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Post by nucleusofswarm on Jan 24, 2017 17:26:55 GMT
Given it won´t be much longer till it starts, always a good time to just bounce around little ideas, bits of advice or experience.
Of course, the site will give all the rules, but I feel it´s worth raising up a few more that also double as idea generators, whether this is your first or tenth try.
1) Do Your Homework.
Short Trips are all about finding novel twists on familiar Who ideas, or brand new ones that work best in a concentrated dose. Forever Fallen took one of the big Who tropes i.e. the Villain who rejects the Doctor's help, and turns it on its head. Naturally, don't copy it, but consider what are some of the most iconic elements and story types of Who stories, and how can they be made fresh and new? What is something that Classic, New and BF Who haven't done yet?
2) Sell, sell, sell
Don't just write a really good outline and opener: pitch really well to Ian or whoever else. Treat the email as another hook for the story: what makes you want to read a story, and how do you then apply that to convincing someone to read yours? Why is it new or fresh? Why is it worth doing? Don´t just blandly describe the story and Doctor in three lines and then say good day. Give it some written welly!
3) Fan, not fanjodrell
The contest always stipulates original content. While I´m sure many on here don't, how many of you want to bet at least one person tried to write a Dalek or Cybermen story and just changed the names? No amount of 'but parody' will save you here. You want to write your big epic Sontaran vs Axon vs Rani story? Go to fanfiction.net or deviantart for that. This is your choice to make your own stamp in the canon, and say what you want to say about the show as a writer, someone with a distinct voice. Have fun and be creative, but don't treat it any less seriously than any other job you get. And for heaven´s sake, don´t just take a bad story from the canon and remake it/'improve it'. Yes, something like Scaredy Cat or Dark Husband wasn't very good, but don't be rude and basically say you can do that exact same story better to the people who made it when trying to sell yours.
Anyone else want to throw out anything? Maybe some of the runners up or even our own josh may wish to say a few words for the newcomers?
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Post by escalus5 on Jan 24, 2017 20:42:12 GMT
Here's an idea for Big Finish:
Create an automatic reply e-mail for submissions received. Even if it's just a message that reads "Your submission has been received. Thank you." Something to assure your contestants that the documents we worked hard to create have not flown into a void, never to be seen. Just as a simple courtesy.
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Post by mark687 on Jan 24, 2017 20:47:26 GMT
Here's an idea for Big Finish: Create an automatic reply e-mail for submissions received. Even if it's just a message that reads "Your submission has been received. Thank you." Something to assure your contestants that the documents we worked hard to create have not flown into a void, never to be seen. Just as a simple courtesy. Did they not do that last year then ?
Regards
mark687
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Post by escalus5 on Jan 24, 2017 20:51:05 GMT
Nope.
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Post by nucleusofswarm on Jan 25, 2017 0:54:48 GMT
Here's an idea for Big Finish: Create an automatic reply e-mail for submissions received. Even if it's just a message that reads "Your submission has been received. Thank you." Something to assure your contestants that the documents we worked hard to create have not flown into a void, never to be seen. Just as a simple courtesy. Did they not do that last year then ?
Regards
mark687
No, but not a bad idea to have. It'd put a lot of people at ease. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2017 0:59:15 GMT
I think I might enter this year....  |
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Post by Audio Watchdog on Jan 25, 2017 1:09:32 GMT
Write the podcast and ask about it or send a email to enquiries. Or do both. |
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Post by nucleusofswarm on Jan 25, 2017 1:23:52 GMT
I think I might enter this year.... He who dares, wins |
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Post by Audio Watchdog on Jan 25, 2017 1:36:11 GMT
I think I might enter this year.... He who dares, wins I'm fond of "Fortune favors the foolish" myself. |
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Post by whiskeybrewer on Jan 25, 2017 12:22:50 GMT
I already have a few ideas for the Paul Spragg 2017 competition. Its definitely time to dust off the ones i had for last year but didnt send and see what new ones i can add
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Post by TinDogPodcast on Jan 25, 2017 12:36:16 GMT
engage mind....
Processing....
Proceasing...
Must enter.
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Post by TinDogPodcast on Jan 25, 2017 16:10:00 GMT
Ok. Idea number one now in notebook with gags too...
It's not a winner but its not a bad start.
Wonder if I can beat last year's record....
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Post by TinDogPodcast on Jan 26, 2017 15:57:58 GMT
I must admit that part of me takes issue with number 2...
Some of the advice I've read is... what publishers really want is a letter that basically reads...
Here's the thing you asked for...
Cheers...
Maybe it's classic underselling.
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Post by TinDogPodcast on Jan 26, 2017 16:00:57 GMT
My last story had... daleks... cyber men. .. davris. .. 14 doctors... all of the actors every to have playe the doctor jtn verity lambert and jesus in it... Oh an Nic briggs too...
I wonder why it didn't win...
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Post by nucleusofswarm on Jan 26, 2017 16:44:39 GMT
I must admit that part of me takes issue with number 2... Some of the advice I've read is... what publishers really want is a letter that basically reads... Here's the thing you asked for... Cheers... Maybe it's classic underselling. Better to hedge one's bets than be blank. If you wouldn't read it, why would BF? |
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Post by nucleusofswarm on Jan 26, 2017 19:33:37 GMT
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Post by TinDogPodcast on Jan 27, 2017 7:47:51 GMT
ive just forwarded my 5 entries.
