Miss Read

Review - My Cousin Rachel

2012-01-28T14:00:00.001Z

My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was one of those 'Why haven't I read this before?' books. I was given a beautiful edition for my birthday last year - so pretty, in fact, that I didn't want to read it in case I dropped it in the bath or something.

I did not, of course. I never have dropped a book in the bath, but you never know.

The writing is as deft and skilled as you would expect from Daphne du Maurier. The first person narrative is done very well, and uncertainty in the 'truth' behind the story is ever present.

Definitely recommended. If you have read and enjoyed Rebecca, then you should love this.

View all my reviews

Currently Reading - 1Q84, Murakami

2012-01-15T11:39:00.000Z

Review - The Knife of Never Letting Go

2012-01-14T11:30:00.000Z

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Loved this - such an original and thought provoking idea.

The Noise - thoughts of men projected vocally - is a fantastic concept, and having the first person perspective of a main character who cannot control his Noise provides an interesting angle (also loved that it was written in his style of dialogue too). Todd, the protagonist, grows as a character well as the novel progresses, as he is affected by love, loss, betrayal and knowledge. There are moments of horrible violence, but the brutality is never treated casually by the author, and it always has an impact on the characters.

Oddly, I read the sequel to this a few years ago as I received an advance copy. It's been great to finally read the first in the series, which didn't disappoint.

Can't wait to read the conclusion now...

View all my reviews

2012 - A year of books!

2012-01-13T17:36:00.000Z

Happy new year, reader!

It's been a while. I just logged in to Blogger and found 6 draft blog posts, all abandoned halfway through writing, sitting there waiting to be attended to.

Much like my creative writing work for the latter half of 2011, alas.

Onwards and upwards this year, I say. To that end, I'm going to concentre on books - reading and writing.

Last year I set myself a challenge on Goodreads to read 100 books. I only managed to read 86, which is the most I've read in the last few years but still not what I wanted. I've decided to set myself the same challenge this year, but am going to work harder to actually achieve it.

The lovely Kindle I received for my birthday last year will help me with this (I need never leave the house without at least 13 books on my person again!), and I'm hoping that by writing personal reviews for each book and posting them here I'll inspire myself a bit more too. (I also have to stop abandoning books before finishing them, something I never used to do but was horribly guilty of last year.)

As for the writing... I started a new novel late last year, which for now I shall term The Scottish Novel, and have every intention of working on it this year. It's required a fair bit of research, but I feel ready to get my teeth sunk in. I have no plan of how the plot will actually work, just the settings and the characters.

It looks like I can post my Goodreads reviews directly to this blog, so I'll be doing that from now on, as well as more blogs on my writing and other bits and bobs.

If you have a book recommendation, do let me know! I'm always on the lookout for new material to read, any genre...

4Screenwriting - competition launched

2011-09-20T17:12:00.003+01:00

Saw this last week and have been trying to find the time to blog the link. Channel 4 have launched a new screenwriting scheme, 4Screenwriting.

"We are looking for 12 talented, original and diverse writers who currently have no broadcast credit but wish to write for television drama."

"The course will give you a chance to find out how TV drama, particularly Channel 4 TV drama, works, and to write, over a 5 month period, your own 1 hour pilot script for an original series or serial, working with an experienced script editor"

How to apply:
Applicants should submit by email a CV and one writing sample. This can be a screenplay, a stage play or radio play, minimum length 30 minutes (novels, treatments, short stories, unfinished screenplays and "shorts" are not acceptable).

The scripts should be original, not episodes of existing drama series.
Closing date November 1st 2011.

Find out more on the C4 Talent website.

Time to Remember

2011-08-04T09:07:00.004+01:00

Last night on BBC Four I caught a couple of programmes I really enjoyed, and just wanted to recommend them.

The first was Time to Remember: A Woman's World. It used archive footage and commentary to look at the way a woman's role changed in Britain, from 1900-1950. The footage is great and makes for inspiring and insightful viewing. I'm just annoyed that I've missed the rest of the series.

(trailer below)

The second programme was the Highlands on Film, another programme made of archive material. While not as powerful as Time to Remember, there were some lovely moments captured here, and it was fascinating to see the changes the Highlands went through on film.

Both programmes available until 12 August 2011 on iPlayer.

A Song of Ice and Fire

2011-07-07T14:05:00.002+01:00

I've just finished reading the first four books (five novels) of George R. R. Martin's 'A Song of Ice and Fire.'

