On 16th October 2017, the Royal Television Society held a scriptwriting for TV drama panel with screenwriters:
Sophie Petzal (Wolfblood, Riviera)
Rachel Flowerday (EastEnders, Father Brown)
John Jackson (Robin Hood, Being Human)
Daisy Goodwin (Victoria, Grand Designs)
David Hancock (The Crown)
As well as Rachelle Constant, who is currently a development producer for BBC Writer's Room drama.
The panel shared advice on many aspects of screenwriting, such as:
Ideas
Sophie Petzal shared that with an idea the writer should 'have something to say' instead of it just being 'competent and empty'. Think about what the audience would like to see that is 'original'.
To come up with an original idea, Rachel Flowerday said that she likes to combine things, such as maybe two articles from the internet, but that the most important thing is to have 'infectious enthusiasm' for the idea.
Daisy Goodwin stated that if the idea is a good one it should be able to be captured 'in one sentence and have a title'. Also, it is a good idea to pitch in person as TV is a 'visual/oral medium'.
'Keep stakes low, not every idea has to be fully formed' was David Hancock's advice as this way it is more likely an original idea will be found because they are not being developed so quickly that aspects of the idea are lost.
Rachelle Constant gave the most important questions to ask about an idea which are, 'what is the story that excites you?', 'why do you want to tell it?', and 'why should the audience care?'. Also, it is 'worth knowing the TV landscape' but there is also a 'scope to tell different stories online' on platforms such as YouTube or Vimeo.
Development
When developing an idea into a script, Sophie Petzal gave the advice that 'there is a point in every script where you need to part with the outline' so that the emotional content of the narrative can be figured out naturally. 'The outline will never be as good as the final version of the script'.
'You don't have to write sequentially, stop if you get stuck' was Rachel Flowerday's advice.
Daisy Goodwin likes to go to a London library to write as there are a lot of other writers there. She writes eight pages a day and works until she is finished. She finds that long walks are 'a useful aid to writing' and also shared the advice that 'discipline is part of the process' so it is essential to always try and 'set yourself a target'.
'Starting early is crucial' stated David Hancock.
Working
'It's all in the script', shared Rachelle Constant. A really strong spec script is important as it 'shows off work' and should be 'polished' as you should 'have had feedback on it'. The script 'represents you as a writer', and 'there is no rush to submit it'.
David Hancock shared that you 'need an agent as someone who is working' so 'find a way to get your work noticed', either though theater or short film festivals and 'have a script as backup'. Having 'something written is better than something not written'.
John Jackson also verified this by stating 'try and get in somewhere at some other level'. He also gave advice about spec scripts and that you should 'start big', 'be visual', and 'don't be afraid of stage direction'. When writing a script it is important to remember that there is 'no real template, every show is different'.
'If you have a strong enough idea, people will listen' said Daisy Goodwin, so 'never write for the brief, have confidence in your idea and go for it'.
Getting Notes
'TV is collaborative' stated Rachelle Constant, therefore 'notes are from several different people'.
Sophie Petzal said that the most important thing is to have 'trust and chemistry' with the people you work with.
Writing TV pilots
According to John Jackson, 'the best stuff in pilots is telling good, tight story'. This corresponded to Rachel Flowerday's advice of 'get to the point in a pilot'.
To do this, David Hancock said that it is best to 'go back and watch the pilots of your favourite shows'.
Rachelle Constant also shared that development producers 'don't tend to read outlines' but want to get 'interest on first pilot script' instead.
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