New home, new garden, same shed

We've moved house.  We haven't actually told very many people about this.  But, what with e-mail and postal re-direction services, who really needs to know where we actually live?

But this has meant that I have been ousted from my shed-like garden office since way before Christmas.  Some very nice men came and tore it down (as gently as they could) and took it away into storage. 

Anyway, it's now been returned and reconstructed.  Electricity and telecommunications have been restored.  Fresh coat of paint on the outside, new carpet inside.  And here it is, in situ...

So, I'm back at my desk.  But it feels a bit strange.  This is how The Doctor must feel.  Inside it's much the same, but the view out the window is wrong.

Same old procrastination though.  Here I am, at my desk, ready to get started.  And what's the first thing I write in my new shed-like office...  a blog post.  Not that I've blogged about anything other than upcoming episodes of Doctors for a very long time.

Maybe I should do a quick update...

Er...

Well, we've moved.  Like I said.

I've been writing lots of Doctors episodes.  Currently on my seventeenth.  Fingers crossed, I'll get many more.

And I'm working on a new thing.  Well, it's been around for a while, actually, but it's building up a head of steam of sorts.  It's a spec TV drama set in Bethlem Hospital in the 1850's.  I got some money from the wonderful Wellcome Trust to do loads of historical research, and now I'm working up a first draft of a first ep.  All I have to do now is write it.  And sell it.

Nice speaking to you all again.  Do pop round for a cup of tea, anytime you like.  If you can find us.

Wise words.

I've never really given much advice on how to be a screenwriter. I've never really felt qualified.

But I do now have a very useful tip for anyone reading this who is, or who wants to be, a professional writer. Or an amateur. Or, actually, anyone who might not want to be a writer at all. In fact, everyone.

And my tip is...







... read Phill Barron's blog post on The Road to Happiness.

He has wise words to say. Which is more than I ever manage.

Thanks for all the fish.

Something's been bothering me.

You might have noticed that I didn't have much to say about my EastEnders experiences. And that I got through an episode of Holby City with scarcely a single blog entry.

In fact, I've said nothing much of any interest for a while.

There is a reason for this.

It isn't that my experiences on those two shows were so awful that I couldn't write about them. Far from it.

It's because I'm beginning to think it's no longer appropriate. Maybe even that it's not very "professional". There, I said it.

This Blog has been all about me - my attempts to break into the industry. And hopefully it has been useful reading for others in the same boat.

But this isn't a private discussion over a beer in The Dover Castle. It's a public blog. And, increasingly, I'm finding that I have a wider readership than I ever expected to get. I'll introduce myself to someone in the industry and they'll say "Ah, Scriptuality". Or "I like your shed". Or "how are the kids?"

Well, I don't mind that. It's quite fun. And it raises my profile as a writer (though not always in a positive light).

But sometimes I put myself in the position of a script editor asked to work with a writer who's a blogger. How happy would I be at the idea that all the ups and downs in the relationship, all the inevitable frustrations of hammering out a TV script are put up on the web for all to see?

OK, so I don't name names. But everyone else who works with them knows who they are.

And, genuinely, I have been extremely lucky to have had a succession of lovely, wonderful script editors on the shows I've worked on so far. And not one of them has ever complained about my blogging. Thank you, one and all. From time to time I might have disagreed with a note or two, but you have taught me so much.

I don't know whether blogging about the work we've done together has always been entirely fair. If it ever felt awkward, thank you for hiding it so well. And, I'm sorry.

But one of these days I'm going to be unlucky. I'm going to get a script editor who I just don't get on with. Or someone who takes every comment I might make personally.

So, I have come to a decision - no more running commentary.

I'll still pop up from time to time to let anyone who's still interested know what I'm up to. And I might comment on general writing issues. But no more heart-on-my-sleeve descriptions of the inner workings of TV scriptwriting. Sorry.

It's been fun.

Er...

Nothing much to say.

Just checking in, really.

