Honest Advice for new Screenwriters in 2024

(This is an updated & expanded version of Honest Advice for new Screenwriters in 2023, in light of more recent developments and my perspective as an agented writer).

This piece is aimed at anyone in the UK who wants to write scripts: maybe you're just starting or coming off a course (BA or MA), or are the intrepid outsider gung-ho-ing it with a copy of Save the Cat. You want to write movies and TV, maybe even get a shot at working on a big franchise like Doctor Who or Eastenders. 

I must first salute your first step into a creative field. It's exciting and when it comes together on the page, a sublime feeling!

You will also no doubt be aware of everything else happening - the country is dealing with a cost of living crisis, and our entertainment industry has not been spared. The fallout of the (fully justified) SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes in America, and an animation strike around the corner; rising costs leading to many in UK film and TV being out of work, with many more having left altogether, and most recently, the cancellation of a slew of shows, including longtime training ground Doctors.

It's undeniably a grim picture right now: nerves are frayed, slots are being cut and with money low, the dream seems even more out of grasp. For the new arrival to this field, you may be doubting your decision to try script writing. Perhaps you've made some headway and now, things have dried up and you fear a career change is not far. Did you waste all that effort?

I've always endeavored for this blog to not just be optimistic, for the sake of new writers navigating an often frustrating business, but practical: to give you resources to find your way. So if you are a nervous student, or a curious enthusiast, here's my recommendations for what you can do. I'll split these into two categories: SCREENWRITER and LIFE.

SCREENWRITER

1.  If I can advise spending a little on something, invest in a copy of The UK Scriptwriter's Survival Guide: (for clarity, this is not a paid promotion.) Veteran film and TV scribes Tim Clague and Danny Stack (Eastenders, Doctors, Thunderbirds Are Go) give a practical, no B.S. guide on what you can do to help yourself get a foothold in the industry. I honestly believe this should be compulsory reading for all new screenwriters, as it will open your eyes to many possibilities (some we'll quickly touch on below too), as well as give you useful tips and tricks to navigate the business and avoid dead-ends.
2. No matter what genre or style you like to write in, keep your scripts budget-friendly. Be conservative and smart with your sets, number of characters, production value and big set piece moments. Be mindful of locations too - do you need to be in London, for example? In TV terms, what's your precinct (where characters will spend most of their time) and how much can you get out of it? This is also true if you write movies: the Hollywood machinery doesn't exist here and your best bet is the world of microbudget feature films. 
3. Use this time and downturn (Inside the industry, the word is 'Survive till '25') to build a portfolio of scripts: 3 is the usual advice, but I'd say with the way things are, 5-6, in different mediums/genres is a better investment of what time and energy you have. And I don't mean 5-6 scripts you've just written - I mean 5-6 scripts you have polished and are proud of, which may be your ninth or tenth overall! And prioritize returnables over limited/miniseries.
4. Sharpen the hell out of your logline and pitches. Never before has a succinct and easy way to sell your script mattered more - can you sell your show in one page, and even in just 30 words? That hook can make all the difference to if a producer or development person wants to add you to their huge reading list.
   
5. Screenwriting and its storytelling methods don't just apply to movies and TV - it's writing, after all. With what you learn, you can diversify into other fields that do put up jobs in a more familiar way (sites like LinkedIn, Indeed etc) than the detective work associated with the big two. Web content (like scripts for Youtube videos), video games, podcasts, copywriting (writing adverts, written website content, promotional materials, pamphlets), all of these will utilize the skills you learn. Indeed, there are other roles where your skills can be used, as I discuss here.

 LIFE

1. Keeping or getting a day job is not a sign of failure or that you need to give up your writing dream - it's literally what's keeping you fed and alive. Balance and finding time to write can be done.  If you take an extra few months to write a script because you've got other priorities, so what? It's not a race - just write something good and damned be if it takes six months or two years to write. No one has ever, in my experience, cared about length of development: just the end result.
2. Connected to the first - if you have to retrain in a new field, it doesn't mean you can never write again. You'll have to adjust the timescale, again, but it's not impossible and not worth beating yourself up over.
   
