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So you want to be a writer? Top tips from those who know

Advice from some prominent writers in TV, theatre and film on how to break into the industry

  • Student life
Jennifer Tuckett's avatar

Jennifer Tuckett

May 8 2017
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Many students dream of being a writer but it can be one of the hardest professions to get into, as jobs are not usually advertised.

A new partnership between Oberon Books and the MA in dramatic writing at the Drama Centre London at Central Saint Martins is听set to address that. The partnership will launch two books offering advice and tips for students from those who have succeeded in听theatre, television, film, radio and digital media industries.

In the lead-up to the launch, here are some of their top tips, adapted from one of the books. 听


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John Yorke, founder of the BBC Writers Academy and the former head of drama at Channel 4 and controller of BBC Drama Production

鈥淲hen I first started, Matthew Graham, a British television writer, was 23 years old and was writing on EastEnders. I commented on how young he was and he said, 鈥業鈥檝e been doing this forever. I鈥檝e been writing in my room since I was 13 years old鈥. That鈥檚 the secret. You just have to write all the time. You have to learn from your mistakes.

鈥淧ractice makes perfect. If you work consistently and听steadily over a huge period of time, you will learn.听There are certain principles that govern drama and you cannot write properly until you understand what they are and why they are there. It is not about obeying or disobeying rules. It鈥檚 about mastering craft skills.鈥


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Philip Shelley, founder of the Channel 4 screenwriting course

鈥淵ou鈥檝e just got to stick at it really because you only need one person to like your work. If you write a script and it is rejected by 15 people and one person takes it on, that鈥檚 all you need. You will get a lot of knock-backs.听

鈥淲hen you鈥檙e working with a script editor for the first time and you鈥檙e not used to it, it鈥檚 hard. We ask a lot of questions that writers don鈥檛 want to be asked about their work. Some people thrive in that environment and some people find it difficult.

鈥淚 think the most important thing is you鈥檝e got to please yourself. If you don鈥檛 feel a huge sense of pride and excitement in your script, then you can be pretty sure that no one else is going to feel that either. Don鈥檛 send your script out to people until you feel that you can get behind it and it fulfils you as a writer. Find potential employers who are going to be excited by your work.听

鈥淚t鈥檚 all about finding your identity as a writer. The more work you do, the more you will know your strengths and weaknesses as a writer.鈥

Ola Animashawun, founder of the Royal Court Theatre鈥檚 young writers programme

鈥淲hat I鈥檓 interested in is passion, and that relates to the whole idea of being engaged and walking away when you鈥檙e not engaged. Partly the reason you鈥檙e not engaged is because there鈥檚 not enough passion or care involved.鈥


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