Brilliant reads, all. I was hooked about halfway through book one, and have read them all quite closely together. I did find the fourth 'A Feast for Crows' difficult to get into when compared with the books that came prior to it, but once I caught the tempo it became another good read.

I love the different cast of characters, in particular Ayra Stark, Tyrion Lannister, Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen, Brienne of Tarth, and Ned Stark. It's such an expansive world, and Martin jumps around the array of characters and places with ease.

Can't imagine quite how it felt to read 'A Feast for Crows" back in 2005, expecting the sequel within the year! Out next Tuesday, 'A Dance with Dragons' should hopefully pick up the pace a little, and at over 1000 pages will keep me going awhile. I've read a few horrible things written by 'fans' of the series regarding this gap, moaning about Martin's rate of work, that he's let them down, that they hate him now and won't read any more, etc. It's really odd and disturbing stuff to read, and I don't understand why a person wouldn't give an author credit to know his work best, and to appreciate that it's a creative medium after all.

My only (minor) negative comment on the books is that I would just love the action to jump ahead in time... I want to see the young characters become adults, the strong become weak, the weak become strong. I want things the rate of change to escalate, to slow down again.

I think I must be one of the only people NOT to have seen the new HBO series 'A Game Of Thrones' based on the books. I only became aware of the series while reading the first book, and have only imposed the image of Sean Bean onto the character he plays, Ned Stark (and why not, eh?). The other characters are all sitting in my head still, and it will be interesting to watch them on the TV whenever this comes to terrestrial or DVD.

I do fancy the show, though. Trailers and clips I've seen all look great, like this one.

Persevere

2011-07-04T08:55:00.001+01:00

In this fair weather I like to go for walks at lunchtime, take in a bit of the sun and sights. I'm lucky to be near the Water of Leith, a foot and cycle path that takes in a lot of trees, flowers and the river through much of North Edinburgh.

Down at the Leith end of the water, where the river meets the sea, there are memorial plaques in the pavement, and I particularly liked this one.

"So with the darkest days behind
Our ship of hope will steer
And when in doubt just keep in mind
Our motto: Persevere"

Good motto...

Writing in the park

2011-07-03T10:42:00.003+01:00

We are having glorious weather in Edinburgh just now, blue skies and sunshine. Thought I'd take myself off to a local park (Inverleith Park, a lovely place) and do a bit of writing and relaxing.

Fair to say, I did more relaxing than writing, but it was fun anyway. What writing I did manage to do in between staring around with a big smile on my face was on the start of a new novel. I bought a new, handmade notepad for the purpose which felt lovely to write it - it even has a pocket I can use for any clippings I take.

More about that when the idea is more formed. For now, more pics:

Redesign

2011-06-30T08:17:00.002+01:00

The keen eyed among you may have noticed that I've redesigned my blog.

Part of that redesign is a new header image, which I've also used on my website and twitter.

In this, I've tried to keep things fairly simple, but to convey what I'm all 'about'.

The header image uses a typewriter font to list lots of my interests, with my blog/name layered on top in a 'horror' font. Not that I'm all about horror, but I do like it and I liked the contrast with the typewriter.

I'm going to make my list of interests a bit more of a feature on the blog itself. I do love blogging, but find it quite difficult to write about writing, film and tv all the time. I've decided, therefore, to write a few more blog posts that are a bit more general. For instance, I might do more posts on my inspirations, the books I'm reading - or the yummy vegan cupcakes I've baked.

Hopefully this won't be too annoying for those of you who only want writing posts!

Those who are interested can check out my new design on my website.

Coming Up / Going Down

2011-06-29T08:12:00.002+01:00

I've been working on an idea for Coming Up since mid-May, when I first heard about this year's competition.

For quite a while now, I've had a notion to write a modern version of one of my favourite dark fairy tales, and decided that the Coming Up competition was the place to pursue this. I came up with another story to layer on top of this, which made use of the Coming Up requirements for minimum cast, locations and shooting time, and which I was confident could be told within 30 pages.

It was all going great guns, even more so when the deadline for Coming Up was extended to 28 July. Then at the weekend, as I was trying to finish and polish my two page outline, it hit me.

It's not a 30 page piece - it's a feature.

