FADE OUT...

Being a screenwriter is difficult, lonely and sometimes soul destroying work. You are often sat isolated at a desk for days/weeks/months on end, continuously delivering blood, sweat and tears on the page in the hope someone likes your work enough to pay you for it. Even when that glorious day arrives it's not the end of your toil and pain. It's an infinite search for the next job, delivering the impossible on a daily basis and shrugging off the continual rejection and disappointment. When things are going well writing is hands down the best job in the world. When they aren't every single word you type is an unspeakable torture. This is what it is to be a writer.

The last two years have been extremely difficult. Even though I have had regular meetings with producers, development executives and production companies I haven't had a single commission in nearly 18 months. Money is impossibly tight and yet I still have to find enough to pay the mortgage and feed and clothe the kids. I've lost my motivation and enthusiasm for what I do. I've started to over analyse everything I write agonising over every single word and I'm beginning to resent the fact my love for writing is consuming so much of my life. It's difficult out there. Bloody difficult. Pretty much all of the current writing initiatives I've been putting myself forward for state they are searching for 'diverse voices' and I'm guessing that a 49-year-old white Englishman isn't going to be at the top of their search criteria.

But I enter anyway. I sit at my desk and force myself to type a few words most days, trying to fight the temptation of YouTube and Facebook or to go back and rework the last ten pages of my screenplay, which have been reworked a thousand times already that week. And I still press send on emails electronically posting my latest work off to producers with a faint feeling of equal amounts hope and terror, with the thought that maybe, just maybe I don't actually suck at this. I've even tried diversifying, recently taking a script editing course and applying for script editing and lecturing jobs in an attempt to restart my career.

As I've said before, writing isn't for the faint-hearted. I've always been an advocate of pushing on even in the face of adversity, never giving up and giving everything you have to your writing and your career. However, I've finally decided that I'm coming to the end of my twenty-year journey. I've set a date. A few months from now. If nothing significant happens with my career between now and then, I'll walk away and find something else to do with my life. This will give me just enough time to finish those projects close to completion and tie up loose ends.

My wife suggested I get a full-time job and continue to write in my spare time. The trouble with that is writing isn't a hobby and that's what it would become if I was to do it only when I had a few minutes here and there. You have to give your all to writing, your life, your friends and family and even your immortal soul. There are no half measures being a screenwriter.

I think what I'm trying to say here is that you instinctively know when you need to put in a little extra work to get where you want to be and when it's actually time to walk away. My time is close. I'm sad but also surprisingly calm about it.

Happy writing!

PAYING YOUR WAY

The London Screenwriters Festival. Screenwriting books. One-off writing courses. Script consultancy services. They all cost money and for a new writer not making any, those costs can quickly add up. So how do you balance the need to learn and progress as a writer against the cost of doing so and paying the rent?

The simple answer is to only pay for what you can afford. But how do you decide what is worth spending your precious money on?

THE LONDON SCREENWRITERS FESTIVAL - For new writers, LSWF is a must! Everything you need is there, all packaged up in one convenient weekend with access to fellow writers, directors, producers, the many inspirational speakers and more industry knowledge than you can shake a stick at. However, it can top several hundred pounds when you also take into account travel, accommodation and food. Like last year, I have decided not to return this September as my career has developed enough that the cost of the festival now outways the benefit I get from it. But for new writers, there's nowhere better to submerge yourself in information on all aspects of a writing career.

SCREENWRITING BOOKS - These books hold a wealth of information. Read as many as you can. Absorb all that information. There are some people that argue against such books as SAVE THE CAT as being too formulaic, but I would argue that you should read them all and decide for yourself what you take from each book. The great thing is you don't need to buy first-hand books. You can loan screenwriting books from your local library for free and if they don't have something in, you can always ask if they would order it for you. There are also second-hand booksellers and car boot sales. Hunt down your local ones and see what they have.

PROFESSIONAL SCREENPLAYS - There are loads of websites that allow you to download a screenplay for free. Check them out and read as many as you can. You can't get better than free produced screenplays to improve yourself as a writer.