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Post by chrisscorkscrew on Jan 28, 2017 13:31:00 GMT
I've got my idea for this year (which may or may not be based around the Doctor trimming his toenails whilst whistling the 1812 Overture...).
For me now, it's just a case of sitting down and really thinking it out (and writing the darn submission).
Best of luck to everyone else in finding inspiration.
Chriss C.
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Post by theotherjosh on Jan 29, 2017 5:29:27 GMT
Anyone else want to throw out anything? Maybe some of the runners up or even our own josh may wish to say a few words for the newcomers? I'll open with the qualifier than I'm not sure how much I have to offer. I didn't do anything that a lot of other people didn't do. So much of it comes down to luck and timing. I'm happy with how story came out, but I am fully aware about how lucky I am that it was selected. My advice is limited to my experience, so keep that in mind, but I'll talk about what worked for me . But first, a digression! It's funny, because it was the first version of this thread that drew me to the forums last year. I had been a member of the old forums, and almost entirely a lurker. I think my entire activity in the time between when I registered and when the forums closed was to participate in one poll, for the best Big Finish companion (It's Evelyn, obviously) I was looking for information about the competition, I can't remember if I was looking for the deadline or for the number of entries they had already received, but my search lead me to this thread, and my first thought was "I have no chance," because I saw that other people had already submitted multiple entries and I was still struggling to assemble my first. That first thread is full of good advice, and so is an earlier one. And to return to the topic at hand, here's my advice.
Remember the format This gets down to somewhat subjective territory, but I'm of the opinion that the format of the Short Trips range lends itself to a different kind of story. I don't think Forever Fallen would have worked as a full-length story, but I'm happy with how it came out as a shorter, character-driven piece. Listen to earlier Short Trips to get an idea for how they differ from Monthly Range stories, and look at the summaries for the upcoming stories, to make sure you're not duplicating something already in the pipeline. Refine it I tend to be a plan your work and work your plan kind of guy, and because of that, when I finally did submit the pitch. I had a good portion of the final script ready. I wanted to understand the story inside and out when putting together the initial summary. I figured the better I understood my story, the better I would be able to explain it to someone else. I was very lucky to have two very smart friends with whom I correspond daily. The general outline of the story remained essentially unchanged from its conception, but these two friends were great sounding boards for scenes and dialogue. By getting their perspective (one is a long time fan of the original series, the other a casual fan of the new series), I was able to refine what worked and what didn't. . Guy Adams gave a great interview on the TVCU podcast a few weeks ago, where he talks about the challenges related to writing existing characters. You don't want to reduce them to catch-phrase spouting caricatures of themselves.
Tell the story that you want to hear
This is the biggie. I don't think "discouraged" is the best word to describe how I felt when I saw how much talent and enthusiasm was going into the other entries in the competition, but rather "intimidated", but even that has a more negative connotation than I want. What it came down to was that I didn't think I had a chance, and that was liberating in its own way. I didn't worry as much about trying to write the story I thought that Big Finish would want. I looked at the rules of the competition, and decided to write the story I wanted to tell in the way that I write, within the structure of those rules. I knew that I would regret it if I submitted something that was anything other than the story I wanted to tell. Doctor Who means different things to different people, so write about what it means to you, because you're the only one who can tell that story. |
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Post by nucleusofswarm on Jan 29, 2017 11:12:26 GMT
Remember the format This gets down to somewhat subjective territory, but I'm of the opinion that the format of the Short Trips range lends itself to a different kind of story. I don't think Forever Fallen would have worked as a full-length story, but I'm happy with how it came out as a shorter, character-driven piece. Listen to earlier Short Trips to get an idea for how they differ from Monthly Range stories, and look at the summaries for the upcoming stories, to make sure you're not duplicating something already in the pipeline. Refine it I tend to be a plan your work and work your plan kind of guy, and because of that, when I finally did submit the pitch. I had a good portion of the final script ready. I wanted to understand the story inside and out when putting together the initial summary. I figured the better I understood my story, the better I would be able to explain it to someone else. I was very lucky to have two very smart friends with whom I correspond daily. The general outline of the story remained essentially unchanged from its conception, but these two friends were great sounding boards for scenes and dialogue. By getting their perspective (one is a long time fan of the original series, the other a casual fan of the new series), I was able to refine what worked and what didn't. . Guy Adams gave a great interview on the TVCU podcast a few weeks ago, where he talks about the challenges related to writing existing characters. You don't want to reduce them to catch-phrase spouting caricatures of themselves.
Tell the story that you want to hear
This is the biggie. I don't think "discouraged" is the best word to describe how I felt when I saw how much talent and enthusiasm was going into the other entries in the competition, but rather "intimidated", but even that has a more negative connotation than I want. What it came down to was that I didn't think I had a chance, and that was liberating in its own way. I didn't worry as much about trying to write the story I thought that Big Finish would want. I looked at the rules of the competition, and decided to write the story I wanted to tell in the way that I write, within the structure of those rules. I knew that I would regret it if I submitted something that was anything other than the story I wanted to tell. Doctor Who means different things to different people, so write about what it means to you, because you're the only one who can tell that story. Oh I think it's quality advice. |
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