I know, a lot of people will instinctively disagree with that. They may well be right, and it's not something I normally feel about projects. I do believe that a skilled writer can made a good feature into a short, a book into a feature, a short into a concept that can spiral into a series. Whatever the medium, I think the core of a story can often be told.*

That said, this just felt wrong. I was already coming in to the story as late as possible (two weeks into the 'action'). I had so much backstory that it was going to be hard to avoid blatant exposition. Worse than that, though, I just felt like I was rushing the story, skipping out bits, and not drawing out the horror or the joy that I wanted to display.

In this instance, though, I just wasn't telling the whole story that I wanted to. When I'm writing a piece for myself, for my portfolio, I need to follow my gut and be selfish.

So instead of making this a 30 minute, it's turned into a feature. On the minus side, this means I have not entered Coming Up this year, despite having an idea.

On the plus side, I have a new proposal ready for a steampunk, futuristic, fairy-tale which requires minimal locations and a small cast.

Steampunk is so hot right now, isn't it? Isn't it?

*I don't think it can always be done. That's experience of reading scripts which have tried to change the format talking, so it may well come down to the writing.

Brave

2011-06-28T08:30:00.003+01:00

The trailer and teaser poster for Disney/Pixar's Brave have been released.

From imdb: "Set in Scotland in a rugged and mythical time, "Brave" features Merida, an aspiring archer and impetuous daughter of royalty. Merida makes a reckless choice that unleashes unintended peril and forces her to spring into action to set things right."

Nice to see some familiar Scottish names in the cast - Kelly Macdonald (as Merida), Robbie Coltrane and Billy Connelly. Safe to say that it looks like it's going to be a film about Scotland from the Tartanry school, but I'm excited about it. The poster hints at darkness, and it's going to be good to see a Pixar film with a strong female lead.

Everything is a Remix

2011-06-27T08:45:00.000+01:00

Found these really interesting videos on my internet travels, and thought I would share.

Everything is a Remix is about the idea of remixing and creativity, but this one looks specifically at film. It is part two of four (three have been released so far). Made by Kirby Ferguson, with brilliant editing.

Everything is a Remix Part 2 from Kirby Ferguson on Vimeo.

As you wish

2011-06-26T10:27:00.003+01:00

Sad to hear that Peter Falk died the other day. While many will remember him for his brilliant performance as Columbo, for me he'll always be the grandad from the Princess Bride, bringing me to tears at the end of the film.

(This clip is from the start - spoiler free for those who have inexplicably not seen the film yet)

I also loved him in The Great Race, a family favourite in the Anderson household. I have a tendency to shout 'Push the button, Max' at traffic lights because of this.

I particularly love Jack Lemmon in this film. It's strange to think that none of the main cast of the Great Race are alive now though. No more great pie fights.

It is a silly place...

2011-06-12T11:46:00.003+01:00

I watched the new series Camelot on channel 4 last night.

I'm a bit of an Arthurian nerd, so feel compelled to watch anything like this. My verdict on the first two episodes are that there were too many lady bits on show, Merlin was too creepy (both of which they were probably going for), the fighting wasn't very good, and some of the continuity was terrible (the landscapes, outfits, and blood on faces in particular). It was all a bit fluffy and smelled like The Tudors, but I still rather enjoyed it and I'll no doubt watch a few more episodes.

It also made me want to watch the far superior Monty Python and the Holy Grail, never a bad thing.

Smart is cool

2011-05-26T08:35:00.000+01:00

I think smart is cool too, Michelle.

Genre Map

2011-04-28T17:51:00.003+01:00

I saw this rather nifty little 'Genre Map' on Book Country yesterday.

Click on a genre and a popup window tells you a little bit more, and gives an overview of some key books within the genre. If you select a genre you get a rather nifty little map, which you can navigate using directions such as 'light,' 'dark,' 'sexy' and 'funny.'

Looks like it might be a nice way of finding a few new genre books to read!

Browse the Genre Map on Book Country.

Tips for writing recovery

2011-04-27T14:24:00.003+01:00

smashed glass, a photo by Laura A on Flickr.

Yesterday I saw a nice post on the Write to Done blog, about recovering from writing burn out.

After a quick breakdown of the causes and symptoms, there are some nice tips for 'enjoyable writing.'

These range from cleaning your desk, chilling out and reading books on writing to diet and exercise changes.

