Watch more films to make a change in the films you want to see - gender & diversity balance in film & TV

This week I have paraphrased the famous Mahatma Gandhi quote be the change you want to see in the world.

Having recently been asked about the BAFTA Rocliffe New Writing Forum approach to diversity, I answered that the Rocliffe part of the partnership is run by an Irish-Libyan. I expanded by stating that our selection process rests purely with the voice of the writing. When we select scripts the panel have no idea of the writer's gender, or what their experience is, age, race if they write alone or part of a team. Their selection is based purely on the panel member’s connection to the work. Interestingly, we’ve seen a balance shift from mostly male to an equal gender footing. As a result in 2013 all our TV writers were female, the comedy writers were predominantly female (5 female and 3 male), and the film writers were all male. The work was selected purely on the strength of the writing – gender or race did not (and could not) play a role in the selection process.

I’d like to think that the jobs I’ve got to date were down to my ability to do the job, rather than my race or gender. Besides, I’ve yet to see a diversity form with the option of Irish-Libyan, and I rarely see a tick box for Arab, MENA (Middle Eastern North Africa) or North African. We come under OTHER.  I do believe that when Andrea Arnold, Aisling Walsh, Amma Assante, Clio Barnard and Kirsten Sheridan wrote and then directed their films, they did so as storytellers just like every other filmmaker. Getting a film made is hard, no one doubts that, but I'm sure they want us to choose to see their work to be entertained, not because they are women making films.  

That said, there is a justifiable debate underway about gender and a strong argument about increasing the low percentage of female directors and writer-directors and whether that boils down to women not being given the opportunity to direct. A lack of opportunity creates a lack of visibility that in turn causes a lack of demand. We can laud and applaud people and we can lament the lack of prominence and breaks, but the question I ask myself is how do I make a change in the system?  The only way I know how is by watching their films and encouraging others to do so too. Draw your own conclusions about their voices – become a fan (or not), engage with their work (or not), support them (or not), but by acknowledging women’s contribution to this industry, by watching their work and creating a demand, we can begin to tackle this dearth of women. This requires familiarising ourselves with their body of work, and, if we think it is good, recommending others to watch it too.

Several years ago, I had a conversation with the owner of the flower stall beside Angel tube station comparing the films at the Vue Islington and the Screen on the Green. He felt that the Screen was like supporting local business. I asked him which films he had seen there that he had liked. He told me that was where he had first seen Andrea Arnold’s work and now he watches all her films. He felt her characters were real, and clicked with them.

For my part I’m using this blog to spotlight, the feature debuts by first time writer-directors, I’ve really loved, both female and male. This is my utterly subjective list of first films. I selected some because they have moved me, because I saw their shorts and have followed their careers, because I feel a personal attachment to the films and some purely for the film themselves. So if you feel there’s someone to flag up – go shout it out… make your own lists - word of mouth is a powerful tool.

MY TEN WRITER-DIRECTOR DEBUTS FILMS TO WATCH:

32A by Marian Quinn

This story is set in the 'in-between' time of a girl's life, when she is no longer a child and not yet a woman. We open on our heroine, Maeve, putting on her new snow-white bra and stepping out into the world as a young woman. Her world revolves around her three best friends who despair of her ever getting a boyfriend. But what no one expected, least of all Maeve, was that she would snare the local 16-year-old heartthrob.

1982 by Tommy Oliver

Timothy (Hill Harper), a man struggling to raise his young daughter Maya (newcomer Troi Zee) in the midst of his wife Shenae’s (Sharon Leal) growing drug habit. 

As if I’m Not There by Juanita Wilson

Samira is a modern schoolteacher in Sarajevo who takes a job in a small country village just as the war is beginning to ramp up. When Serbian soldiers overrun the village, shoot the men and keep the women as labourers (the older ones) and sex objects (the younger ones), Samira is subjected to the basest form of treatment imaginable.

Eamon by Margaret Corkery

A family holiday brings to a head the destructive love triangle between Eamon, a little boy with behavioural problems, his selfish mother Grace and his sexually frustrated father Daniel.

I am Nasrine by Tina Gharavi

Free-spirited 16-year-old Nasrine is arrested by the Iranian police – for riding on the back of a boy's motorcycle – and sexually assaulted in prison. She flees to the UK with her older brother Ali and moves into a Newcastle council estate that's a far cry from their comfortable middle-class existence in Tehran.

