#013: Selina Lim — Writing Authentic Dialogue for TV, Writing about Sex, Love & Drama, and A Peek Into a Writers’ Room

​​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:

• HANNA
• Sex Education
• Succession
• The Night Manager

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.

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FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALON

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Instagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalon

Facebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalon

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