I quite like a few of the ideas, and feel rather drawn to the idea of Free Writing: "If you want to enjoy writing, learn to write for yourself. Find pleasure in your writing, challenge yourself. The purpose of free-writing is to express yourself for your eyes only. It’s very liberating."

I can be terrible at taking 'down time' and find myself plagued by headaches and tiredness when I don't rest enough. Definitely going to follow a few of the ideas here next time I feel myself moping!

Read the article in full on the Write to Done blog.

Script Frenzy catch up

2011-04-26T13:21:00.000+01:00

Sparkly water and traffic cones, a photo by Laura A on Flickr.

So far, my Script Frenzy project has been a combination of a success and a bust.

A success in that I've spent time in the evenings, weekends and on my lunchbreak writing away, but a bust as it's not been a frenzy at all, rather a few pages here and there.

I've managed about 30 pages so far, which isn't much, but I'm happy with the story. I have friday off for the ruddy Royal Wedding, along with a bank holiday Monday, so I have decided to extend the project by a few days and attempt to get this initial draft finished - in more of an actual frenzy.

Picture is of the Water of Leith in Edinburgh, on my walk to work. It's been a mixed bag weather wise here over the weekend, but beautiful sunshine today.

Script Frenzy

2011-04-01T14:05:00.003+01:00

I've decided to give Script Frenzy a go this year.

From the Script Frenzy website:

The 5 Basic Rules of Script Frenzy

To be crowned an official Script Frenzy winner, you must write a script (or multiple scripts) of at least 100 total pages and verify this tally on ScriptFrenzy.org.
You may write individually or with a partner. Writing teams will have a 100-page total goal for their co-written script or scripts.
Scriptwriting may begin no earlier than 12:00:01 AM on April 1 and must cease no later than 11:59:59 PM on April 30, local time.
You may write screenplays, stage plays, TV shows, short films, comic book and graphic novel scripts, adaptations of novels, or any other type of script your heart desires.
You must, at some point, have ridiculous amounts of fun.

I'm going to work on a feature script called Monochrome Eve. This has been in my head for quite a while now, and after having a story breakthrough in London this seems like the perfect opportunity to go for it. I have an outline about 75% complete that will use as a basis, but I'm happy going where the story takes me, as per rule number 5.

Anyone else doing Script Frenzy? I see Adaddinsane and Paul Campbell are. If so, you can find me on the Script Frenzy website under LauraAnderson.

Farewell, She Writes!

2011-03-25T17:04:00.006Z

Last week I went to London for the final event in the She Writes programme.

As part of the Birds Eye View film festival we were presented as a group at BAFTA, and one of the screenplays was read on stage by a panel of actors.

The evening started with a speech from Elizabeth Karlsen. It was a great introduction, filled with lots of interesting facts and looking to the future. You can read her She Writes speech in full on the Birds Eye View website.

Following her speech, we all got on stage and introduced ourselves and our projects. Everyone in the audience (a full house at the Princess Anne Theatre!) was given a copy of the 'Talent List' which had all our details and project summaries, so our main job was to add a bit of personality to the paper. I was really nervous about this, but my jitters melted away when I got the microphone, and I think I managed to talk reasonably well about my project.

The presentation was followed by a reading of Saint Joan (pictured), and a bit of a networking event in the BAFTA bar. I met lots of lovely people at this, and had to drag myself away.

I attended a Birds Eye View panel event the next evening on 'Bloody Women: Women in Horror' as it seemed a perfect match for the horror screenplay I've been working on for She Writes. (Weirdly and frustratingly, much of the debate seemed to be about boobs on film.) Lots of questions and many opposing answers came out of the evening, and while I didn't have the nerves to pipe up I'm glad I went along.

I'm back in Edinburgh now, and awaiting the very last element of my She Writes gig, a script report from the Script Factory. Once I've received this I'll redraft Light Me a Candle once more, and then crack on with getting it 'out' there.

I'd like to say thanks to everyone who has supported me through the year, and to all those I've worked with: my mentor, the Script Factory and BEV (*). I'd especially like to mention my wonderful fellow She Writers: Rosy Barnes, Kate Bingham & Grace Banks, Tracy Brabin, Avril Evans, Sally El Hosaini, Rosanne Flynn, Oonagh Kearney, and Rachel Tunnard. You can find out more about them all on the Birds Eye View website.

It's been a brilliant year, and I'm already feeling a bit lost without the workshops or residencies in my calendar. I'm going to spend some time this weekend researching writing opportunities, and making my plan.

