. Don't let one mistake throw you off - you can always get back up and start fresh. That's what is so great about writing: you can always start over. Making a mistake isn't the problem: not learning from it is.

PAYMENT AND DOING FREE WORK - Screenwriter's Survival Kit

HERE COMES THE MONEY! Money money money money! 

Hey, you've got to eat and live too, you know: your worth, what you can expect and command, is a vital part of being a professional screenwriter. You deserve to be remunerated for your work and should never take less than what you're worth.

But how do you find out? Can a new writer be worth much? And should said new writer be offering their work for free, for the sake of 'exposure' or 'credit', the two tantalizing carrots that many a filmmaker and aspiring producer dangles.

FIRST, KNOW YOUR WORTH

This one is really easy: The Writer's Guild of Great Britain (and their American counterpart, the WGA) has rate cards for basically every medium - film, radio, TV, games etc. Just go over to their website and there is it, simply find one that matches your project. You might get tripped up by the differing names of the agreements (like BBC, ITV etc.) so if in doubt, and if your project is more on the indie side, just use the PACT rates. They tend to have the most adjustability.

If it's from a legit production company with a bit of branding and cash to their name, then they will usually already have the cash amount sorted in advance (in compliance with the Guild, but double check just to be sure there's no funny business), though they may ask you still. In that case, choose the highest as pertains to the medium of the project (TV, film etc.).

WHAT IF THEY CAN'T PAY?

This is a sticky one, because there are exceptions and particulars to consider. The big one is: do you know the person? 

If they are a good friend or family member and just need help on something, then I say alright. A freebie there is understandable.

If you do not have a pre-existing relationship, if this is someone who is approaching you out of the blue, then it's best to fully suss out the project and do your homework:

• Do they have any sort of online presence?
• Do they have any kind of track record?
• What is their budget range and market?
• How fast do they want turnaround and how long is the project meant to be?

Anything like a full feature film or a TV pilot should be remunerated - that's where I say a flat out NO to free work should be placed. It's a lot of effort to write either of these and you get nothing of substance out of it (and word to the wise, if they offer a 'net percentage' or something post-release as the main pay, that's a no too. Too shady and unreliable).

If it's a web series or short film... first, check out the rates and see what could suit the budget. Talk it through with the person - if they say no, then you have to consider the following: 

• Is the workload worth it? 
• Will it stop you from pursuing anything else in the meantime? 
• Can it be fitted into your schedule and life? 
• Does the person have a game plan for the project? 
• Do they want to take it on festivals, promote, create buzz? 
• How will they do it? 

If they want you to give up your time, the least they can offer in return is professionalism.

YOUR DESPERATION

This is a dangerous siren call - no matter how much it looks like you'll never break in, never leave yourself vulnerable to exploitation. For every scumbag who will screw you hard, there's someone out there who will treat you well. If the person looks or sounds dodgy; if they are vague on details; if they sound like they are promising the world, stay away. STAY FAR AWAY FROM THEM.

Do not let yourself get scammed. Nothing is worth that. NOTHING.

5 More Things I wished Amateur Screenwriters would JUST. STOP. DOING.

One of my most popular pieces on this blog was about five things I wanted newbie writers to stop doing. These were bad behaviours, choices and general non-nos that only guaranteed a one-way ticket away from the industry. My goal with this blog is to, hopefully, inform and aid newer writers in their decisions and save them time by avoiding doing the really dumb stuff. Stuff so dumb you'd think no would ever do that, and yet, a casual look in screenwriting groups and forums always yields these fruits.

So, just like Hollywood, why not cash in with a sequel?

STOP PROMISING STUFF TO PEOPLE THAT YOU CAN'T GIVE

I get it - you want to make a big impression. Collaborate and network with as many people as possible, say yes to as many gigs as possible because hey, credit's credit. You want to be the best, the fastest, the smartest, the deepest, the hardest, the wisest, the most honest, the--

CUT IT. Just, cut it there. 

Overpromising with your time and skillset is a surefire to mess up what ground you have gained, and what relationships you have built. One needs to be open at the start of their career, but you have to be realistic. As it's unlikely writing is your day job yet, your time on it is limited and precious. If you know that all you will have time for is one or two specs, focus on them. Don't try and write five or six shorts or a webseries, deplete your personal life and leave a bunch of people unhappy. Likewise, when you meet people in the industry, don't babble about something this is far, far away from being ready.

