Writersroom

Writersroom's Unsolicited Roadshows are rolling across the country - but for those of you who aren't able to make it along, I'm rolling out our 'Perfect 10' session in ten weekly blogs (5 before Christmas, 5 after). To get your work read seriously, you need to hook the attention of the reader in the first 10 pages - and there are 10 crucial areas you need to think about.

Here's session one:

First of all, you need to KNOW your medium and format. If it's visual (TV, film), use pictures. If it's acoustic (radio), use sound. It sounds obvious - but it's often the case that we don't quite know what medium a script is for, and it's often the case that writers use visual directions in a radio script or make their TV script read like a stage play.

You need to CHOOSE THE RIGHT FORM for your story - not vice versa. When you have what you feel is a good idea, ask yourself these questions: What's the best place for this story to come to life? Which medium will best express the story you want to tell?

A script is a BLUEPRINT for a subsequent production process in which writers will not necessarily be heavily involved. A drama or comedy script has no literary merit or value in its own right. A script is there to be MADE.

SAY WHAT YOU MEAN. A reader can only go by what's in your script, so if there is something you want to say, say it clearly in dramatic/comic action. Writers sometimes say 'your reader didn't understand what my script was about'. But often it's that the writer hasn't been clear.

ONLY WRITE WHAT AN ACTOR CAN SHOW. Parentheses in the script where the writer explains the characters backstory, feelings and opinions are pointless. If there's something you need to express, then show it through the action and dialogue - through what an actor can play.

DON'T DIRECT FROM THE PAGE. Unless you are a writer-director, it's better to keep technical directions to a minimum. We don't need to know it's a tracking shot, dolly shot or smash cut - write the beats of what happens in the action of a scene, and leave the directorial stuff to the director.

When you know the medium and form, make us ENGAGE WITH THE FORM - and see if you can explore, challenge and subvert it. It takes practice and craft to master a form - if a writer can do that and then take it to the next level, they are the kind of writer in which producers will be interested.

So be INTELLIGENT. Be BOLD. And above all, be CLEAR.

If you have any questions on this session, i'll try to answer them over the coming week before session 2 goes up.