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And Now For Something Completely Different…

…As writers, we’re all suckers for random acts of kindness and happy endings. My lad and I seem to have a bit of a habit of finding random animals including an actual snake not so long ago – and it seems my friends have the knack for discovering creatures in trouble too! So, without further ado: my mate Jared found a duckling. This is *their story*…! Enjoy.————————————————————————–Last week I discovered a poor battered little duckling lying in a filthy insect-ridden puddle near work. He could barely move and a couple of hungry crows were moving in. When I stood him… Read More »And Now For Something Completely Different…

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LOST Workshop Notes

Here are the notes for last week’s LOST workshop at BAFTA, courtesy of my contest winner Nicholas Horwood. Enjoy!————————————————————-Day one: With no memory of what strange force brought me here I find myself at BAFTA HQ along with a hundred or so shell-shocked and strangely geeky looking people. Who we were and what brought us here is no longer relevant…we are born again. We are of course here for the LOST workshop with Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse hosted by Eastenders’ producer whose name I didn’t catch. The workshop begins with a five minute “Best of LOST” clip. This is… Read More »LOST Workshop Notes

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SWF Scriptmarket: An Insider’s View

I was a reader for the Screenwriters’ Festival’s Scriptmarket initiative this year. It was open to all those who purchased a four day ticket and thirty places were up for grabs. I was very happy to read for the SWF and for Kenny (who delivered everything he said he would, & on time – thanks!) and the scripts I read had some interesting ideas and even some excellent elements, including arena, character and dialogue above others. For the thirty lucky participants, they received a free 5 page script report from a reader like myself (I didn’t read all thirty!), plus… Read More »SWF Scriptmarket: An Insider’s View

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The Story Engine, Notes, Pt 3: Features, Training, Scriptreading, Simon Beaufoy

Here’s the final instalment of the marvellous Helen’s notes – some interesting realities about the industry here in particular. Read on…————————————————————————————–My First Feature (sponsored by Northern Lights Film Festival) David Lemon discusses his experience of writing Faintheart with Brian Gordon, the director of NLFF. David Lemon – writer of Faintheart He won the myspace movie mashup competition. He wrote it in 2005 and developed it through taps.org. Slingshot Studios had a £250-£500K microbudget but the Director got in touch with Vertigo Films and eventually Film 4, the Film Council were also involved. There were 12 producers, some had more input… Read More »The Story Engine, Notes, Pt 3: Features, Training, Scriptreading, Simon Beaufoy

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The Story Engine, Notes, Pt 2: Agents & Pitches

Here’s Helen’s excellent insights again – this time featuring the Blogosphere’s very own James Moran and some VERY interesting stuff about agents and pitching. Enjoy!————————————————————————————————- Screening: TORCHWOOD – SLEEPER Writer James Moran gives a live commentary to his episode of the popular sci-fi series. Followed by Q+A. Has carved out a niche in horror/sci fi He wrote Severance but got pigeonholed after this. However then Dr Who was relaunched. He wrote the Fires of Pompeii episode. Sleeper for Torchwood as well as writing for Primeval, Spooks Code 9 and Spooks. It’s cheaper to blow up a car than have several… Read More »The Story Engine, Notes, Pt 2: Agents & Pitches

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The Story Engine, Notes, Pt 1: Internet

I’ve had a huge pile of scripts dumped on me from a great height plus my usual Bang2writers’ fare, so I won’t be coming up for air for at least a week… Luckily, Bang2writer and blog reader Helen (whose surname, aptly, is “Bang” – for real!) went to The Story Engine the other week and has composed some comprehensive notes on the events there for us. I was GUTTED to not have time to go to this, so was very grateful to Helen for taking the time to write it up for us. First, we have how the internet can… Read More »The Story Engine, Notes, Pt 1: Internet

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Writers Write: A Response To Adrian’s Post

Still busy… But still got other people expelling wisdom on this blog’s behalf! (“My people” will write this blog for me in fact, arf). So here is an interesting response from the marvellous Dublin Dave to Adrian Mead’s post yesterday in which he posed the analogy of hiring two architects:—————————————————————————–None of what Adrian’s saying is incorrect. Every writer finds their own path, but let’s be really clear about one thing: what matters is the work. Since 1999, I’ve been making a living as a TV writer. That career began with a feature length script, my fifth. I didn’t go to… Read More »Writers Write: A Response To Adrian’s Post

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Parker, Will You Listen To The Man?

As you know I’ve been mega busy this week AND the entire internet *just disappeared* for all of today (okay, maybe only on my computer… But it’s mysteriously back now so I’m not going to complain). However our main man Adrian Mead has stepped into the breach to offer a few insights on the seemingly torturous process of “making it” as a writer. Ignore at your peril…—————————————————————————–Building a career is a frustrating process and it’s easy to lose heart or blame other people for not being smart enough to recognise your genius. Sometimes looking at things from a different viewpoint… Read More »Parker, Will You Listen To The Man?

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