#013: Selina Lim — Writing Authentic Dialogue for TV, Writing about Sex, Love & Drama, and A Peek Into a Writers’ Room
BAFTA-nominated screenwriter Selina Lim (Sex Education, Hanna) talks about how she broke into the industry and takes us on a journey through the inner workings of a writers’ room for a hit TV show. We delve into talking about the art of crafting good scenes, and what it means to write authentic dialogue.
London Writers' Salon · Selina Lim, Parul Bavishi, Matt Trinetti
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Show Notes
In this episode, Selina Lim, BAFTA-nominated screenwriter (Sex Education, Hanna) shares her screenwriting journey from her first BBC script to earning a BAFTA nomination, and how she broke into the industry as an outsider. Selina also gives us a peek at the inner workings of a writers’ room on hit TV shows - including the roles, exercises they use, and how writers collaborate inside it. We deconstruct what it takes to write a great scene, including sex scenes, what it means to write authentic dialogue and the importance of knowing our characters.
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ABOUT SELINA LIM
Selina is a BAFTA and BIFA nominated screenwriter currently writing on series 3 of Sex Education (Eleven/Netflix) and season 3 of Hanna (Amazon/NBC) and has previously written for Hollyoaks (Lime Pictures/Channel 4) and was in the writers’ room for The Night Manager Series 2 (The Ink Factory/AMC).
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SHOW NOTES
[02:42] Selina talks about how she became one of the Sex Education writers and her experience of being in an online writers' room
[07:22] How she started as a screenwriter
[13:24] The dynamics in a writers' room
[17:01] How to understand a character's role in your story and why it’s important to know your characters really well
[19:45] How a writers’ room function, how writers ideate and collaborate
[22:14] Writing a scene and knowing the bigger picture
[27:08] Creating a scene's structure, why she believes you should "write drunk, edit sober", and showing instead of telling
[29:32] On writing sex scenes
[32:14] What makes good and authentic dialogue?
[33:34] Selina shares what helps her understand her character more
[36:04] Dealing with self-doubt
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QUOTES FROM SELINA LIM
“What is the work that the scene is doing? Why is it there? You have to ask so you know what emotional beat you are hitting.”
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RESOURCES:
Connect with Selina Lim:
Website: selinalim.co.uk
Twitter: https://twitter.com/muppet0013
Instagram: instagram.com/selinalim888
Links from the show:
Instagram picture we mention at the start of the show
TV Shows mentioned:
Others
- Playing Ball - a short written by Selina for BBC
- Painkiller - a 15-minute short film
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For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com
For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com
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Twitter: twitter.com/WritersSalon
Instagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalon
For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com.
For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com.
*
FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALON
Twitter: twitter.com/WritersSalon
Instagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalon
Facebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalon
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