Flying The Academy Nest
What better time to start this blogging lark than the beginning of September. It was September 2006 that I and 7 other writers became the 2nd clutch of newbies on the Ö÷²¥´óÐã Writers Academy. Class of 2007 will begin their own special journey very soon - but no more for me, the Elstree Canteen food, bananas and flapjacks fuelling my days of 5 part structure, writing Hollywood screenplays in a day, pitching medical guest stories and endless piles of homework and DVD watching. I’m ‘out there’ having almost flown the Academy nest, winging it.
To date I have written a Doctors, an Eastenders and a Holby, all very different experiences more of which I can ponder at a later date. I’m currently writing my first Casualty, and this is where you find me .. waiting for notes.
I’ve managed to take in a few movies, decorate the living room and run up a frock. Waiting for notes is a mixed blessing - it leaves you in a kind of limbo, not quite enough time to start a new project (or if you’re well established start the next script) and yet enough time to worry about what people are saying about your work.
Right now the Treatment for my Casualty ep is being studied by various people in a drafty warehouse in Bristol - and I feel for it, is it being lovingly caressed with laughs and tears in all the right places or has it been tossed into a corner covered in coffee rings and red biro marks?
It’s always a good idea to try and get notes face to face, or at least earpiece to earpiece, preferably with coffee and cake. Then editors have to look you in the eye (or hear your deflation) when scenes have to be axed and characters mysteriously vanish (scheduling).
‘Your script editor is your best friend’ we were taught. This has to be true because more often than not the script editor is the only person between you, your work and the producers. She is your mouthpiece, she pedals your wares on your behalf - and dammit she’ll get you that extra speaking part for sc 12 because she thinks you (and your script) are worth it! Nuff said, it really helps to have a good relationship with your editor and I’ve been very lucky with mine so far.
We have arranged for notes to be given tomorrow and a mutually beneficial place - ambience and quality of refreshments is everything, when delivering possible bad news. However, thanks to the lads at Metronet, we’ve had to re-arrange the venue. Note my editor didn’t say, ‘Oh don’t worry about the tube strike - it’s only a few notes, I’ll email them..’ she worked hard to re-arrange the meeting, which leads me to think she must have a suitcase full of notes to hand over..
However, I can be a little paranoid, her initial response to my treatment was very positive. And I’ve done my homework too - I spent the morning in A&E locally, observing a shift. This was very enlightening, especially comparing it to the recent Casualty trailer where medics heroically hug each other to the heart straining vibes of The Fray’s How To Save A Life.
I also spent 12 hours on the road with a paramedic crew - now there’s dedication for you - if my episode isn’t gritty with realism, then I’ll want to know why. Did you realise these guys scrape the streets of sick, drunk and injured people for about 10 quid an hour? I was humbled. Also, it was great racing thorough the traffic with the woo woos on!
So, notes tomorrow. What will it be? Re-draft the treatment? Or the golden nugget, moved onto script?
Comments
Good Luck Abi,
Hope it's the news you want. I'm just starting out with this writing malarkey (I don't mean it), it's nice to hear a success, the writing blogs seem full of people telling you that you're going to fail.
Well Done.
Shug
Really interesting to hear about the process from the new writer's perspective - and very impressed by your dedicated research!