RTS Story Conference 2023 - Highlights and Insights

2023-05-26T13:18:00+00:00

Writer, Paul Rigby from our Write Across Liverpool scheme, shares his highlights and valuable writing tips taken from the RTS Story Conference.

On Thursday 25th May, The Royal Television Society (RTS) in partnership with Culture Liverpool, �� Writersroom, Liverpool Everyman and WoWFEST, hosted the inaugural RTS Story Conference at The Liverpool Everyman Theatre, and I was lucky enough to be invited.

The day was a celebration of writing talent in the North West region, offering panel discussions, masterclasses and an opportunity for some informal networking.

Here are some of my personal highlights.

The one, the only; Tony Schumacher

Writer of the hit �� One drama series, The Responder, and with a second series on the way, Tony has every right to feel on top of the world. But it’s obvious the second he starts talking that, despite all of his recent success, he is as down to Earth as can be. Amiable, engaging and self-deprecating until the last, the story of his rise in the industry should reassure and inspire all writers out there that anything is possible. And, for someone who confessed to being wary of ever giving advice, (“I mean, what do I know?”), he had a lot of great wisdom to share.

Some highlights were:

You are your first show. Write from the heart, put yourself on the page.
Be vulnerable. Writing is so personal, but you have to risk criticism in order to let people in.
Trust your readers. Find people who understand you and your story. Don’t be too precious about your work.
Spot the opportunity. Take advantage of writing schemes and actively engage.
Never filter yourself. Don’t write what you think they want.
Plan your journey. Be specific in your methods and do your homework.
Don’t get in your own way. The writing is up to you, just get it on the page however you can.

A truly invigorating conversation with someone who is fast becoming a local legend.

Screenwriter, Tony Schumacher, creator of The Responder and previous member of the �� Writersroom's Northern Voices scheme.

Writing for Continuing Drama

Sally Abbott, Neil Jones, Jayshree Patel and Jonathan Larkin are a collective tour de force in continuing drama, sharing amazing insights into the very specific job of writing for this medium.

Some of the key insights were:

The necessity for collaboration (or ‘baton passing’ as one of the panel described it).
The importance of fully investing in the genre and not seeing it as merely a stepping stone to something else.
The amazing potential to explore important social ideas due to the populist nature of continuing drama.

They also shared some top tips when it comes to pitching ideas:

A big reaction (even a ‘negative’ one) is a good sign.
No idea is too silly, especially if you’re passionate about it.
Personal/emotional connections hit harder.
Distil the idea as much as possible.
Pitch ideas never die, they are only recycled.
A no is never final.
Hold on tightly, let go lightly.
There’s never just one way through an idea.

One of the biggest takeaways I personally got from this session was that it is never too late to start writing. Most, if not all, of the panellists came to writing, or at the very least made their breakthrough, in their late 30’s or 40’s - reinforcing something that Sally stressed early on that “writing is a marathon, not a sprint.”

An amazing panel chaired by Mike Morris from Writing on the Wall discussed the barriers to the industry, exploring how not everyone’s barriers will be obvious and how it is vital that an ecology is built within the industry to nurture new talent and champion diversity and representation. As Saphena Aziz (a fellow Write Across Liverpool writer) put it: “If you can see it, you can be it.”

We got an insight into the inner workings of a writers' room from Chloe Moss, Helen Black and Jamie Carragher, who emphasised the importance of being confident and prepared, and how a sense of humour is vital to a healthy and productive room.

The Writers' Room: How it Really Works session, chaired by Naz Ahmed with Chloe Moss, Jamie Carragher and Helen Black.

�� Drama Commissioning Editor for the North of England, Jo McClellan and Commissioning Executive for �� Drama and the Writersroom North, Alice Ramsey took us ‘behind the curtain’ and explained what it looks like for writers to work for the ��, stressing that their ‘something for everybody’ mantra means that no writer should ever feel excluded. Explaining their plethora of writer focused development initiatives, and hearing about their passion to nurture new writers, it was easy to see why the �� Writersroom is considered the gold standard for emerging writers all over the country.

Which brings me nicely on to my favourite panel of the day: Write Across Liverpool. A �� Writersroom development scheme I was so fortunate to be involved with, it was a joy to sit with my fellow Write Acrossers in the audience and hear from Beth Westbrook and Chantelle Lunt about how much the initiative encouraged and supported their writing dreams.

The Write Across Liverpool session with previous members Chantelle Lunt and Beth Westbrook, chaired by Lindsay Williams.

The day was an amazing showcase and celebration of the talent we have in the North West, and truly inspiring for aspiring writers like myself. I’d like to thank everyone involved for making it a hugely enjoyable event, and �� Writersroom and RTS North West for their generous invitation.

Read about the Write Across Liverpool development scheme over on our blog.

Why you should apply to Write Across Liverpool

2022-03-01T16:35:52+00:00

It is unbelievably exciting that the �� has selected Liverpool for its first ever Write Across programme. In the three years I’ve been lucky to be part of the team at the Everyman and Playhouse Theatres, I have witnessed some of the most vibrant and driven artists that I’ve ever encountered come through our Hope Street doors. Whether its coming to our writers’ room to explore some texts, being part of a rehearsed reading or sharing ideas, I am continually impressed by the vision and voice of this city’s creatives, and by their generosity in collaboration.

Much is often made in Liverpool of our famous greats, of Willy Russell, Frank Cottrell Boyce, Alan Bleasdale, and our boss actors like Stephen Graham, Kevin Harvey and Jodie Comer, but there is so much emerging talent here as well. Liverpool is a city full of writers and of audiences that love new writing. You only have to look at the plethora of groups, theatres and initiatives set up to champion and platform new voices. The Everyman and Playhouse, DaDa, Writing on the Wall, The Unity, 20 Stories High, and Royal Court studio all run playwriting and regular artist development opportunities, whilst organisations such as Homotopia, Falling Doors, Make it Write, Lantern Writers, Hope Street Theatre, The Casa, Liverpool Theatre Festival, Naughty Corner and many more produce and develop writers, all feeding into a rich theatre ecology of new and exciting work. For a relatively small city, you are spoilt for choice with venues and companies bringing exciting new stories to life at every scale.

Write Across Liverpool is an unprecedented opportunity for fifteen local writers to access the incredible resources and teachings of the �� Writersroom and have their work considered on a national platform. In playwriting, we always talk about how there is universality in specificity - and a Liverpool lens on the world brings with it a unique perspective. This is a diverse and dynamic city, with a hundred stories to tell and which deserve to be heard. The application process is straightforward. You don’t need to have been commissioned before or have previous experience of writing for TV. You need to have a passion for television, a sample of dramatic writing and some time to respond to a set creative task. The deadline (10th March) is fast approaching and you miss out on 100% of the chances you don’t take - so be sure to get those applications in!

Find out full details of Write Across Liverpool including how to apply (deadline noon on Thursday 10th March 2022). For help and advice with your application join our final drop-in session on Weds 2nd March from 5.30pm on zoom, no need to pre-register.

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RTS Story Conference 2023 - Highlights and Insights

The one, the only; Tony Schumacher

Writing for Continuing Drama

Read about the Write Across Liverpool development scheme over on our blog.

Why you should apply to Write Across Liverpool

�� Writers Feed