STOP GAMBLING EVERYTHING ON ONE CHANCE

Everybody wants the Cinderella story. I get the appeal: one lucky roll of the dice, one turn of the wheel, one magic ticket to everything you ever dreamed of. You pour your all into one script, convinced that this will be your ticket forward, and then submit it to the most prestigious contest or open call you can. The one that promises mentoring, commissions, money! The answer to your every problem, surely?

And when you don't make it through, it feels like the pits and you question why you even bothered. 

Look, disappointment is natural and it's an important feeling - there's no shame in being hurt. But don't build your entire writing schedule around just this one shot: network, look for other opportunities and, as I've said many times, keeping a rotating portfolio of projects to work on. You can have a script or contest you want above others, but getting rejected from the BBC Writersroom or Austin or the Nicholl is not the end of your career and proceeding to then throw tantrums about it online is no better. Give yourself a bit of time, relax, and get back on.

STOP ADAPTING IP YOU DON'T OWN

Fanfilms, even fanfiction, can be a lot of fun to write, but that's not what I'm talking about. Time and again you see people on forums ask how they can make a movie or show based on a still-copyrighted IP, or how they can pitch to said copyright holder (usually a big studio), as they already have, and I want to really emphasize this, written a script based on it. Before any kind of agreement.

I hope alarm bells are going off in your head after reading that: you just threw away days, weeks, months, on something that you are highly, highly, unlikely to be able to do anything with for years, if not decades. Is there a way to get the rights to something? Yes, you can contact the IP holder (like an author) and ask about how much the film/TV rights are, but usually this is purely at a pitch stage.  Without a body of work, without some kind of proof of your ability, this is a complete waste of time and your priorities are all wrong. Write original material, make people excited about YOU.

STOP SPAMMING PROS WITH YOUR SCRIPTS

Everybody wants mentors and everybody wants contacts. You want to get better and you want to know people. Sometimes, a pro writer can be open, whether through a reading service, a mentoring programme or just simply be conversant on social media. Or you do what I suggested with networking and reach out to development staff. Sometimes you may get luckier and find you and they get along and think on the same wavelength. So you take the shot and send a script. Only problem: you forgot to ask. 

Please people, always ask first. It's not hard. Pros are busy and that they are giving you their time is something to respect. Never, ever treat anyone in a way you yourself would not want to be treated.

STOP KILLING YOURSELF WITH OVERWORK

Hey, like poetry, this rhymes with #1. However, there is a difference between the two: this one is solely about you and your time, not what other people want from you/you need from them. 

A lot of writing advice, however well-meaning, tends to posit that the true writer, the true artist, is a single-minded machine and much devote every moment they can to working on their magnum opus. Typically, this comes from the perspective of someone who hails from a middle/upper class background and has the time, income and even support to do that. If you don't have that safety net, don't. It's not worth it. Write at your speed.

Well, wasn't that a mouthful? But I hope it's helped you. At least, it may have saved you some embarrassment.

BBC Doctors Writer's Scheme - An Inside Look

The biggest news of 2021, for me, was my successful completion of the Writer's Scheme for BBC One's Doctors. The long running medical drama about the goings on at a Birmingham GP surgery has been running since 2000 on weekdays, delivering five half hours of daytime drama a week. It's also become known as a 'gateway' show for those seeking to get into TV drama: a fast and cheap show with a good amount of freedom to pitch stories on. 

How do you get on it? 

The writer's scheme (or shadow scheme, as it was known in the old, old days), which is what it sounds like: a multi-week bootcamp, teaching you the ropes of the show as you develop a mock episode. You succeed, you get to do one for real. The other BBC soaps/continuing dramas also use this system to find new talent. 

But HOW do you get on that? 

Well, you have to be referred to it. Usually by your agent, but it can done by contacting a producer or script editor on the show directly, pitching one of your drama scripts and sending it in to see if they'll bite. Choose your best script, naturally, but if i had another bit of advice to give: give them something lean, of a modest budget and with a strong heart and sense of community/relationships. A VFX extravaganza with a lot of action won't do you any favours.

What's the actual scheme like?

I'll take you through each step, with a date stamp. In between each one, I had a phone meeting with my script editor, to talk over notes and discuss the best changes. Timeline wise, the official line is six weeks, but due to COVID and other production issues (remember, the script editor is working on real episodes while also doing your trial) this can fluctuate.

12/08/21 - Today, I delivered my first pitches. Doctors is divided into two components - the day story (the B plot, which is what you pitch) and the serial story (the story arc, which the storyliners work out in advance). You as the writer are told to submit several short pitches (about one or two lines) for the day story, an incident for the team at the Mill to deal with. The emphasis is on the character drama, however, not the novelty or rarity of the disease a character has. You're not writing The Strain here. You've basically got a 15 mins short film within the episode, so it has to be tight and emotional.

