Top Tips for Writers

BBC Writers

Published: 16 December 2020

With our annual script submission window (Script Room) open until 6th January at 5pm we asked some top TV writers for their top tips. Watch the video below.

Writers Vinay Patel, Kirstie Swain, Charlie Swinbourne, Nicole Taylor and Marnie Dickens with their top tips.

Our annual script submission window is open to all writers aged 16 or over and resident in the UK or Republic of Ireland.

You need to submit one drama or comedy-drama script of at least 30 full pages in length for TV, Film, Radio, Stage or Online with your personal details removed from the script (as they are read without these attached).

We are looking for the most exciting and distinctive voices - and scripts that express those voices. We are looking for writers to develop rather than specific projects.

The script you submit is a spec' (speculative) script, and you should not send it in with the expectation that it will be produced. However, original spec' scripts are the means by which writers get noticed, so you should always write your script with the same level of commitment as if it were for production, but don't be held back by considerations of budget, logistics or because you think "this isn't a script that the BBC would produce".

We don't accept scripts written for existing or previously produced shows/characters – we only want to see your original work.

At the end of the process, a group of writers (usually between 10 and 15) will be selected to join our next Drama Room writer development group for 2021.