Which was your first love, acting or writing?

For me, acting came as a weird adjunct to writing. I didn’t really pursue it; I just did it because it was fun.

I was writing little mini-novels at school, which is probably why I’m terrible at maths.

Then, when I was a bit older I fell in love with film. Back then you needed a lot of money to get the equipment, so I sort of edged into theatre instead. I thought, I can still write a script and get people together, just without the cameras.

I was 16 when I wrote my first play. It was called Bile and, weirdly, I’m just tinkering around with it at the moment to turn it into a screenplay. It’s about a writer who has writer’s block and gets accused of killing three people.

Have you ever had writer’s block?

I’ve always got ideas, but what I do struggle with are the technicalities of how you tell that story. You know he’s got to say this, she’s got to say that and then this happens, but getting that to work can be hard.

My experience as an actor can help with that technical side. You get to learn everything; rig your lights, build the set, that kind of thing.

Do you write at home or in an office?

I’ve actually just decided to stop writing at home. I act much less now, so my year isn’t split in half by touring, which means I was spending almost all my time at a desk, writing.

So, I phoned up Battersea Arts Centre to see if they had just a tiny little cupboard that I could rent off them as an office. I do a 10am-6pm day, which is sort of office hours and if I’m still bubbling away when I get home then I’ll carry on.

Do you have any advice on dealing with bad reviews?

I got hauled over the coals by Michael Billington and it did sort of hurt for about three minutes, but then you have to forget about it, don’t you? Critics do very often get it wrong, too. They have their own agenda and they do miss the point sometimes.

In Focus: Carl’s writing process

Sometimes I start with a title, or an image or a theme. I used to get a pad and spend six to twelve months just filling it with thoughts. I’d write bits of dialogue and things about the characters, but it would all be rather ambiguous. Then, like an idiot, I’d give myself two weeks to write the play. It was just a terrible way to work – I wouldn’t know where to start or anything.

Then a few years ago I finished a play for a Cornish playwright and friend called Nick Darke, who died just weeks before we went in to rehearsal. We decided to finish the play and do it for him. I wouldn’t recommend it, but it turned out fine and we were all very proud of it.

That experience changed the way I wrote – I didn’t write about ideas, I wrote about situations and characters instead. I still filled a pad, but I wrote dialogue instead. Maybe it sounds obvious, but the more of the core you can write, the more exciting things start to happen.

Carl's new short play Wormy Close will be playing at The Soho Theatre as part of Terror 2011: Love Me to Death from Wednesday 19 October until Sat 5th November. For more information and to book tickets, visit the website.

Are you a playwright? Would you like to have your work put on by National Youth Theatre? Apply for Write to Shine via the brief.