Before coming in as one of the storyliners and scriptwriters for Neighbours, had you been involved in other productions?
No, I was a complete newbie to TV when I got my chance to try out for Neighbours. My background was in trade journalism and corporate communications.
What inspired you to pursue writing, especially that of scriptwriting?
I have always loved reading and writing. When I was in kindergarten I used to make books out of folded paper and fill them with stories. I had a lot of encouragement from teachers and family to pursue writing, and that’s what I wound up doing. I mostly envisaged myself as a novelist, but I am eternally grateful that I took a detour into the world of TV, because it has provided me with so many amazing experiences, not to mention giving me a solid base to write my books from.
How did you come to work on show?
My then-partner, now-husband was working on the show. He used to come home at night talking about stories they were doing, or trying to drum up ideas for new stories, and I’d have all these ideas. One day he said to me, “you’d be really good at this”. I didn’t want to work where he worked though - my parents did that when I was a kid and wound up divorced - so I didn’t explore the idea. But when he got to a point where he was ready to move on, there was an opportunity for me to try out as a storyliner. I took a week off my corporate gig, and went in to spend a week at the story table, pitching ideas and writing scene breakdowns. They offered me a job, and the rest is history.
How does a typical writing assignment on Neighbours work for you?
I’m a freelancer these days, so typically I get a block’s worth of material to read every week so I can keep up with the continuity on the show, even if I am not writing one of those episodes. When it’s a week I’m writing an episode, I read the notes sent out to me by the story team, then go into Nunawading for a meeting. We talk through the episode, troubleshoot any problems, and I run any ideas I’ve had for particular scenes past them. Then I go away and write up a scene breakdown. This is reviewed in-house, tweaked for continuity and any story or tonal changes that might need to be made, then sent back to me. I then have two weeks to write the actual script.
There are a number of scriptwriters on the show. Do you work with the other writers to ensure that story flows from episode to episode?
The in-house team are responsible for continuity, but we all pitch in. If I see something come up that doesn’t jibe with my memory of the history of the show or a character’s history, I speak up. The story team tries to stay across continuity from week to week, and the script editors have the arduous job of trying to keep a handle on all the moving parts of what happens to who and when, and smoothing out the storylines over all the episodes that come in.
No, I was a complete newbie to TV when I got my chance to try out for Neighbours. My background was in trade journalism and corporate communications.
What inspired you to pursue writing, especially that of scriptwriting?
I have always loved reading and writing. When I was in kindergarten I used to make books out of folded paper and fill them with stories. I had a lot of encouragement from teachers and family to pursue writing, and that’s what I wound up doing. I mostly envisaged myself as a novelist, but I am eternally grateful that I took a detour into the world of TV, because it has provided me with so many amazing experiences, not to mention giving me a solid base to write my books from.
How did you come to work on show?
My then-partner, now-husband was working on the show. He used to come home at night talking about stories they were doing, or trying to drum up ideas for new stories, and I’d have all these ideas. One day he said to me, “you’d be really good at this”. I didn’t want to work where he worked though - my parents did that when I was a kid and wound up divorced - so I didn’t explore the idea. But when he got to a point where he was ready to move on, there was an opportunity for me to try out as a storyliner. I took a week off my corporate gig, and went in to spend a week at the story table, pitching ideas and writing scene breakdowns. They offered me a job, and the rest is history.
How does a typical writing assignment on Neighbours work for you?
I’m a freelancer these days, so typically I get a block’s worth of material to read every week so I can keep up with the continuity on the show, even if I am not writing one of those episodes. When it’s a week I’m writing an episode, I read the notes sent out to me by the story team, then go into Nunawading for a meeting. We talk through the episode, troubleshoot any problems, and I run any ideas I’ve had for particular scenes past them. Then I go away and write up a scene breakdown. This is reviewed in-house, tweaked for continuity and any story or tonal changes that might need to be made, then sent back to me. I then have two weeks to write the actual script.
There are a number of scriptwriters on the show. Do you work with the other writers to ensure that story flows from episode to episode?