So long, She Writes, and onwards!

(*Sorry about the gushy thanks. It really has been great though)

For those of you interested, here are a few photos from the event, and also from my tourist trips to the Tower of London and the AMAZING British Museum between BEV events:

Getting a Plan

2011-03-04T19:12:00.001Z

I was out for lunch a couple of weeks ago with two of my talented writer friends, and they both had some advice for me.

Get a plan.

I am not one for planning, normally. I always meet deadlines, book events in advance and keep a diary well enough to avoid conflicts, but I do not strategically plan as a writer.

This is one of the reasons that getting into the She Writes programme has been so good for me. We have had dates for the diary in the form of deadlines, workshops, residencies and meetings. I had to think about my goals for the year at the start of the scheme, and I've achieved all but one - which the Bafta showcase will hopefully help sort out.

The showcase, however, marks the end of the scheme. By mid March I will be plan free, and I don't want the hard work I've done over the last year to be for nothing.

I think I'm going to enter the BAFTA Rocliffe new writing forum at the end of March, but aside from that my year is a big blank slate. What to do?

How do you normally plan your writing? Or, indeed, do you?

She Writes - Actor's Workshops

2011-02-27T12:22:00.004Z

I was just writing an entry on my current redrafting progress, and realised that I hadn't mentioned the brilliant couple of days I'd had with my fellow She Writers at the end of 2010.

Part of the She Writes programme, and an element which sounded really attractive to me, was actor's workshops to help us develop our script. We had these at the start of December 2010 in London. A panel of actors were selected, each of our nine projects had been redrafted (following feedback from our mentors and fellow writers), and various members of the Script Factory were on hand to lead development sessions.

I'd worked hard on a page one rewrite of the script - keeping the same central characters and setting, but completely changing the plot and story. I was happy enough with the draft, but aware that there were still problems with it, and also worried that I was being too 'on the nose' with certain elements.

The actors read the first 30 pages of the scripts cold (no rehearsal) in front of a group made up of She Writes participants and the Script Factory. One actor filled the role of narrator, reading all action and setup. Hearing mine read out wasn't at all as I imagined it to be. I'd thought I would concentrate on how the dialogue worked, where there wasn't enough action, etc, but instead I just listened as if the project belonged to someone else, and made a few notes on repeated words or errors. (Interestingly, far from being too 'on the nose' I discovered that my script was too subtle!)

Following the reading, the writer of each screenplay had to sit in silence as first the actors, then the other writers, gave feedback. It was extremely difficult to stay quiet while people discussed what they thought was happening, and where they saw the story going, but ultimately valuable. When the feedback from the group had been given, we had a further session with a developer from the Script Factory to analyse our feedback and really get to grips with the big questions.

Aside from getting our own development notes, the days in London gave each of us the chance to hear all the She Writes projects. It was just amazing, and once again I was reminded of how lucky I was to be selected as part of a group containing so many brilliant writers. I can't wait to read their scripts, and hopefully see them as completed films in the future.

I found the whole process incredibly useful, and came away with pages of notes. Upon my return to Edinburgh I had feedback from my mentor too, which complemented the notes I'd made in London. I've learned from experience that I should not redraft immediately, that I should give writing projects a while to develop internally first, so I've spent the last few months mulling things over, making occasional notes, and generally trying to think about where I can develop the script. Now, however, it's rewriting time...

Love Cake Trailer

2011-02-20T12:38:00.000Z

Here's a trailer for the short film Love Cake, which was written by the magnificent Mandy Lee, produced by Selena Darke, and directed by Eleanor Yule.

Love Cake trailer on Vimeo.

Being shot by my brother...

2011-02-19T12:15:00.000Z

...with a camera.

My brother is the very talented photographer DN Anderson, who I asked to take some professional portraits of me for She Writes.

I don't normally like getting my photo taken much (the photo I submitted at the start of the programme was of my head, close up, taken in the bathroom) so I was a bit reticent. However, he put me at my ease and completed the shoot quickly, and I'm really pleased with the results. I've used one as my new portrait for blogger, twitter, etc, and was more than happy to send one on to The Script Factory for She Writes.

Anyone interested can find out more about him on the DN Anderson Photography website.

Thank you David!