Busy, busy, busy on that Holby script for the last few months. Draft #5 is currently with the head honcho. Fingers crossed.

Looks as though I should have entered the Red Planet competition this year - they seem to have given free passes to almost every blogger who applied*. So, they're all into the next round, and the knives will come out. Now we'll really see just how supportive the blogosphere is when the chips are really down! There can be only one.


I told you there wasn't much to say.


* Rapid edit and grovelling apology to anyone who might conceivably have taken this the wrong way - I wouldn't want to suggest in any way or form that those who successfully got through didn't do so entirely on their merits. I'm delighted for all of them and share in their excitement. Really, I do. Honest Injun.

Scriptualismicity

If you've come here looking for some Scriptualism, then you've come to the wrong place.

But, if it's good old-fashioned Scriptuality that rocks your boat, then welcome aboard.

Room for plenty of scripty-blogs around here, Andy.

Talking of which, it's a very long time since I examined my Blog-roll (way down there on the right hand side). Don't know if some of those folks are still blogging. And there's some good stuff out there that I don't currently link to. Must do something about it. Sometime.

And must try to get one of those fancy versions like what Andy's got. You know, the sort that show when people have posted, like a mini-feed thingy. How do you do that, then?

Dr Horrible Rocks

Well, he sings anyway.

Dr Horrible

Pure, unadulterated genius.

Watch it. Or regret it.



Yeah, I know. Been a bit thin on the ground, blogging-wise, recently. Not a problem. EE seems to be going OK. Enjoying it, in fact. But got nothing much I can share at the mo.

One of the things about EastEnders is that you get definite breaks while they cast their eyes over your work. So, I handed in draft number two on Monday, and they won't get back to me until Friday (probably). Which means I get a bit of time back to make up for the time spent writing over the weekend.

And I've been working on this great idea for a TV Series. Let's call it Project X*. I'm excited about it. I'd watch it. But I have a sneaking suspicion that nobody else would. Still, I'm seeing what happens, doing a bit of research, letting it bed down. I'll be back on the EastEnders horse over the weekend and most of next week, so maybe I'll just let this one gel/brew/stew/bubble/mature and see if there's still anything worth the pitch when I get back to it.


* It's not actually called "Project X", of course. You knew that.

My Very Own Casualty - nearly

OK. Been a bit quiet here on Scriptuality recently. Let's just say that when I'm doing really well I like to crow about it. Well, why not?

So, a silent Blog speaks volumes. Casualty is proving a tough nut to crack.


But enough of that. Let me tell you about what happened to me today (because a bit of procrastination never did anyone any harm).

I had a Casualty script meeting here in Bromley because my lovely script editor kindly agreed to come here instead of me going all the way down to Bristol again. Twenty minutes after our intriguing discussions about the need for a completely new B story came to a conclusion, I was walking home through the leafy suburban streets of Bromley when I heard an enormous bang. Actually, make that an enormous BANG ! ! !

I looked up to see a car cartwheeling down the middle of the street. The underside was facing me - you know, the bit that's meant to be right down there near the road. It was vertical. And bouncing. And sort of twisting. And coming in my direction.

Well, OK, maybe not directly my direction. And I could see that the extra energy it had got from bouncing off that tree was beginning to run out. It was never going to get as far as me. Probably. Right before it fell, exhausted, back down onto what was left of its wheels, it kinked a tad to the right and ended up ten yards from me in the middle of the road, a write-off. The other car, also written off, was 30 yards ahead of me where the driver had been trying to pull out before she was hit.

Everyone was OK. Minor bruise for the cartwheeler, abrasions on face and arm from the airbag for the girl in the other car. But she was well shaken up. He was too, but he put on a good show. And there's me, first on the scene, running from one to the other checking them out, doing the reassuring bit while others called emergency services etc. We ended up with three fire engines, two ambulances and a police car. All very exciting.

