The Paul Spragg 2021 ST competition thread

Exactly, and it's never going to be a clear-cut example of 250 words exactly for every single day. Some days will be more, some will be less, but the end result will be the same.

At last!

Good luck to everyone entering!

I know I can’t use Clara in the story as a featured character but would I be allowed to have characters talk about her absence without naming her?

You know, I'm gonna submit something this time. I've written professionally (I'm a political analyst) but not fiction. I've got a few ideas though.

And do let us know - one of my "maybe" entries from a previous year depended on Clara being absent but mentioned and it might just end up being one I consider this year...

I know, I wish I could use Clara as a featured character 😔

Just imagine if you could, would it be the first Mature audiences only doctor who releases?   (I jest, would love to hear a Clara and twelve story penned by you 😊 I'm guessing you would explore some side of their relationship?)

Best of luck to everyone who is entering! At the risk of sounding presumptuous, I'd like to share a few tips that I personally found helped me a lot last year. Feel free to disregard if they don't resonate with you - every writer's process is different.

1. Read the previous winning entries - both the initial synopsis and 500 words, plus the finished studio scripts.

2. Listen to other Short Trips. Think about the ones you particularly like, and pay attention to how they are told. For example, does the story use 1st or 3rd person point of view? From whose perspective is the story being told - is it the Doctor? A companion? Somebody else - even a villain? Does the story employ any narrative devices like flashbacks? For example, I loved the Fourth Doctor story 'How to Win Planets and Influence People' because the main character had such a distinctive 'voice'. It inspired me to write my own entry using 1st person point of view.

3. Make sure your idea has sufficient conflict. I find it really helps to give your main character a clear goal to work towards or a problem to overcome. Doctor Who tends to also skew more towards happy endings (or at the very least, bittersweet endings), so I'd avoid making your ending too dark / tragic.

4. Keep your idea simple (as thirty minutes is relatively short run time), and consider whether there are any characters you can cut or combine. For example, a very early draft of my synopsis had Martha accompanying the Tenth Doctor, until I realised there was effectively nothing for her to do. So she was cut. Sorry Martha!

5. Keep an 'ideas for stories' notebook. The more ideas you generate, the more likely it is that at least some of them will be strong enough to develop into a story. I actually came up with the 'What if people had to pay to speak?' premise a few years ago, and had forgotten all about it until last May, when I was flipping through old notebooks, searching for inspiration.

6. Choose your Doctor carefully. For example, I chose to use the Tenth Doctor in my story, because he is the Doctor that loves the sound of his own voice, and it was a nice juxtaposition to place him in a world where the majority of citizens are silenced. Similarly, in Selim's story 'Landbound' the Third Doctor was an excellent choice, as his plight (being stuck on Earth) paralleled nicely with the main character's problem (being stuck on land). This may mean that you may have to decide between using your favourite Doctor, and a not-so-favourite Doctor. If it fits better with your story and its themes, I'd personally choose the latter option.

7. Resist the temptation to write your entire story before the results are out. If you win, chances are you'll be required to change something about your story - including some of the 'beats' or plot points. (Example: my synopsis had Aymius telling his story to his children in flashback. However, the end script had him tell it during an interrogation).

8. Don't be discouraged if you've entered in previous years without getting anywhere. I entered the 2019 Opportunity, and bombed out completely - wasn't even shortlisted.

9. On a similar note, be proud of yourself for giving this a crack! It takes courage and commitment to write a 500 word synopsis and 500 word extract, and submit it for consideration. Even if you're not successful on this occasion, it's still an amazing accomplishment!