My Brother the Devil by Sally El Hosaini

Two teenage brothers must face their own prejudices head on if they are to survive the perils of being British Arabs growing up on the streets of gangland London.

Sixteen by Rob Brown

An urban thriller about an African former child soldier called Jumah was brought to London by Laura, an aid worker who he now lives with. Jumah is about to turn 16 in two days and wants to leave his violent past behind him. Things seem to have taken a turn for the better with Jumah now; he has a sweet but tentative romance blossoming with a girl at school. But then Jumah witnesses a stabbing and the people involved want to make sure that he says nothing to the police about what he saw that night. Pressure mounts as violence forces it's way back into Jumah's life.

The Other Side of Sleep by Rebecca Daly & Glenn Montgomery

A sleepwalker. A body. A family. A small community. Arlene is like a ghost in her life. She lives in a small town in the midlands – surrounded by field after field, woodlands and laneways to disappear down and never come back… One morning Arlene wakes in the woods beside the body of a young woman. Someone watches from the trees. The body is soon discovered and suspicion spreads through the community. Increasingly drawn to the girl’s family – her grieving sister and accused boyfriend, Arlene barricades herself in at night, afraid to sleep. Haunted by grief buried and delayed, Arlene’s sleeping and waking realities soon blur. And all this time someone is watching her.

The Rise (Wasteland) by Rowan Athale

A young Englishman recently released from prison recruits his three best friends and to rob the local drug kingpin who is responsible for his incarceration. Can he get revenge and win back his fed-up girlfriend?

Wreckers by Dictynna Hood

A married couple move back to his childhood village to start a family but a surprise visit from the husband's brother ignites sibling rivalry and exposes the lies embedded in the couple's relationship.

And I can't wait to see what they do next. 

Watch out for the the forthcoming films from directors, whose work I can't wait to see, Paul King, Amma Assante, Ron Scalpello, Susan Jacobson, Niall Heery, Sarah Gavron, Lisa Barros D’Sa, Tom Harper and writer Jack Thorne as well as the feature debuts of Nick Ryan, David Leon and Claire Wilson.

My quote:

Today's news was published by word of mouth in the streets of ancient Athens. ~ Anonymous

Keep writing!

WRITING TV EPISODE OUTLINES & STORY LINES

Writing a storyline is great fun. You are creating characters that you make do whatever you want. Hanging out with pretend people, in a pretend world is or should be like child's play, but sometimes it is not. There are a few basic rules to it. When writing an episode for TV, you have to think about the length. An hour on screen has to fill the time with something that drives it, sustains our interest and not just the long story narrative. Storylines need to be threaded through, and you need to know what structure that will take.

William Goldman said in Adventures in the Screen Trade 'the essential opening labour a screenwriter must execute is, of course, deciding what the proper structure should be for the particular screenplay you are writing.' This, he believes, is 'the single most important lesson to be learned about writing'. He continues to hammer home the point by stating 'nifty dialog helps one hell of a lot; sure, it's nice if you can bring your characters to life. But you can have terrific characters spouting just swell talk to each other, and if the structure is unsound, forget it.'  

Structure is all about planning. With TV episodes there is no opportunity to over/under-run, so you need to plan it out carefully. The first thing to understand is that an hour-long episode on most channels will be around 50 minutes for drama and 20-25 minutes for SitCom. A full TV Drama script will be somewhere between 46-50 pages and SitCom betewen 20-25 pages. It is worth noting that some channels have longer ad-breaks and these will dictate the exact length of the script, and you will also need to allow for credits. That's a lot of pages if you are writing a six episode series. Each episode needs its own structure and story to drive it forward. You need to show you know what those stories or story lines will be, and this is where the guides come in. The treatment is an overview but the guides give us snippets of insight into how it will work and entertain. 

