tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-227207592024-03-13T10:24:02.573+00:00Was it something I wrote?The ups and downs of screenwriting from the UK.English Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04686490554533309973noreply@blogger.comBlogger323125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22720759.post-44500974318070467662010-09-17T23:21:00.002+01:002010-09-18T00:13:39.550+01:00UpdateApologies to those giving a gentle nudge. I've been really busy, honest! The Book! Okay so way back in the spring the book went out to about half a dozen of the big publishers. The agent's plan was to put it out to a few, see what the feedback was and if it was positive then hit another half dozen.<br />The feedback was pretty good. I recall three out of six of the editors said they loved it but were gutted because the marketing department for various reasons ranging from 'already have our new thriller writer for this year to 'it's too tough a market right now for literary thrillers'. How much of that is bullshit that really means 'didn't like it enough' I'll never know.<br />One said they didn't like it and one we never heard back from ever.<br /><br />But that was enough for the agent to send it out to another 8 publishers. To me this is quite a long time ago and I tend not to look back but I recall about 4 positive feedbacks going from ' 'I loved the story and characters but didn't like the location' to 'He is a remarkable talent with a fantastic book and it is with the deepest regret that I can't convince the marketing department that ,,,, etc (okay I remembered that one)<br />Again, how much of that is bullshit I don't know.<br />I think two didn't like it but didn't really give any feedback and two never replied.<br />I'm not one for flogging a dead horse, and my agent seems convinced that though this might not be book 1 it will sell eventually. Or in plain English, get another away and suddenly it's good enough to sell.<br /><br />Being a writer and therefore by definition having a mental disfunction, I started book 2. Unfortunately, as anyone who has read my meanderings is aware, I've joined the ranks of those working for a living after ten years of pissing words on paper for pay, so book 2 is slow going. In my work I'm pissing more words on paper but the job satisfaction isn't quite the same and the hours are considerably longer. I work in the City so by the time I get home I'm pretty much either fucked or drunk, neither of which is conducive to good writing.<br />Anyway, that's the state of play. No mega deal for the book I spent months writing, but am I discouraged? Nah.<br />I spent years as a screenwriter and so spent many cumulative months on various projects that never saw the light of day. It's all subjective. Right time. right place, right person.<br /><br />As writers you know that my way will be 'as soon as I get a deal the City can go screw itself.'<br /><br />It's the way it always will be for writers. We're cursed, and God bless us for it.English Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04686490554533309973noreply@blogger.com107tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22720759.post-42109512687296960842010-01-19T20:10:00.002+00:002010-01-19T20:49:28.803+00:00Moment Of TruthWell I guess all I can do now is cross my fingers. My agent returned from Australia last week after a month away, read the latest draft and announced it was going out to publishers this week.<br />I'm pretty excited but not hyperventillating, probably because as a screenwriter I'm used to work going out to producers with little chance of anything happening with it. I know this situation is different, but I'm trying to keep it in perspective. Just because a book goes out to publishers doesn't mean anyone's going to buy it.<br /><br />However, I wrote a book. Got an agent. Got it to publishers. I'm counting that as a win! Some dosh would be an added bonus. The other thing is that my agent has smartly targeted just a few publishers to see what the feedback is. If it's 'We like it but...' then I'll take note of the 'but' and possibly re-write.<br /><br />Obviously I'm hoping the response is positive, in which case it will go out wide. I've been over a year farting about with the book for various reasons and frankly am getting a little punch drunk with it. Especially bearing in mind that it hasn't changed that much since about April last year. Most of the interim period was messing around with agents, waiting for responses, summer holidays etc. It's really hard to believe it's taken so long to get to this stage.<br /><br />Anyway, my agent says it will now go quiet for a couple of weeks, which for a screenwriter is no time at all. My mate Dublin was getting offers on his book after about a fortnight which he found pretty incredible after a career as a screenwriter. I should be so lucky!<br /><br />So that's the state of play at the moment. In two or three weeks I should know if it's a dead duck, a re-write or sold. (which will mean a re-write but at least it will be a paid one!) Either way I've absolutely enjoyed the process of writing a novel, something I didn't know I could do. Whether I've written one that makes it to the shelves is now in the lap of the gods.<br />I'll keep you posted.English Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04686490554533309973noreply@blogger.com57tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22720759.post-85542368763417418952009-11-17T20:58:00.003+00:002009-11-17T22:51:36.049+00:00You don't have to be crazy.....to work here, but it helps.<br /><br />Yep a cliche that a writer would never use. But cliches become so because they tend to be true. And I do actually believe that in order to actively seek and then survive the life of a professional writer you need a certain degree of insanity. Except you don't think you're insane, it's only everyone else who thinks you are.<br /><br />And who can blame them? You have no job security or career structure. Your entire livelihood is based on the subjective decision of others. And unlike the work of a self-employed carpenter for example, your work is up for scrutiny by millions of people who have access to the internet and aren't slow about voicing there opinions.<br /><br />I 've noticed that James Moran has stopped blogging and for a nano second Stephen Fry stopped twittering. A writer is open to abuse in ways never before anticipated. And for a writer that is tough, especially for the sensitive variety and especially for a TV/film writer. We have our names on the credits but the viewing public as a rule have no idea of the battles fought and lost so any sense of injustice over criticism leveled is magnified because the writer in general is overuled by the producers et al and can count themselves lucky if 70% of what was envisaged ends up on screen.<br /><br />It's why I'm trying to move out of that arena with the novel. I want more control over what appears. If I get slated then fair enough. I'll know it was mostly down to me. If it works then it might give me more leverage if I go back into TV. Though to be honest I think it's doubtful if I will go back. I wouldn't trust any of the current regimes on any of the terrestial channels to know good drama if it fucked them soundly and left a return airfair to Rio on the sideboard as a tip.<br /><br />So yes, a degree of insanity is a pre-requisite to being a professional writer. But not too much. As Swiss Tony from The Fast Show would say - being a writer is like making love to a beautiful woman; Nutters don't get to do it. But someone a little off the wall just might.English Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04686490554533309973noreply@blogger.com41tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22720759.post-13324646090546935972009-11-12T19:15:00.004+00:002009-11-12T21:20:26.093+00:00It's not a sprintIt's a marathon, after first completing a slow jog with a dead leg from Bloomsbury to Soho via Dusseldorf.<br />Or so it seems at the moment.