Kate Rowland, the BBC’s Creative Director of New Writing, explains why she originally set up the writersroom, what it does, and why it really can make a difference to a struggling writer.
"I started the BBC writersroom (www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom) in 2000, when I was Head of Radio Drama, because I just felt there was no open conversation about writers within the BBC and no mechanism for sharing information about new talent. The idea was simply to find a way of discovering and championing new and diverse writer talent.
As an organisation, the BBC can be quite a nerve-wracking place for an outsider to approach and I think the writersroom has made a huge difference in the way writers are able to come to our attention and in the way we are able to develop and nurture people over the long term.
Good writers are the raw material for drama and it makes sense for the BBC to do everything it can to go out and find new talent. I always wanted the writersroom to be flexible and proactive, not passive — we work in many different ways and it’s always changing. We work closely with lots of organisations such as theatres, for example, where we provide money for the grassroots development of their new writers and then work with them to develop that talent. Mark Catley is a good example. He was a brand new writer at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, came through one of our schemes, then had a radio drama on, then went on to the BBC writers’ academy, and is now one of the core team of writers on Casualty.
Breaks for talented writers
There are many other ways in which we search out new talent. Perhaps the simplest are the open competitions we regularly run. We also go to many events like readings, short-film festivals, screenings, and new theatre shows. And we do grassroots targeted training schemes. In 2007, we did one in the northwest focusing on new Muslim talent and the year before a big project with the Royal Court Theatre called The 50, where we asked 50 theatres throughout the country to nominate one new writer. Each was given £1000 and a BBC mentor and were set the task to pitch for a commission. Many of those writers — we call them the Royal Court 50 writers — were completely unknown to us, but now they are in our loop.
And, of course, another way the writersroom discovers new talent is by being the unit that reads all unsolicited manuscripts. We look at around 10,000 scripts a year – it’s a massive task. We have a great team of experienced freelance readers who will read the first 10 pages of every script we receive. If, in their eyes, it’s good enough, the script will get a full read. If they’re unsure, they’ll pass it to another reader. But the reality is, of course, that some of the scripts we receive just aren’t any good, or maybe the writer has sent it off before it’s really ready. Those scripts will get a standard return letter but, as I’m always telling people, all the best writers have been rejected at some time, it’s just part of the writer’s journey, so get used to it. We do look at all the scripts and we have found some fantastic work and some fantastic writers.
Radio opportunities
Network radio also has a huge commitment to encouraging new writing talent. The afternoon play on Radio 4 every day ensures that 20-25% of all its output is by a first- or second-time writer, and the new series of The Wire, a monthly slot for new radio drama on Radio 3, started in October 2007. It’s limited to writers who are new to radio, so it could be an established film writer moving across or really new raw talent.
It’s called The Wire because we wanted a title that suggested something bold, a bit on the edge, a space where we can take a risk both in terms of content and language. The previous series has seen some fantastic award-winning dramas and, of course, some that haven’t been so good, but that’s part of taking a risk. There will be another series of The Wire, so if any writer would like their script considered for the slot they should note that in their covering letter and send to the usual address (details on the website).
The Wire is just one of the opportunities on our website but there are plenty of others. One piece of advice I always give new writers is to start looking around for what actually exists in terms of opportunities — there’s probably more there than you realise. Read everything on the writersroom website, and consider every opportunity, every competition. Writers should write, and if you aren’t writing regularly then you’re probably missing out on chances to get your work seen.
I’d also advise any new writer to get into or form a group of like-minded writers, a place where you can read your work out loud, and criticize and analyse it. It should be like a trust network, where you’re not afraid to examine what you’re doing. Getting involved in short film is also very useful. All of the regional screen agencies have a digital shorts programme, with funding available, and it’s a great thing for a writer to get to grips with: having an idea, following it through, writing it and then making it.
Never give up
The other piece of advice is to be persistent and don’t give up. Life On Mars was a tremendous hit but it took literally years for the idea to be picked up. People don’t often realise how long this sort of thing does take sometimes. If you’re a writer, you’ve got to keep producing. There’s no point in just writing one thing and waiting for it to become a hit, you’ve just got to keep plugging away. The encouraging thing is that there are more outlets than ever before and a real need for new writers.
I think generally the style of writing for TV and radio goes in cycles. There’s a drive at the moment for ‘high concept’ shows, like Life On Mars, which have proved very popular with audiences. But when the Royle Family came out, for example, you suddenly had a spurt of everyone wanting to do that close-up, naturalistic stuff. At the end of 2007, broadcasters are looking especially for comedy drama, and drama aimed at much younger audiences, around the 16-plus age group, because that audience feels under-served and they’re just not watching TV or listening to radio.
And I suppose one final piece of advice. Technology means more opportunity, and two buzzphrases of the moment are ‘360-degree commissioning’ and ‘extending the narrative’ [referring to how elements of a story or a drama can be developed or expanded beyond TV or radio and into other platforms such as the internet or some form of interactive format]. It’s important for writers to understand all these technologies, to understand the possibilities of using your material in different ways and how users are starting to change the ways in which they choose to receive content. But, while keeping up to speed with all these developments is an important part of a writer’s job, in the end it always boils down to having good characters and a compelling story."