MY TEN ROCLIFFE TIPS:

1. These are written in the third person, present tense.  No dialogue should appear at any point.  I would suggest 50-100 words per episode - less can be more if you can entice us with the story progression. Check Rocliffe's Terms & Conditions as word counts may vary depending on each particular script call. 
2. Each episode must have vital moments, so describe the essential moments in each episode. Stay true to your story. Be dynamic - in drama significant things as a consequence of, and not merely after, what has happened before. Too often we see superfluous scenes – everything should be part of the bigger story or driving the story forward. When writing episode guides or storylines you are describing the dramatic moments within the script.
3. When you have a series arc, which is apparent in a long running story of a mini-series, remember this is the backbone of the series and we should see progression of this in each guide.  The overall structure of the beginning, middle and end is in the treatment.  The episodes must match the treatment. 
4. Remember that each episode has to draw the audience in, keep them coming back the following week whilst revealing enough of the main story and still telling single story strands within the episode. There is a complexity to this but it should be clear if you are clear what your main story arc is.
5. When creating a storyline that is contained within a single episode ensure that it has some closure, even if you continue other storylines into future episodes. Remember it is by engaging with these characters that draws an audience in and makes them come back for more.
6. Show the characters history, backstory and interrelationships/interactions with the other characters. A great example of this was the series Cold Feet, which ran for 6 series, 32 episodes from 1998 – 2003.  The bind was the ups-and-downs of 3 ordinary couples in Manchester. Good times and bad times were followed through the 32 hours, which were finally tied up in the last episode of the sixth series when all the history of the previous years’ came together.
7. Whilst we all follow the maxim of all scripts ‘show not tell’ even in guides and storylines that doesn’t mean you replace loads of dialogue with lengthy emotional description and action. Replace it with one line.
8. A good writer is a good reader.  Watch and read shows.  Assess how they end and finish stories that are interspersed within the main series narrative. This will give you a greater understanding of the structure of the show as well as a greater appreciation of what your story can be.
9. Work out your ending of each episode, right at the start, it makes it easier to know where you are driving the series rather than rambling along.  You can’t wing it.
10. Stay true to your story. Don’t self-sensor at the first draft or second-guess at the spec script stage what our panel or a commissioner will be looking for. Ensure that your characters are believable and by that I mean behave the way real people actually do today. It is crucial to reflect characters how they are.  Go out and observe the world.  Spend time in the world you are creating if you are reflecting a world you don’t know.

I've always thought everything William Goldman says is very clever. So my writing quote for this blog is a whole lot of William Goldman saying lots of things and explaining exactly what he meant by NOBODY KNOWS ANYTHING. Spend the time watching this amazing youtube interview!

Research, reflect and be adventurous, who says you can’t be big, bold and challenging! Keep writing...

IT'S ALL ABOUT YOU - HOW TO WRITE A SHORT BIO & NOT A BIOGRAPHY

It’s hard to write about yourself or know what to write. The first time, I was asked for a biography, I was flummoxed. It's odd to think that writers can struggle to write about themselves, but it's true. I can turnaround a CV, pretty quickly, because it just details every job I’ve done with the dates thrown in. A bio, however, is completely different. 

My first came with a word count - I had to sum up my life in 25 words. So I googled my heroes - reckoning if they could do it, so could I! Many had one-line bios, I with much less achievements under my belt, replicated what they did. I began with my name and added my profession - writer, producer, founder of Rocliffe and elaborated accordingly. Since, I have adapted that same bio for the end reader - film proposals, newspaper by-lines, festivals and once for a meeting at the UN (that’s another story for a different kind of biography).  

The main thing to remember, when writing bios, is not to let your ego (or lack of) get in the way of telling the reader a little bit about you. Don't start by assuming the mindset there is nothing to say about you! Take a different approach. Think of a bio as a fun way to present yourself to someone who doesn't know you, as a writer. Some of these tips are more relevant to BAFTA Rocliffe submissions, but overall, they should relate to most short biographies. 

My Ten Rocliffe Tips:

