Thursday 31 January 2013

Bleated New Year post!

I started writing this blog post just before New Year but it got postponed by work, which given that it's a post about postponing posting due to work is somewhat apt. However I have an unofficial rule that it's still OK to wish people Happy New Year until the end of January so this still counts!

I've recently had a couple of people ask what I'd been up to lately. Eagle eyed viewers will notice this blog went a little quiet in 2012 (no posts at all!). Sorry about that - I had a very busy, and pretty tough year. 2012 was my first full year working in the TV industry and was a steep learning curve - one with some great highs and a few lows, as I learnt to navigate my way around a sector that no one can really train you for. I'm coming into 2013 with a lot of gained wisdom but also with a few bruises too.

Much of the year was spent building relationships with producers at broadcasters and independent productions companies - having meetings to pitch them ideas and see if there is anything they'd like to work with me on. Lots of hours spent on trains/planes to London but good fun and I met some fascinating people. There's been quite a bit of interest in a few of my ideas and so much of my time this year has been spent on turning them into pitch documents - I've written up seven of these in total that have been winging their way round old London town. Some have been passed on, some are still being considered and some others have been picked up and taken to the next stage...

The highlights of the year were that my thriller Maybury and my relationship drama The Youth Movement both went "into development". That's where a company works with you to shape the story in more detail in order to try and sell them to the different broadcasters. Both are still currently moving forward and I've had a great time working on them with some lovely people who really care about the story worlds.

Another highlight was writing a (very!) small part of a big budget movie. The adaptation of Cloud Atlas shot in Scotland last year and the filmmakers put out a shout for local writers and directors to provide additional material for them to cut into film. I wrote a small scene for them which my friend Anita directed at the end of 2011 but we didn't know until this summer if we'd made the cut or not - which we did! The film's already been out in the US but not been released over here yet so I've not seen it but am looking forward to catching my work, even briefly, in the cinema soon.

2012 also saw me start pitching for work on more existing shows - including a well known cop show and soap opera. Sadly I missed out on them to writers with more experience but it was good to be in the running and get on the radars of the people in charge. I was also in the running for a place on a REALLY EXCITING show that I would have loved to work on, only for the programme to get cancelled! Oh well! C'est la vie!

More recently I've been beginning to work in the world of continuing drama - I was long listed for the BBC's Writers Academy last year and as of January am currently writing a trial script for Holby City. After I complete that I'm doing trials on two soap operas which I'm looking forward to getting my teeth into. It's great to get an insight into how these productions run, they are big old machines but run by people that really care about them and who look after their writers.

So... that's me. Sorry for the radio silence - just had too much on to really stop and reflect. I shall endeavour to improve on my blogging average in 2013!

So with 2 hours and 14 mintes to spare... Happy New Year!