Neil: It always amazes me just how many thousands of people want to be comedy writers. Every scheme that comes up receives thousands of applicants. A production company like Baby Cow will receive upwards of one hundred unsolicited scripts a month. It’s insane. Even now, when the landscape’s changed and the broadcasters are putting a bit more money back into comedy and there are opportunities on the internet, the ratio of opportunities to people going for it is hard.
You need to have lots of ideas. What you see with a lot of new writers is they work at something for ages and ages and ages and become so attached to it and they’re convinced it’s going to become their thing but often that won’t get their foot in the door. You need to approach people with three of four ideas and invariably the one that’s picked isn’t your favourite. You can’t understand why people won’t go through. But at least if you come with a deck of ideas, you’re increasing your chances.
The other thing as well is not being a slave to the jokes. I always found that the first thing you write, you think “Oh, that’s a great joke!” And then you write more and more continually thinking that they’re all terrific jokes. You then end up with an episode that’s got four really good jokes in it but it simply doesn’t work. Then what you’re trying to do is pull it apart and find a way to make it work whilst keeping hold of these jokes. So you start trying to plot a course around your favourite jokes, whereas if you just get rid of those jokes, you’ll probably be fine. But when you’re new, you don’t have the confidence to think, there’s plenty more where that came from. But there is. There always is.
Rob: I’d also say, when you’re writing at first, a lot of people just want to do films. They’ll write a 90 page screenplay. The chances of that getting made against the chance of you getting a two minute bit on the BBC website are minute. And the thing you learn fastest from is getting stuff made. When you get stuff made, you’re there at the day of a shoot and you realise the joke that looked great on the page is never going to work. And you can only learn from doing it. Anyway you can find to get something made, just take it.
Neil: Even if you make it yourself. These days, with camera phones and YouTube you can literally do it yourself and get it up there. Even if it doesn’t lead anywhere, at least you’ve done something and it’s up there. You’ve gone through the process of making it. You’ll get a lot of writers who for a good number of years haven’t heard their script read out loud. They’re not getting the rhythm of the scripts, the practicalities of how a scene could be blocked.
Rob: I would also say that I often meet new writers who think their stuff is funny. And I find that almost always, if you think your stuff is funny, it isn’t. the most successful writers are, weirdly, vicious self-critics, who don’t think anything is funny unless it’s totally nailed on. And even then, they probably wake up in the middle of the night and think, “God, is that shit?” You have to always be striving to make it funny. Because it’s rarely as funny as you think it is.
For the rest of the interview with Neil and Rob, be sure to head on over to AskMen.