<br /><br />For anyone wondering if I was alive or not, yes I think I am. And ready to continue the saga of my quest to turn from TV to novels. To continue where I left off, I have now signed with an agent. Not the mega agent but the other good but less high profile one, for reasons that I will now bore you with.<br />Back in the summer (remember that couple of weeks?) I got line by line notes from mega agent. The other agent had suggested that I alter the structure of the book, and while I understood his reasons, it wouldn't have been the book I wanted to write.<br />Yes okay, I can hear the snorts of 'prima donna' but hell, I've spent 10 years writing shite at the behest of others and don't want to spend the next ten doing the same.<br /><br />So I put the other agent on hold and duly did the line by line notes for mega agent who had no concerns about the structure. Soooooooooome time later, I got a reply from mega agent saying she wanted to pass me on to another agent there because she thought it needed more editing for description and this agent was a whizz, and was that okay with me?<br /><br />In principle it was. Everyone needs a good editor. I think the original title of Mein Kamph was something like 'My four and a half years of struggle against lies, stupidity and cowardice'. I don't think it would have been quite so popular with the original title, possibly because some words have two or more syllables.<br /><br />But... I was then told (cos I asked) that the suggested agent/whizz editor hadn't yet read the manuscript. I mentioned that there was another agent who wanted to sign me and holding him off was making me a litttle uncomfortable, so a little haste would be appreciated. I got a message back that the suggested agent would read the first 50 pages overnight and get back to me.<br /><br />Three days later ....... not a dicky. One thing that 10 years in the Tv trenches has taught me is that you go where the love is. By this point I was feeling like the spare prick at a whore's wedding so decided to go where the love was.<br /><br />I called the agent who wanted to sign me and told him of the problems I had with his notes. He suggested a meeting the next day. The meeting went like this :-<br /><br />Me - My difficulty is that the notes you gave me would make a great book. Just not the book I want to write.<br /><br />Agent - The only reason I made those suggestions was it would make it an easier sell. An absolutely archetypcal thriller if you will. Personally I love the book the way it is.<br /><br />Me- How about I finish the draft I'm working on with the current structure, give it to you for notes and then we put it out to a few publishers for feedback. If it comes back that they want the structure changed, then I'll change it.<br /><br />Agent - Fine by me.<br /><br />Forms signed, hands shaken, meeting done. Okay those were the highlights after the chit-chat, but as a synopsis that was pretty much it.<br /><br />I've just finished the draft and sent it in. Once again awaiting notes, but this time the marathon is extended yet again as the agent is jetting off on holiday for the whole of December, hey ho. Hopefully I'll get the notes back before he goes and can work on the book so it's ready to go out in January.<br />Did I say via Dusseldorf? Try Tokyo.<br /><br />Anyway, what did I learn? Well, the fact that mega agent liked the structure gave me the confidence to stick up for it with the agent who suggested I change it, so I can't say that the months of delay before signing was wasted time. And I'm extreamly happy with my agent, well respected agency, a guy you can talk to, loaded with integrity, business savvy, the bees knees.<br /><br />I learned from my beautiful and talented girlfriend who hooked up with me just before I started this entreprise that, contrary to my own self-image and denial of others opinions, I do indeed have a kamikaze streak and so it's a good job I'm a well hung stud-muffin who's fantastic in bed or I'd be dumped. ( She doesn't know I write this blog so I can get away with a little exaggeration. I don't really think she'd dump me)<br /><br />I guess the next thing of note will be when and if the book goes to a few select publishers for feedback. There will be another post then for anyone who isn't sick to death of the longest suicide note in history!English Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04686490554533309973noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22720759.post-90105193408119171982009-10-05T20:04:00.002+01:002009-10-05T20:47:33.722+01:00Time for an updateLife gets tedious donnit? Well, not really, it can just seem to have a hiatus now and again; the trick is to enjoy the hiatus to the best of your ability.<br /><br />So here's the updated skinny re: my foray into novel writing.<br /><br />Mega agent gave me notes somewhere near the begining of August. I was pissing off to France for a couple of weeks at about the same time. So not a lot of work done then. In my defence it was my first ever proper holiday with my new significant other with rug-rats in tow. My familial duties during the day and getting rat arsed at night with an eclectic bunch of Slovenians who were also staying at the same converted farmhouse [long story] made actual work not as high on the list of priorities as I might have hoped.<br /><br />But boy..... did I learn a lot. And in my view that is the one of the few things a writer can put in the bank and live with. Apart from money.English Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04686490554533309973noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22720759.post-50551545268765748242009-06-22T19:28:00.002+01:002009-06-22T20:19:46.075+01:00nearly JulyJings and help ma bob, where does the time go? I just realised that it was June 2nd when I posted that I was waiting on notes from the big agent. The exciting news is that I'm still waiting. Not that I can complain much as the wait is due to a medical glitch resulting in hospitalization. [the agent, not me] Though truth be told I did complain - silently to myself, you know the kind of thing , why me? If it was raining soup I'd only have a fork, etc.<br /><br />I'd like to think that the reason for my apparent initial lack of sympathy was due to the pressure of holding off another agent who has offered representation and not just because I'm a selfish git. But there is another reason why time is important. As my mate Dublin said, and I paraphrase, 'They all fuck off for the summer' Actually I didn't paraphrase very much of that.<br /><br />You see, Dublin had pretty much finished his 'going out' draft about this time last year but his agent told him he may as well take his time because there was no point in it going to publishers until September when they were all back from their summer jollys in the fleshpots of Margate or trekking in the foothills of Butlins [I hear times are tough in the publishing world] I figure his agent must have been right due to the amout of zeroes in Dublin's deal when it finally went out in September.<br /><br />So this delay seems to me to pretty much mean for certain that at best the book won't go out until the nights are drawing in. At worst it won't go out at all of course and that will be another story. <br /><br />Bearing in mind I began writing the book last September, that's a whole year of my ever shortening life gone for a Burton. That might not seem a lot to you, but I enjoy my earthly pleasures to such an extent that I think the old 'three score years and ten' is wildly optimistic in my case.<br /><br />What's more to the point is that it looks like I will have to put on a suit for the first time in fifteen years. Yes the time has come when I have to get a proper job. Man cannot live by bread alone and I am doughless. Having concentrated on the novel over the last year and become tired of the whole TV game to the point where I can't be arsed writing for it [and to be fair the feeling is probably mutual in that they can't be arsed employing me] money has become an issue. A few months back I put feelers out in my old career, mainly to please those riding the alimony pony, not really thinking it would ever actually come to the point where I had to do anything about it. But this latest delay which will now turn into months has forced my hand. I've been offered a consultancy job for an initial three months, which suits the time line down to the ground. I figure it'll take them that long to discover I'm crap by which time the book will hopefully have sold.<br /><br />This is as close to a back-up plan as I ever get.<br /><br />So that's how things roll at Chez English. The next expected news is next week when I should finaly get the notes I've been waiting for. Coincidentally the week where I should be donning the old whistle and flute [ if it still fits]English Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04686490554533309973noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22720759.post-79838674368605005802009-06-02T17:08:00.002+01:002009-06-02T18:23:04.162+01:00MeetingsFor those of you following this foray into the novel writing world, and I know there at least three of you lol, here is the latest.<br /><br />I met with the big time agent who said she loved the book and would give me line by line notes shortly. She didn't get down on bended knee, call me the greatest gift to writing since Jeffery Archer and offer to have my children, but I'll let that slide. Neither did she offer to actually sign me, saying that she never signs a client until the book is ready to go out. Fair enough. It was a good meeting and the broad notes she gave were very do-able. I haven't done anything about them as yet because experience in the trenches tells me that anything I do on the broad notes can easily be fucked six ways from Sunday by the line by line edit.<br /><br />I got back from the meeting and checked my email. Lo and behold to my great surprise I'm invited to another meeting with another agent. I trotted along and that too seemed to go pretty well. The broad notes were a bit more onerous involving some hefty structural changes that right now I think may or may not change the tone of the book, and again he didn't whip out the papers and ask for my John Hancock.<br /><br />That didn't worry me too much. With no mention of signing I was free to take or leave whatever notes I wanted and after due consideration go for a re-write with whichever agent I thought best.<br />Until yesterday<br />That was when the second agent mailed me to say he had thought about it over the weekend and wanted the old moniker asap.<br />To make matters more complicated the first agent mailed to say her notes would be delayed as she had to go to LA for most of this week.<br /><br />So what's a girl to do? I like the second agent. He 's with a good agency, gives good notes, is a nice guy and clearly has integrity. The first agent, I've yet to see substantive notes but liked her and what she had to say and she's with an agency with major international firepower.<br /><br />I guess common sense has to come in here. There's no way I can sign for the second agent without seeing the first agent's notes. As my mate Dublin pointed out, these guys spend all day pressing the reject button so I shouldn't feel bad about keeping them waiting for a decision. They do what's best for their business and therefore so should I. For my business I have to decide on who gives the best combination of getting the book into shape to sell and then selling it. Two equally important parts of the equation. I won't have all the information I need until I get the second set of substantive notes when the first agent gets back from La La land.<br /><br />I don't want to piss off the second agent by stalling. As I said, I liked what he had to say, but it's a risk I have to take. This is a business when it comes down to it. And talking of business I feel a bit like a whore working two beds, trying to figure out which one is the more lucrative, but hey, no lay no pay.<br /><br />I'll stall and I'll wait. If it goes tits up.... well you know me. I'll let you know!<br /><br />But here is the major difference between book agents and film agents that has only just become apparent to me. Because I'm a bit thick.<br /><br />A film/tv agent will take you on not because they think they can sell your script, but because they think they can use it to get you other paying work. A book agent takes you on because they think they can sell your book. End of story.<br /><br />My sense of dramedy kinda likes that.English Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04686490554533309973noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22720759.post-53010431513526918972009-05-13T10:31:00.002+01:002009-05-13T11:17:13.758+01:00And yet anotherIs blogging magical? No sooner do I post than something happens. Or it could be Eleanor breaking my legs! If so it worked.<br /><br />I mentioned in the previous post the agent who asked me to call before signing for anyone else as she hadn't finished the manuscript? Well she still hasn't, but emailed me to say she wants to meet next week.<br /><br />I know enough to know that agents don't meet with writers unless they are pretty serious. I don't want to go into names at present but here was how this all came about.<br /><br />A few weeks ago I had just gotten a couple of rejections. As a pro writer and therefore by definition a masochist nothing spurs me on like a rejection so I thought I would go to the top this time and query three of the biggest players. Two responded almost immediately and one responded with a deafening silence. <br /><br />A couple of weeks later one came back saying she hadn't finished it but really enjoying it. This is the one asking to let her know before I signed with anyone else. I thought at the time that it was promising but didn't make too much of it as she could still finish the book and decide it was a steaming pile of crap. <br /><br />I didn't hear anything for a week or so, then the other big player came back having read the first 10 chapters and asked for first refusal on the manuscript.<br /><br />As I said in the previous post I didn't quite give that but told them I would wait to hear from them before signing with anyone else.<br /><br />Now it seems to me that any right thinking person is going to use what little leverage they have in this situation, so to find out where the first agent was at I emailed her telling her of the second agent's interest, basically stating they had asked for first refusal. Never lie! It is a very small world!<br /><br />She emailed back asking for a couple more days, then the next day asked for the meeting. Of course she may well have got back to me this week anyway, but I don't think a little pressure ever hurt anyone.<br /><br />The thing that strikes me is that if I had taken the first two or three rejections as gospel and thrown in the towel then it would never have got to this stage. My mate Dublin Dave, he of the mega-deal, has a good chuckle over some of the rejections he got for his novel before striking gold shortly after. It is a very subjective business.<br /><br />So that's how I went about it. a short query letter, a submission, and a long wait. The query letter consisted of just a short introduction saying who I was, a one paragraph description of the book and finishing off by saying I had solid ideas ready for five more novels. [No one is that keen on a one-book writer]<br /><br />My success rate on requests was pretty high so it seemed to work.<br /><br />I'm still waiting for the second agent to get back, and a third has had a re-write. But as Dublin said the other day, writing is one half of the job and selling is the other. For example, off his own back, and not from his publisher, he has got some A list writers to blurb his novel. That's chutzpah! Being a good mate he has also volunteered to quiz his editor on the merits of the two major agents interested in my book, thereby giving me some valuable information, but maybe as importantly creating a little ripple of buzz that there might be a hot book out there.