Taking A Risk

I went self-employed in May this year and although things have been tight on the money front work opportunities have started to come through the door, to the point where I get at least one email every second day enquiring about the availability of my short film scripts, or my help in some way.

While I was trying to establish myself as a self-employed writer, I was happy to let directors have my scripts for a writing credit and a DVD copy of the finished film, but work has been piling up to such an extent I felt I could no longer afford to do this. I have a pregnant wife, a dog and a three-year-old boy to support, as well as a bad Xbox habit....I can handle it....honest!

I had an email this morning from a director asking if I had any new short scripts, ones that weren't on my website. I didn't so I wrote back to the lady concerned and said I was happy to write one for her on spec, but that I would have to charge her for it. If there was a script on my site she was interested in then I might have been inclined to let her have it for nothing, but as writing a new one would involve some work from me, I decided that now was the time to start charging for my services. I fully expect never to hear from the director again, but it's a chance I have to take if I am to be a success as a freelance writer. I don't want to have to go back to full-time work...it would kill me....seriously!

So right now I'm wondering if I've done the right thing? Should I relent and start doing work again for free? But I know I can't really, it would be a backward step, one I am not prepared to take. Scary times.

Wish me luck.

Him & Her Part 4

Laughs galore this week on Him & Her and yet again as Steve thrust his groin at his girlfriend in the kitchen my wife uttered the now familiar words, "You are so Steve." My life on screen and I didn't even write it...bum :-(

After not liking the initial episode I can honestly say I have grown to like the show a great deal and I'm loving the characters, especially Paul. I really do hope it gets a second series.

Favourite line this week: "White people are so boring."

Episode 5 review next week.

Don't Be A Twit Be A Twitter

So you thought Twitter was just something to procrastinate on while you were thinking of what to write? Wrong! It's a valuable networking tool, but only if you learn to use it properly.

After the fun I had last week I was glad to learn more about Twitter and how it can be used for the forces of good, so here I am passing that information on to you to help you get the best out of your Twitter experience. Twitter is a great way to collect news and tips about writing, or even opportunities you wouldn't normally come across. That is why it is important you learn to use it properly, as it is a powerful networking tool, and you don't want to become a networking fool.

I very rarely use Twitter on my computer as I mostly use Twitbird on my iPhone. But what I'm going to show you should be cross-platform related. Hold on, here it comes.

1. Be aware of hash tags (which is not on the ruddy Mac keyboard) these are your fastest links to topics you will want to read about. You can click on these hash tags to create your own list of topics which most interest you, that way you're not searching through the whole time line to find one post. It's also a great way to drag people into discussions on your favorite topics. Hash tag topics can also be searched for.
   
2. You have found a post you want to remember? Then add it to your favorites, that way you have it for as long as you want.
   
3. Give your feed a personality, preferably your own. Be kind, funny, helpful, considerate and aware of other people's feelings at all times. You want to make friends, make valuable contacts, you don't want to lose them. Don't be nasty and always treat people like you would want to be treated yourself. Being nasty or stupid is the quickest way of getting blocked. If you get a reputation for being a nice person, or even better that you have something interesting to say, then more people will follow you. And try not to slag of the industry, films, TV programs, or even companies, and especially not individuals. They all have Twitter accounts and might just be following you. Watch out!
   
4. Use Twitter to remind people of what is going on in your working life and in the industry in general, even if someone else has already done this two minutes before. You cannot over tweet about what interests you.
   
5. Click on your FOLLOWERS list, see who is on there, follow them, send them a message of thanks, let them know you've noticed.
6. FOLLOW FRIDAY important people, your new followers, or someone you want to follow you. People like to be mentioned, it appeals to their vanity. If someone mentions you then thank them for it.
   
7. Retweet relevant tweets from people you follow on a regular basis. Keep active. You can't over retweet.
   
8. If people ask a question, or just comment on something, then send them an answer, write them a little tweet back. If they are well known then don't be a nuisance, just tweet them occasionally. Over tweeting will get you blocked. If you actively respond to people's tweets they'll notice and and may even give you a follow.
   
9. There is a LISTED button, usually on your profile, which when clicked on will tell you which lists people have linked you to. This is a very helpful tool as the owners of the list, and the people on it, will have the same interests as you do. So follow them...all. Check this at least once a week.
   

Remember be polite, helpful and active every day. Get the best out of your Twitter experience, don't let it get the better of you.

Making Mistakes

Everyone makes them, but can they stall, or even end, your career?