1. Start with your name. At this point, no one knows who you are! I can't tell you how many biographies I've seen with no identifying details. On a BAFTA Rocliffe application include your application number and contact details, and submit it as a single page.
2. Write in the third person and present tense i.e. Farah Abushwesha is an Irish-Libyan writer and filmmaker. It states who I am, what I do and where I am from. I wear my dual nationality as a badge of honour and it explains my Irish accent. I used to find it funny when Irish newspapers referred to me as 'Dubliner Farah Abushwesha' but let's face it, it's not typically Irish.
3. Remember if you are uninspired reading it, so will the reader be. Don't be too dry, be a bit lively. That said, it's always advisable to maintain a certain level of professionalism and don't be over-familiar.  
4. Don't be ashamed of being new. New talent is the lifeblood of the industry. Whilst we are looking for people with potential to maintain a career, we get very excited when we find a complete newbie! If this is your first script, then say so! At Rocliffe, we have featured the work of many first time writers who have gone on to forge careers and give them their break.
5. Generally, make your bio relate to the receiver, adapt it accordingly. When asked for an industry-related bio, do not give an autobiographical account of your life or how your parents met. Tell about your writing achievements include items like whether you have a blog? Has someone famous retweeted a tweet of yours especially if it is funny? Have you written for radio, theatre or short films? Has your work been shown at a festival? Is your work being optioned? Do you have any virals and include links? Do you write video games? The video game writers, I know, are particularly good at writing visual imagery and action films. Relate it back to writing, or similarly with directing or producing. 
6. If you have written more than one script, don’t be generic IE ‘I’ve written a wide range of writing projects’. Brilliant that you are committed to writing, but what are they? What genre are they? Tell us a bit about your other projects. Are they for a particular medium? A bio can also show us if you are you drawn to a particular genre. We often get approached by people asking if we know writers who have written a particular genre, we look back through the bio, and hook them up. 
7. List screenwriting courses you attended any courses or any awards or competition have you been shortlisted for or won. 
8. Keep it positive. Include the things that make you standout in a good way. Don’t berate a former collaborator/producer. I’ve seen a bio where a writer described being ‘shafted' by someone. Another who referred to the producers he was working with as sharks. Whatever the background to the stories, valid or otherwise, it makes you standout in all the wrong ways.
9. Don’t tell porky pies or embellish. A few years ago a literary agent, in the US, contacted me to find out what I thought of a writer they were considering representing. I had no idea who the writer was. It turned out they had claimed to have won the BAFTA Rocliffe award. No such award exists. The writer had never been selected to be showcased. It's so easy to fact-check, we keep a record of all our entrants.
10. Final points, show your personality, allow us to begin to like you on paper. This can be done in very subtle ways with turn of phrase and wit. What really resonates is when a writer makes it personal to them. Please don’t use exclamation marks and proof read and spell check your work. Always!

Whilst Rocliffe sees all writer biographies, our selection panels are never told, until after the final three are selected. This way we ensure that only the voice of the work is the deciding factor and not the age, race, gender and experience of the writer.

My quote of the week: 

“Great geniuses have the shortest biographies” 
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Write, rewrite and keep writing because without screenwriters we would not have TV shows and films to make!

10 EXERCISES TO ENERGISE YOUR SCRIPTS & KILL WRITER'S BLOCK

Finding yourself blocked, unable to get into the writing flow or feeling stuck can be a writer’s nightmare. It is easy to lose confidence and then question whether this is something you should be doing as a career. Some people call this writer’s block. 

Sometimes it simply our approach, we’ve been so conditioned to think a certain way, so as adults writing may seem like a chore. One of the best courses I attended for really learning to expand your mind creatively was The Writers Gym. It really tackles creative blocks. Ellis Freeman is a superb teacher and writer and I can’t praise the course highly enough.  

These are exercises I’ve learned through reading and attending courses like The Writers Gym. Over time, I’ve adapted them to fit in with what I am doing on my courses to elevate the helplessness that new writers we can often feel. No one says writing is easy, if you try these it can add a bit of fun to the process.

My Ten Rocliffe Tips:

