Writing for television _ series, serials and soaps

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ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA: SCRIPT PAGES 151

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THE LAST WORD Writing is hard, but writing well is harder. And writing really good television, under deadline and within the strictures of a particular show and in collaboration with a team of opinionated script people and a (usually) stressed producer, is even harder. If you think you have the stamina, ideas, skin of required thickness and a well-developed sense of humour, then writing regularly for television is rewarding both creatively and financially. However, to earn your place around the Story Conference table on a long-running series, or to be commissioned to write on a television serial, you need to be confident in specific areas and bring to that table a selection box of skills. In this book I have set out to cover the essential areas necessary for you to understand and get a grip on if you want to flourish as a writer in a television environment, and enjoy yourself into the bargain. I hope you have enjoyed reading and I wish you all the very best of luck with your current writing and your quest to get into television. It's nice work if you can get it and, with this book as a guide, there's no reason why you can't do just that. SCRIPT ADVICE — HERE TO HELP YOU Need further help? Please visit my website www.scriptadvice.co.uk and I will do my best to make your script the best it can be. 153

WRITING FOR TELEVISION Twitter – find me here and let's connect! https://twitter.com/YVONNEGRACE1 Facebook – Script Advice Writers' Room http://www.facebook.com/groups/237330119115/ I set up this group to promote my work and to provide a great place to chat and swap information with like-minded souls. It's one of the best groups on Facebook for writers. 154

INDEX A beatsheet, 118 ‘A’ story, 44, 62 Bleasdale, Alan, 116 Abbott, Paul, 82 Brill, Clive, 15 Abbott, Sally, 103 Broadcast, 95 Abushwesha, Farah, 133 Broadchurch, 96, 129 Accused, 96, 103 By Any Means, 72 actors, 14, 90–2, 104–5, 107, 124 advice (script), 153–4 C agents, 14, 18, 23–5, 27, 134–5 ‘C’ story, 44 Antony and Cleopatra, 137 Call the Midwife, 41, 96, 129 Armstrong, Jesse, 71 Casualty, 18–19, 27, 57, 99, 101, Arnold, Dench, 28 Aronson, Linda, 133, 135 103–5, 110 Ashton, Paul, 26 character biographies, 118 audience, 19, 26, 31, 37, 40, 45, character, characterisation, 31, 48, 51, 53–4, 58–9, 82, 96, 38–9, 41, 53, 130 102–3, 105, 108, 111, 124, Chasing Shadows, 57 130 cliffs, cliffhanger, 34, 63, 65–6, B 83, 94 ‘B’ story, 44, 63 collaboration, 48, 66, 71–3, 75, 91, BAFTA Rocliffe, 133 Bain, Sam, 71 112, 153 BBC Academy, 101 commercial, commercialism, 17, BBC Writersroom, 24, 26–7, 96, 20, 30, 57, 82, 96 117, 122 commissioners, commissioned, 11, beats (of a drama), 38, 63, 66, 81, 17, 23–4, 31, 38, 41–2, 60, 67, 86, 91 73–5, 79, 110, 113, 115, 120, 122, 153 competitions, 96 continuing drama, 49, 105, 118–19 155

WRITING FOR TELEVISION contracts, 127, 135 Euroscript, 96 copyright, 60, 69–70 executive producers, 17–18, 95 Coronation Street, 37, 82, 89, exterior shots, 93 93–4, 96, 99 F Cotton, Dot, 39, 102, 107 Facebook, 29, 154 Cracker, 116 filter system, 90, 117 criticism, 112, 131 floating sets, 93 Curtis Brown, 28 format, formatting, 27, 31, 41, 47, CV, 15, 71, 117 49, 58, 66, 103, 119, 127–8, D 134 Davies, Russell T, 31, 82 forums [screenwriting], 24–5, 29, 69 deadlines, 11, 19, 32, 86, 89, 96, Fowler, Pauline, 13 framework, 38 109–10, 118 Friedmann, Julian, 28, 135 development producers, 17, 20 development script editors, 18, 20–1 G directors, 17, 24, 90, 94, 112, 134 GBH, 48, 116 DNA (of a writer), 29 Gladwin, Phil, 134 Doctors, 19, 27 goals (writing), 131 downloadable scripts, 134 Goldsbrough, Robert, 101 Downton Abbey, 37 Grace, Yvonne, 110 draft, 30, 32–4, 39, 50, 63, 65–6, Graham, Matthew, 69, 82, 102 Granada TV, 31, 100, 137 89–92, 94, 115, 118, 122, 137 Greaves, Helen, 15–16 drama series, 15, 66, 72, 86, 128 Grove, Elliot, 133 dramatic, 18–20, 45, 59, 65, 79, H 91–2, 121, 124, 127–8 Harkness Hall, 60 Harris, Charles, 134 E Harrison, Jane, 15 EastEnders, 16, 23, 27, 30, 38–9, Harvey, Jonathan, 82 Higham, David, 28 44, 47–8, 57, 82, 87, 89–90, Holby City, 18–19, 27, 30, 32–3, 93–4, 99, 101–3, 106–7, 109–13, 127 38, 60, 96, 99, 101, 116–17, Eldorado, 15, 20 119, 127 Elsley, Bryan, 72 Holdsworth, Lisa, 105 Elstree, 117 hook [lead, visual, narrative], 81, 83 Emmerdale, 44, 57, 89, 94, 99, 106 episodes, episodic, 19, 31, 42–3, 48, 50–1, 59–60, 76, 82, 86, 90–4, 102, 107, 111–12, 123 156