<br /><br />You've got to work it!<br /><br />I guess it's going to be a long week to the meeting and that tiny voice in my head is still saying she might actually finish the book and change her mind. If I wasn't insecure I wouldn't be a writer!English Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04686490554533309973noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22720759.post-34671186491390495182009-05-11T10:45:00.002+01:002009-05-11T11:49:50.517+01:00The latestEleanor has reminded me that it is some time since my last post. In the intervening weeks life has treated me like an excited puppy, in that it has smacked me on the nose then rubbed it in my own wee. Nothing to do with writing but a reminder that if you don't take care of things they have a habit of biting you on the ass.<br /><br />Anyhoo, back to the book. After an initial surge of requests from agents everything went dead, in that I heard practically nothing, nada, zilch for several weeks except for a couple of rejections from agents citing that they didn't really handle that type of material, which made me wonder why they had requested it in the first place? Oh and one from an agent whom I thought would lap it up but said he was too busy with existing clients. That was a disappointment, mainly because I think it was really just a brush off - but it's a numbers game so I ploughed onwards.<br /><br />One particular very big agency asked for an exclusive read of the first 10 chapters, stating that they were very quick and on that basis I agreed, but after a month I decided that either they weren't that quick or weren't interested so sent it out to a few more.<br /><br />Again, things went quiet for a couple of weeks but then in the space of a few days a week or so ago I got what I think are some good notes back from one agent who said he'd be happy to take another look if I felt like re-writing to his notes, and another top agent sent me an email to say she hadn't finished the book yet but was very much enjoying it and to please call her before signing with any other agent.<br /><br />Then a couple of days after that, the 'exclusive read' agency, about 7 weeks after I first contacted them, finally got back to say they loved the first 10 chapters and please send the rest, again on an exclusive read basis.<br /><br />I decided that honesty was the best policy and told them what I had done and why. They took it pretty well, apologising for the delay caused mainly by the London Book Fair taking up their attention and still wanted the read. But they did ask for first refusal on the manuscript.<br /><br />This is a top agency and one I'd love to sign for, so on the basis that they said they'd get back to me hopefully this week I agreed. Well I didn't quite agree. I said I wouldn't sign with anyone else until I heard from them, which isn't quite the same thing as first refusal but I think is fair enough.<br /><br />So that's where I'm at. Three good agencies are showing a bit of interest, but I've been in this game long enough, albeit the TV side, to know that doesn't count for a bucket of warm spit until the deal is done. And then of course, even if I'm signed there is no guarantee the book will sell. Though at least the agents involved have more than enough juice to get it read by the top people over a weekend kind of thing, which I'm told counts for a lot in this business.<br /><br />So it's fingers crossed that at least one of the three will come good. Time wise I guess I'm about six to eight weeks behind where I hoped I'd be, but having no experience at this I don't know whether I was being unreleastic or not.<br /><br />I should know in the next week or two whether I have a shot with an agent and then the real white knuckle ride starts with re-writes and going to publishers. I'll keep you posted!English Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04686490554533309973noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22720759.post-70364178133770441192009-03-17T09:35:00.003+00:002009-03-17T10:14:04.148+00:00The story so far.....Okay, time has passed and after an initial send out to half a dozen agents here is the score sheet.<br /><br />Two agents have had the first 10k of the novel for about four weeks - no word as yet.<br /><br />One has had the first 10k and knocked it back citing how busy he was with the London Book Fair as the reason he was not able to rep it. [which means he didn't really dig it that much]<br /><br />One has had the full manuscript for three weeks - no word yet.<br /><br />One has had the full manuscript for two weeks and knocked it back. Apparently he was looking for a more different take on a classic genre. I'm not going to panic about that. I write stories the way I write them and if that is more of a classic take on a classic genre then that is my taste. It is all very subjective.<br /><br />One has had the full manuscript for a day - the bugger hasn't got back yet.<br /><br />My initial plan was to target a few specific agents and if none bit then I might at least get some feedback that would improve its chances down the line.<br /><br />Got to say the feedback so far has been less than illuminating, but I think I'll persevere for a while. It isn't the agent's job to give feedback to someone he or she has no intention of signing, but if they are honest enough to say exactly why they didn't go for the book then that can be helpful.<br /><br />I'm not throwing this out as rock solid advice, just the way I'm going about things. The other plus with this method is that it gives you time to read and re-read the manuscript, honing as you go. You can always find something that could be done better and as there are still most of the big agents to try this can only help if or when they read the book.<br /><br />On another note, I sent a spec script to World Productions last week. The company famous for This Life and perhaps not so famous for Rough Diamonds, Party Animals and Goldplated. <br /><br />A guy's gotta eat, and the producer I sent it to is a fan and also a very nice person.<br /><br />She emailed me yesterday to say that it was her last day in the office as everyone was being made redundant.<br /><br />World Productions, one of the former powerhouses of Indie production going to the wall? Times are tough indeed.English Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04686490554533309973noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22720759.post-7258967840313023732009-02-27T10:41:00.004+00:002009-02-27T11:06:20.969+00:00Be prepared, they are quick!So last Friday lunchtime I sent off four query letters to agents. Being used to the film and tv world I expected the sound of silence for weeks if not months. Imagine my surprise when all four responded within hours asking for the first 10k.<br /><br />It is indeed a strange land!<br /><br />Two of them asked for a detailed synopsis as well. Which of course I hadn't done. Luckily having whipped up treatments at short notice in the past I wasn't much fazed by this but for someone who maybe isn't used to it then maybe forewarned is forearmed.<br /><br />You can see from the above I am a dummy at this and of course everyone else already has a detailed synopsis already written.<br /><br />So with packages duly emailed back to them on Monday I sat back to wait in the expectation it would be some time before I heard anything.<br /><br />On Thursday I got a request from one of them for the full manuscript. Now, as I've said, I'm a dummy at this game but that speed of reply is something that I know all you TV veterans out there think only survives in a world of chocolate lampposts and candy cotton clouds.<br /><br />But it's true I tells ya. Just like in Waterworld, that fabled dry land does exist.<br /><br />Okay it may just mean I get to hear my rejections quicker, but hey. The point is I guess, that if I had gone by normal TV timetables for reading material, I would have been tempted to have sent<br />out the first 10k while I still had another 20k to write, thinking I'd be finished by the time anyone got back to me.