HOW DID I GET HERE?

I tend to get asked these questions on a fairly regular basis: "Where did it all start? What made you want to become a writer?"

So here - for anyone who's remotely interested - is just a snapshot of my story, beginning with the INCITING INCIDENT, that got me started, and the MOTIVATION, which has kept me going to this day...

I wrote my first "book" at 13, when a TV drama series I was ridiculously obsessed with ended in a way that devastated me. (I wrote the sequel, obviously.) I still have that book and, aside from the layout and TERRIBLE handwriting, it actually reads more like a script. So the writing was already on the wall, early on.

I carried on writing - books, short stories and Very Bad poetry - throughout my teens. I just loved creating characters and putting words into their mouths. However, as in the best of screenplays, there were plenty of OBSTACLES in pursuit of my GOAL and it took me some time to make it as an actual writer.

A decade of working in factual gave me a solid grounding in production so, by the time I did a Screenwriting MA in my 30s, I was able to come to writing from a huge advantage.

I landed my first paid writing gig the year I graduated and have been working ever since. Luck comes into it, of course, along with flexibility, hard work and timing. It also helps to think laterally, to dare to dream and to be brave enough to sometimes "circumnavigate the rules".

PHILOSOPHY

It's hard to explain this without sounding worthy or naff but, right from the start of my career, I've wanted to work on intelligent content that explores the human condition, challenges preconceptions and makes a difference - not in a preachy way, but by getting to the real heart of stories and characters. I want the audience to make an emotional connection, maybe even learn something, from what they're watching. That doesn't mean it can't be funny, engaging, thrilling or mysterious. It just means that, somewhere in the mix, there's got to be something to say.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

I'm not talking so much about specific credits here - those are elsewhere on this site - but notable experiences that have formed me, both as a professional writer and as a person. I've had an incredible career, working with great people on the most amazing projects.....

When you're starting out as a screenwriter, even the teeniest words of encouragement can make the world of difference. Before I even started my MA, I wrote a spec script for BIRDS OF A FEATHER and sent it to Rosie Bunting at ALOMO. She sent me feedback, I rewrote it and sent it back - and to my amazement, she called me to say they would consider it for the next series. It never made it to the screen, but this was enough of a green light for me to feel I was actually onto something, career-wise. Thank you for that, Rosie.

Some time later, I sent a pitch for a comedy entertainment show to Roger Law at SPITTING IMAGE PRODUCTIONS. He rang me the next day to call me in for a meeting. The idea was optioned and developed - with the brilliant team at Spits - and SO nearly made it to the screen with Channel 4 that it was even announced as a done deal in Broadcast. Turns out they peaked too early. But thank you, Roger, for believing in me and the project - which as it happens I have just revamped for the current market. (It was ahead of its time, for sure!)

Almost as soon as I'd completed my MA, my then agent, Julian Friedmann, pitched me for a gig writing an episode of the comedy drama series SINGLES for ZDF in Germany. I ended up writing the whole series (8 x 50') and went on to write two movies and a TV animation for the German market. A big shout out to Julian for opening those early doors.

My career strategy was always to cut my teeth as a writer on a British soap so, after three standard rejection letters from EastEnders, I applied (in desperation!) for a job as a script editor on the show, under Executive Producer Matthew Robinson. He happened to share my long-held vision - that EastEnders should be funnier, more character-led, more real - and took me on. Within a year I was writing for the show and soon joined the team of regular writers, on contract.

28 episodes later, Matthew rang me at 8am on a Thursday morning with a line that will be etched on my memory forever: "Anji, are you ready for a life-changing experience?" He offered me a job on TASTE OF LIFE, a long-running TV drama series he was making for BBC Media Action in Cambodia. I said yes - with some trepidation, it has to be said - and unwittingly launched the next decade of my career, storylining, writing and later producing TV, radio & film projects for the world of International Development in Cambodia, Vietnam & Myanmar. It was indeed a life-changing experience. I owe a lot to Matthew.

Years later, by now back in the UK, I had a call from my old EastEnders pal Tony Jordan, now running the hugely successful production company RED PLANET: was I free to work on a new show he'd created for MBC but was too busy to write himself? Long story short, I ended up as Lead Writer on THE DEVIL'S PROMISE, a high-end, supernatural bi-lingual thriller in English & Arabic. This was a complete genre-switch for me - a chance to let my wildest imagination run riot. I loved working closely with the brilliant director Colin Teague to flesh out the storylines and get the scripts into shape. Here's what American co-star Paula Patton (MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL) has to say about those scripts, in an interview for SCOOP on YouTube:

“ I knew I loved it ... I was reading episode one and I couldn't put it down…. It was like binge-watching but I was binge-reading. …. and hours later, I found myself at episode six…. I thought, okay, this is a really good thing, … this is something I want to watch.. And the character really speaks to me - she's a woman in transition when we first meet her, she’s experienced a deep tragedy and she's suffering, and … she starts to grow, she starts to find a new lease on life. I love that transition, the storytelling.”

I'll be eternally grateful to both Tony and Colin for giving me the opportunity to work on this incredible show - and to the cast and crew for making it all come to fruition so beautifully on screen.

Those are just a few snippets from my adventures to date. Truth is, you can't plan a screenwriting career the way you plan a screenplay - with index cards or a step outline. You just never know what's around the corner. The best and worst things about my job are the unpredictability but, so long as I keep those plates spinning, it all seems to work out in the end. Tenacity rules!

One of my great pleasures, at this stage of my career, is being able to pass on the knowledge I've gleaned over the years by nurturing new and emerging writers. I run courses & workshops for Bectu and Euroscript and also do private consultancy work. Not every writer I work with will make it, of course, but I know from my own experience that those early forays into the world of screenwriting can make the world of difference to the confidence and craft-skills of those with real talent and drive. It's an absolute privilege to play a small part in enabling their journey.