OK ending your career is a bit of an exaggeration, but mistakes could potentially harm it. What do I mean by mistakes? I mean anything that is not professional, like using Twitter when you've had a few too many beers and asking someone you hardly know if they want to meet up for a chat about nothing in particular. Not professional at all especially if that person is an agent.

Agents talk to each other, as does everyone in media, and you don't want to be known as the bloke who Tweets drunk. That's why it's important to keep up a professional front online all the time, one mistake can hang around for quite a while.

So the point is... be mindful of everything you write, or upload, on the Internet. Someone somewhere is always watching.

Him & Her Part 3

'I didn't laugh once,' so said the wife.

But it was funny, especially Paul having a mental in his Postman Pat outfit....oh, how I laughed!!!

Rewrite Workshop - Mead Kerr

REWRITE - Working with Script Editors and Producers. Getting
someone interested in your writing is only the start of the
process. This one day event is your chance to learn from
successful Writers, Script Editors and Producers about what
happens next and offers you a chance to get the insider
knowledge you need to build your career.

For more info please follow this link:

http://rewrite.eventbrite.com/

Book up quickly.

Him & Her Part 2 - I am Steve's tissue covered foreskin.

The wife and I have spent the last week discussing why we didn't like the first episode. No, (didn't like) are the wrong words. (Didn't find funny), that's more like it. Anyway the reason for me was summed up in a few words from my wife, "I live with that 24/7." How very dare she, I thought, how very....then it hit me....I am Steven.

The things Russell Tovey's character Steven did, or encountered during the first episode could have been lifted straight from my life. I have a great dislike to crumbs in the bed, they make it uncomfortable. I could go on, but I'd only bore you/embarrass myself. It was too much of a revelation on how difficult it is to live with me sometimes, for me to laugh at Steven/Me in the first episode.

Episode Two: I'm sold, and no, not because Russell Tovey tweeted me and asked me to stick with it. I think he's a great actor, but I do have my own opinion and I'm no suck up. But once I understood I was watching what I, and every other bloke has gone through during their twenties, up there on the screen, I got the humour and laughed my bloody bollocks off. It's very well written, with such superb observational comedy that I had to check my house for hidden cameras.

So yes, Mr. Russell Tovey, you did say it would get under my skin and indeed it is doing its best to do so. Can't wait for the next episode.

Him & Her - Comedy Is Subjective

So the new Russell Tovey comedy Him & Her made is debut on BBC Three on Monday night...but it wasn't funny...or more to the point, the wife and I didn't find it funny.

Smutty humor was a big hit in the nineties, not now. Smutty humor now is just childish.

Things I didn't find funny:

- Opening discussion about blow jobs.
- The constant mention of sex.
- The word FUCK.
- Toilet paper under the foreskin.
- Sniffing said bit of toilet paper.
- Women doing stinky bowl movements on the toilet.
- Women leaving stinky bowl movements in toilet and not flushing.
- Jumping around like a girl when coming across a spider.
- Eating pubes on toast.
- Eating toast in bed and dropping crumbs.
- Pissing in a hand basin.

The only thing the show had going for it was the uncomfortably annoying neighbour and Russell. I love Russell Tovey, he's brilliant in everything he does, but even he can't save something so unfunny as Him & Her, or can he?

If you want to know how to do smut well, then see Two Pints Of Larger And A Packet Of Crisps. It just goes to show comedy is subjective.

I have erased it off my Sky+ recording schedule (on the recommendation of Russell himself I have now reinstated it).

The Ups And Downs Of Writing

So the Red Planet Prize said no to me yesterday. I was disappointed I must admit, as I felt the script was my best work to date. But with every down comes an up to keep you going.

A well know script reader (who shall remain nameless as they know who they are) emailed me and asked to read my Red Planet ten pages, after reading of my disappointment on twitter. They gave a lot of positive feedback and said they thought I was just unlucky not to get through to the next round, which was very encouraging to me.

Then today I got an email from the BBC Writersroom with some feedback on a script I sent them. Even though they thought the characters could have done with a little more work, and the narrative was a little slow, there were plenty of flattering comments about dialogue, characters, comedy and originality. So despite my rejection yesterday my writing is improving by leaps and bounds. All that hard work certainly pays off.

Don't forget, just because you get rejected doesn't mean you're a bad writer. A script that is one person's Oscar, is another person's loo paper. Keep writing, have faith, work hard and you'll get there.

How I Became A Writer

I've been memed thanks to Michelle Goode, who nominated me for this on her blog, even though I have already written the comedy version a few weeks ago. The reality is less entertaining I assure you.