<br /><br />Far as I can see that is a definite no-no. If an agent gets back to you in a timely and professional manner I figure the last thing he wants to hear is 'I haven't finished it yet'.English Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04686490554533309973noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22720759.post-35934340264836226412009-02-24T21:12:00.002+00:002009-02-24T22:38:07.348+00:00UpdateFirstly, Dave and Will and Potty and Adrian and John and Charlie and everyone else who is still reading this after all this time, thanks for the exclamation marks, lol.<br /><br />I started up the blog again mainly because I thought it would be interesting for writers who haven't yet done it to see how the process worked, or didn't, with a TV writer going to novels.<br /><br />Have no idea how this will pan out, as it may be a very short re-start before the novel world quickly tells me to piss off.<br /><br />But here's the skinny as I have played it so far.<br /><br />Step 1 - Write a novel<br /><br />Step 2 - Send off query letters to any book agents for whom you have managed to finagle direct e-mail addresses. [Dump addresses are not worth bothering with unless you plan on living to 120]<br /><br />Step 3 - Finally remember that sending off query letters to any Tom, Dick or Dick is not the way to go.<br /><br />Step 4 - Have a good mate who has just had a half million dollar book deal give you addresses of agents who get back to you the same day and are interested in the same kind of material.<br /><br />Step 5 -Make sure that the 10k words you send off to said agents who get back to you the same day aren't shit.<br /><br />Okay I had two advantages. Steps 1 and 4. Step1 is common sense and step 4 is earned from the trenches. Friendships forged in the heat of TV battle are like veterans from a platoon hitting the beach on D day. Except half of the platoon are Nazis. <br /><br />Associates grass on you to the Gestapo. Friends are like Anne Frank's landlord.<br /><br />Anyhoo, the first 10k of the novel is now with 4 of the top agents. Now it's squeaky bum time.<br /><br />When you've done what you can, all you can do is wait.English Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04686490554533309973noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22720759.post-55283781061881946102009-02-03T21:51:00.003+00:002009-02-03T22:38:59.931+00:00For those about to dieThe lights have been off and the blinds shut for a few months now and I've been a reclusive, obnoxious bastard. But the novel is just about finished. <br /><br />In a week or so I'll be sending it out into the big wide world and so I thought that, bearing in mind I have no knowledge whatsoever about the publishing world, it might be of interest to someone to see how, or if, it progresses.<br /><br />For the last 10 years I've written for TV, mostly in serial drama, with an option or two on my own creations. I know a fair share of producers and network execs and agents, and I know from looking at a story before I even begin to write the script that it will come in at X pages plus or minus five.<br /><br />But this is different. I don't know any publishers. I don't know any book agents. I don't even know if I can write a novel. I mean write a novel as opposed to type 400 pages of drivel. Is 300 pages the second act mid-point reversal? Who the hell knows.<br /><br />All I can say is that I like how it's turned out. Which, admittedly isn't saying much as I may be slightly biased. But more importantly I liked the process. I even like the fact that I'm a total virgin in what is for me a shiny new arena.<br /><br />I can tell the kind of stories I want to tell and not have half a dozen bods sticking their oar in at every stage, and that is HIGH COTTON after some of the assholes I and every other TV and film writer who lasts more than a few years have had their fair share of. I might not make any money from the book, but heck, it took me less time to write than the sum total of a couple of years worth of spec scripts that got nowhere, and it did my soul a lot of good.<br /><br />So here we are. No agent, no contacts. An unknown submitting his first effort. Yeah baby! Let's roll the dice.English Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04686490554533309973noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22720759.post-30445941006328634772008-10-02T17:56:00.002+01:002008-10-02T18:05:10.113+01:00Au revoirI'm calling time on the blog, at least for a few weeks. I'm knee deep in something not connected with TV and as such don't have much to say. I may be back and may not. If not, thanks to you all for reading and for your comments. I hope some of the less ranting posts have been helpful. And I hope some of the more ranting ones have struck a chord with pro's and given a different view to non-pro's.<br /><br />Keep doing the do, people. Write on. We are story tellers. Keep telling them.English Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04686490554533309973noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22720759.post-61988361947589410892008-09-12T17:20:00.003+01:002008-09-12T17:50:50.704+01:00String theoryLike most people, because the second act is a bit dull, I only skim Stephen Hawking's ' A Brief History Of Time. But second act apart, it's a great education on how puny your mind is.<br /><br />However, his central theme of the search for a unifying theory of EVERYTHING makes him one of the world's most important contributors to written, and /or filmed entertainment. And that's not just because he appeared in The Simpsons.<br /><br />For entertainment to be successful, EVERYTHING has to come together. The writer does what he/she can and throws it out there. Blood, sweat and tears should have gone into it, but that guarantees nothing. You then need a talented producer, a talented director , a talented cast and good scheduling and publicity. And if that's not enough, you need a whole hell of a lot more. <br /><br />You need the audience to like it. They don't have to love it. There are very few shows or movies I love, but there are a good number I like. These are the ones when that 'chemistry' comes together and actually makes me care about what's going on.<br /><br />That's the string theory of entertainment.English Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04686490554533309973noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22720759.post-19213163615689957712008-09-08T15:55:00.002+01:002008-09-08T16:22:29.892+01:00Fingers CrossedMy mate's first novel went to publishers over the weekend. His top flight agent reckons by the middle of this week he'll know if it's champagne or diet coke. I'm guessing the former. My mate is an excellent writer and this agent knows his onions. He recently got an 800k advance on a three book deal for a first time writer.<br /><br />As some might have read in an earlier post, my mate is a dyed in the wool TV writer and I've found his comments on the switch to novels both enlightening and encouraging. So much so that if he weren't such a good mate I'd poke his eyes out with a sharp stick.<br /><br />The creative satisfaction is greater.<br />The people are nicer to deal with.<br />The writer is looked on as undoubtedly the most important element in the process.<br /><br />Bugger!<br /><br />Having said that, he still wants to write for the screen. I guess it's the screenwriter's bug. More deadly than a NHS hospital. The need to see your words transformed from the page to the moving picture, with living breathing characters.<br /><br />I'm praying his book takes off in a big way for two reasons. Firstly he's a good mate who has suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous execs, took a stand and suffered financial hardship as a result. Stand up guys are few and far between in this biz.