Paul May

Paul May was born and brought up in Aberdeen, and attended Oxford University. He is a screenwriter, playwright, poet and business writer. His thriller EX_CUTE—a noir-ish siege drama set in an isolated petrol station—is optioned and in development with Zeitgeist.

He is currently writing two episodes of a new science fiction drama series for BBC Radio and his relationship comedy feature OVER YOU is in pre-production. His short comedy SELF:ASSEMBLE is in development with producer Ravinder Basra (2005 Scottish BAFTA for CAN’T STOP BREATHING), director Simon Pitts (BBC) and cinematographer Christopher Doyle (HERO, 2046, IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE).

What training have you received?

I’ve been on SCENE Insiders and a Radio Drama Workshop, both through the Script Factory. The latter led to my first commissions with the BBC. I’ve also had a lot of free training from very patient script editors, directors and producers on several shorts and feature projects. I did English at university so I know what a sentence is, and how to strip one down and service it.

What themes do you like to explore in your work?

I’m interested in characters who are fooling themselves and others, and the messes they create as a result. It’s about finding people I want to be with and care about, rather than lining up issues that I think I can illuminate. I don’t usually know what my theme is until a reader tells me, and then I agree vigorously.

What’s the best advice you’ve been given as a writer?

“Don’t start typing yet.” My stories are better when I’ve walked them about for a while. Early drafts often obscure what you really want to write, and then it can be hard to give up what you’ve put on the page. The advice I give myself, which I learned as a freelance business writer, is to remember that nobody’s obliged to waste one second of their lives on anything you write. Make them read to the end of the line, make them turn the page; make them stay till the end.

Most significant moment in your career so far…

When a script editor said, “I don’t think Ben would do that in this scene…” It was the first time I’d heard any of my characters taken seriously outside of my own head, and it took me a long moment to adjust. (“You mean we’re expecting somebody to walk around and say this stuff? Oh, right.”)

You’ll die happy when…

I’m already happy, so I can be flexible on dates. What do you have in mind? ■