I was twenty-three when I wrote my first screenplay, basically out of sheer boredom. I had been unemployed for something close to six months (which ended up being nearly nine, mind numbing, soul sapping, months) and was running out of things to keep me occupied. I had just finished reading John Wagner's Button Man and decided I would have a go at writing my own screenplay version of it. I had always been in love with TV and the movies ever since I saw the film Dirty Harry when I was thirteen. For some reason I found myself identifying with Harry, bad as he is, which all good film and TV characters should make you do. So I sat down at my computer and started to write.

I didn't plan, didn't work on the characters, didn't have any notes, I just wrote it from the heart. It took me something like six weeks to complete. I had a screenplay, a shit screenplay, but one I had written none the less. I felt a sense of achievement I had never felt before.

Looking back the script was bloody awful, but it did have some promising points. For a start I appeared to have a natural talent for plotting and pace, but on the other hand it was obvious my characters, dialogue and story had to be worked hard on if I was ever going to be any good. It was then I bought my first how to write a screenplay book, can't remember who's it was, as I don't have it anymore....but I think it might have been How To Teach Yourself Scriptwriting.

I sent the script out to a few production companies and got a few nice comments back in return, but I eventually put the script away in a draw as I was employed again. At that time writing was a distraction from being unemployed, it didn't even occur to me it could be more than a hobby.

A few years later I found myself stuck at home still living with the parents and in a dead end job. I wanted out, to find something that was me, to change my life. Recently a friend of mine had moved to Bournemouth so as I had decided to go back into education I looked up Bournemouth in the UCAS book and came across the only scriptwriting degree in the country at the time. Fate was calling me so I signed up for the course, and, as they say, the rest is history.

If I hadn't have found the Scriptwriting for Film & TV BA (Hons) degree in the UCAS book my life would be a whole lot different now. I'd probably have more money for a start, and I certainly wouldn't have this obsession with writing that I do. I'm glad I opened that book when I did.

Back To The Drawing Board

Friday the 13th....EEK! It could have been so much worse.

First of on a personal note, my lovely wife had her twelve week scan today. We were very nervous because earlier in the year she had a miscarriage at seven weeks and although we were very grateful to get to twelve weeks, there was still a chance things might not be right. And what idiot gave us a scan date on Friday the 13th anyway? Someone who thinks they have a sense of humour no doubt. Well done you.

Luckily things were OK. The baby was asleep (like child, like father), but we could see the heart clearly and it was going ten to the dozen. We were relieved. So it's now official I will be a dad for the second time on February the 26th 2011. GET IN!!!

And then came my notes for my Red Planet submission. The sixty pages were done, but I knew something wasn't sitting right, couldn't put my finger on it, so I sent it out to the lovely Bang2Write.....she gave it to me straight like she always does...ooh, err!

'Get rid of the police,' she said. I stared blankly at her...or I would have done if she hadn't have said that in an email. So I stared blankly at the email instead. Get rid of the police? What, all of them? Yep, all of them, not just in this episode but in all the others too. Holy crap! Bangers (as I never call her) is most often than not spot on with her judgement and I trust her above all others. But get rid of the police? In a crime drama? But she's right! Fecking cow!

So I have roughly two weeks to write another draft, with changes of roughly 50%, surgically removing the fuzz, focusing more on the protagonist Mad Frank Hattman. The police will be there, not in the foreground, but in the background, a presence rarely seen, a threat implied not forced into your face like an unwelcome dildo. It's going to be tough...it's actually going to be very tough. Two weeks is pushing it even if it does need to be done.

So today could have been much worse, but all in all I'm satisfied with what I've got.

Best get on.

Writing With The Wife

When my fellow script writers started following my wife, even though she isn't a writer herself, it got her to thinking. This led to her starting her own blog and she freely admits she really enjoys the writing.

Last night we were watching a recorded episode of Misfits while shouting out what we thought people's powers were. We were both spot on. Then my wife piped up, "I should be a writer." That somehow led me to offering her the opportunity to help me write one of my scripts.

Normally I would be daunted by the prospect of my wife trying to help me with anything I do, mainly because I'm such a control freak and I like things done just so. On more than one occasion my wife has hoovered up and I've then gone and done it again just because she missed a bit. I'm not saying my wife doesn't do a fantastic job when she hoovers, I'm just saying I'm anal about making sure all the dog hairs, including the ones that congregate in the corners of the room are hoovered up.

But I'm not in the least worried about writing with my wife, as she reads all of my scripts and offers me her insight which is always very helpful. She has even read and advised Bang2Write - Lucy. So I have decided to take the plunge and let my wife have a go. It might just be the step I need to take to get my career up to the next level.