Birds Eye View Film Festival 2011 launched

2011-02-18T19:06:00.005Z

The 2011 Birds Eye View Film Festival programme has been launched, and it looks great.

I'm particularly interested in the Bloody Women: From Gothic to Horror series.

I'll be presenting my own Gothic Horror idea (and myself) as part of the She Writes Showcase at Bafta. This is very scary, and not because of my screenplay subject matter! Time to prepare new business cards, get my portfolio in order, and practice saying 'Hi, I'm Laura...' without blushing or cowering in a corner.

Back soon. Until then, here's a trailer for the Bloody Women events:

Books read in 2010

2011-01-04T22:17:00.004Z

Last year (how odd to be saying that already) I once again used to marvellous Goodreads to log all the books (fiction, non-fiction, graphic novels) I've read. It was the second year in a row I avoided re-reading anything, no easy feat for a chain reader like me.

Anyway, managed 73 for 2010, which was down on 2009 but ok considering my workload. Here is a grid of the covers - click to be taken to the goodreads page:

Two good words

2010-11-16T08:54:00.000Z

After a mammoth slog over the weekend, I finished my script.

I say finished, but of course I mean I just finished a draft of it. I wrote most of it on Saturday, leaving Sunday to complete the last 'act' (although it doesn't have acts as such) and read, tinker with, read, tinker with, etc.

As you would expect from such a quick draft, it lacks subtlety, character nuance, and probably the odd word or two. I managed to flesh out the characters as much as possible, but it's probably all very 'on the nose' at the moment. However, I'm happy with it, and have submitted it for the next She Writes phase - workshops.

I'm going to try and keep up the writing momentum this week by entering a piece in the New Scientist Forgotten Futures competition - as first spotted on MJ's blog.

Feeding frenzy

2010-11-12T18:44:00.004Z

I've been writing in a bit of a frenzy the last few days, and it's going to be an intensive weekend.

On Monday I'm due to hand in a completed draft of my script for She Writes. This will be used for the performed reading in December, so needs to be as good as I can get it. I feel like there is still a lot to do - thank goodness that I have a complete outline. I never used to be a fan of them, but now I find them invaluable.

On the plus side, I've really enjoyed writing lately. It's been a while since I felt like I was in any kind of writing 'groove,' so it's been great. I had this afternoon off work, and took myself to a cafe to write for a couple of hours for the first time in months. It was lovely to sit with a hot chocolate and tap away, with no distractions save the early Christmas music.

For now, it's curry time - then back to the script.

Lucky 13

2010-11-08T17:47:00.008Z

Oh my goodness.

I just realised that I have only posted 12 blog entries this year. 12! Shocking stuff.

It's curious, as I have been very busy, and lots has been going on. I just haven't felt much like blogging, or tweeting, or anything like that (in part, I blame the death of my laptop a couple of months ago). I've also been inundated with spam on all my blogs, which made me want to ignore them for a while.

Here's a brief summary of what I've been up to:

Ladies Who Lunch won best film in the Short Films and Music Videos Category at the Black International Film Festival in Birmingham last week, which is hugely exciting. I'm so pleased for everyone involved, especially my producer/director Victoria Thomas, who optioned and made my script into a living, breathing, festival going film.
LWL and another film I worked on both screened at the Cannes Short Film Corner. Not sure why I didn't blog about this at the time - I suspect shyness.
My next She Writes session is a mere 3 weeks away. The first 30 pages of our scripts are going to be performed by actors, with workshop sessions to go through anything that crops up. This is also very exciting, although I am quite nervous about it - hopefully a healthy combination.
I bought a new netbook to replace my dead laptop. It's so shiny and small.
I attended lots of events at the Edinburgh International Book Festival this year, and mortified myself by gushing like an idiot at Philip Pullman. I'm not going to repeat exactly what I said, but it involved clutching my heart in a rather dramatic fashion. (Why am I so bad at talking to authors I love?)
I went on a proper holiday for the first time in ages, so Madrid. Beautiful place. Here are some photos, for those of you interested:

I'll be back. Soon.

She Writes residency

2010-07-03T12:25:00.005+01:00

I'm back in Edinburgh after a few days in London, which were busy, motivating, inspiring and danged hot.

I was down for the second She Writes residency. The first was in May: a few days in a hotel with the other finalists, run by Lucy Scher from the Script Factory. Three amazing days of ideas, workshops and support, which got me thinking about the heart of my story. Following this, I wrote up a treatment and sent it to my She Writes group (we are in little support/feedback groups within the programme) and mentor.