The in-house team are responsible for continuity, but we all pitch in. If I see something come up that doesn’t jibe with my memory of the history of the show or a character’s history, I speak up. The story team tries to stay across continuity from week to week, and the script editors have the arduous job of trying to keep a handle on all the moving parts of what happens to who and when, and smoothing out the storylines over all the episodes that come in.
You also worked as a storyliner between 2001 and 2003. What does this job involve?
Working as a storyliner was the most fun I’ve ever had in a job. Basically, it entails four to five storyliners sitting around a big table with a story editor and a lot of white boards. Mondays are usually spent pitching new stories and shaping rough story arcs for the week, trying to come up with cliff hangers and the basic structure of what stories will run across which days. Then the next few days involve getting into the nitty-gritty of each episode. We used to plot in story strands - so, say, a Sonya and Toadie story that might consist of 6 scenes, then a Lou and Harold story of 5 scenes, etc. Then when we had enough for an episode we’d weave them together, check that the time frames worked, and the first storyliner would peel off from the room to go write their scene breakdown. That same process would be repeated until all 5 eps and been plotted, and usually by the time you were down to the last storyliner and the story ed, the first storyliner was back in the room, ready to pitch in with story ideas again. It was incredibly intense,because you were constantly putting yourself in the characters’ positions and wondering what you’d do if you were them. We’d share stories from our lives, act out moments, and - of course - go off down insane rabbit holes that wound up with us all rolling on the floor laughing. It was a crazy, funny, inspiring place to spend two years and I learnt so much about story structure and character.
Who have been your favourite characters to write for?
I love our characters that have a bit of attitude and a sense of humour. Karl and Susan are great to write for - I love their relationship, how well they know each other, the games they play with each other. I love Toadie, because he’s got this great dry sense of humour but he’s also really honest and raw and vulnerable at times. Steph’s got great energy, too. And let’s not forget Paul Robinson. How I adore him!
Do you prefer writing Neighbours drama or comedy?
I like doing both. It’s easy to get carried away with the comedy - I’m sure the eds have had to rein me in a few times when I’ve gotten too carried away with a running gag or something. But there have been plenty of times when I have bawled my eyes out writing really emotional scenes. I get a lot out of both types of stories, which is one of the reasons Neighbours is such a great show to write for.
What are some scenes or episodes that you are particularly proud of?
This is where my mind goes completely blank. Over 17 years, I have written A LOT of episodes. I know there’s one ep where Susan and Izzy have a go at each other - that was a very satisfying moment to write. Recently I had to write a scene for Sonya and Toadie that I found really emotional. I loved all the stuff around Steph and Flick and the wedding-that-never-was. Getting to write Josh’s final scenes was a real privilege.
You’ve been working as a scriptwriter since 1998. How has the show changed in that time, particularly trying to write new and interesting stories?
The core of Neighbours has pretty much remained the same, I think, since the show’s inception - community, intergenerational conflict, romance, and a bit of intrigue. The light-hearted tone of some stories has always been a bit of a signature for Neighbours, too. The show has of course changed with the times in terms of becoming probably a bit pacier, and tackling more controversial stories/characters the show might not have touched in the early days. I think there’s a lot of pressure to try to deliver intense storylines these days with all the competing media out there, trying to grab viewers' eyeballs. I think the current Neighbours team is doing a great job of trying to keep the show relevant while hanging onto the things that make the show what it is.
Were you a fan of the show before coming on as a writer?
I grew up watching the show, so yes. I can still remember being gripped by Scott and Charlene’s wedding. I think I played that Angry Anderson song about a million times afterward.
Do you watch the episodes you write? Do you ever see things you wish you had written differently?
I don’t go out of my way to watch every episode, but I do watch the show to keep up to date with how things look and sound, so I do see my own eps from time to time. It always surprises me that a line of dialogue that sounded one way in my head can sound so different when it comes through the filter of the actor and the director. But that’s the joy of TV - it’s collaborative, and everyone brings something new to the table. Are there moments I wish I’d written differently? Of course, but you try to learn from your mistakes. My basic rule is to try to keep things as honest and real as possible. I figure you can’t go too wrong with that!