3. Take breaks. For the love of God, take breaks, do other things and just refresh yourself when you can: a trip to the park, play with your kids or pets, grab a big Mac. It will clear out mental cobwebs, lower stress and might help you find that missing piece in your story.
   
4. In the middle of economic hardship, the standard advice of 'make your own thing' can be, at least, a little insensitive and presumptive. This also doesn't account for the freefall in independent theatre, so scratch nights are a dicier prospect (though if you have a way in, take it). If you were to ask me 'I don't have a lot of spare time or money. Should I do a short film, a video webseries, or a comedy/drama scripted podcast as a showcase/first credit?', I'd say pick the podcast - far lower costs and logistics than anything visual, everyone has a decent-quality mic on their phone or laptop nowadays, and it puts your unique voice as a writer front and center.
5. Even when things pick up again in the next year or two, everything in film and TV will still be rather SLOW. Everything takes time, reading backlogs have never been bigger, and everything is about your initiative and productiveness. This is not a career for those who are lazy or just expect, for whatever reason, things to come to them.It also means don't be disheartened if a script takes months to get read. I take about how to check in here
   

The simple takeaway here is that building a career in the arts is hard. It was already really hard, but the economic plight and years of questionable decision making has compounded that challenge. But, and this is the fuller takeaway, it's not without little rays of hopeful sunshine, twee as that might read. So long as you keep practicing, keep writing and keep on experimenting, you still have a chance, and this industry needs you.

(P.S. If you can, follow The TV Mindset and share #Leftinthedark, to highlight the failure to support freelancers in this industry.)

Honest Advice for new Screenwriters in 2023

This piece is aimed at anyone in the UK who wants to write scripts: maybe you're just starting or coming off a course (BA or MA), or are the intrepid outsider gung-ho-ing it with a copy of Save the Cat. You want to write movies and TV, maybe even get a shot at working on a big franchise like Doctor Who or Eastenders. 

I must first salute your first step into a creative field. It's exciting and when it comes together on the page, a sublime feeling!

You will also no doubt be aware of everything else happening - the country is dealing with a cost of living crisis, and the entertainment industry has not been spared. Between rising costs and the fallout of the (fully justified) SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes in America, many in the UK film and TV industry are out of work, and many more have left altogether. It's undeniably a grim picture right now: nerves are frayed and with money low, the dream seems always just out of grasp. For the recent arrival to this field, you may be doubting your decision to try script writing.

However, I've always endeavored for this blog to not just be optimistic, for the sake of new writers navigating an often frustrating business, but practical: to give you resources to find your way. So if you are a nervous student, or a curious enthusiast, here's my recommendations for what you can as your next steps, even in economic turmoil and uncertainty:

1. Keeping or getting a day job is not a sign of failure or that you need to give up your writing dream - it's literally what's keeping you fed and alive. Balance and finding time to write can be done.  If you take an extra few months to write a script because you've got other priorities, so what? It's not a race - just write something good and damned be if it takes six months or two years to write. No one has ever, in my experience, cared about length of development: just the end result.
2. If I can advise spending a little on something, invest in a copy of The UK Scriptwriter's Survival Guide: (for clarity, this is not a paid promotion.) Veteran film and TV scribes Tim Clague and Danny Stack (Eastenders, Doctors, Thunderbirds Are Go) give a practical, no B.S. guide on what you can do to help yourself get a foothold in the industry. I honestly believe this should be compulsory reading for all new screenwriters, as it will open your eyes to many possibilities (some we'll quickly touch on below too), as well as give you useful tips and tricks to navigate the business and avoid dead-ends.
3. Screenwriting and its storytelling methods don't just apply to movies and TV - it's writing, after all. With what you learn, you can diversify into other fields that do put up jobs in a more familiar way (sites like LinkedIn, Indeed etc) than the detective work associated with the big two. Web content (like scripts for Youtube videos), video games, podcasts, copywriting (writing adverts, written website content, promotional materials, pamphlets), all of these will utilize the skills you learn. Indeed, there are other roles where your skills can be used, as I discuss here.
   
