Back in February, I applied for the Tall Story Pictures script call-out on a bit of a last-minute whim, to be honest: I only found out about it a day or two before the deadline, and decided to go for it, not expecting to be chosen… and I was.
Tall Story Pictures makes a lot of drama for ITV (usually the 9pm slot), and the script I submitted was NOT the sort of thing they produce. So I didn’t really know what to expect. The least I was hoping for was some sort of indication of “Am I wasting my time with this script?”
I sent the first two episodes of my 1970’s comedy murder/mystery, Backstabbers. Each episode is 30 minutes long, so I rather cheekily glued two together, because TSP wanted 60-page scripts.
A couple of days before my first meeting, I received a script report from Phil Hunter, exec. producer at TSP. Phil previously produced Midsomer Murders, Vera, and Apple TV’s Criminal Record - so he knows his stuff!
The positive highlights of Phil’s report were very encouraging:
"Your writing sets the scene well and as an overall experience I really enjoyed being transported back in time to this not too distant period… Starting with a flashforward is always a strong choice and I really enjoyed the way you landed us in the heart of the main character’s trauma/dilemma.
Also enjoyed the voiceover device, so again good to land that early on, establishing it as a device you plan to use throughout. You have some brilliant celebrity references in your script when drawing our attention to the characters, their physical attributes, demeanour and tone.
You have crafted a captivating character study and a compelling glimpse into the main character’s life and inner thoughts…
I enjoyed reading your script, it successfully transported me back to the period you are writing, and the way you write characters is authentic and relatable.
The family dynamic with the main character is drawn very well, set against the undercurrent of blunt working class sensibilities, I really relate to this type of household having grown up in one. There are some lovely moments in the script where you really capture the setting with great atmosphere and texture."
In conversation, Phil expressed how he enjoyed the Scooby-Doo-ness of the story’s mystery and how setting it in the 70’s was refreshing: No mobile phones! (This was one of my first considerations when writing it: I didn’t want mobiles because they feature so heavily in the Scream movies.)
Speaking of Scream: I explained to Phil that the script has been through many changes. I wrote the first draft of Backstabbers as a film script in 1997. I’d just seen Scream and wanted to do something which focused more on the humour and excitement and less on the gore. I then re-wrote it as a TV pilot, which was a borderline sitcom at times: too much emphasis on getting to the punchline. But: This version set me on course for expanding the ideas in the story.
In 2016, I rewrote it again as a novel. I had been looking after my children for eight years by then and had amassed around eight hundred pages of notes. Trying to write it as a script felt impossible: There was too much to process and I couldn’t see the forest for the trees. But then came Scrivener, which helped me to dish out the notes in some sort of form, and slowly - very slowly - I wrote a six hundred-page book. (I don’t recommend any of this, by the way. I hate that it has taken so long to get it right! I also don’t intend to take this long with every book/script I write!)
By this time, much of the original film script had been ditched, apart from “murder mystery”, “am-dram” and “will they/won’t they romance”.
This was edited down to around three hundred pages, jettisoning characters and plot lines (some of which may reappear in future books). When the book was finally at a place that I was happy with (at least, it represented what I had been aiming for all that time), I adapted it into thirteen half-hour episodes.
The fact that I’ve spent so much time chipping away at Backstabbers seemed to impress Phil; that I’m still enthusiastic about the idea twenty-seven years after I first started with it. Truth is, I think about it - AND the following five books/seasons pretty much every day, in some capacity. (And that’s not including all the other books/scripts I want to do!)
Yet there is still much to do. Right now, I need to cut three episodes completely. I need to get the openers, mid-points and cliffhangers sharpened. I’ve spent the time since the meetings working through these things, writing out a one-liner for each scene to test what its purpose is. When I first read Phil’s script notes I could barely sleep for three nights in a row: My brain went full-steam into addressing issues in the first two episodes, most of which I suspected but didn’t want to admit. Having a fresh pair of eyes (especially eyes that know what to look for) was such a huge help.
The meeting with the entire TSP producing team and the other “chosen ones” allowed us the opportunity to ask questions about career progression, how to find an agent - the usual questions writers have (which I will talk about in a later post).
Fear is the mind-killer, as they say, so being encouraged - giving hope, support, COURAGE - is essential for writers (especially those without a network of established contacts).
This experience was such an invigorating shot in the arm that I wish more companies would offer something similar, perhaps even partnering with agencies to develop not only the writers’ skills but also their career opportunities. Not many have the time to support/mentor one-to-one, but this kind of help is vital for those with fewer options.
Congratulations!!