1. Write a one page outline of the story using the following format - 100 words or less on the beginning, 300 words for the middle and 100 words on the resolution. If this doesn't work for you try using the 12 steps laid out in The Writer's Journey by Christopher Vogler. 
2. Change the protagonist and point of view of the story in the treatment. Telling a story from a different perspective or viewpoint, instead of the one expected, can create a fresher outlook or original take on a familiar story.  This is where the power of a word, be it a pronoun or the gender, can remarkably change the landscape of the story. When reading it back, ask what you need to add or take away? It's great to see how the emotional interactions of the characters change, and also how you will have piqued the interest of a reader. 
3. Use WHAT IF questions that relate to characters. Try it with your character after each act. What if they did this... what if they did that... what if a meteor landed… what if they reacted this way instead of the way they do… what if the murderer is actually a figment of his imagination?  List a number of potential scenarios. Only allow yourself 10 minutes to do this and incorporate these ideas into your script.
4. Spend ten minutes exploring the backstory of the protagonist and antagonist before the script begins - it only needs to be one page or ten minutes of writing. Now use these feelings within your script. 
5. Spend 10 minutes writing the aftermath of the protagonist and antagonist when the script finishes.  Have they changed much or enough?
6. In feedback we constantly use the phrase - show don't tell. To do this write down any emotions your characters are experiencing in the script, and then write a minimum of five actions that convey that emotion. Emotional actions are great because they describe what the character is feeling or internalizing. Think about how you can convey the emotion using the emotional state of the character and their point of view of what is happening without ever telling the reader what the emotional state is or what has motivated it.
7. List 10 adjectives to describe the character traits of your protagonist, then on the same page list an adjective which is the complete opposite to create an antagonist or antagonistic forces.  Does your character adhere to these character traits and how do they influence the plot? 
8. Sometimes the mere thought of writing can be isolating so tweet out a #writingsprint to see if any others out there in the world that want to write with you. There is no time limit or bad time to call it - makes you feel less isolated. Here is a blog about how to host a writing sprint.
9. One of the great joys of writing is the time you can justifiably spend researching. You can watch documentaries, contact charities that deal with issues in your script, interview people, do a web-search on the subject matter, genre or theme of your stories as well as similar films or films in that genre. 
10. Write the script without dialogue. How much visual imagery or emotional action can you create without words?  Can you use sound and colour to capture what is going on? 

I am often asked what can I do to make my work fresher, more original, less predictable? There is honestly no magic formula to freeing up a script but exercises help writers to think a little differently about how they are approaching an idea or thread. I can honestly say for me, that these exercises make the work richer and deeper. 

When faced with a writing blog don’t abandon writing. The one thing that separates those who succeed rests completely on not giving up. Should none of these exercises work, put the script away and come back to it in a week or later. Never give up the dream – and if all else fails, take a new story like a fairy tale and give it a modern twist just to do something a bit different. Commit to a career not a screenplay.

My quote of the week: 

“Who is more to be pitied, a writer bound and gagged by policemen or one living in perfect freedom who has nothing more to say?” Kurt Vonnegut 

Write, keep writing and then rewrite - without screenwriters we would not have films.

10 CURES FOR POST-FESTIVAL BLUES & AVOIDING THE COME DOWN

With the great choice of festivals, seminars and conferences of late there has been no shortage of opportunities for inspiration and networking for filmmakers. Nothing gets us more fired up and reinvigorated than spending time with other filmmakers talking passionately about the craft and new opportunities. I always keep loads of notes to draw on, which prove invaluable, in the weeks that follow. After any festival, I schedule a morning purely for writing to everyone I met. It is my way of keeping up the momentum, avoiding the post-event doldroms and making the experience last. You have a window of opportunity. To capitalise on this, here are some survival pointers which also help to avoid post festival blues.  

My Ten Rocliffe Tips:

1. Whenever you meet someone new and they give you a card, write which event you met them at. You only need to meet someone once, to 'know' them - Mitch Hurwitz's words not mine! 
2. Carry a notebook to every event so that you can note down things. You will forget what you learned. List every production company, channel, show that a speaker references. At the end of each day, write down ten things you learned from that day. Reading these through after the festival will re-inspire you. 
3. Write an email to all the peers you met. Send them links to your website or youtube clips or any online info about you. Ask them for their twitter accounts. Start to follow them. 
4. Search every speaker's name on twitter and follow. Tweet them how fab they were or what you liked or learned from their talk or work. 
5. If you go to a pitching session (always try to take part in one), write a thank you card to the people on the panel (via their companies). Ask what else are they looking for and what is the best way to send them pitches. 
6. Look for the production companies logos in the festival programme. Then log on to the company's website and seek out their submissions process. Write to their contact email address and ask them how to submit if it is not apparent.
7. If you have an agent, send them a list of who you met, requesting advice on to best follow this up, can they be of help?
8. Drop your festival contact a line and thank them for the opportunity. Festivals love longevity, building relationships with people who they featured early on in their careers. Many offer a staggered payment scheme so you can book your tickets in advance. Click here to apply now for you LSF 2014 pass Quote Rocliffe. 
9. If you had table reads, send your actors a note. They are just as keen to connect with you as you with them.  
10. From the short films, webisodes or first time feature directors work you've seen, contact them to see if they are interested in reading your work! Collaborate to accelerate. 