SCRIPT CONSULTANCY - If you want to improve as a writer then like LSWF these are a must. You could save yourself some money and get your friends or family to read your work but will they be able to give you the valuable feedback you need to improve your work? I doubt it. What about peer review? This is another free option but don't forget their feedback is only going to be as good as where they are as a writer. Pick and choose who you send your work to, you'll soon discover who gives the best notes and who doesn't. I would also aim to pay for at least one professional feedback on each of your screenplays. Research consultants first though. Do they have a good reputation? Do they have good reviews? What exactly are they offering you for your money?

ONE-OFF WRITING COURSES - Always fun and informative, but as above make sure you research them beforehand. Some course will be better than others and the best ones will be taught by people who have actually worked in the industry and don't just talk about it. What is their background? Where have they worked? Again, what are they offering?

Do an internet search for courses available over the next year and script consultancy prices, decide which ones you are interested in, add up how much they will cost you over the year and start saving. Put the money into a separate account and don't touch it until you need it. When you do the money will be there and you won't be scrambling around trying to find the money to go. Here's a tip - you can pay for LSWF in handy monthly instalments. How easy is that?

If you're serious about your career you are going to have to spend some money to get it going and maintain it, whether you like it or not. As long as you plan in advance what training you want to do over the year there shouldn't be any surprises.

Happy writing!

SCRIPT EDITING FOR TELEVISION JULY 2018

Yes, I know it's been a while since I last wrote a blog post, I apologise. I've been quite busy with writing script reports for clients, taking meetings in the big smoke and finishing a treatment and a spec drama pilot. And if that wasn't enough, over the last couple of weekends I've also been in London for Yvonne Grace's SCRIPT EDITING FOR TELEVISION course.

And what fantastic weekends they were. I can't speak highly enough of Yvonne, she knows her onions and then some. I'm already having withdrawal symptoms. I and my fellow attendees had such a brilliant, informative and momentous time that we didn't want it to end, so we've asked Yvonne if she would consider carrying on the course one day a month over the next few months just so we can continue to get our fix of script editing goodness. For those of you who don't know who Yvonne is she honed her skills at the sharp end of TV drama working as a script editor for Eastenders and as a producer for Holby City amongst others.

I obviously can't go into great detail about the course content otherwise I'd give away all of Yvonne's secrets, but I can give you a brief summary of our shenanigans and the plentiful information that was shoved into our lugholes over those four days.

Saturday 21st - We learned about the Macro vs the Micro, how narrative works in TV, text and subtext, storylining, the peaks and troughs in stories, the job script editors do, how important they are and how to be a great one. We also learned about the A, B and C storylines and how they're used in TV drama, how to structure treatments, series bibles and writers' reports, series development and we closely examined character arcs over single episodes and the series as a whole... and that was just on the first day. Blimey!

Sunday 22nd - We looked at how each characters' story intertwines with others over the series, how to get into script editing, how to get experience, how to approach producers and execs, what to expect as a script editor, how story conferences work, the skills a script editor needs and what the story producer and script producer do - yes, they are two different people. Then we were visited by Holby City and Casualty exec producer Simon Harper, who gave up a couple of hours of his Sunday to chat to us about the importance of script editors and how script editing works on Holby City and Casualty.

Saturday 28th - We script edited a Pete Lawson episode of Eastenders, breaking down the A, B and C storylines, assessing what scenes worked or didn't and pointing out what bits of the script that halted the flow. Then we got to live script edit the man himself when Pete Lawson kindly dropped in for two hours and allowed us to talk over with him where we thought his script could have been improved. It was a brilliant opportunity to learn how to structure a positive meeting with a writer and get direct feedback from our notes. Thankfully we didn't reduce him to tears and he even came out for a drink with us afterwards. Thanks, Pete!

Sunday 29th - Sunday was Holby City day. We script edited an episode, all contributing to where we thought it succeeded or failed and then watched the transmitted episode, noting the changes that were made between the draft we had read and filming. It was great to see that we picked up on all the changes. Then in the afternoon, we were visited by freelance development script editor Lucy Hackney, who has worked for such companies as Red Planet. It was a wonderfully informative chat and she too came to the pub with us afterwards.

I had an absolute blast, learned so much that I'm still dizzy from all the information that was crammed into my head over the course of those four days. I can't recommend Yvonne's course highly enough, you should all make sure you book yourself on her next and buy a copy of her book too.

Happy writing!