Tenacity: Genre Busting workshop
Tue, Jun 30th 2009, 15:55
Last weekend I gave up my Saturday to attend one of the TENacity workshops being run by the West Midlands writers' agency SCRIPT. The title was "GENRE BUSTING: Writing Genre Material that is fresh, ground-breaking and original". The course was run by Red Room Films producer Claire Ingham and also featured a guest spot with Phil Ford, head writer on the Sarah Jane Adventures and writer for Torchwood and Doctor Who.
It was an interesting day and although I felt like I knew quite a lot of what was covered (what a big head I am) it was never boring and I never felt sleepy (as you sometimes do at these events). Both Claire and Phil were full of useful insights into genre and the business of making TV and films.
One takeaway for me was the concept of 'main character' and 'central character'. Main Character being the protagonist, the hero or heroine, someone who has a character arc (oh how everyone hates that phrase!) and the Central Character being someone who doesn't really go through any majors changes, but who is a focal point for the story.
An example given was Silence of the Lambs where Jodie Foster's character Agent Starling is the Main Character, but Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter is the Central Character. I suppose another example would be The Third Man where Holly Martins is the Main Character and Harry Lime (played by Orson Welles) is the Central Character. Like most things you learn about story, it seems blindingly obvious once someone has pointed it out, but it needed someone to point it out in the first place for you to sit up and take notice.
Other useful hints and tips
- In the US if you want to work on a series they like to see a "Shadow Script" of a programme, i.e. if you want to write for CSI, you should write a sample episode and send it to them.
- In the UK "Shadow Scripts" are a big no-no. They don't want to see your script in case they are later accused of nicking your ideas. They want to see something original which shows your "writer's voice" (another phrase you hear a lot).
In other words, taking my Doctor Who script with me wasn't a good idea. Which is why it stayed in its pink plastic covering and came back home with me. Ironically it's been a very useful script to show to everyone except those working on Doctor Who because it shows I can write to a format (plus I learned loads doing it - not least about simplifying plot and being able to tie up lots of loose ends in a satisfying way).
I'd recommend the other TENacity courses based on this one. I'd loved to have gone to the one with Helen Cross in Bromsgrove too, but I'll be in Aberdeen!