It's a small world out there. Reaching out is the only way to get ahead and people appreciate you taking the time – it will benefit you. Here are some of the great talks, events, festivals I attended this year and will be looking out for next. Many will have been filmed or have post-festival virals:

• BAFTA Screenwriting Lectures – Click here for highlights 
• BFI International Film Festival - THINK-SHOOT-DISTRIBUTE 2013 
• London Screenwriters Festival - click here for LSF tips on post-LSF follow ups 

The ones I am looking forward to attending in 2014 - sign up now for their mailing lists:

Feb 2014 - Dublin International Film Festival 2014
Aug 2014 - Edinburgh TV Festival 2014
May 2014 - Cannes Film Festival
Oct 2014 - New York TV Festival
Oct 2014 - London Screenwriters Festival
Oct 2014 - Austin Film Festival & Conference

My quote of the week
“The glow of inspiration warms us; it is a holy rapture.”

Don't forget to write, keep writing and then rewrite.

OUR NY TV FESTIVAL WRITERS SHARE FESTIVAL INSIGHTS & GEMS FROM GREG DANIELS, MITCH HURWITZ, JIM FIELD SMITH & MORE

Anna, Lizzie, Brona, Tony, Stewart & Greg
 (C)2013 Seton Davey/BaftaNY

In October 2013, for a third year, we took five writers to the New York TV Festival where they spent a week hearing inspiring speakers from the many different facets of TV: showrunners, editors, staff writers, composers, producers and more. 

Cast with Nina Hellman, Flor De Lis Perez,
Yael Stone & Eric Keith Chapelle
(C)2013 Seton Davey/BaftaNY

Alongside the craft masterclasses, they had an incredible showcase with the 'AWESOME' GREG DANIELS, the comedy master behind The Office (US) and Parks and Recretation (which I learned was inspired by The Wire). To top it off their work was performed by a company of the best actors New York had to offer (including a star of Orange is the New Black - the show everyone is raving about).

Our writers took full advantage of all the festival programme, taking part in pitching opportunities for reality tv shows with the likes of VH1 and natural history shows with National Geographic. This year each writing team was selected to pitch to at least one commissioner and, for a second year running, one of the teams won.  Last year Sarah Courtauld won a development deal for a children's tv show with Hasbro. 

For most people a trip to New York is about shopping and cocktails but for our writers it was all about the business of TV and writing. So for this blog, I asked them to share two pieces of advice - one inspired by a speaker and the other something they personally learned from the experience that would be useful to other writers and filmmakers.  

WHAT OUR COMEDY WRITERS GARNERED FROM THEIR WEEK IN NEW YORK:

