I wouldn't entirely improvise a novel any more than I'd improvise a script. Hence, I'm a pretty thorough 'planner' with fiction too. So, the shape, the order of scenes, the exposition, the twists and turns, all of that tends to be worked out – often collaboratively – before I start on what I think of as the fun stuff, the dialogue, the precise action, the jokes, images and character detail etc. It's an instruction manual and while a portion of it will be 'creative' in the way that fiction is – description, emotion, dialogue – a great deal of it is objective, rather chilly, a document, a map. A script isn't an art-form in itself, like a poem or novel or even a stage play which is read as literature. Planning and structure are central to screenwriting. You started your writing career in television – how does your background in screenwriting impact your approach to writing fiction? Does it help you craft dialogue – and are there any other areas where there is helpful crossover? We spoke to David about his approach to crafting characters and dialogue as well as what it was like working on our new five-week online writing course: Inside Story with David Nicholls. As well as writing novels, David is a BAFTA-winning screenwriter. His fourth novel Us was longlisted for the Man Booker prize in 2014. His iconic novel One Day was published in 2009 to extraordinary critical acclaim. His bestselling debut novel Starter for Ten was selected for the Richard and Judy Book Club in 2004.

David Nicholls is a renowned screenwriter and novelist.

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