Working as a storyliner was the most fun I’ve ever had in a job. Basically, it entails four to five storyliners sitting around a big table with a story editor and a lot of white boards. Mondays are usually spent pitching new stories and shaping rough story arcs for the week, trying to come up with cliff hangers and the basic structure of what stories will run across which days. Then the next few days involve getting into the nitty-gritty of each episode. We used to plot in story strands - so, say, a Sonya and Toadie story that might consist of 6 scenes, then a Lou and Harold story of 5 scenes, etc. Then when we had enough for an episode we’d weave them together, check that the time frames worked, and the first storyliner would peel off from the room to go write their scene breakdown. That same process would be repeated until all 5 eps and been plotted, and usually by the time you were down to the last storyliner and the story ed, the first storyliner was back in the room, ready to pitch in with story ideas again. It was incredibly intense,because you were constantly putting yourself in the characters’ positions and wondering what you’d do if you were them. We’d share stories from our lives, act out moments, and - of course - go off down insane rabbit holes that wound up with us all rolling on the floor laughing. It was a crazy, funny, inspiring place to spend two years and I learnt so much about story structure and character.
Who have been your favourite characters to write for?
I love our characters that have a bit of attitude and a sense of humour. Karl and Susan are great to write for - I love their relationship, how well they know each other, the games they play with each other. I love Toadie, because he’s got this great dry sense of humour but he’s also really honest and raw and vulnerable at times. Steph’s got great energy, too. And let’s not forget Paul Robinson. How I adore him!
Do you prefer writing Neighbours drama or comedy?
I like doing both. It’s easy to get carried away with the comedy - I’m sure the eds have had to rein me in a few times when I’ve gotten too carried away with a running gag or something. But there have been plenty of times when I have bawled my eyes out writing really emotional scenes. I get a lot out of both types of stories, which is one of the reasons Neighbours is such a great show to write for.
What are some scenes or episodes that you are particularly proud of?
This is where my mind goes completely blank. Over 17 years, I have written A LOT of episodes. I know there’s one ep where Susan and Izzy have a go at each other - that was a very satisfying moment to write. Recently I had to write a scene for Sonya and Toadie that I found really emotional. I loved all the stuff around Steph and Flick and the wedding-that-never-was. Getting to write Josh’s final scenes was a real privilege.
You’ve been working as a scriptwriter since 1998. How has the show changed in that time, particularly trying to write new and interesting stories?
The core of Neighbours has pretty much remained the same, I think, since the show’s inception - community, intergenerational conflict, romance, and a bit of intrigue. The light-hearted tone of some stories has always been a bit of a signature for Neighbours, too. The show has of course changed with the times in terms of becoming probably a bit pacier, and tackling more controversial stories/characters the show might not have touched in the early days. I think there’s a lot of pressure to try to deliver intense storylines these days with all the competing media out there, trying to grab viewers' eyeballs. I think the current Neighbours team is doing a great job of trying to keep the show relevant while hanging onto the things that make the show what it is.
Were you a fan of the show before coming on as a writer?
I grew up watching the show, so yes. I can still remember being gripped by Scott and Charlene’s wedding. I think I played that Angry Anderson song about a million times afterward.
Do you watch the episodes you write? Do you ever see things you wish you had written differently?
I don’t go out of my way to watch every episode, but I do watch the show to keep up to date with how things look and sound, so I do see my own eps from time to time. It always surprises me that a line of dialogue that sounded one way in my head can sound so different when it comes through the filter of the actor and the director. But that’s the joy of TV - it’s collaborative, and everyone brings something new to the table. Are there moments I wish I’d written differently? Of course, but you try to learn from your mistakes. My basic rule is to try to keep things as honest and real as possible. I figure you can’t go too wrong with that!
Have you written scripts for other shows? How do they compare to Neighbours?
I have worked in-house on an NZ serial drama called Shortland Street. I co-created a teen drama series called Karaoke High with a friend in NZ, too, and that’s aired over here a few times now on ABC. I wrote one script for Wonderland in the final season, which was a great opportunity and a lovely experience. And I’ve just started writing for Home and Away.
As well as bring a scriptwriter, you are also a romance novelist. Can you tell us a little bit about that?