<br />Secondly, as a best selling author, he won't have to toe the line like most jobbing writers, and as execs will be falling over themselves to commission something we might see his last spec get made, which having read it, I would watch in a heartbeat. <br /><br />So, no names, no pack-drill, but a collective crossing of fingers would be much appreciated.English Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04686490554533309973noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22720759.post-13907796406507455522008-09-03T17:56:00.003+01:002008-09-03T19:56:53.150+01:00It's not me - honestOkay so I posted about The Secret Millionaire and lo and behold it beats BBC drama 'Mutual Friends' in the 9pm ratings this week.<br /><br />I don't think that's down to my 10 regular readers perhaps changing their viewing habits because of my review. It's down to the audience watching something that connects with them. It's a piece of hokum. But it's hokum that people actually care about.<br /><br />I decide which Programme I'm going to watch the same way I decide which movie I'm going to see. A combination of the talent involved and the trailers. Mostly the former. But I can be put off by the trailers and PR crap. I didn't watch <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Bonekickers</span> because I just didn't connect with the trail highlighting 'A group of maverick <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">archaeologists</span>......' I could tell it wasn't for me from that alone.<br /><br />Use <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">oxymorons</span> only when they don't sound like they were concocted by someone in sixth form media studies.<br /><br />Never seen an ep of Mutual Friends. But it lost a million viewers and got butt fucked by a reality show on a minority channel in the prime time slot.<br /><br />That should tell us something? But what? David Hare's 'My Zinc Bed' on BBC2 didn't exactly set the ratings alight either, despite starring Uma Thurman. Well I guess it tells us nothing. My view is that TV has been dumbed down to the extent that Soap, Reality and Gameshows have become the audiences expectation. Hence part of the reason for the dwindling audiences. Gripping drama has become the exception.<br /><br />As a teenager I remember watching The Singing Detective, Edge Of Darkness, GBH, Boys from The Blackstuff, Auf Weidershein Pet and on and on. I didn't need or want yoof TV. Network attempts to provide yoof TV generally pissed me off as patronizing twaddle.<br /><br />Nowadays, unfortunately Network attempts to provide adult drama hit that same spot.English Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04686490554533309973noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22720759.post-35672744209309905282008-09-01T21:02:00.002+01:002008-09-01T21:51:38.441+01:00A PlugI always read Robin's blog over at Writing for Performance. [If I were more computer literate I'd have a link here, but he's on my blog roll thingy.<br /><br />Always interesting articles pulled from the press, reviews, interviews, music. Very nice. Another one I read regularly is Dead Things On Sticks, Dennis McGrath's Canadian blog.<br /><br />Don't get me wrong, I read and enjoy a heck of a lot more blogs, but it is interesting to see how sometimes a degree of synchronisity occurs.<br /><br />Dennis has recently posted about the fear factor in blogging and how he feels people don't comment on his, sometimes shoot from the hip, blog, because they perhaps fear repercussions within the industry.<br /><br />Lucy Gannon recently gave a scathing interview attacking the BBC and their commissioning policies. Robin has pulled a recent interview from the press where she plugs her latest project, The Children - a three parter for ITV.<br /><br />When I read her initial attack I admired her bollocks. I knew about the 3 parter for ITV, but for a long term pro, that doesn't make a twinkle in the eye of daddy swallow in Africa, never mind a summer, career wise. So for a pro writer to openly come out and dis the Beeb, that was high cotton.<br /><br />In Robin's Blog I notice the tag line that Lucy has recently become a writer on Coronation Street. Corrie writers have probably just about the longest shelf life of any soap. Tough to get on the show, but stable once you're in. Aha! The coming over the parapet to take a pop at the BBC makes sense. Or so you'd think.<br /><br />But you know what, I respect her bollocks even more now. TV land doesn't like boat rockers. So yes she can give a rollicking to the BEEB knowing she's okay financially for the next few years. But someone of her experience also knows that some people have long memories. So it was a brave stand, because nothing lasts forever. She knew her position, she had a 3 parter and a spot on the premier soap for ITV and as such her criticisms could be spun by the BEEB as being a disgruntled writer whom they didn't want to hire. She knew that, and she still said it.<br /><br />It's a bit like when Jimmy McGovern said everything on ITV at 9pm is shit. Okay he had his 'The Street' series coming out on BBC at the time, but he also had his one off 'Cracker' coming out on ITV at 9pm. Something ITV were keen to point out in their defence.<br /><br />Not much was made of it at the time. But the more that established and talented writers come out and say something is rotten in the state of TV then the more the dunderheads might listen.English Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04686490554533309973noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22720759.post-5782130499083452622008-08-29T17:06:00.003+01:002008-08-29T18:29:09.744+01:00Gender - BendersI see Jeremy <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Paxman</span> has been putting the cat amongst the pigeons again. First it's the dumbing down of the BBC, then it's Marks and Spencer underwear, and now he claims there is no place for the middle aged white man working in TV.<br /><br />On the first point - agree. On the second point - agree. The best underwear I have found is Petroleum [the make not the liquid]. Doesn't fade and keeps the crown jewels safe. [The worst is Calvin Klein <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">btw</span>]<br /><br />On the third point - well I'm not sure if he was talking about TV in general or the news department. And I'm not sure he's right in either case. It depends on what level he's talking about. The REAL big bosses are still predominantly male. But the commissioners and gatekeepers tend to be female.<br /><br />Apparently 60% of the TV audience is female. But I've never been a fan of statistics, they tend to say whatever the proponent wants them to. Soaps are the biggest weekly ratings performer in any schedule, and soaps tend to be predominantly female orientated. Ergo I'm not surprised at that statistic. But does that mean that females are given preferential treatment over males when it comes to script editing, producing , development and commissioning jobs? I very much doubt it.<br /><br />Here's a theory I have just thunk. It won't win me any fans with the PC brigade but hey ho. Men tend to fall into three camps.<br /><br />The Ruthlessly Ambitious - climbing the corporate ladder or starting businesses for whom the deal is better than [or at least as good as] sex. <br /><br />The Steady Eddie's - the salts of the earth who want a decent job with enough satisfaction and money to be content and look after their family.<br /><br />The Wasters - Drink, drugs, violence and meaningless sex.<br /><br />I reckon the split is about 1o - 85 - 3 [the other 2% want to be writers and so are beyond hope]<br /><br />With females I reckon the split is more like 5- 93 -1 [only 1% want to be writers because they are way more sensible than males, equally only 5% want to be ruthlessly ambitious for the same reason]<br /><br />So there you go. Using these irrefutable statistics it is easy to see why executive positions in TV are more favoured by females. Also, as any married man knows, women are both far more self convinced and more comfortable at telling you what you have done is wrong.