INDEX I pitch, pitching, 20, 47–8, 70, 73–4, interior shots, 93 79–80, 107–9, 118 J plot, plotline, plotting, 11, 43, 48, Jordan, Tony, 48, 72 50, 59, 66, 81–2, 129 journey (writing), 42, 49–50, 57–8, Povey, Jeff, 72 104, 106, 110, 130–1 producer (executive, drama, radio), L 17–20, 32–4, 38–9, 80–2, 85–6, La Plante, Lynda, 116 89–90, 92–3, 112–13, 117–18 Laker, Glen, 115 production assistants, 30 Last Tango in Halifax, 49, 53, 96, 137 production office, 30, 32, 89, 132 Lawson, Pete, 106 Lewis, Leonard, 15 R logline, 21, 43, 62–3, 70, 81 Richard, Wendy, 13–14 long-form drama, 63 Rochefort, Damon, 99 M S MBA, 28 scene [description, setting], 11, 14, McGovern, Jimmy, 103, 116 meetings, 20, 25, 74–5, 77, 85, 123 38–9, 62–3, 81, 83, 93, 104, Moon, Debbie, 121 112, 118, 124, 134 schedule, scheduling, 85–6, 90–2, N 105, 122 narrative, 11, 42, 49, 53–4, 58, 76, scribing, 11, 71 script advice, 153–4 81, 83, 91, 133, 135 script editor, 19, 23, 26, 31, 34, 39, networking, 15–16, 28, 95 65–7, 82, 85, 89–94, 97, 99, 103–4, 112–13, 118, 124–5 O serial, 12, 15, 18, 34–5, 37, 42, opportunity, 23–4, 27, 45, 100, 48–9, 57, 59, 76, 79, 81, 85, 89, 92, 95, 129–30, 153 107, 110, 111, 117 Shadow Scheme, 27, 103, 111, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, 15 115, 117–20 outline, 22, 42, 60, 63, 77, 80–1, shooting [script, order}, 31, 33, 39, 87, 90–3, 104, 109 90, 112, 128 Skype, 71 Oxbridge, 15 slugline, 39 social networking, 20, 29, 95 P source, 27, 95 pace, 17, 49, 92, 129 spec scripts, 119 Palmer, Stephanie, 134 story arc, 42, 59, 108, 128 157

WRITING FOR TELEVISION Story Conference, 31, 48, 57, 62–3, T 86, 101, 109, 128, 132, 153 text, 53, 55, 83, 91, 130 theme, 44, 55, 79 story, stories, storylines, 11, 14, treatment, 21–2, 40–3, 71, 74–7, 19, 26, 31, 37–8, 42–5, 47–51, 54, 57–60, 63, 69, 76–7, 81–2, 79–80, 97, 102, 128 86–7, 91, 94–5, 103–4, 106–9, Twitter, 21, 29, 154 111–13, 115, 118–19, 122–3, 128–9, 131, 135 W Wainwright, Sally, 49, 53, 82 storylining, 32, 43–4, 48–50, 57–8, Writersroom, 26 91, 97, 128 Y structure, 11, 38, 49, 50, 63, 74, 82, Young, Mal, 33, 110 91, 94, 107–8, 129, 133, 135 submission, 26 subtext, 53, 55, 58, 83, 130, 137 158



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