Word Count 79: New comedy script competition & John Yorke's 10 Questions

Plus Yr Hobyd (The Hobbit) now available in Welsh, new ITV comedy riles police, and Copurrnicus watches Wimbledon.

Hi there, 

I’ll say this for all the rain we’ve had this year — it’s making for a bumper crop of blackberries, apples and pears in our garden! Every time I look out of my office window, I see two particularly red apples that make my mouth water. But when I get out there, it’s obvious that it’s far too soon to pick them. I’m hoping that by the time they’re ripe they aren’t also riddled with worms. 

Which feels like a rather on-the-nose metaphor for writing. The apple that stays on the tree remains perfect; it’s only in the eating that we find out if it’s juicily delicious or a worm-riddled nightmare. 

Opportunity: Comedy script competition

The British Comedy Guide is collaborating with production company Expectation to run a competition for new comedy writers (who are also BCG Pro members). You have until Monday 30 September to get the first 10 pages of your script polished up, and the top three will get “detailed feedback - and the potential of further development”. 

BCG Pro membership is currently on sale for £45 pa or £3.95 pcm for the starter level, or £75 pa or £7.99 pcm for a full BCG Pro account, but you do get a lot more than just access to this competition. They host regular webinars, events, networking and access to their pitch centre, plus a lot more. And if we’re lucky, they’ll run the Big Comedy Conference again next year!

Tip-top tip: John Yorkes’ 10 Questions

Last week, I attended a Channel 4/National Film and Television School webinar with John Yorke, master of story structure. It was great to hear Yorke’s advice on structure straight from the horse’s mouth. I’ve read a lot about structure, but it’s always worth getting a reminder to help internalise the lessons so that my subconscious can refer to them when I’m writing.

Yorke also mentioned his 10 Questions, which he asks writers to help them develop and refine their story and which every writer ought to be able to answer regardless of genre or format. You can find these 10 Questions on the BBC website. 

Found in translation: The Hobbit now available in Welsh

Melin Bapur, a small Welsh press, has published the first translation of any of JRR Tolkien’s books into Welsh with Yr Hobyd which is currently available for £14.99. 

Yr Hobyd sees Bilbo Baglan leaving Pen-y-Bag in the company of Gandalff and thirteen dwarves to raid the hoard of treasure jealously guarded by the terrifying dragon, Smawg. 

Translated by Adam Pearce, “in accordance with J.R.R. Tolkien's own instructions for translators of his work and officially licenced by the Tolkien Estate”, the 312 page book includes “Tolkien's original illustrations and new Welsh versions of the two maps featured in the original novel”. 

Demand for Yr Hobyd has been so high, however, that they are running out already and there might be a slightly longer wait before you get your copy!

Win: Pre-order Karla’s Choice and win aweekend in London

I don’t usually share book competitions, largely because I suspect that would rapidly take over the entire newsletter, but I’m a huge fan of Nick Harkaway, one of John Le Carré’s sons, so I’m really looking forward to his upcoming spy thriller, Karla’s Choice.

I’ve been working my way through John Le Carré’s spy novels over the last few months so that I’m ready for this new instalment. Karla’s Choice follows George Smiley as he tries to track down a missing man whom a Russian defector had been sent to kill. Set “in the missing decade between […] The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”, Karla’s Choice is undoubtedly going to be a corker.

If you pre-order it from Waterstone’s before 23 October, then you’ll be in with a chance of winning two nights at a 4-star hotel in London, including breakfast, plus the eight Smiley novels.

Read this: New ITV comedy riles police

ITV’s new Saturday night comedy, Piglets, has outraged police up and down the land with its use of the diminutive of a mildly insulting nickname for the police. The complaints started with the chair of the Devon and Cornwall Police Federation complaining it was “offensive and distasteful”, before spreading to the Police Federation of England and Wales, who described the title as a “disgusting choice of language to use for the title of a TV programme”. 

The six-part TV series has not yet been broadcast, with only one trailer currently available. The show will kick off its Saturday night slot on ITV1 on 20 July, with the whole series available to watch on ITVx. 

Piglets has been written by the team behind Smack the Pony and Green Wing, led by Victoria Pile and including Robert Harley, James Henry, Oriane Messina, Richard Preddy and Fay Rusling, plus newcomer Omar Khan. Starring Mark Heap and Sarah Parish, it follows the fortunes of a group of young police trainees, the titular piglets, as they try to make it through training. 

Read this, two: Live comedy worth £1bn 

A new survey by the Centre for Comedy Studies Research (Brunel University), The Live Comedy Association and British Comedy Guide has for the first time attempted to estimate the size of the live comedy industry. They concluded that it contributes some £1bn to the UK economy. 

The survey found that 93 per cent of comedians are sole traders or work alone, and 57 per cent have been performing for more than 11 years. Data about comedians and off-stage workers shows that the sector is very much a part of the grassroots economy, and that live comedy is nearly 23 per cent cheaper than going to the theatre. 

Obligatory cat picture video

Copurrnicus enjoyed watching Wimbledon with us the other day. Though he was very unimpressed by the continual cutting away to views of the crowds, which are far less interesting than the actual tennis. 

That’s it for this time!

All the best,

Suw