What I learned reading the Twisted50 Audio Drama Scripts by Heather Sutton

I read every script submitted for the Twisted50 Audio Drama competition and learnt some very interesting things. Across dozens of scripts I began to notice some patterns, both strengths and missed opportunities. This blog post will outlay the do’s and dont’s for any aspiring audio drama writer when submitting their work.

The Do’s

Sometimes simplicity is best, especially when you only have 4 pages to tell a story and add a twist. Myself and Maxime both enjoyed the same scripts and they had one thing in common, they were simple yet extremely effective. Building suspense from the beginning and climaxing the story with an unsettling or horrific twist leans into the horror genre and leaves me feeling disturbed (which is a good thing.)

A pattern I noticed was writers telling their stories through a telephone conversation. This was effective and a good way of telling a story without visuals. You cannot see someone when you are on the phone with them, which adds a feeling of reality to the scary story. Think about how listeners will feel while your audio drama plays. Telephone conversations can feel immersive, as if you are really there.

Be dialogue heavy! If you are more used to screenwriting then it can be hard to transition from one way of writing to another, but it makes a huge difference. As screenwriters we are told to focus on the action, and that too much dialogue can ruin a story. Writing for an audio drama means the dialogue is the centre of the story and the sound effects embellish it. As there are no visuals to accompany it, your dialogue and sound effects need to guide the way. Luckily, horror is one of the best genres for an audio drama, as most of the scary attributes are hidden in the sound. I found that my favourite scripts were driven by the dialogue and could be visualised better than if there was very little dialogue.

I found myself really enjoying the scripts that had a bit of foreshadowing and a disturbing open ending. I was unsettled and left deep in my own imagination of what would happen to the characters that had been crafted in just a few pages.

The Dont’s

Leading on from my previous point, some scripts that I read had very little dialogue. The story itself would be visually scary and disturbing, but you have to remember that we cannot see the story, we can only hear it. When writing your story pay attention to this and make sure you put yourself in the position of a listener who has no idea what is going to happen next. Avoid long visual descriptions with little to no audio equivalent. If it’s not heard, it doesn’t exist.

Be sure of your genre. For a horror audio drama, you need to be as demented as possible, to really put those themes across. Don’t be shy, and don’t hold yourself back. Some of the scripts I read felt like they could have gone further and done more with the strong story they had already built up. Test the limits, push yourself, and be creative.

Another thing to note if you really want your script to stand out is making sure you din’t underuse sound as a storytelling tool. For example, instead of generic scary music being used to build suspense, maybe consider a ticking clock, shallow breathing, a heartbeat or even well-placed silence. These things can really help immerse listeners into the horrifying world you have created.

Another thing to take note of is making sure you avoid overloading your script and dialogue with exposition. It can feel unnatural and kill tension within the story. Try to be implicit and remember, the audience can be trusted to piece it all together.

Conclusion

I hope that this blog post has helped to give the creatives out there some insight into what makes a truly captivating and disturbing horror audio drama. After reading through all of the submissions sent to us, I’ve been able to clearly identify what works really well for an audio drama and what could potentially use some improvements. The most effective scripts weren’t the loudest or the most complex, but the ones that understood how to use sound, silence, and suggestion to draw the listener in. Thank you for reading this blog post, I hope it was of benefit.