I met my mentor in London on Wednesday. She's a fantastic, well regarded and actually very lovely writer for film, TV and theatre. She had lots of feedback for me on the treatment, all of it useful and energising. It's amazing how two hours with someone positive can buoy you up and inspire you. Issues I had been fretting about with the treatment disappeared, and questions I never even thought to ask of my piece have propelled new ideas.

Thursday and Friday saw the She Writes 'Industry' residency, a chance for us to meet with people from different disciplines within film. It felt like a very relaxed, open and honest environment, and it was interesting to meet people that you might not normally come across as a writer, like distributors and film festival programmers, as well as a screenwriter, director, agent, producer and casting director. We also had chats in our little feedback groups about our projects, and once again I was given questions to ponder which have opened up story doors.

Following this residency, there is a fair gap before our next official meetup, and our next writing deadline comes in mid September. I have another mentor meeting to come, and will no doubt meet some if not all my fellow She Writers, but mostly this time will be spent working alone on my project.

It's not been easy fitting the programme around my full time job, but I feel so keyed up at the moment that I have to make the most of it. I need to use the motivation I've built up over the last few days and make a push towards a first draft of my script. In an ideal world, I will do this by the end of July, giving myself August to redraft and get feedback. Fingers crossed.

Red Planet Prize - 2010 Competition

2010-06-26T10:53:00.003+01:00

Many of you will have seen this already, but for those who haven't the Red Planet Prize 2010 has launched.

This year's entrants are required to submit "an original 60 minute television script, either a single play or a pilot for a new series. You are initially required to submit the first ten pages along with a short synopsis. The full script should be available on request, you may be required to submit this within a month of the final closing date."

The prize is once again fantastic: £5000, a script commission, and the option of representation. The competition closes at midnight on 31st July.

More at: http://www.redplanetpictures.co.uk/prize.php

I'm not going to enter this, as it would just be adding to my rather significant 'to do' list - I don't have any appropriate scripts ready and must work on my feature for She Writes. However, I think it's a really valuable competition and definitely worth entering - best of luck to everyone who goes for it.

Fan girl

2010-06-23T12:54:00.001+01:00

I am smitten with the Scott Pilgrim comics, and can't wait for the film.

Scott Pilgrim, Ed Wright, Michael Cera and music by Beck = an excited me.

My fellow geeks can create their own avatar at: www.scottpilgrimthemovie.com/avatarCreator

(What's that you say? Three months between blog posts and I treat you to this very random entry? I know, I know: more will follow soon, I promise...)

She Writes 2010 - Finalist and What's Next

2010-03-22T08:36:00.002Z

I've mentioned this, but feel I really ought to devote a proper post to the subject.

"Prompted by the remarkable statistic that only 12% of British films are currently written by women, She Writes is aimed specifically at women screenwriters, and aims to change all that. Co-presented by our friends over at Birds Eye View, the programme is being supported by the Skillset Film Skills Fund and Scottish Screen and will run for the next year. The successful participants are a hugely varied group – they include editors, poets, development personnel and actors - and while She Writes is aimed at 'emerging writers', our 10 (8 individual writers and one co-writing team) are all already very much committed to their career as a screenwriter, and all come with impressive drama writing credits and hugely exciting ideas. "

The She Writes participants for 2010 are:
Laura Anne Anderson (me...)
Rosy Barnes
Kate Bingham & Grace Banks
Tracy Brabin
Avril Evans
Sally El Hosaini
Rosanne Flynn
Oonagh Kearney
Rachel Tunnard

The first part of the scheme was a launch party at the Birds Eye View Festival. It was nice to meet everyone else who will be involved, as everyone seems genuinely very nice. The next phase is a residential at the end of April, followed by mentoring, further residentials and masterclasses, actor studios, networking events, and the BEV Festival next year.

I don't enter many schemes or competitions, but She Writes did seem valuable, and I'm so pleased to have been selected. I'm going to work on my gothic horror throughout the scheme, although of course I hope it feeds back into my other screenwriting.

Roll on the end of April!

Birds Eye View

2010-03-21T17:30:00.002Z

I'm back in Edinburgh now, and rested after my time at the Birds Eye View festival.

