{"id":74,"date":"2008-12-30T12:28:00","date_gmt":"2008-12-30T12:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ofah.webhostingireland.ie\/blog\/a-chip-off-the-ol%e2%80%99-writing-block\/"},"modified":"2019-01-24T08:17:52","modified_gmt":"2019-01-24T08:17:52","slug":"a-chip-off-the-ol-writing-block","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ofah.net\/blog\/a-chip-off-the-ol-writing-block\/","title":{"rendered":"A chip off the ol\u2019 writing block"},"content":{"rendered":"
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John Sullivan\u2019s son Jim has taken the plunge and started putting pen to paper, drawing on years of living research and inspiration from his dad. Jim has written two episodes of The Green Green Grass from the second series and three from the third. But that\u2019s not the extent of his writing talents as he\u2019s already working on ideas for his own comedy series and is interested in drama too.<\/p>\n

\"JOHN-SULLIVAN\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Hello Jim, thanks very much for agreeing to do this interview, can we start with a little bit of information yourself \u2013 age, interests etc.<\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/span>I\u2019m 30 years of age and, apart from writing, I enjoy music, playing guitar and watching films.<\/div>\n
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What made you decide to follow in John\u2019s footsteps and become a writer? Was it a big decision to make? The Green Green Grass has been very well received by both Fools fans and the general public \u2013 it must have been a nerve wracking experience?<\/span><\/p>\n

When I left school I didn\u2019t have a clue what I wanted to do or be. I had no qualifications or real interests that I could follow. I went to college to try and learn a trade but soon found that I was about as good at plumbing as my Dad had been, so that didn\u2019t last very long. I\u2019d always enjoyed writing, and English was my favourite lesson at school \u2013 well, up until we started doing Shakespeare then I just tried to avoid lessons altogether. I got interested in writing again when I was about 19, and, as well as learning from my Dad, started buying and reading as many teach yourself books on the subject of script writing as I could. When I first started writing comedy I found that I really enjoyed the whole process, but it took a while to build up the courage to show my work to others. My Dad being who he is and having achieved what he has, getting his opinion was quite a daunting prospect. But of course, he\u2019s there to advise me and the rest of my family, and my girlfriend Natalie, have all been really supportive and encouraging<\/p>\n

What was it like growing up at school with everyone knowing your Father wrote OFAH?<\/span><\/p>\n

Other kids would comment on it from time to time but to be honest I never really talked about it that much. Actors like David Jason, Paul Nicholas, Jan Francis and Ralph Bates would often be at the house to see, and discuss things with my Dad, but as I didn\u2019t know any different, it was just normal to me. I never boasted about it or anything like that.<\/p>\n

What was the actors reaction knowing it wasn\u2019t going to be all John\u2019s writing? I know both John (Challis) and Sue dearly love their characters, were they protective at all?<\/span><\/p>\n

All the cast were really lovely and welcoming when I joined the writing team for series two. I was very nervous about the responses my scripts would get, but thankfully they were all really positive.<\/p>\n

I suppose it\u2019s a pretty unique experience to write for characters that have been created by your Father. Did John give you much direction for Boycie and Marlene or do you know them as well as we all do?<\/span><\/p>\n

Having grown up with the show and having watched the episodes and read many of the scripts, I was pretty confident that I knew Boycie and Marlene well enough to write for them. It was nice because usually when you\u2019re writing a character they are new and you kind of have to feel them out and get to know them yourself, their manners, what makes them tick etc, but in this case the characters were already there and familiar. The down side to that though is that the standard has already been set and there\u2019s a pressure not to fall short.<\/p>\n

GGG has a different type of humour to OFAH and it\u2019s great that Boycie and Marlene can thrive in both worlds as the madness goes on all around them, how conscious of this are you or do the scripts just take on a life of their own anyway?<\/span><\/p>\n

I think as GGG has progressed it has gained a personality of its own. The humour and situations are governed by characters and setting so I was aware from the beginning that it was going to have a very different feel to OFAH.<\/p>\n

What does it feel like when it goes out live on air?<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s always a bit nerve-wracking during a live audience recording. Obviously the first time was the worst, but it gets easier with each show. I\u2019m also not very good when it comes to watching the shows when they air on TV. I\u2019m very self critical, but as I\u2019ve learned, that\u2019s not necessarily a bad thing.<\/p>\n

What is the process of writing an episode? I mean do you have a kind of meeting at the start of the year to say what direction the show and situations would take or do you sort of make it up as you go along. Is there a framework to stick within?<\/span><\/p>\n

We have a team of writers and we\u2019ll meet up and discuss ideas and possible new grounds for the show and characters to explore, and from that we work out what we all need to do. Often though, ideas, scenes and dialogue will just come out of nowhere and at any time – although annoyingly it usually happens in bed in the middle of the night and then I have to quickly find a pen and some paper and scribble it down before I forget it.<\/p>\n

With series 4 planned to be shown in January can you see a series 5? If so any special plans for the Boyces?<\/span><\/p>\n

None of us are sure yet whether GGG will go to a fifth series.<\/p>

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