4. No matter what genre or style you like to write in, keep your scripts budget-friendly. Be conservative and smart with your sets, number of characters, production value and big set piece moments. In TV terms, what's your precinct (where characters will spend most of their time) and how much can you get out of it? This is also true if you write movies: the Hollywood machinery doesn't exist here and your best bet is the world of microbudget feature films. 
5. In the middle of economic hardship, the standard advice of 'make your own thing' can be, at least, a little insensitive and presumptive. If you were to ask me 'I don't have a lot of spare time or money. Should I do a short film, a video webseries, or a comedy/drama scripted podcast as a showcase/first credit?', I'd say pick the podcast - far lower costs and logistics than anything visual, everyone has a decent-quality mic on their phone or laptop nowadays, and it puts your unique voice as a writer front and center.
6. Use this time and downturn to build a portfolio of scripts: 3 is the usual advice, but I'd say 4-5, in different mediums/genres is a better investment of what time and energy you have. And I don't mean 4-5 scripts you've just written - I mean 4-5 scripts you have polished and are proud of, which may be your ninth or tenth overall!
   
7. Even when things pick up again, everything in film and TV will still be rather SLOW. Everything takes time and everything is about your initiative and productiveness. This is not a career for those who are lazy or just expect, for whatever reason, things to come to them.

The simple takeaway here is that building a career in the arts is hard. It was already really hard, but the economic plight has compounded that challenge. But, and this is the fuller takeaway, it's not without little rays of hopeful sunshine, twee as that might read. So long as you keep practicing, keep writing and keep on experimenting, you can survive this.

Screenwriting Advice for BA Students... From a Masters Grad (Part Six: Why it's okay to fail)

And now, in the homestretch, let me put on the brakes and give you some sage words. Words that I've come to appreciate after my experiences, and words which I didn't fully get until I lived them:

Making mistakes is not the problem: NOT learning from them is.

You're a new screenwriter, still finding your voice and what genres you are genuinely the best at. You'll make mistakes, no matter what you do. You'll write flaccid dialogue or wonky structure or poor characters. You'll make something too big for your level, both in industry terms and your own writing experience, and you'll make something too small, that has no appeal or story engine.

And you know what? It's okay.

No really, not setting you up: it's alright to make mistakes and write crap. It's not the end of the world if your first or second script suck the big one and make no sense: you're still learning. Getting to the end of a draft is a victory: do you know how many people can't even make it to page 30? Being able to do a complete rewrite is another victory: how many people stupidly think their first draft is perfect?

However, these small victories will mean nothing if you can't exercise, arguably, the most important tool in your writing arsenal: critical thinking. Learn and understand why something isn't working, and then develop ways to fix it. How can you make this line of bad dialogue sing? How can you make this boring character interesting? How can you make this moment of tension even bigger? Trial and error, that's how. It's slow, it's tedious, but worth every second.

You know that else? Projects can collapse on you: talent will back out, money gets lost or overspent, scripts will not work out etc.. Just this past year, I had a fantasy feature and a sci-fi short die on me. Last year, staffing on two webseries. You take it in, have a deep breath and, if you really want this career, soldier on. Again, learn from it.

You know the one mistake that is genuinely inexcusable? Being an arrogant tit.

I've remarked on it before, but I'll say it once more for those suffering from selective reading (a common malady on the internet): 
If you're a pain, no one will work with you.

You're a no-name at the bottom of the heap, untested and unproven: you DON'T get to act all big and tough, telling people more experienced than you that they're wrong. If you can't be bothered to write a decent logline, or a comprehensible synopsis, or even just being able to state what your project's about, why oh why, do you think ANYONE will treat you with respect?

In what fairytale la-la-land do you think you can get thousands, nay, millions, of pounds/dollars invested in you with poorly spelled, generic, bland and whiney proposals and scripts? Really, I'd love to know: it'd make my life a whole lot easier.

Just look at this joker from a Facebook screenwriting group (he's asking for an actor, but I've seen countless wannabe writers do the same thing). When I tried to point out that his presentation was uninformative and unprofessional, look what he wrote in response (top comment):

I am sick and tired of seeing lazy pitches like this on FB, as well as forums like reddit, Stage32 and Amazon Studios. I am fed up with this missplaced sense of entitlement and bad attitude towards your peers. If you think, even for one second, that the industry owes YOU something, you're out of your mind. If you think you can just waltz onto a forum or Facebook group and DEMAND things, like exec emails or producers' cash, you're also nuts. And if, and this is arguably the worst yet, get snippy and defensive when people try to HELP you, then please, do society a favour and check yourself in.

