Reviews and comment from the Demon Crew - creative writers at De Montfort University, Leicester.

Tuesday 7 March 2017

Lisa Holdsworth's advice: "don't be a d*ck"


More inspiration for the aspiring TV writer came in Lisa Holdsworth’s account of her career, peppered - of course - with hilarious anecdotes about how she got where she is today. And it was just as entertaining as you would expect from someone writing for television. After all, this woman is a storyteller, not afraid to turn meta in the way that she structured her own life story, and the wisdom she imparted was filled with gems.

Top line of advice for those wanting to break into the elusive business? Well,  “don’t be a d*ck,” according to Holdsworth. It’s certain she takes her own advice. Hearing how one tawdry script which took her years to perfect led to lucrative work on soap operas and highfalutin BBC dramas was enough to spark something within even the most sceptical dreamer amid the crowd, which included a broad spectrum of aspirers.

More advice? Plentiful. Slacking off is actually work, I learned, for you’re merely allowing the backdoor, creative-processor of your brain to churn out the real gold in its own time. And of course beware public meddling, for “there’s always a story behind a bad show”.

It’s sad that this business is so destined around who you know as opposed to what you know, and true characters such as Holdsworth definitely seem worth knowing in such a brutal, cutthroat, amazing industry. I can’t wait.


J. D. Gardner

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