For a brief moment I thought I had a brand new B story. But, truth to tell, it wouldn't have cut the mustard. Just like the rest of my stories.

A few questions...

Jon, over at A Slight Case of Overbombing, has been asking himself some questions. I thought I'd try answering them too.

• Why did you start blogging and why do you continue? I started as an incentive to make myself work. I don't think I ever believed anyone else would read it, but I though that if I were forced to make a public confession every day of how much (or how little) I'd written, then I might write more. Now, I blog from time for a variety of reasons:

- it's therapy, getting stuff clear in my own mind by writing about it

- it's chat. The Blogosphere is like a staffroom, and every now and again it's polite to join in the conversation.

- it's a record. It's a diary which I look back on from time to time.

- it's a trumpet. Every now and again, if things go well, I like to blow my own trumpet.

- it's a news source. There are a few people out there (friends and relatives) who get to find out what I'm up to by reading the blog.

• How do you decide what to blog about? It's pretty random.

• Do you write straight out or pre-plan what you’re going to write? Straight out, but I'm a writer, so it's never completely stream of consciousness.

• Do you censor yourself? Yes. It's like speaking in public, and it's hard enough in this business making friends, so I don't want to make enemies. Also, I never mention individuals by name - I wouldn't want anybody who I work with to have to worry about seeing themselves mentioned in my blog.


So, now you know.

No, for the last time, that is not me!

OK, so the picture's gone. Yes, he's a distinguished looking gent with grey hair, but the guy whose photo has hitherto adorned this Blog is not in fact me. His name is Sam Dale and he played one of the guest characters in my first (and only) TV credit. I was so chuffed at seeing my name on the screen that I used that screenshot to brighten up this otherwise boring page.

But it's getting beyond a joke. It is not me. And I'm sure that Sam's even more offended than I am.

So, he's gone. For those of you who have short memories and don't recall what he looked like, well here he is again, for one last time...

The Academy begins

The BBC Writers' Academy starts next week. But we had a taster session today in the form of a trip to Birmingham to visit the Doctors team and look round the set. It was a good relaxed start to what is going to become 13 frenzied weeks of overload.

Despite some requests, I have decided that I won't be blogging in much detail. It's a small group of people (8 of us), and the potential for treading on people's toes or invading their privacy is too great. All I will say, on the basis of a day spent together in Birmingham and in the minibus there and back, is that they seem a great bunch of guys and that I'm looking forward to spending 13 weeks in their company.

Neither will you find a blow by blow account here of what we learn or what the tutors tell us. I'm not sure whether that would be fair to the tutors, but, anyway, I'm simply not going to have the time or the energy.

I will let you know how I'm doing from time to time, and give you a taster of what we're up to.

So, for example, I can tell you that our weekly timetable involves two days of lectures/seminars/exercises etc at Elstree, a day of "homework", a day of "guest lectures" at Elstree, and a weekly tutorial, one-to-one, with John Yorke himself. And there'll be a lot of homework in the evenings and over the weekends too. We'll also be writing a trial-run episode of Doctors, and a real-life commissioned episode.

All that before Christmas. And then, if we do OK, we spend next year working on one episode of each of Casualty, Holby City and EastEnders.

All I can say is that I'm looking forward to the whole thing with an almost embarrassing amount of glee.

Roll on Monday!

Who are you?

I'm intrigued.

I get a few simple visitor stats for this blog, telling me how many people visit etc . And it gives me some partial info on who you all are. Don't panic, I can't track you all down, but I do get to see many of your domain names.

So, I always know, for example, when Lesley's bored at the office!

But the intriguing thing is that I have one or more regular visitors from bbc.co.uk. I've no idea who they are, but I'd love to know.

So, if it's you, why not say hello? Or drop me an e-mail. I won't bite - I'm just curious.

I'm not going to type out my e-mail address here in case it gets picked up by some crawling bot thingy and I get added to hundreds of spam lists. But it's 'paul', then a dot, then 'campbell', followed by the numerical version of 'four'. And it's at btinternet.com

And if anyone else feels like saying hello, I'd love to hear from you.

