Jocelyn Jee Esien and Gareth Edwards 5

How much character information should you put in each sketch?

Gareth: Not very much. If you're trying to write a sitcom or a sketch I think by far the best way of showing that your idea is funny is to write the idea, not write a description of the idea.

I quite often get sent three pages saying "I've got an idea for a sitcom set in a bakery." I don't mean I get lots of ideas for bakery-based sitcoms, but people say "Here's the situation, here are the characters. Do you think that'll be funny?" And there's absolutely no way of telling, because what's going to make a sitcom funny is how the characters talk to each other and what they're like together. You need to see the tension between the characters taking place.

The best single bit of advice I've ever heard about writing is a scene is what happens when two characters want different things. If someone comes in and goes "Shall we go to the pub?" and the other character says "Yes," that's not a scene. That's nothing. You've wasted everyone's time.

If somebody comes in and says "Shall we go to the pub?" and the other person says "No. We always go to the pub. Why don't we break into the house next door instead?" then you learn something about the characters. It is resolved in some way. Either they do the break in or they both go to the pub, but one's reluctant about it. You're starting to tell a story. And that's true in sketches as well.

How long should a radio sketch be?

Gareth: I wouldn't write more than two minutes of a sketch. Say it out loud and see how long it takes. Somebody's going to have to say it out loud at some point. The very process of saying a sketch out loud will teach you something about whether it's working or not.

I don't tend to get plagued with people writing sketches that are too short. But if you are a specialist in writing one liners then it would be a bit mean for me to say you can only send three one liners. If you are a joke writer then a page of double spaced jokes would be fine as well. So three sketches, or let's say fifteen jokes.

Should we send our work in to the writersroom?

Gareth: I think the writersroom is excellent and it's very, very good at making first contact with writers. They've done lots of really positive things. And they have money to reach out to new writers and to train writers. And they definitely should be your first point of contact because there are some very good people working there.

If you like, think of the writersroom as the first producer you should approach. But if you find that your unique comic vision which you know is brilliant hasn't made an impact with the writersroom, watch a bit of TV, listen to some other radio programmes. Listen out for the producers where you go: "Yeah, that's a funny show. I'll send my script to her, the lady who produced that. Or to him, the guy who produced that". Get the name of the producers of the shows that you like and admire, do a little bit of detective work. Because two essential tools for a writer are a possibly unrealistic sense of your own merit and a lot of determination.

As Jocelyn was saying, not everything appeals to everyone. Comedy is hit and miss. You won't get the final definitive answer from the Writer's Room. Just keep trying.

Won't the comedy audience just be on the Internet now?

Gareth: If it turns out that producers selecting the best material in their own opinion and putting it on the telly is a waste of everyone's time cos they're making bad decisions, then people will give up watching TV and they'll start just getting their comedy off of YouTube. To some extent that process is happening.

But the really big successful shows I think will carry on having a life no matter what happens with YouTube, because there are some people who are very good at writing jokes and they want to make a living out of writing jokes.

Look at something like Friends. I know not everyone likes Friends, but it's an enormously successful programme that makes a hell of a lot of money. And that's a group of people who had an idea, who got together. They worked very, very hard to get their comic vision on screen. Cos it's an American show, it's literally millions of dollars an episode. And it turns out that enough people like it for that to have been a worthwhile exercise.

I think that will still carry on with comedy no matter what happens with YouTube. There will be a demand for people watching programmes made by sort of expert comedians for want of a better word. And I'm not particularly putting myself in that category. But a lot of people I work with have devoted their lives to getting really good at writing and telling jokes. And you know, hey, come and join them.

Is there some sort of resource where you can find a list of producers?

Gareth: The Radio Times is the best I can offer. I think it's really important, if you want to target your work and build up a relationship with a producer who is sympathetic to what you do, find the producers of the shows that you find funny and try and contact them. And obviously they'll get a credit at the end of the show.

Is swearing allowed? And are there any sorts of jokes you wouldn't consider?

Gareth: I think as aspiring writers I would just not go there. It sounds as though you're making a really massive point if you swear on the radio, much more than it would in normal everyday conversation.
Especially these days, the moment anyone hears some swearing on the radio they go "Oh it was some swearing. Where's the phone number for the Daily Mail?" and they'll miss whatever joke you were trying to do.

If you want to do something that's quite edgy make sure that you're on the side of the good guys. You know whoever's, whoever's suffering in a situation make sure your joke is on their side, do you see what I mean? What doesn't work is making fun of somebody who's having an awful time.

What sort of things should we send to producers? DVDs? Scripts? Audio?

Gareth: It's going to be whatever works to be honest. And it'll depend which producer you're in touch with. I quite often get sent DVDs and links and if I've got time I'll try and look at them, but it's a bit hit and miss.

That's the risk of approaching producers. It is part of their job to look for new writers but it's not the main thing they have to be doing. And if they've got a show they have to get on air they won't read your script for four months. That could easily happen.

And that's a good thing about the Writer's Room. All they're supposed to be doing is reading stuff. So in with your over inflated self esteem, determination to write what you find funny, and endless persistence, you also need to be patient. It's partly a waiting game.

And when you've sent your thing off don't go well I've sent it off, I'll stop now. Write something else. You want to have several projects out there working for you. It's hard work but it will pay off.

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