Raise your voice.

There are tons of writers out there. I mean seriously, loads. For every open submission window there are hundreds if not thousands of scripts jumping up and down in front of the readers screaming “pick me! pick me!”

But guess what. There’s only one YOU. And if you can hone exactly what that is, you could be onto a winner. We are told there are no new stories. And sure, we live in an era surrounded by great films, TV shows, books that feed into us, sometimes without us even realising, so it’s hard not to dream up something derivative. But a bold script that offers a new perspective will make a reader, agent, producer sit up and take notice.

So you have a script. A witty protagonist, a deadly antagonist, a love story sub plot, a fight, some tears maybe even a car chase. But what is your story ABOUT? It’s about a woman who has to rob a bank to feed her kids. No. What is it really ABOUT?

What are you trying to say to your audience? What is your perspective on the world and what are you aching to change? What injustices are you fighting? What desperate emotional need are you serving every time you hit the keys of your laptop? What is your VOICE?

My first play was called “It’s Behind You!” a bit of a camp carry-on style romp, set in the faded fairy-tale land of Pantoville. A young Essex lad ditches his pregnant bride at the altar and finds himself lost in Pantoville amid a series of grisly murders with jilted bride in pursuit. Turns out he’s gay and unable to admit it until he starts to fall for a boy in Pantoville. It all ends happily ever after, natch, even for bride not-to-be Karen.

After seeing the show a friend of mine said “it’s very much your voice.” At the time I didn’t really understand what she meant. But the more I wrote, plays, short stories, scripts, the more I realised I kept coming back to the themes of "It's Behind You!"

“It’s in our ‘all is lost’ moments that our writers' voice is burned.” 

Jen Grisanti, speaking at The London Screenwriters Festival 2016

Growing up as a gay man in the 70s/80s devoid of decent role models, bullied just for being different has left me with a very deep scar. Consequently lot of my work explores themes of identity, not just being gay but being different to the norm and finding the courage to be one's self. It’s a passion of mine to champion people that aren’t properly represented and give voice to diversity – especially in the current climate of isolationism and the rise of fascism around the world.

There are other traumas since that have given me other themes that are prevalent in my more recent work. I revisit grief a fair bit at the moment. But it’s finding these universal truths within ourselves and mining them that will make our work resonate with others. This, I think is the real meaning of "write what you know".

But the trouble with our voices is they tend to come from dark places, our deepest fears and darkest traumas that we’d rather not revisit. Though if you take an honest look at your scripts, chances are, you’re already touching on those subjects. Now be bold and look directly into the eyes of the beast.

Many fledgling spec scripts lack conflict. I know I’ve been there. It comes from a subconscious unwillingness to really grapple with the topic. Surely it’s OK if Ethel and Albert get over their differences with a meaningful look then put the kettle on? NO. Your characters are there to feel those deep emotions for you. Really put them through the wringer, chuck everything at them that you’re shying away from.

What’s that Ethel? You feel like you’ve been in a loveless marriage for 40 years? Oh Albert, how does that make you feel? What? You’ve been deliberately making Ethel’s life hell because she looked at that sailor funny in 1974? Here, have some weapons and duke it out in a poignant black comedy. 

If they survive, Ethel and Albert will emerge stronger, having learned something. So will you. And so will your script.

But you don’t need to have lived 40 years of loveless hell like Ethel. In fact you may think that you haven’t lived enough yet. You’re quite a settled person, you don’t have that kind of trauma in your life. Really? Take another look at the work you’re creating. What’s it really saying to you? The more you write the more you’ll realise you keep returning to certain themes.

And our voices evolve and change the more we explore our reality. You’ll find other people writing about similar subjects. With any luck you’ll be hitting the zeitgeist and people will snap up your work. Keep going and you’ll be ahead of it, then you really will be in demand.

And once you know what your voice is, you can refine it and use it.

“Go dancing naked in the rain, then come back

and tell us what it was like.” 

Kate Leys, speaking at The London Screenwriters Festival 2015

I’m about to apply for a writing competition according to a brief. I’m choosing between a bunch of suitable ideas but I’m thinking how can I make my story stand out? The answer – by being true to my voice and writing what I’m passionate about. 

Sure, it may not hit home with the readers as they sift hundreds/ thousands of entries but it will have a better chance than if I try and second guess what they want and end up with something bland and passionless that's thrown out without a second glance.

Fortune favours the bold. In this era where competition is fiercer than ever your secret weapon is your uniqueness. Find it. Use it. I look forward to seeing your work on telly soon.