Just what I don't need.

Just when I'm supposed to be tapping away on a professional commission for Doctors (did you catch that "professional" word?! And the "commission" bit? (well, alright, not quite a "commission" yet, as such. But if they don't like the "scene by scene" they do throw me a handful of fivers as a consolation prize, so it is a paying gig, one way or another) )...

Anyway, just as I'm supposed to be putting all my creative energy into a very fine future episode of Doctors, the WGGB organise an event about blogging which leads to the creation of a metablog containing links to a whole load of blogs written by WGGB members. You can find it at Uncrushed Diaries.

So, now I have a whole new bunch of places where I can while away the hours ignoring how on earth I'm supposed to get my main Doctor (can't tell you who it is, I'm afraid - mustn't give anything away) to the home of a dead man (oops, gave that away - never mind) now that I can no longer have the police surgeon in my episode (because he's not available during the week they're going to be shooting) and I've been given a new character instead who hasn't even been cast yet and who is most unikely to find himself at a crime scene.

Any ideas? Nope? Well, I guess it's down to me then. Better get on with it.

New Year's whatjermecallits

Resolutions, resolutions, resolutions. So difficult to make, even harder to keep. This year, the most important resolution is to keep all the others. And here they are...

1. Inundate the BBC with story ideas for Doctors, so that they have no excuse for not giving me more commissions.

2. ... get at least three more commissions for Doctors over the course of the year.

3. Apply for (and be accepted into) the BBC Writers' Academy.

4. ... and, as a result, get at least one commission for Eastenders, Holby City or Casualty.

5. Get my radio play commissioned by BBC 4 for The Afternoon Play.

6. Get at least half a dozen TV series ideas to my agent, and have her hawk them around the industry.

7. ... and get at least one meeting out of the process.

8. Go to the Cheltenham Screenwriting Festival again.

9. If the Film Council ever get around to running another 25 Words or Less, apply for it and (this time) win the £10,000 (rather than just getting within sniffing distance*).

10. If the UKFC don't run the scheme again, work up at least one feature film concept, write the opening ten pages and get my agent to hawk it around (including to the Film Council).

11. Make some money from writing.

12. Have fun.


* It's a good job I wasn't blogging at the time when I got shortlisted. It was very frustrating, and I might have been tempted to say something very indiscreet.

E-mail updates available

Oh, I'm getting so clever.

If you're worried about missing pearls of wisdom from this little old blog, just stick your e-mail address in that box down on the right hand side, and you'll get an e-mail every time I add anything new.

New look

I've got a new look.

'nuff sed.

Discovered !

Sometime last year, I thought about starting a Blog.

Then I read the Great Danny Stack and decided there wasn't much I could add.

So, this Blog simply sat here gathering a few cobwebs.


But now it's been discovered, by Mr Stack himself, and I am embarrassed into doing something about it.


And it coincides with a crisis in my writing. Yesterday my entire output consisted of two and a half pages. In fact, the last few weeks have seen my output sink to a record low. It's something to do with disillusionment and a complete lack of motivation. Give me a deadline, and I'm fine. But nobody's given me a deadline for a very long time. In fact, nobody's paid me any kind of professional interest for a very long time.

So, I'm going to use this Blog to get myself going.

It would be dangerous to actually start writing anything worth reading. I've no idea how Danny and the other wonderful Blogging screenwriters out there manage to keep up the output on their Blogs and simultaneously write anything else. I know I couldn't do it.

This Blog will therefore be extremely boring. But as I don't expect anybody else to find it, I don't suppose that matters.

Like Bridget Jones, I will record here each day the important statistics of my life. Pages written, documents finished, outlines completed etc etc. With luck, the possibility of public humiliation will drive me forward.

Better get on with it.

Getting started...

I haven't.

Got started, that is.

Watch this space.