A huge thanks to Bevan for taking the time out to answer your questions!
What makes a successful scene and what are the most important factors to consider when writing a scene?
Know what the scene is about and write with focus and depth to communicate what you want from the scene. Do not ramble all over the place with unnecessary dialogue that does not service your dramatic intention.
What are the obvious pitfalls to avoid when writing a standalone scene?
Do not try to make it about so many things that the scene ultimately becomes about nothing. And focus those things you want from the scene via a well-constructed through line.
My problem is coming up with original ideas; do you have any tips for this?
You have to find your own creative juice for a scene. No one can supply it for you. Write about something you want to write about or else the scene will have no heart and soul.
One of the things I struggle most with when it comes to writing is editing - I get into a flow of dialogue and although it doesn't constitute exposition, feedback I've received before would indicate that scenes I write are too long. How does one go about selecting "the best of" the dialogue in order to get a succinct but still emotionally deep scene?
A good scene is not just a whole lot of stuff you think is good squeezed in to a minute and a half. It should all be appropriate to the scene and be ordered in a way that progresses the scene in an interesting, forward thrusting manner. So cut out anything, no matter how good, that does not do this. Keep a scrapbook of these discards. Save them up for a time when you can use them to more point and effect in some other scene you are writing.
When I have seen interviews with cast members they have mentioned the big print in the script, and Coral has mentioned it in her guide, but what exactly is it, when do you use it, and how much is too much or too little? How much description is too much? Should the story be carried more by the dialogue, or by the settings and actions written into the script?
Description(aka big print) should be used to communicate setting, totally necessary action, mood and states of mind that are not communicated by the dialogue. You must ask the question of all description (big print) - does the scene work without it? If the answer is yes, cut it. There is nothing more defocussing and clumsy in a scene than unnecessary big print.
2008 saw a high cast turn over for the show and consequently some potential entrants may feel they do not "know" the characters as well some of the more established characters present during the last competition. How would you approach writing for a character that has not yet had a large amount of screen time in which the audience has gotten to fully "know" them?
Don't write for them. Construct scenes around characters you do know. You cannot write effectively for characters you don't know.
I have tried writing a few scripts, and one of my problems is making the characters consistent, how could I prevent straying from the original personalities of the characters?
You must concentrate. There is no answer to this other than to say if you can write consistently for the characters then you can do it, if you can't write consistently then you can't. There is actually no answer to your question other than - focus and concentrate, draft and redraft your work until you get the characters right.
What do you think is the best way to get inside the head of the character for which you are writing?
Feel them inside you. Do not write from outside them, write by feeling their truth inside yourself.
What is the most important factor in writing a character?
Truth and honesty to them and their story.
We have in the past had a number of entries where people have demonstrated an ability to write dialogue but where the scenes they have submitted have not really "gone anywhere". How would you suggest they remedy this?
They have to focus. Scriptwriting is only partially about dialogue. It is much more about focus, structure and honesty to the story material. If they can't get that part right as well then, no matter how good their dialogue, they don't have what it takes to be a scriptwriter.
How do you ensure that dramatic moments retain their integrity without crossing the line into melodrama?
You find the truth in the story material and then write from inside that truth rather than writing from outside it. You write so the characters live the moment rather than pretend living it. You feel that truth in your soul as you write it. That is why good scriptwriters have lived full and varied lives. They have the life experience to be able to feel, and therefore write, the script moments truthfully.
Our entrants have to create a 90 - 100 second scene with a dramatic ending, what are your top tips for building up tension?
Don't blow your dramatic firepower right up front in the scene. If you do, you have nowhere to go. Pace and shape your drama.
How do you deal with writers block when you have been given a scene to write?
If anyone has writers block when all they have to do is write one scene, give up. Writers block is only allowable for someone who has been writing for a long time. Anyone who has it at this point is not a writer.
What general tips would you give to a first time writer thinking about entering this competition?
Don't think it is easy. We make it look easy on the show, but huge amounts of hard work go in to what you see, writing and rewriting and crafting for all of the scenes to get them just right. If you toss something off the top of your head and don't work and rework and hone it to get it as good as possible, then you have no chance whatsoever. Writing is hard work. Unless you are prepared to put in that hard work, don't even bother starting.