Correspondence with a Writer
Tuesday 22nd March 2011
This week's blog is in the form of a correspondence we had with a writer after the long list was announced last week. A number of people have emailed us asking if they got on the 'Maybe' list of 200 or so scripts which we then whittled down to 32. We're in two minds about publishing this list - it could be annoying for writers to find out they were close and didn't make it, but it could also be even more dispiriting to find out that they really didn't make it. Also, what does it matter that they didn't make it? With over 1200 entries to reduce to 32, that's 40 rejected entries for every successful one, so there's no loss of dignity in being part of that group. And we want to celebrate everyone who took up the challenge of producing a finished episode, not just those who we wanted to see more of. Still, it's an argument that could run, and we need to make a decision soon. All opinions are welcome. Enjoy.
Dear Declan,
Would you consider putting a list of the 200 writers who made it in to the long list in your blog?
It would be a HUGE boost to 168 writers to know they made it to that stage.
I have said it already but I'll say it again - thank you for creating this opportunity for us writers. Without competitions like this I would find it hard to get going with the writing. You clearly put a lot into The Sitcom Mission and I can tell you that I have got a lot out of it.
Kind Regards,
Sarah
Hi Sarah,
Thanks for this, it means a great deal to us, and we're glad we presented this opportunity to you and that you keep on going and are enjoying your writing.
We hadn't thought of putting the ever-so-long listed writers on a blog, but it's something we'll consider. I'll have a chat with Simon and Mark and see what they think.
Just out of interest, what would it mean if you WEREN'T on the list? (I have no idea whether you were or not!)
Cheers,
Declan
Hi Declan
Thanks for coming back to me.
If I'm NOT on the 'ever-so-long' list it would tell me that I need to look at my work more critically; if I AM on the 'ever-so-long' list it would tell me that I need to look at my work more critically but that my goal of great writing is closer than I thought. If you are not able to publish the list but you are able to tell me if I'm on it that would be fabulous... but maybe that wouldn't be fair to the others who entered, so I'll understand if you say 'no' to that request.
While I have your ear - your courses sound great but for various child-related logistical reasons it is not easy for me to take a trip to London. If you ever thought of a way of running an online course I would happily pay to attend. I found your general feedback on the forum and the feedback from fellow writers was really helpful and that made me think an online course could work.
Best Wishes,
Sarah
Hi Sarah,
One thing we're trying desperately to get away from is this idea that just because Simon and I didn't rate someone's work in the top 200 entries FOR THIS COMPETITION that somehow it is a criticism or damnation of their work.
As writers we're constantly putting what we think of as 'good' or 'great' into the hands of others - agents, people in authority, producers, directors, commissioners etc. And it's often those people whom we criticise for their choices which made us pick up the pen in the first place.
Sitcom is such a collaborative process - which starts with the script - that it's difficult to say if something is or isn't great. If you've written something that you and your friends enjoy - why doesn't that make it great? It's like when people say they can't do improvisation, and yet are killing themselves stupid with hysteria down the pub with their mates.
I think when it comes down to it, people will only want to know if they were in the top 200 if they were actually in it.
The night of the long list results represented everything I love and hate about competitions - such disappointment for so many people with so many pinning their hopes on it and also such support for each other and a brilliant community atmosphere. I'm really proud of what we've achieved and it was fantastic to have galvanised so many people to be creative. I'm even more proud of what they've achieved.
Not all of the 200 (whoever they are) might want to know that they came so close and yet so far away...
Cheers, and thanks for the input. Keep writing!
Declan
Hi Declan,
I totally agree with you and I'm loving the fact that you and Simon are so encouraging and positive. It's a lonely old business being a writer and you have created a place where people can put their work out there and share how they feel about it in a free and candid way.
I don't see not making the long list as a failure; I see it as a kind of feedback. I think if I want to make a living as a writer then I have to first believe in my abilities and then I have to somehow look at my work from an outsider's point of view. Ultimately I am writing for an audience and I need to understand who that audience is and how they receive my work; so I show work to my friends and I show it to strangers who are running competitions and in the end I am able to build up a picture of how my work is seen and I take all that away and ask myself if I am achieving what I want to achieve.
So knowing if I made it into your 200 list is another indicator of how my work was received in the outside world. If you tell me my screenplay was the first to be rejected and was so bad that it actually made you feel slightly queasy then I won't stop writing, I'll take that feedback on board and ask myself why you might have reacted like that and whether that is something I need to address.
Best Wishes,
Sarah
PS While it is great that you and the other judges want to be encouraging, I think you have to be careful not to slip in to over-protecting the entrants. I think writers should be encouraged to love what they are creating, and if they love what they're creating then they should just keep on doing it come what may; but if writers (such as myself) want to make their living doing it then they enter into a new realm - they have to convince others to love what they're creating. Trying to convince others is a hard business and we have to face criticism and rejection over and over again. I think even established writers still have to go through this process as even the best writer in the world has the ability to write something rubbish. So, I say don't shield people from feeling annoyed or dispirited - we'll be OK, we're grown ups - let those who made it in to the 200 list have the chance to celebrate the fact that they succeeded in convincing others to love what they created.
Declan's footnote:
I'd like to add the words of BC Forbes, the Scottish journalist who settled in the US and founded the success journal Forbes Magazine:
"History has demonstrated that the most notable winners usually encountered heart-breaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeats."