Idea generation is the most fun and most pain you can have as a writer. There’s nothing quite as exciting as the first time a new idea forms ; a spark of inspiration here, an evocative phrase there. Sometimes, you grasp a fragment, while other ideas land fully formed from out of nowhere.
However, the brain is not an endless fountain of ideas (at least mine isn’t). When you find that inspiration has deserted you, it can be agonising. It’s a paradox that the harder you try to come up with ideas, the less likely they are to arrive. If I came up with one great idea a week, I’d be the happiest man alive. Unfortunately, I’ll write down a dozen in one day before sitting with a blank page for months.
This week, I’ve been writing the treatment for a short film, Nick Murphy’s Last Broadcast. The story of a controversial radio host being haunted by the ghost of a deceased listener, the idea has been rattling around in my brain for over a year. It started with wanting to write a self-contained horror. With more and more rightwing public figures hogging the spotlight in recent years, the idea of a harsh-talking celebrity being punished for their actions suddenly became quite appealing.
From there, the details came quickly. I have seen and listened to enough tense radio phone-ins to understand how easy it is to be dismissive or cruel to those you cannot see, while a radio studio seemed like a claustrophobic environment that could become sinister under the right circumstances. The name came next. He needed to be white, middle-aged, and have appeal to the ‘common man’; Nick Murphy felt right.
When it comes to writing the script, I will no doubt watch and listen to similar radio hosts, trying to accurately capture their manner of speaking and way of interacting with listeners. Going into a radio studio and watching these people in action would no doubt give me colour and detail I will otherwise miss, as well as giving me a feel for the atmosphere during a broadcast.
My aim when writing is always to entertain first, but I feel that Nick Murphy’s Last Broadcast is more political and satirical than anything I’ve previously written. Nick’s arrogance will be darkly funny, while his interactions with the mysterious ‘caller’ will provide the scares, but there will be a clear moral about the importance of apologising and admitting fault. If I can scare someone, make them laugh, and debate a topical moral issue, I’ll be halfway happy with the script.
–Harry Ford
Harry Ford - Comedian 