Let's move onto process of writing Doctor stories with a question that I'm quoting verbatim - 'The Doctor is clearly a very erratic, unpredictable character - but when you write for him, are you clear about what he shouldn't do as a character? Is there such a thing a golden list of do's and don't's for the Doctor (possibly written on parchment by Sydney Newman?)' What was your take on this when writing your short stories?
Oli Smith: Golden list? Most definitely, although it's not on a parchment, it's more a case of common sense. The scariest thing about writing the Doctor is that he could easily move into a very dark direction since he is accountable to no one. You have to constantly make sure that he is definitely always a hero. He can never use a weapon, of course, and that means having to find a way to resolve his stories by means other than simply blowing things up.
His responsibility is always to people in the immediate vicinity of the story; he needs that human empathy, because if he looked only at the bigger picture it could throw up some very nasty issues about whether the characters he interacts with might have to die for the greater good; the Doctor must always strive to prevent that and if such a sacrifice happens it can't be his responsibility. I think that would turn him into a god rather than a real person, and as such the reader would be unable to empathise.
What I'm trying to say is that the Doctor would never be able to kill Hitler in cold blood and that's something you always have to bear in mind - unless there's a future story when he does, in which case I'm completely wrong!
You clearly love writing for the Tenth Doctor. What, in your view, makes this Doctor extra special?
Oli Smith: I love writing for the Tenth Doctor because he rattles off dialogue at such a rate that I can fill my word count in about ten minutes!
But on a serious note, I think he's just a very flexible Doctor, you can put him in a space suit or a western. His depth and range is remarkable, which is a real tribute to David Tennant and Russell T Davies. The Tenth Doctor can be sombre and moody, hyperactive, funny, it's all there. Could you imagine Jon Pertwee in a space suit? Exactly. He's also probably the most like me, even if I do wish I was Tom Baker! The real boons for a writer, apart from that, are things like the psychic paper because they move the action on so quickly. I think the Tenth Doctor especially is well suited to short stories.
Many people asked about the added pressure of writing for Doctor Who with one reader summing it up with - 'How daunting was it to write a story based on the world's most well loved and greatest Sci Fi?'
Oli Smith: Well, when you put it like that it's pretty scary! But it's never really come across like that to me. I think of Doctor Who more as a childhood friend who I've grown up with from the age of six (thanks to the wonders of UK Gold, Target Books and videos seeing as I'm only twenty two!) and writing something for it feels like giving something back. The excitement comes from adding your own little things to this magical universe, typing the word Doctor and going "wow, I've been given my TV hero to do what I like with... within reason!"
You have to be almost arrogant when writing for something so big and not freeze up by feeling responsible for this massive beast with such a huge following. It's your story and you can tell it best, so why worry?
In that case, what is the most difficult part of the process for writing a Doctor Who story?
Oli Smith: The same as for writing anything, coming up with the story in the first place! I never type anything until I've worked out the whole plot in my head, so when I was asked to do Blue Moon I just sat on the sofa watching TV for six hours until it all came together. It doesn't sound like work but it's the most important bit and when it finally clicks you want to cheer. I'll have snippets of dialogue in my head from that point onwards; in fact most of the set pieces are already laid out for me when I start writing so the next challenge is making the bits in-between the highlights just as interesting.
Moving away from Doctor Who for a moment - many people wanted to know the best way to get work published and if you have any personal tips for getting prose into print.
Oli Smith: The answer is to come back and ask me when I'm successful! The self published comics were best for me [see part one of this interview] as I got to try out my ideas on people that didn't know me and get feedback. It also helps you stick to deadlines if you want to do something for an event. It's also much easier to sell a comic than a piece of prose to a casual customer because the pictures do most of the selling for you. I've never tried writing short stories on blogs or anything; I'm quite old fashioned with the internet.
The other tip is perseverance, if you send something off and it's rejected, write something even better and send that. Don't give up. Also it sounds obvious but DO send things off! There's no point being a bedroom novelist because you can't improve unless you get torn to shreds by people who know what they're talking about. I realised quite early on that if you have a brilliant story in your head, that's the one you should be submitting, don't save that one for your TV show or your movie, because in the ten years it'll take you to get that you'll have thought of something better anyway. Always use your best ideas first. And don't use the Daleks.
What projects do you have lined up for the future?
Oli Smith: I have a few things I'm working on but nothing's definite and if it were definite I probably wouldn't be able to tell you! I am looking forward to the possibility of being able to write for the Eleventh Doctor though; the new look TARDIS, costume, companion, sonic screwdriver - it's all very inspiring!
And finally, we got an oldie but goodie from one reader who asked, 'If you could take any historical character for a trip in the TARDIS, (in your capacity as a writer) who would you take, where would you take them, and why?'
Oli Smith: Well, I do have an answer to that question but if I'm very lucky I'll be allowed to write it soon, so I'm going to keep schtum and leave it as a surprise!
We'd like to thank Oli for taking the time to be interviewed and big thanks also to everyone who contributed questions. In particular, Melanie, Ewan, Nye, Jon, Deanna, Ben, Rory, Ryan, Jack, Jake, Gemma and Samantha who all suggested questions which we used this section of the interview. Oli does not write scripts for Doctor Who and so we didn't ask him anything about what we'll be seeing onscreen in the months ahead - sorry!
And yes, we know. The Frontier in Space.
Photo by Emma Price
