It’s not as attention-grabbing compared to being an actor, and it won’t give you the career prestige that you can possibly attain by working as, but screenwriting is one of the most crucial aspects of making a quality show, especially when it comes to comedies. However, some people may be wondering, what does it take to become a screenwriter, and what skills are required for you to see success as one. I spoke to Paul Powell, a writer-producer that has worked on British comedy shows and sitcoms like Miranda, Art Detectives, and Pickle Storm – we discussed his journey into screenwriting, and what he thinks it takes to establish yourself as a screenwriter.
Starting out
“I’ve always been into comedy. That’s always been a passion of mine. I did a double act at University, doing skits together. This all ended up with me getting a part in the Oxford Review – a comedy show that goes up to Edinburgh each year. After that, I decided I want to be involved in comedy as a career. I worked with a radio show at the time on Radio 4 that was basically a topical sketch about the week’s views. It was open to pretty much everybody, you could go into the meeting rooms and show your ideas. That was my first big break – from then on I moved into comedy and even though I’ve worked on other things like writing for kids shows and drama, comedy was always my fundamental driver.”
Story elements
“There are three crucial story elements that you need in any script, or story is – to have a great story of course.”
“It’s obvious, but a great story with lots of twists, surprises and red herrings. Great characters too – you want the audience to engage with the characters on a human level, getting their sympathy and building a relationship between them and that character. Before the third would’ve been dialogue, but I think in the current tv landscape, it has to be how it looks. TV shows now need to catch your eye, they need to look ambitious.”
Working with a team
“The people you usually take comments from when you’re in the process of writing are the commissioning editors, the commissioning executives, the director, the script editor and the cast. People will say to you that they’re not sure if they can properly understand what’s happening in one scene, and if we can change it to be a bit more clear, it’s all very collaborative. The director’s always chipping in with ideas, fundamentally though the people you’ll be working with are always rather small. Your producer and script editor are the people who are really at the surface of it. The director doesn’t have much to do with the piece until later on when the script is more or less finished.”
Casting
“When you’re in the process of writing something, you have someone in mind for the lead characters, even if they’re someone nearly impossible to get – it at least gives you the chance to get the voice right. For minor roles, you’re more open to whatever really, but for the leads there’s a general sense on who they might be. Even though the casting comes much later, when you make a proposal you have to stick in some photos and say if they would be a good archetype for this character.”
Writing for modern times
“I’ve been in TV for 34 years, and it’s changed massively in that time. Everything’s quicker now because pace is so important in TV these days. You have to write snappier scenes, quicker scenes, and be a bit smarter with your exposition. Budgets have changed as well. In some ways they’re getting much tighter, much harder, certainly in comedy – but then in drama it’s getting bigger, you write to your budget to a certain extent. Say if you’re working on a crime show now, there are set scenes now in bigger rooms with large casts, and there’s a need for more action sequences because you have to make an impression on your audience. Whereas in the old days, a lot of TV would be two people sitting in a room, if it’s a kitchen or an office or whatever. These shows have had to become a lot more imaginative now and more rigorous. Even now the streaming services are basically piling all their money into budgeted shows or a smaller number of shows. So even the networking opportunities you can get from each job is dwindling.”
Final Thoughts
“Write, write, write. The more you write, the better you’ll get and realise what your strengths and weaknesses are. Even if you’re writing just a standalone scene, test yourself and see what you can do. One last thing is to listen to people. You’ve got to try and make the best show you can, even if that means swallowing your pride.”
For more examples of Paul’s work, view here.
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