Quote: bushbaby @ June 21 2008, 1:00 PM BSTit looks good David...trust Manchester to be next to the last
The list is in alphabetical order!
BBC Writers Room on the Road Page 2
Quote: Seefacts @ June 21 2008, 4:55 PM BSTSounds like a big PR stunt of little value to me.
Agree. Went along to something similar in Manchester about a year ago, can't remember who hosted it but she more or less started off by saying everything I am going to say today you can already read on the website, WTF? This then begged the question why are they bothering doing this? PR maybe? And the woman who ran it was like a stern school teacher who wasn't particularly approachable/organised/friendly. I can't help but think the whole of the writersroom is just one big PR exercise to make it look like they are seeking new talent when actually on the whole they aren't particularly arsed. I do get the distinct impression that most of them don't know what they are talking about, and need to be told what is good about something, afterall it is just their opinion at the end of the day. I have not heard anything good about the writersroom, don't get me wrong, I would like it to do what it says on the tin but I don't think that it does.
Quote: roscoff @ June 22 2008, 12:12 AM BSTThey did a thing in Bristol a couple of years ago. They read out some writers entries from a previous competition which they liked. Everybody in the room except a few mad people down the front just looked at each other. Drivel.
I was there too, I think. Was it the Royal competition?
Quote: Seefacts @ June 21 2008, 5:18 PM BSTIf it keeps substandard material away from the people who really matter, then that keeps me happy.
>_< You talking about me? 
Quote: SlagA @ June 22 2008, 4:18 PM BST>_< You talking about me?
Yes. Yes I am!
Surely, SlagA, you're a bit beyond the WR?
It seems to me to be aimed at the people who can't really be arsed to make the effort to really get their work out there.
To echo earlier thoughts, the Beeb here seems to be going out of its way to re-inforce the image of its having a city (and largely London) -centric world view.
The other day I heard a presenter on the Today programme pour something close to scorn on a contributor who mentioned that the UK non-white ethnic population was less than 8%.
'Surely,' he said, 'it has to be closer to 30%..?'
The contributor was actually right. The presenter, being London based, had gone native with the London-centric view of the Beeb (and Londoners in general) that what happens in London is what happens everywhere in the UK... whereas the rest of us know that London is actually on a different planet.
The broadcasters serve the regions, and especially small town/rural UK, very poorly indeed.
Quote: Seefacts @ June 22 2008, 7:28 PM BSTYes. Yes I am!
I was pulling the leg. Sometimes it's so hard to stay mad at people. 
Yep I was at the Bristol presentation (at The Watershed) during The Royal Tapes competition. There was only one person from the Writers Room present; the other two were local writers who had plays recently produced by radio 4 ( a woman whose latest play was a sci-fi thing and the chap who wrote historical plays).
I didn’t find the WritersRoom guy particularly stand-offish or a ‘plum in his mouth’. I certainly asked plenty of questions (together with follow up email queries which he happily responded to). I expect that made me one of the mad ones down the front.
The two local writers also stayed on much longer to answer further questions.
That said, I couldn’t say I found it particularly useful even though I did get into the latter stages of that comp.
As Seefacts implied, if you’re already writing regularly and submitting to indies, directly to producers etc then it’s certainly not for you. However, for complete newcomers any advice can be beneficial especially talking to established successful writers (unless of course you’re unpublished and unsuccessful but still think you know better than them).
As far as I know it’s not compulsory, so if you’re going in thinking you know it all already simply don’t attend.
Damn -- they gave me that one. I feel such a fool...
Dan
The thing about the Writer's Room is that they genuinely want to help writers. All of them. It's a soul destroying business sometimes - and they genuinely want to encourage people and stop them from giving up. Maybe these talks don't tell you anymore than you can read on the website, but actually going to a room full of fellow writers can be massively encouraging and inspiring just of itself. Writing is a solitary business in the main, after all, and if something like this gives you the chance to meet people who can genuinely help you in your career - and meet others like yourself to vent your creative joys and frustrations to - then it doesn't seem too bad to me.
Quote: Joeono @ June 22 2008, 3:34 PM BSTAnd the woman who ran it was like a stern school teacher who wasn't particularly approachable/organised/friendly.
This actually sounds quite a turn on.
Quote: chipolata @ June 23 2008, 10:39 AM BSTThis actually sounds quite a turn on.
Thinking about it, yes it does.
Do the writer's room still insist on hard copy scripts? I remember that narking me a bit because everyone else was accepting emailed stuff except them.
That was a few years ago though so I'd hope they've finally brought themselves up to date with the rest of the civilised world...
Quote: Perry Nium @ June 23 2008, 6:38 PM BSTDo the writer's room still insist on hard copy scripts? I remember that narking me a bit because everyone else was accepting emailed stuff except them.
That was a few years ago though so I'd hope they've finally brought themselves up to date with the rest of the civilised world...
No such luck, still hard copies only, but at least they've advanced from stone tablets.
Typical.
Quote: Perry Nium @ June 23 2008, 6:38 PM BSTDo the writer's room still insist on hard copy scripts? I remember that narking me a bit because everyone else was accepting emailed stuff except them.
That was a few years ago though so I'd hope they've finally brought themselves up to date with the rest of the civilised world...
I suppose it makes sense because it could cost them a bomb on paper and ink.