tim wright: digital writer

Whither SWYWTHery

Having bigged up the first SWYWTH play on Radio 4 in a previous post, I made the error of not encouraging people to listen to the second play 'The Endgame' and now I'm afraid it's lost in the mists of time. 

This feels like a shame since it was the second play where people's input, their own personal secret thoughts, really started to have a strong influence on how the drama could play out. I've decided to put the script up here so people can read it at their leisure even if they can't hear it.

Download Swywth endgame 9.1

There did seem to be a fun and effective journey for the listener here from hearing the first play, going to the swywth submission site, gambling on getting their secret thoughts 'voiced', hearing other people's stuff - and then waiting to see what impact these swywths might have on both the characters and the storyworld in a second play. 

Sadly, I don't think we managed that flow right and couldn't keep people's interest and attention long enough to get them to the second play.

I've moaned lightly on the BBC Get Writing blog about whether all the effort everyone made was really worth it in the end:

"It's questionable, however, whether the final output (2 x 45 minute radio plays and a contribution site that now lies dormant) ever could have delivered the kind of extra impact in terms of audience numbers, critical reception and/or explicit creative or technological innovations that would have justified the extra effort we all put in.<If I was doing this again I'd want to deliver a project with a much longer "tail" that allowed the audience to contribute secret thoughts online over a much longer period, with a much quicker and responsive turnaround from the moment of contribution to the publication of, say, a series of collectable "swywth" podcasts.I'd want to find other ways too of using audience swywths elsewhere in the Radio 4 schedule - and encourage other writers to dip into the well of swywths in order to inspire other works: poems, plays, collaborative prose pieces.All in all I'd want us to get better value out of the creative investment over a longer period of time. (And naturally I'd also have liked to have written better plays that didn't confuse the audience quite as much as they obviously did.)" 

In hindsight this summary feels a bit too sour and negative. The second play is genuinely funny I think - and there are over 40 contributions in there from listeners that sit well within the story. 

My memories of recording the two plays and working with the Radio 4 production team on all the different elements of this project are good ones. So in the end, the love affair with radio continues. And I cross my fingers I get the chance in the future to develop and deliver something really effective. 

SWYWTH: two BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Plays - with your secret thoughts included.

I'm delighted to say that the first of two 'Say What You Want To Hear' (aka 'swywth') plays I've written for Radio 4 – 'The Startup' – goes on air on Thursday 11th February 2010, starring Stephen Tompkinson, Ewan Bailey and Keely Beresford.

I'm hoping that you the audience are going to help with the storymaking process by sending in a certain type of short message that I'm calling a 'swywth' (please don't ask me how to pronounce that).

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/swywth/ for for details

What is a ‘swywth’? Well, it’s a word I’ve invented to describe a secret thought – specifically the kind of secret thought that knocks around your head regularly but that never normally gets said out loud.

For some, a swywth is the pep talk you give yourself in the morning when you look in the mirror. For others, it’s the judgement you silently pass on your colleagues as you sit through yet another boring meeting . Or perhaps it’s a regret, a cherished memory, an ambition – or some nonsense from childhood that haunts you as you stare out of the bus window.

Whatever it is, it’s actually pretty rare for a swywth to get written down, let alone spoken out loud.

But now thanks to a special arrangement with BBC Radio 4, I’ve been lucky enough to have helped set up a system whereby people can send in their swywths to a website and then get them read out and recorded by Radio 4 announcers, presenters and actors. A small but significant selection of these audible swywths  has already been published back to the web as sound files for us all to listen to. Here’s a couple that are already online:

I’m hoping that as the swywth bank grows, we can get more and more eminent and surprising speakers to read out your swywths. Personally, I’m hoping, for example, to get Harrison Ford to read out mine. A crazy dream I know - but no less crazy than some of your swywths I imagine.

THE RADIO PLAYS: ADD YOUR SWYWTHS TO THE MIX

And in the meantime, I’ve been inspired by the Say What You Want To Hear system (S.W.Y.W.T.H. geddit?) to write two Afternoon Plays for Radio 4 that tell a story about how swywthery came to be invented and how swywths can affect different people in very different ways.

As part of the story, I’m going to try and get as many people’s swywths as I can into each play. Indeed some of the swywths might even have their own special effect on the characters and colour events - especially in Play Two.

So if you fancy your secret thoughts appearing in a radio play, send in your swywths soon. Who knows where it will take us?

(You can also join in the 'swywth'-making process on Twitter, on Facebook, on Youtube, on Flickr.)

sample swywths

Alice didn’t love you. She never loved you. Every morning, listen to this and remember how lucky you are...

Mike is an idiot. Mike is an idiot. Mike is an idiot...

Flan. It’s such a sexy word. Just say it. Flan.