Olly Perkin (Writer)
What training have you received?
I studied screenwriting at the Northern Film School which really got me started seriously as a writer. My apprenticeship then consisted of long hours on original screenplays while trying out for TV shows, before I got a break on BBC’s Doctors. I think a lot can be taught about writing, but the old saying is true; you can’t be taught how to write, only how not to.
What themes do you like to explore in your work?
Before writing full-time I had a variety of jobs and it was the experience of working in a children’s home that led to my writing the screenplay for Home, about a young boy’s struggle to survive after arriving illegally in the UK. This theme of identity and belonging also recurs in Break, a thriller screenplay which I am developing in association with the Script Factory. I’ve also written, and am currently developing, a number of other screenplays including First Time In Humans, a dark thriller about a drugs trial that goes wrong, and Nutz, an animated kids’ film about feuding squirrels. I prefer working on a range of projects as I feel it helps keep the writing fresh.
What’s the best advice you’ve been given as a writer?
Firstly, that an idea is not a story. Secondly, that most writing is rewriting. Both well-worn statements, but unavoidably true.
Tell us the most significant moment in your career so far.
Each time I finish a new screenplay seems like the most significant moment. Then I remember the second piece of advice above. In practical terms I’d have to say my first proper, paid commission. I still can’t believe the sheer good luck and fortune I have had in being able to write for a living.
You’ll die happy when…
I’ve said everything I’ve got to say.