We watch hundreds of dramatic pieces every year, in our theatres to our films, on our TVs and in so many other formats. Getting each to flourish is long and arduous work, with thousands of writers worldwide each putting their hearts on the page to bring us the next big dramatic hit. If this is a club you’ve ever wanted to join, you may wonder how to even get started, and get close to breaking into such a tough industry. The key is simply to get started, as veteran script writer Lucy Gannon explains.
Do Drama is an informal guide to how prospective writers can progress from simple ideas to fully realised scripts, whether this is for theatre, television, film, radio or any other medium a writer is aiming for. Walking through each of the major steps in the script writing progress, the book aims to work with writers to achieve their first script completed, as well as discussing possibilities for this and subsequent works, including through producers and other methods which someone may seek to get their works publicised. It also includes some of the author’s own experiences from her time as a script writer, with hints designed to inspire its reader, not instruct them on how to progress.
I want to start by highlighting a key point that Gannon makes which is overlooked. We each spend years of our lives studying English, learning about the great playwrights and their works, and yet so little attention is paid to teaching young people how it is that scripts and pieces for media other than print books can be written. We are taught basic writing skills to allow us to construct sentences or write stories to an extent, but scripts are passed over both In English and drama courses. And it’s this gap which the book capitalises on and does a good job at addressing.
I also appreciate how aware the author is that every person’s journey and progression will be different from each other’s, as well as her own. She is conscious of this throughout, letting readers know that the book is written as a guide, not a set of instructions. Whilst there are tasks and a certain logic which she suggests writers follow, this book avoids telling readers how it should be done, what should be included or avoided and what is the ‘magic formula’ to success, which is to be appreciated as commended. The author has chosen to write this book given her experience and success but hasn’t lost sight of how she herself got to this point, or that crucially every experience will be different.
I also enjoyed how applicable this guide is for whatever medium a writer chooses. Whether it’s theatre or TV, film or radio, the guide is specific enough to be useful, but not so specific that it blinds writers to a single path or outcome. It avoids leaving you trapped in one medium, highlights the importance of being versatile and has important words for all mediums and none. Many writers can find that their eventual break may come in a different form to that which they had expected, and Do Drama allows for this versatility to be core to a new writer’s work, which given the competition in these industries is more essential than it ever has been. It achieves a remarkable amount in its short length and is organised in an accessible way and avoids lecturing – the book says what it needs to and moves on, allowing you to do the rest.
The only downside you may find with this specific book is that it is not a solve-all publication, you don’t simply have to read this for all of your woes to vanish. It will be tough, and the book makes no bones about it, so if you’re looking for the answers all in one neat package, you will be disappointed. However, this is less an issue with the book itself and more something which must be managed by the reader themselves. There are some sections, particularly when it comes to sending scripts off and harnessing available opportunities that I would have liked to have seen expanded a bit more given how little is known about them and how difficult it is to break into, but the amount given is enough to at least get prospective writers started.
Do Drama is a simple, no-nonsense guide to getting started with script writing for budding writers everywhere. Avoiding boasting and being patronising is a difficult thing to achieve, particularly when one has been so successful themselves, but Gannon achieves this well and effectively to bring us a short but effective publication which will help more than a few writers make their start in such a competitive industry. If you have even considered writing for a second, give this book a read and maybe it’ll be the push you need to finally get started.
Rating: ★★★★☆
Do Drama (ISBN: 978-1-014168-07-9) was published in 2022