<br /><br />But to get serious. I don't think their is any gender conspiracy. Good grief, get a grip <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Jezza</span>. What I do think is that I don't have a lot of faith in the current network regimes that they actually know their audience. I don't care if they are male or female.<br /><br />Good drama <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">transcends</span> gender. The paucity of good drama on TV right now isn't a male/female issue . It's about executives of whichever gender being more concerned with media politics than the audience. They are so far up their own arses with talk of multi platforms and digital media and 360 degrees, and the rest of the jargon that they forget what their primary function is, if they ever knew it in the first place.English Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04686490554533309973noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22720759.post-12285349411904537372008-08-28T09:16:00.003+01:002008-08-28T10:06:02.795+01:00The Bullshit DetectorI've had two sets of notes on my new spec from two different <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">prodcos</span>. One said they didn't think the twist to a classic genre was big enough and the other would prefer not to have the twist at all.<br /><br />What's a girl to do?<br /><br />Well, nothing for the moment. When faced with two opposing views of a major part of the script I tend to wait for a few more notes and then see which way the wind is blowing. It also goes without saying that if either of these <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">prodcos</span> REALLY REALLY liked the basic script concept, then they'd be on the blower asking if I'd be <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">amenable</span> to changing it to suit their wants. Phone is not ringing off the hook.<br /><br />So I have good reason for not doing anything at the moment. But had either of them come back saying they would like it to be more x, y and z and could I do that? Well, that's when the Bullshit detector has to come in to force. It's a two way detector, picking up your bullshit and theirs and is one of the most vital tools in the writers.... . toolbox.<br /><br />No one likes to work for free, but it happens all the time. Heck the spec was free work to begin with. But interest is interest, and if you figure you can do it and not harm your original concept and reason for writing it in the first place and if you have the time then why the hell not? It's a tough old world out there and at the very least you're showing willing.<br /><br />But first your Bullshit detector has to come into force. On one level, who are these people, what's their track record? Are you just going to be throwing good time after bad? On another, do you actually think the notes won't harm your belief in the script or is it a bag over the head and write for old glory?<br /><br />It's usually quite easy to tell the two extremes when someone is either blowing smoke up your ass or is just way off base with their take on the script. Much more tricky is to recognise difficult but constructive notes. And again that's when your own Bullshit detector has to kick in. Are you clinging on to the script as is, because you like it so much and how dare anyone say it isn't fantastic?<br /><br />When I get notes on a spec I give them the once over then set them aside for a few days. It's very easy to get defensive at first blush, and you want to be open to whatever is being suggested. A couple of days takes the edge off.<br /><br />William Goldman said that 'when you start believing all the hype, you're finished as a writer.' It works the other way too. Start believing all the criticisms and you might as well break the pencil.<br /><br />Writing is always subjective to the reader. Sometimes you'll be right and sometimes you wont be. Hopefully your Bullshit detector will kick in and point the way.English Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04686490554533309973noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22720759.post-45948134770279838302008-08-26T21:31:00.004+01:002008-08-26T21:52:57.040+01:00The Secret MillionaireI'm watching it right now. Lovely altruistic idea. A millionaire goes undercover in a deprived area and at the end of the show gives a large wad of dosh to deserving recipients.<br /><br />The voice over after every ad break reminds us that the millionaire is undercover. This weeks millionaire is posing as a street warden.<br /><br />How many street wardens have a fucking camera crew following them around? Completely nuts. But I like it. I know it's a huge fake but I don't care. Would I watch it again? Possibly. It's life affirming TV and that's rare enough to make me forgive the fakery.English Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04686490554533309973noreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22720759.post-36425303557529901312008-08-25T19:27:00.002+01:002008-08-25T22:57:43.303+01:00It's about The Audience, stupidThis seems to be a recurring theme in my recent posts. I guess it's weighing heavy on my mind at the moment. I read some of Armando Iannuci's Alternative McTaggert Lecture at the Edinburgh TV festival. Iannuci is responsible for some of the best comedy shows on TV including Alan Partridge and The Thick Of It, so whatever he says is worth taking account of.<br /><br />He advocates the BBC creating a HBO pay per view type channel.<br />I had to think hard about that. My first reaction is that there is no way in hell the BBC should be involved in pay per view. Not while the licence is in force.<br /><br />Ostensibly his argument is that given the budget restraints he's found lately and restrictions on what he'd like to do, the BBC should be maximising foreign sales in order to plough more into content that will sell world wide and therefore generate income, and when this happens there has to be a sales vehicle to capitalise on it.<br /><br />There appears to be two different arguments here. By having a dedicated pay per view channel that doesn't go through the usual commissioning process of one size fits all they have more chance of the break out hit that will sell world wide. And secondly the current commissioners on the main BBC channels are a bunch of tossers and BBC Worldwide don't know their arse from their elbow.<br /><br />Okay, it's actually the same argument but I gave the political spin and the actual meaning.<br /><br />Iannucci is a writer/producer, so I can see where he is coming from. Look at The Office. A huge hit on both sides of the Atlantic and sold to loads of other 'territories' [as the sales people have it]<br /><br />It must be doubly frustrating for a writer/producer/writer to see genius fucked up rather than just the one hyphenate writer/writer.<br /><br />But let's not get carried away here. Do we really want a two tier BBC? One that produces crap and one that makes money? Not while I'm spending how ever many squids on a licence fee.<br /><br />If they can't make good TV with the billions they get then you have to look at who's in charge. Simple as that. At the same festival/jolly boy's outing, esteemed Director Of Vision Jana Bennet defended the accusation that digital channels BBC3 and 4 were denuding BBC 2 of it's status by saying 'that is an old argument and I don't buy it'<br /><br />Well, old doesn't mean wrong, especially as the age of the argument probably dates to the time when the entire BBC2 drama budget was shifted to BBC3 and ....who the fuck are you Jana?<br /><br />The AUDIENCE don't care about channel loyalty. The AUDIENCE care about entertainment. Mindless entertainment has it's place. Hey I love it on occasion. But like too much scrumpy, it's a yoofs drink that makes you regret it in the morning. The eternal dichotomy between entertainment, money and audience is that there has to be a tri-partite contract between them.