Writers Academy 1
Hi, I'm Ceri Meyrick, Development Producer, New Talent in the BBC Drama Department. For the last three years, I've been running and co-tutoring the Writers Academy with John Yorke. We've just come up for air after the 2008 course finished before Christmas, so I thought it might be useful to start a regular blog here to talk about the Academy and answer some frequently asked questions for writers. Do ask me if there's anything you want to know. I'll also be getting some Writers Academy graduates, plus other members of our team to contribute.
The 2009 Academy will be taking applications in mid-April, so if you are thinking of entering, now is the time to start polishing up your original scripts for submission.
There's more detail about the Academy Course itself elsewhere on this website (see our regular page), but I just wanted to start by talking about who the Academy is for.
The course was started four years ago by John Yorke, Controller of Drama, who also tutors on the course. It is specifically designed to train writers in writing for the Continuing Drama shows produced by the BBC - EastEnders, Casualty, Holby City and Doctors. What it doesn't do is teach writing - we choose people who can already do that very well. What it does do is give writers a grounding in the structural principles of story-telling, an insight in the format and production processes of those four shows, and most crucially, it gives them a safe place to grow and develop their own original voice. Contrary to what some people might believe, Continuing Drama only thrives when it allows the writer's voice to shine through.
It's thirteen weeks hard work initially and you have to be based in Elstree (we do pay expenses for those who have to relocate). After that, you start a round of commissions across all four programmes. All in all it's about 13 or 14 months work. It's not for everyone - it's a big commitment, and I believe you can only do it if you really love and want to work on those shows. Remember - you also get paid!
To enter you need to have had at least one professional drama commission - either in television, radio, film or theatre. This may seem unfair to those of you who don't have this, but we've found it really is an essential qualification. The first part of the course is pretty full on, and it isn't the time to find out that you really don't enjoy the collaborative process that writing for television entails. You need to be able to respond to notes and rewrite quickly, just as you would on the real thing.
The writers who come on the course vary enormously in background, experience and age. Typically the age spread in a group is from early twenties to late forties. Not all have previous experience writing for television - some have written only for theatre or radio, for instance.
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