There has been some recent excitement about the CBBC competition to find new writers for children’s television in the UK. Shortlisted finalists will be invited to a masterclass and from this a final 10 will be invited to attend a week long residential where they will hone their scripts and receive mentoring leading to pitching their idea to programmers.
It is a great way to break into the market, meet professionals in the industry, and hone your script writing skills. Lisa Barrass tells us in her interview how CBBC isn’t the only platform of its kind and how to use these scriptwriting competitions to really make waves in the industry as a shining new talent.
When did you start developing your writing skills and at what point did you turn to scriptwriting?
I've always dabbled in writing but not in a serious way. I was always reading, anything and everything I could lay my hands on and I think my desire to write came from there. I used to write a lot when I was a teenager but I never did anything productive with it. The first competition I won was actually on behalf on my cousin who was horse mad. I wrote a story for her and she won!!
About 1985 I fell in love with Robin of Sherwood and wrote three scripts based on the characters created by Richard 'Kip' Carpenter. Being young and foolish and without any sense of decorum I sent them to him. Luckily for me he was very encouraging and, although he never used them, it made me want to keep going.
What was your scriptwriting competition experience like?
Red Planet had to be my first success and it was the first time I'd entered a serious script writing contest (with over 2,100 entries). One of the top tips I can give is that readers only ever read the first ten pages of a script. You've got to nail them in the first ten. If you can hook 'em, that's great, they'll read the rest.
I didn't actually win Red Planet but what I did get was an extremely coveted place around the table of Tony Jordan ( whose credits include Dr Who, Sarah Jane Adventuress, Eastenders) and a day with him at Red Planet HQ, along with nine other finalists.
From that we looked at my work and threw some ideas around. I was asked to pitch an idea to Red Planet and in December I was invited to a second meeting where Simon said that my pitch had passed muster and to go for it.
What advice would you give to people wanting to break into the scriptwriting market through competitions?
Firstly, learn the craft. Scriptwriting is very formatted. Readers get tons of material every day – they don't have time for scripts that aren't formatted to industry standard plus it shows lack of professionalism.
Read scripts and lots of them. If you watch a film or tv show that you really like, go find the script on line and read it. Try and find earlier drafts if possible so you can see how the writer changed or evolved the idea. SimplyScripts.com is great for this.
It ain't just about the script, folks!! Pitching and being able to write a one page pitch of your idea is an essential part of writing. Nail the one page pitch is pinned to the notice board above my computer.
Read blogs by other writers. There are some great bloggers out there and most are more than willing to help with tips and ideas. Don't get disheartened – at any one time there are thousands of scripts doing the rounds. You just have to say something different.
Don't be put off by other writers. I was absolutely sure I'd never make the second round of Red Planet because I was reading some blogs where the writers were bigging themselves up. I thought I had no chance and guess what? They didn't get through and I did. I sat in room with really talented people convinced I was going to get found out. I took a while to accept that I was as good as them!!
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