<br /><br />But the most important element in the trifecta is Audience. We are not stupid. I say that as the audience because that's how I watch TV.English Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04686490554533309973noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22720759.post-34512209058791768582008-08-20T16:48:00.005+01:002008-08-20T18:09:20.797+01:00What a tangled web we weaveI guess it's wading through the Gruniad media blog thanks to anons links that has set me off on a political bent [media politics] But make no mistake, media politics play a great part in what gets commissioned and what doesn't.<br /><br />Take the news that the BBC have just greenlit a remake of The 39 Steps, to be produced by BBC Scotland.<br /><br />I know, the first question is WHY? Several films and a series have already been made. But hey ho, I happen to love the story. So I thought about it some more. It really makes a lot of sense. Jane Tranter prodigy Ann Mensah, head of drama at BBC Scotland has been coming under fire in the Scottish press for a complete lack of Scottish based commissions. Relying on such Scottish fare as Waterloo Road and Film 2008 wasn't cutting it. A large swathe of the drama budget going on a Scandanavian based detective show didn't help matters.<br /><br />There is Hope Springs in the offing. A Shed Productions effort already being dubbed by insiders as Hopeless Springs. But on the even more down side I hear the flagship soap River City is in deep doo-doo. The geniuses have decided that rather than be a two half hour a week soap they are going to get rid of many of the characters and sets and turn it into a one hour drama with self contained stories. By the way I'm also informed that the geniuses set about demolishing and rebuilding exterior sets without applying for planning permission and after it was pointed out to them that is a 'little on hold' shall we say.<br />So....... Fuck the audience then? Change the format and nature of the programme after 6 years? Better to dump it now and start afresh. The audience is going to be spitting feathers so the new format is on a losing wicket from the off. More fodder for the Scottish press.<br /><br />So with that in mind it makes perfect sense to commission yet another remake of a well known and loved tale. It's Scottish [mainly] It's branded. It's almost guaranteed ratings and even BBC Scotland would have a job screwing it up.<br /><br />So there you go. If you were in the political know, you could have pitched Brigadoon.English Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04686490554533309973noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22720759.post-42051492573219968402008-08-20T00:43:00.004+01:002008-08-20T01:36:01.608+01:00The drama crunchThis blog might seem to be the Cassandra of the scribeosphere. But bear with it. I am a glass half full guy really.<br /><br />C4 has slumped to it's lowest ratings since 2001. ITV has slumped to it's lowest ratings ....ever? The BBC are on top only because their shit is less shittier than the others and it's the first channel on the remote.<br /><br />The X Factor is ITV's biggest non soap ratings winner. Without it they would be toast. You can say the same for C4 and Big Brother.<br /><br />I hear rumours that Julie Gardner is to replace Jane Tranter at the BBC. I'm sticking to my glass half full. Say what you like about Doc Who, she had the balls to let a writer be the showrunner, and made it plain for all to see that Stephen Moffat is going to be a great one. And all credit to Russel T Davies for bringing him on board.<br /><br />But essentially what all the channels are missing is 'must see drama'. That's obvious. Why are they missing it? Not so obvious. There are various factors. but I think number one is a generation gap. A two fold generation gap. A 'Thatcherite' legacy has given us a bunch of middle ager execs who hold the purse strings and believe the market is King coupled with a brash know it all Blairite brigade who believe if they talk convincingly enough about 'new media' they should be listened to.<br />Neither really know what the fuck they're doing so you end up with the camel. The horse designed by committee.<br /><br />And what they forget in the scramash for ideological domination is the most important factor.<br /><br />THE AUDIENCEEnglish Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04686490554533309973noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22720759.post-65815314742579189972008-08-17T17:12:00.015+01:002008-08-17T20:58:08.837+01:00Who put the ass in classic?I just got feedback on a spec from a well known prodco. Please bear in mind the following is in no way a reflection on the prodco. They are doing what needs to be done.<br /><br />So they loved the script, but didn't feel they could do anything with it as thanks to Life On Mars [meant ironically] the Broadcasters were only looking at classic genres if they had a massive L.O.M type twist.<br /><br />Nothing wrong with that. Well, okay one major thing wrong with that. Apparently the perceived wisdom percolating down from the broadcasters is that they will 'only' look at classic genres if they have a massive Life On Mars type twist. That 'only' is the rub.<br /><br />Now, whether that perception is erroneous or not, it is still there. And if that perception is true, then the Broadcasters are just plain wrong. I'm in no way suggesting my spec is shatteringly brilliant and these fools can't see it, by the way. Way too long in the tooth for that kind of thought process. And I know the person at the prodco enough to know that if my script sucked they would tell me. It's the reasoning that irks.<br /><br />A huge twist is simply a bait and switch trick. A non recurring phenomenon. You can't build a drama schedule on it. Life On Mars worked, even though the concept of 'is it real or is he in a coma' is a hoary old drama chestnut. It just hadn't been seen on TV for a while and certainly not in series format.<br />But that was then, and this is now, and if you keep trying to emulate the success of something you end up with a load of pale imitations. The big twist series works if used sparingly. If not you get with what I call the 'Brookside'<br /><br />A well loved soap garnered a few column inches and ratings with a sensational plotline. Instead of letting it rest, it was decided to try and emulate it in ever more frequent bizarre stories. As a result the audience grew tired as the characters they tuned in for were subjected to more and more unbelievable scenarios. Ratings began to dive and the soap was cancelled. Entertainment is a fickle son'bitch. The audience can smell a stinker quicker than you can write it.<br /><br />Take a look at 3 of the biggest rating shows on TV. New Tricks, Foyle's War and Doc Martin. None have huge twists. Okay Foyle's War is [was] set in the Forties, but a twist on a classic genre in the vein of Life On Mars? Hardly. High Concept doesn't mean huge twist. New Tricks, Foyle's War and Doc Martin all have High Concepts.<br /><br />But equally as important, they are well written, well acted dramas. And that is why they are and were ratings hits. Like Inspector Morse or Traffic. The 'let's have the same as the last hit but different' mentality may be okay for the film producer huckster out to make a quick buck. But TV has to be in it for the long term and that 'different and that's it' dog don't hunt with the mainstream TV audience.<br /><br />It's also telling that a 3 year old series is being referenced as the bar to aim for. That mentality clearly hasn't produced much of note in the intervening years.<br /><br />But hey, I remember when torture porn was the flavour of the month. This will pass, same as that did. Meanwhile it's hunker down and write. Hopefully what YOU like rather than just what you think MIGHT sell. Chasing an audience rarely works. Chasing what a Broadcaster says it wants is generally even less fruitful.<br /><br />The spec has just gone to a few more prodcos. It'll be interesting to hear their take.English Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04686490554533309973noreply@blogger.com7