Chalk Scribblers meet the screen agent: Leah Middleton

Join the Chalk Scribblers to meet Leah Middleton, a script agent at the Marjacq Agency.

Leah’s talks on screenwriting have become a regular fixture and as before, she’s offered to include a critique of treatments sent in advance in her talk with a promise to be constructive rather than eviscerating!

For that reason, please try to use a decent sized screen if you're attending. It may be difficult to see the screenshares properly on a phone.

If you'd like to put a treatment forward, please message David (the giraffe) for the email address to send it to. Do NOT send them direct to Leah as they will get lost in her slush. Please bear in mind that while the files will not be shared beyond Leah and the event hosts, the treatments will be screenshared, the discussion will be public and any slides that Leah prepares will be shared with the attendees.

Leah is willing to look at a maximum of five treatments. If more than five are submitted, she’ll choose the five that offer the most generally valuable points and if forced to choose between two, she’ll use whichever was submitted first.

Deadline for submissions is 7pm on Wednesday 5th November.

You can improve your chances of having your treatment selected by doing some online research on what makes a good treatment.

Please read and follow ALL of Leah's guidelines:
• Title (try to be original, and memorable)
• Name (or penname)
• Format (slot length and genre)
• Logline (no more than two cracking sentences that sum up the main conflict of the programme)
• Short summary that intros the world and main character(s) arcs (one or two paragraphs)
• One line character bios for each main character
• Longer synopsis that fills out the characters as it goes. If you are writing a film think of the act structure as a guide to writing the synopsis. If you're writing a TV series then structuring your synopsis by episode can be helpful in making it sensical. It can also help you see whether you have enough plot for that many hours of television! And remember, writers always want to leave their reader wanting more, but you need to outline the entire plot; if you have a brilliant twist that the whole thing hangs on (think The Sixth Sense) revealing it in the treatment could be the difference between getting a commission, and not.

Length: 2-3 pages.
Format: PDF or .doc

Leah represents all genres and is happy to see scripts from all genres, but has offered the following tips to anyone keen to get the most out of their writing and of the session:

'The main thing I would encourage your writers to do is really challenge themselves to offer characters and narrative arcs that feel original. I see a lot of very competent scripts in my line of work, but oftentimes we're treading very familiar territory, and it can be hard for writers to stand out if they're ploughing an already well-ploughed furrow. An example of this is using withholding as a device to create tension, but the pace of plotting in today's scripts is very fast and withholding can limit a writer to just one big reveal moment, rather than delivering a number twists. So be aware of where you might be using withholding, and then ask yourself what your script would look like if you told us more swiftly what the secret is? Dealing with the fallout of a secret can generate a lot more conflict and plot than building to the reveal of a secret is able to do.

There is only one thing that I really don't want to see in a script, and that is needless over-sexualisation of female characters. I mention it specifically because I see it on an almost daily basis in my submissions pile, particularly from young male writers. So no female characters working in the sex industry unless it is absolutely fundamental to your story (it rarely is); no casting of female characters in scene directions (e.g. hair colour/eye colour/level of attractiveness) unless what they look like is a key plot point (it rarely is); and any female character over the age of 18 is a 'woman' not a 'girl'.'

Submissions should be in PDF or .doc format.

Although there is no charge for the session, there is an attendee limit so if you find you can't make it, please remember to change your RSVP so someone else can take your place.

Leah’s profile: https://www.marjacq.com/leah-middleton.html