Green Wing and Smack The Pony writer James Henry talks to Gillian Best about his likes, hates and his dream day.
When I started talking to James about how he managed to become a scriptwriter, he started out by sharing his five-point plan.
1. Write something
2. Get it printed somewhere
3. Get paid for writing (contest winnings count)
4. Quit day job
5. Make a million, squillion pounds
He admits that, as a graph, it’s quite a steep transition from points three to four, and an almost vertical line to point number five, but he maintains that it’s still a worthwhile plan. It must be, because if it weren’t writing he’d be working in a bookshop during the day and playing Dungeons and Dragons at night.
How did he start?
By winning a competition he’d forgotten he’d entered. James was given six months to write a pilot script for his own sitcom and, being ‘lazy by nature’, found he worked better to deadlines. He wrote about what he knew best – two nerds working in a comic book shop – and after camping out by the doormat for that fateful letter, was short-listed. Although his script was in development for a year, it was eventually superseded by Spaced, which the producers decided would work better. But he had generated enough interest for producer Vicky Pile to suggest he worked on a new sketch show for women – Smack the Pony.
Don’t give up the day job
James worked for four years alongside more experienced writers on Smack the Pony, and in the meantime met Dick Hansom, the script writer for Bob the Builder. As the work was intermittent, he continued to work at Waterstones in Canterbury, and suggests that bookshops are good places for aspiring writers to earn a regular salary – ‘after all, you get free internet access, free books and a coffee shop to steal food from!’ As he gained more experience in TV writing, he could afford to gradually cut down on his hours there.
Grab your lucky breaks
James says you must ‘try to be lucky seven or eight times in a row’, and, as in the Hogs of War computer game, grab your chances swiftly! This isn’t necessarily unrealistic advice – there will always be opportunities for talented writers, but it is important to notice potential breaks and make the most of them. He says TV producers and writers can be amazingly generous in encouraging new writers, and will give constructive feedback to competition entries.