19/08/21 - Now that the pitch has been selected (one about an autistic boy and his son trying to figure out a path in life now that they are both older), I worked on a treatment. It's a 2 page document that outlines the whole story, with a clear beginning, middle and end. Because it's so short, it's really vital to make the emotional beats really clear - being vague or ambiguous is not good here. You also need to bear in mind that, well, one of your characters is a doctor - there are things medical professionals can and cannot do. Your script editor will point things out, but be sure to do some revision first.

(Quick time savers for you - they cannot hand out pills just like that; they cannot just leave the surgery save for house calls and double check which doctor has which specialties.)

 

31/08/21 - Treatment is approved, so went off and did a scene breakdown (basically a beat sheet of the entire episode, with both plot lines). What's interesting, when I look back at this stage, is appreciating how even 'quaint' or 'low-key' dramas, ones that are more relaxing or simple compared to the big flashy shows, still rely heavily on effective twists and structuring. Yes, Doctors has twists and surprises, because it's a drama. You cannot wing your way through this - 30 mins can be an eternity if done wrong.

14/09/21 - Breakdown got a thumbs up, with some notes. My script editor opted to go to script draft, so after writing, the first draft has now shipped. Getting into the actual script is a new challenge - unlike most TV drama scripts, the continuing dramas/soaps have different formatting. Instead of Final Draft and all the usual rules, Doctors' drafts are done in Word with a different set of guidelines - among the main ones is everything is centered right instead of the middle like FD; action lines are far, far more detailed as, given the show's tight budget, you have to be clear about everything needed in a scene; and you have to provide a cast and location breakdown at the front of the script - how many people, which regulars, non-speaking roles, bios. If it's in your story, you have to mention it here.

28/09/21 - First draft notes received a few days back, now completed rewrites on the second. By and large, my script editor was happy with the progress. The main notes were mostly relating to character voice accuracy (a common pitfall that can be remedied by just binging episodes on iPlayer) and the tone of some scenes. Only one scene needs drastic altering as it wasn't working and felt out of place.

The interesting thing is, while you are given a bible and clear guidelines to follow, once past the first draft you're allowed to be a bit looser with them, if the episode demands it. A character you may have had forced on you in the serial outline (since a Doctors episode is split between two plots, as discussed above) can be taken out. The goal of the first draft is just to see how everything you've created (for the day) and been asked to put in (the serial) work together, and see where the balance is off. It's more flexibility than I had expected, to be honest.

19/10/21 - And after a short phone chat with my script editor, I got the go-ahead to do a real episode! Starting back from square one, of course, but I was amazed at how quickly this came together. In total about two months, so longer than the official length, but not by much. Honestly, I'm still surprised I got greenlit for the real deal on the second draft.

One of the best takeaways from all this has been learning how to turn around something fast while working to a high standard and deadline. While I prize myself as a fairly quick writer, this served as a reminder not to take shortcuts or assume too much with your work. Detail and clarity are king. Where it goes from here, well, I'll just have to wait and see.

Hope that was interesting for you. Any questions, sound off below!

I'm joining Emmerdale (ITV Original Voices 2021)

Only a few months after my big score on BBC's Doctors, this happens. 

I completed the 2021 ITV Original Voices scheme (you may recall I did the 2019 intake for Coronation Street, but didn't make the final four. If you want to refresh, or learn about it if you're new, here) and got chosen to do a three-month comprehensive placement in the story and script departments of this long-running country drama. It's not unlike the Writer's Scheme from Doctors, but more expansive: you learn every step that it takes to make an episode. At the end, I do another shadow/trial script for the show. If they like it, well, who knows what opportunities arise?

It is amusing for me to get this: Emmerdale has been a constant in my life, coming in and out. Being the son of Spanish migrants who grew up rural, the show always gave me a cozy nostalgic feeling when I was away from Spain. Back when I was at Met Film School, doing my masters in screenwriting, I met none other than head honcho of the ITV soaps, John Whiston, down in London. Really nice guy, had lots of advice about television and we stayed in touch since. He even read and really liked a script of mine!

So, a big fat thanks to everyone on the Emmerdale team, for giving me this opportunity, as well as Michelle Goode of Writersofluid, whose notes helped the script that got me onto both Original Voices schemes, as well as on Doctors (a reminder that a good script keeps on giving and giving). And not forgetting my friends and family, who've cheered me on as the application and test script for this part of the scheme were done on super-tight turnaround. Including the great Mr. Josh Merritt, a fine artist in his own right, cheerleading me on.