I have always been a big fan of romance novels, and I tried for many years to get published with Mills and Boon before finally deciding it wasn’t meant to be. Then I got the job at Neighbours, and plotting long-term story arcs between characters like Steph and Max and Flick and Mark made me realise the mistakes I’d been making. I wrote another book, sent it in, and Mills and Boon’s North American arm, Harlequin, bought it. Since then I’ve written over 40 books for them, a small author-led e-press, and myself. Mostly I am self-publishing these days, since the digital revolution has made it possible for me to produce books and get them into the hands of readers without having to go through a third party.
You also wrote three novels for the 20th anniversary. What sort of direction were you given for these stories, and how did this compare to writing episodes for the show?
Thinking back, we had a pretty broad brief for those books. They had to be stories that were “bubbles” - i.e. they wouldn’t affect ongoing story or established history for the show. So I chose to follow Nina and Jack on their adventures in LA, and Michelle and Flick in New York, and then I decided to go back and explore the history between Liljana and David. They were great fun to write, and I always kept in mind that the themes and language needed to reflect that of the show, because (hopefully) the same people would be reading them.
Finally, for a show the nearly didn’t make its first anniversary, it’s amazing to is surpass the 30th anniversary. What do you think is the secret of the ongoing success of Neighbours?
I think Neighbours is, at its heart, about community. We all have neighbours. we all have local shops we visit, people we stop and chat with as we put the bins out. We’ve all had disputes about a party that went too late, or that person who keeps parking across your drive way, etc. And all of us have families, whether they be happy or sad or a mixture of both. Neighbours reflects our lives, but it’s also a very moral place - usually, people get what’s coming to them if they do wrong by others, and mostly our people try to be decent - even if their idea of what that means might not be the same as other characters on the show. I think there’s something very comforting about that aspect of our world. I’m really proud of the way Neighbours has attempted to shine light on important issues over the years - I think we’ve done a really great job with LBTQI issues and stories, and I love that we have had at least one gay regular cast member on the show for several years now.
I have worked in-house on an NZ serial drama called Shortland Street. I co-created a teen drama series called Karaoke High with a friend in NZ, too, and that’s aired over here a few times now on ABC. I wrote one script for Wonderland in the final season, which was a great opportunity and a lovely experience. And I’ve just started writing for Home and Away.
As well as bring a scriptwriter, you are also a romance novelist. Can you tell us a little bit about that?
I have always been a big fan of romance novels, and I tried for many years to get published with Mills and Boon before finally deciding it wasn’t meant to be. Then I got the job at Neighbours, and plotting long-term story arcs between characters like Steph and Max and Flick and Mark made me realise the mistakes I’d been making. I wrote another book, sent it in, and Mills and Boon’s North American arm, Harlequin, bought it. Since then I’ve written over 40 books for them, a small author-led e-press, and myself. Mostly I am self-publishing these days, since the digital revolution has made it possible for me to produce books and get them into the hands of readers without having to go through a third party.
You also wrote three novels for the 20th anniversary. What sort of direction were you given for these stories, and how did this compare to writing episodes for the show?
Thinking back, we had a pretty broad brief for those books. They had to be stories that were “bubbles” - i.e. they wouldn’t affect ongoing story or established history for the show. So I chose to follow Nina and Jack on their adventures in LA, and Michelle and Flick in New York, and then I decided to go back and explore the history between Liljana and David. They were great fun to write, and I always kept in mind that the themes and language needed to reflect that of the show, because (hopefully) the same people would be reading them.
Finally, for a show the nearly didn’t make its first anniversary, it’s amazing to is surpass the 30th anniversary. What do you think is the secret of the ongoing success of Neighbours?
I think Neighbours is, at its heart, about community. We all have neighbours. we all have local shops we visit, people we stop and chat with as we put the bins out. We’ve all had disputes about a party that went too late, or that person who keeps parking across your drive way, etc. And all of us have families, whether they be happy or sad or a mixture of both. Neighbours reflects our lives, but it’s also a very moral place - usually, people get what’s coming to them if they do wrong by others, and mostly our people try to be decent - even if their idea of what that means might not be the same as other characters on the show. I think there’s something very comforting about that aspect of our world. I’m really proud of the way Neighbours has attempted to shine light on important issues over the years - I think we’ve done a really great job with LBTQI issues and stories, and I love that we have had at least one gay regular cast member on the show for several years now.
Interviewed November 2016