Red Plaent Prize Problem

My ten pages are in and I'm up to page thirty on the rest of the script only to find I've come to a shuddering halt. I think I have a problem with pace.

The first ten pages has a man suffering amnesia arrested when he's found with the body of a dead woman. He escapes the police car he was being transported in when it is hit but a van and goes on the run. In an effort to clear his name he has gone to a jewelers to get some information on a necklace, only to find the place being robbed. He is now a hostage and must play the robbers and their victim to get the information he needs and get out alive....

....I've never written a hostage scene before. There is a danger, especially after the action of the first ten pages, the rest of the script will be very static by comparison. How can I avoid this?

Does anyone have any advice?

Identity

I normally don't moan about TV programs, if I don't like them I just don't watch them, but on this occasion I feel I have to say something. Identity really makes my blood boil.

I wish to state for the record that I have nothing against the writer Ed Whitmore, after all he's written for Silent Witness and Waking the Dead, so it's not as if he doesn't have a good pedigree. So why has Identity fallen so short?

I've only watched three episodes and I had to force myself to watch the last of those. The series didn't improve, so it's goodbye from me, I'll spend my TV time watching something else on a Monday. Why? Let me enlighten you.

For me Identity only has one workable character, only one character who appears to have had any work done on him, and that's John Bloom. Undercover for fifteen years he's finally back working as a Detective Inspector, and appears to be the only one in the new Identity Unit who has any idea how criminals tick. The rest of the unit couldn't work out a game of Cluedo with out John's uninvited insights. The others sit there waiting for some bright insight from John, when they then jump into one dimensional action. So here are the list of characters and their one characteristic:-

• DSI Martha Lawson - Argues every episode on John's behalf. She is the only one who thinks he's a good copper. WHY?
  
• Tessa Stein - Computer genius, who constantly reminds everyone else how good she is.
• DS Anthony Wareing - Slopes around not doing much except trying to get John into trouble, just because he doesn't like him. Or is he pissed he's now got work to do thanks to John?
  
• DC Jose Rodriguez - Young, brash and still wet behind the ears, hasn't learned to be subtle yet.

The only character with any discernible background is John. We know nothing personal about any of the other characters, they are just bit parts who have been dropped into the script to pad it out. Remove them and replace them any other characters from any other cop show and you'd have an instant improvement. You need more than one character to make a series workable. Where is the characterisation in Identity?

What do you think? Hate it? Like it? Let me know.

South West Voices Update July

And the final eight are revealed.

South West Screen helps local drama writers pitch to BBC

South West Screen and BBC Writersroom have teamed up with BBC Independent Drama Commissioning to fast track eight of the region’s most talented writers into television drama.

The eight recently took part in a two-day workshop near Corsham in the latest stage of South West Voices, a professional development scheme run by BBC Writersroom to give both experienced and emerging writers the chance to receive industry and peer group support and help develop their projects. Previous writers found and nurtured by BBC Writersroom have gone on to work on dramas including Eastenders, Doctor Who, and Waking the Dead.

The collaboration has arisen from the Bristol-BBC-Anchor partnership, which was signed last year between the BBC and Bristol City Council, South West Screen, the South West RDA and other key media enablers in the region.

It follows on from a visit to the region from Ben Stephenson, the Controller of BBC Drama Commissioning last year. Ben outlined his vision of the future of BBC drama during the visit and this week saw the latest steps to bring these ideas to fruition.

Writers were originally asked to submit a pitch for an original series, serial or single drama idea for television, along with a full-length sample script. From 120 submissions, 18 shortlisted writers were then invited to a workshop day in Bristol to meet BBC Writersroom, BBC Independent Drama Commissioning and South West Screen, and from those, eight writers were selected for the two-day residential workshop. The eight have each been paired with a mentor from the Commissioning team and now have three months to develop their ideas before formally pitching them to the BBC in September.

The eight writers come from across the South West region, including Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Gloucestershire and Bristol.
BBC Writersroom previously ran the ‘Breakers’ competition in the South West in 2004 with the support of South West Screen, but this is the first time BBC Independent Drama Commissioning has been involved in such a programme in the region.

The programme demonstrates the BBC’s ongoing commitment to original drama production in the region, following the announcement of loss from the region of popular BBC dramas, Casualty and Being Human, to Cardiff, the BBC’s designated centre for excellence for drama production, last year.

