Three comedy writing competitions to enter - now

I love this time of year - the sun's a-rising earlier, the first gorgeous blossoms of the season are springing forth and the most promising comedy script competitions are in full bloom.

This month we've had no less than four - yes, four, count 'em - competitions come to life, all looking for scripts from you. That's you, specifically, reading this now.

I say four competitions but there have probably been more, so let me be more precise - four competitions that you should give some attention to. These all exist because the organisers are genuinely looking for new comic writers, and not to over-excite you with overblown promises of meetings with Hollywood producers if you only part with a three figure entry sum.

I'll deal with the BCG favourite, Sitcom Mission - the first, the original, the grand-daddy of all sitcom competitions - in a separate blog. The deadline for that is the relatively distant end of April.

But here are three competitions that require your attention now.

Let's start in order of deadline:

1: Channel 4 New Writers Scheme (closing date: 1st March)

careers.channel4.com

With the closing date less than a fortnight away on the surface this sounds like the least likely one for you to consider. Principally they're looking for drama, but they're also looking for what they describe as under-represented groups: "Deaf and/or disabled people, ethnically diverse people and people from lower socioeconomic groups".

I'm aware that a lot of you come from the most under-represented group in comedy writing - women. Latest figures still massively skewed towards male writers. But they're not addressing that shortfall. So I reckon a large number of you are automatically disqualified from entering.

What caught my eye was what they're asking of writers:

- The first eight pages of an original script idea for a new Channel 4 TV drama series.

- A separate drama series pitch document for a different idea for a series no longer than one side of A4.

I know, if you haven't got a new idea worked out yet, that second ask alone is going to take more than two weeks to do justice.

But it's definitely worth thinking about that ahead of the other contests, and also looking to the BBC Writersroom call for scripts at the end of the year.

In my experience writers fall roughly into two groups.

The first lot have One Great Idea, and stick to it, and rewrite it, and re-rewrite it, and chuck it in a file down the back of the laptop only to stumble across it six months later like Charles Darwin discovering a previously unseen species and attempt to rewrite it one more time.

Writer type number two is aware that it's important to have a portfolio of scripts. Ideas to be able to mention next time they're trapped in that mythical lift with the made-up TV producer who is going to ask them what they're working on at the moment.

They blast on through that comedy drama idea, already distracted by the excitement of the kids' show that popped into their head before the comedy-drama first draft was complete, and now there's that radio audience sitcom idea that I simply MUST GET WRITTEN by the end of next week...

I have, at different times in my career, been both of those writers. My first novel is an adaptation of my last two one-man shows (and a failed radio sitcom, and my one Radio 4 writer-performer series).

It was the story most personal to me, and that's a danger we often have as writers. To "write what you know" and "write with your own voice" are two general but sound pieces of advice that are likely to lead you to decide that no one else can write the interesting parts of your own life story as well as you.

So it would be hypocritical of me to suggest you ditch that personal story. However if you're thinking of entering any of the below-mentioned contests you might want to consider something different for them. Horses for courses and all that.

You may end up going with your first idea, but if you can put a little bit of effort into coming up with a brand new idea at this stage, as if you were pitching Channel 4, that will give you something new to work with as the other competitions approach.

2: David Nobbs Memorial Trust (closing date: 16th March)

davidnobbsmemorialtrust.org.uk

This is much more familiar ground for us. The competition born out of Steve Doherty's much loved and mourned Llandudno Comedy Conference. They're looking for...

- the first 10 pages of a half-hour radio or television sitcom pilot script

- OR four three-minute comedy sketches.

I'll come to the ten page script in a moment when we get to number 3, but for now here's a webinar I did with Gemma Arrowsmith about sketch writing (with apologies to you all for using the word webinar).

The main caveat here is that you need at least one broadcast credit.

3: BAFTA Rocliffe Comedy Script Competition (closing date: 21st March)

rocliffe.com

Another "first ten pages" competition. Only comes around every two years and most worthy of your consideration.

I've been a judge at the finals stage of this twice now and while that doesn't give me a lot of authority to tell you exactly what's required, here are a couple of thoughts:

1: Every first ten pages I read had a strong understanding of the basics. Clear characters, a developing story, a well-defined world, and jokes.

2: The scripts that caught my attention, and went on to win or do well, had an extra factor. Four years ago, it was a script I'd already had the pleasure to have worked on and therefore excused myself from judging, about the odd couple pairing of a man and a talking pig.

Normally I'd say "don't even think of writing your ten pages until you already have the main essentials nailed - your main character or characters and their comedy flaws; what they want versus what they get; a sense of the world, and how you see the whole series developing."

But this and the Nobbs Memorial aren't competitions like, say, BBC Writersroom, where the first ten pages is part one of a submission that if you're lucky leads to them reading a whole script. You don't need a whole script. Just ten pages.