Brona & Tony winning
the VH1 Development deal

1. GREG DANIELS said "don’t just make your spec script as good as what’s already on TV, make it better!" Among the many nuggets of advice from Bafta Rocliffe guest speaker Greg Daniels, this one stuck out for me. When he’s looking for writers for shows like Parks and Recreation or The Office, he said he really wanted two things; consistency and a few moments of gold. So basically, make sure your script has no weak spots – know which lines are letting your script down and tackle them before sending it out. He said nothing should be in there that’s less than a B grade standard! Then, make sure you have one or two killer, knock-out, timeless jokes to really make the reader sit up and laugh. Those A+ grade moments. Greg admitted he’d hired writers on the basis of reading a single joke of theirs that belted it out the park – quality not quantity was his advice. TONY COOKE (CO-WRITER NANNIES & VH1 Development deal winner)
2. On day one of the New York Television Festival keynote speaker MITCH HURWITZ creator of Arrested Development talked about the difficulty in dealing with conflicting notes during a meeting. His advice was to take everything on board in a polite and respectful manner before tackling them in your own way at a later date. He also recalled a meeting in which he was sweating so much with nerves that his nipples were protruding through his shirt! It was hilarious and reassuring to hear someone with such an incredible CV dealing with such relatable issues. STEWART THOMSON (WRITER OF SKWIBS)
3. MITCH HURWITZ said you really need to 'advocate for yourself' - which was a good reminder to grab opportunities by the balls! He was a staff writer on the Golden Girls for only 2 years when they were looking around for a showrunner for a spin off series. He took a deep breath& said to the executive producers  'Why don't you let me do that for you guys?!' and though they were skeptical at first about his lack of experience, by the end of the meeting... They gave him the job! Be brave! If you don't, who will? BRONA C TITLEY (CO-WRITER NANNIES & VH1 Development deal winner)
4. Something that a number of speakers at NYTVF focused on was the value of having a good idea and sticking with it when you find it. JUSTINE GORMAN from Channel 4 said ‘a good idea is a good idea’ and if you know you have one, then all you have to do is sell it with confidence. The delegate from IFC stressed the importance of staying loyal to your vision: if an idea you pitch doesn’t make sense for them, it doesn’t mean it won’t work for another channel. It was something that came up again and again: Comedy Central said be passionate and believe in your idea; HBO said don’t just write what you think a network wants but show them you have a distinct voice; and it was so encouraging to hear JIM FIELD SMITH say - with real conviction - that if you stay true to what you believe in, it will pay off in the end. LIZZIE BATES (CO-WRITER OF NEW HABITS)
5. I have always found the idea of networking difficult: it’s not an easy thing to approach a stranger and start talking to them. But after our week in New York it’s easy to see how important it is, and what benefits come from being confident, taking the bull by the horns and striking up a conversation with someone who is sitting or standing next to you at an industry event. I started chatting to the guy sat next to me in one of the development chats and he turned out to be a top dog at a major network. If I hadn’t started talking to him that would have been an opportunity missed. MITCH HURWITZ said something which really stuck with me: 'You only have to meet someone once to know them,’ and once you know them it’s so much easier to get your work in front of them. LIZZIE BATES 
6. EVAN SHAPIRO from Pivot said if you're lucky enough to get a meeting with a producer, do your homework first: know the brand, know what shows they've made before and what they're working on now. And when it comes to the meeting, be friendly, open and flexible. It's not enough for a producer just to like your project - they need to feel that you're someone they want to work with too. Oh, and be on time - or even better, be early. ANNA EMERSON (CO-WRITER OF NEW HABITS)
7. Very importantly comes this advice from STEVE BASILONE, staff writer on The Michael J Fox show. He emphatically and repeatedly said 'BE NICE!' Staff writing is an all-consuming job; they talked about periods where they stayed in the office without going home for as long as 3 days! When hiring a person who will live in your pocket for a year, showrunners will always hire the nice people who do solid work over the difficult person who may come up with killer gags. BE NICE, BE NICE, BE NICE! BRONA C TITLEY
8. All the producers and network people we met with said they're looking for a strong voice and a unique point of view - something they haven't seen before. At the same time, of course, it's important to watch plenty of comedy so you know what else is out there, and what you do and don't like. Don't expect to know what your style is straight away (I'm still not sure know what mine is), just write a lot, write things that excite you, and your style will develop on its own. And keep going - if you stick at it you will make it in the end! ANNA EMERSON
9. Something I was reminded of during this experience and would impress upon any aspiring writer is: Watch everything! If you want to be a comedy writer, then watch ALL the comedies you possibly can. Don't just stick to the things you like, they've already taught you what they can. Branch out, try new things. Promise yourself you'll watch at least the pilot of everything made in the UK. Figure out why things work or don't work. Ask other people what they thought. Your business is your business so get to know it! BRONA C TITLEY
10. During her talk on day two of the New York Television Festival, DEBBIE DEMONTREUX of US TV network IFC, hammered home the point that the most important thing is to be an artist, to believe in your voice and not to try and tailor your work to a specific demographic or style. I found this to be a refreshing and inspiring piece of advice. The message was simple: original voices still have a chance to shine.STEWART THOMSON
11. The best way to pitch ideas ‘in the room’ was a major theme of the week in New York – it seems a huge part of the US industry. I’d boil down all the advice into three rules… i) Be passionate: even if you over-do the enthusiasm, that’s better than seeming non-plussed. ii) Be prepared: essential if you’re going to show your passion. You need to be able to shut the laptop, look them in the eye, and sell from your heart. iii) Be brief: write your pitch, then cut it IN HALF. The core of your idea is what matters most. And… to add my own extra rule, enjoy it. Or at least LOOK like you are! The pitch Brona and I made to VH-1 as part of the NYTVF Development Deal Competition might not have followed all the rules, but we tried to keep it light. In the end we won the deal, so some of our positive vibes must have rubbed off. TONY COOKE

My writing quote of the week:

Life is a festival only to the wise ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson 

Our next BAFTA Rocliffe New Writing Forum is on the 9th December with a focus on film scripts. See you there and in the meantime - keep writing!