Find out what the BBC Writersroom Scotland team have been up to recently. This includes specific Scotland-based opportunities and contributing to opportunities and schemes from the BBC Writersroom which run across the whole UK.
THE BIGGEST WEEKEND
The Biggest Weekend was a call out in collaboration with BBC Music/BBC Introducing to produce 4 x 1 minute short films across the Nations and Regions and set in the 4 cities which were hosting the Biggest Weekend festival – Belfast, Swansea, Perth and Coventry. We were delighted to be part of the process at BBC Writersroom Scotland and whittled down 56 submissions to one finalist, Fiona Connor’s Something Blue.
Find out more about the Biggest Weekend project and watch all 4 short comedies
Fiona Connor - Something Blue
The idea of writing for screen always gave me the fear as my background is entirely in stage plays and fiction so I was just a bit apprehensive at first. But, I’m so glad I plucked up my pen and my courage as one thing the BBC Writersroom does is see the potential in you (no matter how misshapen at first), nurture you and most importantly challenge you as a writer.
It was such an intensive experience with two days of workshops to develop our first drafts to final script. We were brought together as a room of finalists: all likeminded writers from different backgrounds and all striving to produce a 60 second monologue. If I can write to 60 seconds – I can now do anything!
The support across the two days and the ability to bounce ideas off of each other was incredible as was hearing from industry professionals who were not only inspiring but gave us all lessons for life. For me, just being in the iconic PQ (Pacific Quay) building at the BBC gave me more drive. One of the most memorable moments was seeing our work brought to life by actors. The whole thing is like a dream I haven’t woken up from yet. It’s given me the confidence to move forward with developing new Scottish comedy & drama without the fear of the screen. Thanks to all at the BBC Writersroom & my fellow finalists. I hope everyone enjoys ‘Something Blue’.
FESTIVAL MONOLOGUES
We're delighted that two additional scripts from The Biggest Weekend submissions also got funded and made, Gillian McCormack’s Poo Girl and Kevin Walls When Pish Comes to Shove.
Watch Poo Girl (on Facebook)
Watch Pish Comes to Shove (on Facebook)
Gillian McCormack on 'Poo Girl'
Whoever said childbirth was the most terrifying thing you could do in your life, had quite clearly never attempted to write a 60 second monologue…
As someone who has spent most of their adult life working at music festivals, I thought this was going to be easy. I definitely had plenty of material to draw from - 15 years-worth of muddy fields and overflowing Porta Loos to be exact - but I think trying to get a visa for North Korea would have been less challenging, although, it's fair to say, not nearly as much fun.
60 seconds to convey a character and tell a story might seem like loads of time - I mean it seems like an eternity when you’re absolutely bursting, standing in a never-ending toilet queue - but it really is nothing, and as the BBC Writersroom Team showed us, every second really does count.
I definitely wanted to make every second of my Writersroom experience count. To be in a room in BBC Scotland HQ for two days, being given completely invaluable advice and encouragement was such an incredible opportunity. There was also a real sense of camaraderie between all of the writers, and thankfully - given it was a comedy initiative – lots and lots of laughs. The whole experience was amazing and it was totally, and unexpectedly topped off with ‘Poo Girl’ being fully brought to life… now there’s a sentence I never thought I’d write...
I can’t thank the BBC Scotland Writersroom team enough for their time, their support, and for giving my very first BBC credit! Yes, it was terrifying at first, but like childbirth, the whole experience was an unforgettable one and something pretty awesome came out the other end…
Kevin Walls on 'When Pish Comes to Shove'
I was in two minds whether to submit my monologue to the BBC Writersroom. On one hand: what did I have to lose? On the other: someone might actually read it and be so offended by its terribleness that they’d write to me, personally, to tell me never to write another single word ever again for the duration of my sorry existence.
After a wee think and a freshly baked croissant – the one with the hazelnutty chocolate inside – I decided to stop being such a big dafty. I clicked submit. My heart started to race. Maybe it was adrenaline. Maybe it was nerves. Maybe it was the delicious continental pastry, distilled into pure sugar, coursing through my bloodstream. Either way: I felt alive.
Fast forward a few weeks and I’m sitting in a room at BBC Scotland, surrounded by a group of ridiculously talented writers, feeling suitably out of my depth. No amount of buttery baked goods could save me now. Not even a pain au chocolat. Thankfully the finalists were incredibly welcoming and approachable, as were the BBC Writersroom team. Through their teaching and guidance, I was able to turn my sketch of an idea into a fully polished monologue. Although the two days of workshopping were incredibly intense, it was an immense amount of fun. Being able to bounce ideas around a room of other writers was a rare and delightful privilege. Instant feedback from the BBC Writersroom team was so encouraging and it kept the energy at a consistently high level across the two days. This was my first submission to the BBC Writersroom and it certainly won’t be my last. If, like me, you ever find yourself in two minds about submitting your work, treat yourself to a freshly baked croissant – or a suitably tasty gluten-free alternative – and ride that sugar train to confidence town. Just make sure you buy a single because where you’re going you won’t need a return.
Please enjoy ‘When Pish Comes to Shove’ which is, one-hundred percent, definitely not, in no way, shape or form, remotely inspired by something that may or may not have happened when I was at a music festival.
THE COMEDY WRITERS' PROGRAMME
BBC Writersroom Scotland and BBC Comedy Commissioning have announced a brand new Comedy Writers’ Programme aimed at supporting Scottish / Scottish based comedy writers and the Independent sector. It follows a similar model to the successful BBC Writersroom TV Drama Writers' Programme which partners writers and Indies together to develop TV drama projects.
SCOTTISH VOICES 2019
The Scottish Voices writers’ groups were launched in May 2018 engaging 34 writers from across Scotland. The majority of the writers were still fairly early in their career but came to our attention through one of our schemes, opportunities or through readings or a performance of their work. The groups worked with us over a period of 18 months to develop their writing skills through attending workshops, masterclasses and accessing script editing support, giving the writers a clearer insight into writing for a range of genres and mediums and the tools to have a sustainable writing career.