The eight writers who took part in the workshop were:
• Dom Rowe (Bristol)
• Miles Chambers (Bristol)
• Rachel Joyce (Stroud)
• Carol Noble (Exeter)
• Tom Wainwright (Bristol)
• Sean Grundy (Weston-Super Mare)
• Peter Jordi - Wood (Truro)
• Bryony Ive (Bournemouth)

Congratulations to the final eight and special congratulations to Bryony, a fellow Bournemouth resident.

It was great ego boost to be included in the final eighteen who met at BBC Bristol, especially considering the amount of quality, talented writers there, with good solid writing credits. It's nice to know that my writing attracted attention from the people at the BBC Writersroom and BBC Commissioning, despite not having the credits others had. I'm certainly not resting on my laurels having already formed a writing partnership with another writer invited to Bristol, working on a brand new TV drama series we're planning to pitch to the BBC Commissioning team.

If you see another scheme like this then go for it, because you never know what doors it might open up for you.

Writing Is Easy

Right now you are probably saying something like, 'what the bleedin' 'ell are you on about?' Writing is easy. It sounds somewhat foolish to say that, but it's true. What you have to remember is the actual act of writing is only a small percentage of the work you do, that fun time getting the words of the first draft down on the page,letting your mind wander, exploring your created world, before you start the painful task of rewriting.

And what of the work you have to do before you can write? Outlining your idea, character biographies, series bibles, plot, structure and a million other things that go into making your first draft. That's right...your first draft. Then comes weeks, months and sometimes years of editing and rewriting, bringing everything together to arrive at the point where you have that final polished draft ready to send out.

This is where most beginners fail. They think all they have to do is write a screenplay, change a few bits and it's ready to be shown to the world. Wrong! If other writers are spending months on their script making it as perfect as they can, they are already way ahead of you. The script you spent a month writing is at the bottom of the pile and the more time you spend on it, working through every aspect of your screenplay over and over again, the better chance your screenplay has of getting noticed. The less time and effort you put into your work the more obvious it is you're not really committed to being a writer. For you, it's just a hobby.

Writing is easy....it's the preparation and the constant rewriting that is hard work.

Hopalong Dom

Had a foot op last Friday so will be off my feet for up to six weeks. No excuse not to sit down and write loads then. I had better get on.

Another scintillating post later this week.

My Writing Day Updated

I have now left my previous job and I've gone self employed publishing the WimbornePeople.co.uk website and working on my own scripts, a scary situation indeed, but one I am loving. My working day has changed and I have a lot more time to write, approach agents and pitch my work to production companies. This is how my day works now:

7.30am: Up and out of bed, not necessarily awake.

9.00 - midday: (Mon + Wed) The boy goes to nursery so I write solidly between these time with no interruption. This includes working on the website and my own writing.

9.00 - midday: (Tues, Thurs + Fri) Work on the website (I try and get this out of the way in the mornings) and try and do some of my own writing, while keeping the boy occupied.

Midday - 5pm: It's a case of juggling my son, the housework, and my writing. Some days are easier, but most require compromise, having to play with the boy now and again so he doesn't kick up a fuss when I sit down to write. And the house work has to be done, don't want to live in a stinky house after all.

Evenings: Some evenings if I haven't had a particularly productive day, either because the boy has been playing up or my brain just hasn't been working, then I'll pop upstairs for a couple of hours and do as much on my scripts as I can while the boy is sound asleep in the next room.

So that's my new daily routine. It's changed quite a bit allowing me more time to write, so if I'm not successful now then there is only one person to blame....ME!

A Good Writing Session

I wrote another five pages of a screenplay today, which I'm quite pleased with as I've also been doing other things as well. And it's also not bad considering I have a two and a half year old running around my feet for most of the day, wanting to be picked up so he can sit on my lap and see what his daddy is up to. Five pages was a good day.

It made me wonder what other writers would consider a GOOD WRITING DAY?

How many pages makes you happy?

How Not To Be A Writer Part 1

A possibly true (ish) story.

Bob (let's call him that to protect the stupid) has been unemployed for nearly eight months, he doesn't have a girlfriend, all his friends have moved away and, even though he never thought he'd admit to this, wanking is losing its allure... basically he's bored... suicide is beginning to look like a realistic option.

But after watching Dirty Harry he has an idea. He decides to write a script, can't be that hard after all, it's just a few words on a page...yeah, piece of piss - fame and fortune await.

So Bob sits at a computer and types like a man possessed, which is partly true because he has been drinking spirits for the best part of the day, and the words pour out. Two weeks later he has a 115 page thriller. He shows his mum, she thinks it's brilliant, so he puts it in a draw and forgets about it for five years...

...to be continued.