Harsh? Yes, but necessary: it's such a basic mistake that, by avoiding, you already put yourself light years ahead of the competition, just like with basic proof reading and saying 'thank you'. Everything about being a screenwriter is in the details. Take it from Joe Carnahan:

And with that, we've arrived at the end of our strange little journey. I really hope you found this series of use and will, at least, be spared a few headaches. Like I said before, I can't give you miracle cures or cheats: I can only tell you what I've learnt and am still learning. I'm still a student of the medium, and I'm well aware that there will be ups and downs along the way. There will be producers I don't impress, or scripts I can't finish, or series I can't get involved with, but you know what? I'll still keep going, because I know I've got the tenacity and hunger to want it that bad, and to work that hard.

Screenwriting Advice for BA Students... From a Masters Grad (Introduction)

Oh joy, another writing blog with advice and recommendations. 

How novel. 
How inspiring.
How impactful.

But this time, it's for students. Wait, what?

Why single them out? Because I know what it's like for you right now, and I wish someone had told me what I'm about to tell you. Yes, you. The e-surfing student reading this right here, right now. You're not sure where you're heading, not sure where you are right now, armed with a degree you're not completely clear on and having just finished a grad script you're not entirely sure of.

I know that tune. All too well.

Being a BA student with screenwriting desires is hardly a new or unique phenomena: you realize directing isn't everything it's cracked up to be, and you just don't have the piss and vinegar to be a producer. So instead, you create that first step in any production: the script. You dream of Hollywood paychecks on franchise movies and Oscar glory, or perhaps the hordes of adoring fans at Comic-Con when you become a hot new Netflix showrunner, cranking out binge-friendly series and starting tumblr shipping wars by the thousands.

However, as soon as graduation is done and you start trying to get out there, you find the environment hostile and disheartening: agents won't look at you; producers and companies hide behind the seemingly invincible clause of 'no unsolicited submissions'; that short film that you slaved on during graduation isn't cutting it at the big festivals; even your precious degree doesn't make any impact. The day job at Sainsburys or Subway is still your day job six months, possibly even a year, on. Nothing's changed and, seemingly, nothing will. It's all been for nothing and you should've listened to Mum and become a lawyer instead.

You're wrong. So very, very wrong.

Soon to graduate from the Met Film School MA Screenwriting programme, and with some work experience on the horizon, I learnt a lot that, in retrospect, I wish I had known when I graduated with my BA in Film back in 2015, only to meet with failure and confusion for two years before signing up to Met in desperation. Some of it felt so obvious yet, bizarrely, was never discussed back at University. Certain half truths of the industry and its ways that I once thought were absolute gospel were, basically, fictions. In short, I didn't know jack.

Examples of these semi-fictions?

1. AN AGENT DOES NOT GET YOU WORK.
2. YOU DO NOT NEED AN AGENT TO TALK TO A PRODUCER OR DEVELOPMENT PERSON.
3. YOU DO NOT NEED TO SLAVE AWAY ON JUST SHORT FILMS FOREVER.
4. THERE'S MORE TO SCREENWRITING THAN MOVIES AND TV.
5. YOUR SKILLS ARE CROSSTRANSFERABLE AND CAN WORK IN MANY ROLES.

Interested now?

The goal of this series of posts is to help you, the graduating or even second year Film student with an eye for screenwriting, make smarter, stronger, clearer choices. I'm not here to give you magic formulas or exec emails, but to simply better prepare you for the industry and how you can actually make contacts, opportunities and yes, even a bit of money at it, even if it's not on blockbusters and prime time dramas. I should know, because I'm doing it right now!

The first part will be released next week, and every installment subsequent will be released fortnightly.And even if you're not a student and are just some fresh faced, wannabe screenwriter in the UK, then I hope these will be of service to you too.

Now then, are you sitting comfortably?

Good, then join me in Part One, when I look at the basics of craft and what you should be reading. Advance tip: get a library card.