There were a few highlights for me. One was meeting my lovely fellow She Writers (more about that tomorrow), one was seeing Fish Tank by Andrea Arnold (so, so good), and the last was getting to see The Adventures of Prince Achmed - a beautiful silent animation, accompanied by a composition by Mira Calix.

I enjoyed the festival a great deal, although the downside of having it spread over a city as large as London is that I couldn't make as many of the events as I would have liked. We are a little spoiled with the EIFF - doesn't take long at all to get from venue to venue in Edinburgh!

Anyway, I feel all nice and inspired now, and want to get back to my writing in earnest...

Also, here's a photo of Gillian Anderson, introducing Fish Tank:

Birds Eye View: first two days

2010-03-06T10:36:00.003Z

Things have been a little strange so far. I arrived at dinner time on Thursday - the Birds Eye View launch night. Got myself a lovely vegetarian dinner from Tidbits, then strolled along to the ICA with time to spare before the launch party.

Only problem was, of course, that the launch party was going on at the BFI. So, I'm directed towards the BFI, told that my ticket will be waiting there for me. Off I stroll, in the wrong direction, ending up at Westminster (which looks very pretty at night, but there are a lot of dark paths leading the way). Give up on the stroll, get the tube, get lost at the other end (why so many exits for one tube station!), find the venue in the end - 40 minutes late. Hurrah, thinks I, but it was not meant to be. My ticket had been given away - apparently this happens 5 mins before the even starts, so I shouldn't have even tried to make it.

This is what is known as a classic case of 'pulling a Laura.' It's already been repeated - yesterday - when I also missed Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, which I'm also furious with myself about. However, I took myself off to an expensive London cinema to see An Education, then made it to the two other BEV events yesterday evening, so all has not been lost.

First up last night was Short Docs, followed by Entre Nos. Within Short Docs, two stood out for me: The Delian Mode, about Delia Derbyshire, early electronic music composer (who performed on the original Doctor Who tune but never received a composition credit due to BBC rules) and Amasan: Women of the Sea, about a group of wonderful Japanese women who 'free dive' for shellfish.

Tonight I'm hoping to see the International Shorts, Amreeka, and The Adventures of Prince Achmed - the first feature length animation ever made, which is going to be accompaied by live music. Cannot wait for this one, actually.

Have only 'networked' with the festival photographer, after I caught her taking photos of my head. I am counting this. Not met any of my fellow She Write-rs yet, and don't think I will until Monday night, or possibly tomorrow. So it's been a bit quiet, but that's ok...

She Writes and the Birds Eye View Festival

2010-03-04T15:05:00.004Z

I'm sitting on a train to London at the moment, my new(ish) laptop connected to the train's wifi allowing me to blog. The wonders of modern technology, and all that.

I've been listening to The Smiths, watching the sunny, picturesque countryside and reading The Wind-up Bird Chronicle, trying to quell the nervousness that I always feel before Film Festivals. It's not really working.

The Birds Eye View festival will be a completely different experience from the Edinburgh Film Festival - which is the one I know best. At the EIFF, I have a cushion of local knowledge, several friends in attendance, and the fact that I often have mutual contacts with many of the other attendees. I will know nobody at BEV, I don't know the area, and there's no chance that anyone will have heard of me.

Despite my nerves, I know that this is A Good Thing. I will have to talk to people, I will have to make friends, I will have to talk about myself. I will have a miserable weekend if I am silent!

I'm going down as part of the She Writes scheme, which I've somehow been selected as a finalist for. The festival marks the start of the scheme, which will continue through 2010 with residencies, masterclasses, mentoring, etc. I think the official programme launch is Monday night, but I'm going to go down for the start of festival party, then various films and events over the weekend.

I don't know what my web access will be like over the next few days, but I'm going to try and blog from the festival. Failing that, I'll do a round-up on Tuesday, when I'm back.

If you are going to the BEV, do say hello...

Carry a poem

2010-02-06T19:24:00.001Z

There are fragments of poetry scattered about Edinburgh at the moment, as part of the Carry a Poem campaign. I loved this one, which was in St Andrews Square.

More at: http://carryapoem.com/

Ukulele boy

2010-01-16T15:41:00.001Z

I love the internet.

BBC Scotland: Write Here, Write Now

2010-01-07T13:06:00.001Z

The BBC Scotland Comedy Department has launched a new screenwriting competition, as part of Scotland Writes.

Scotland: Write Here, Write Now is only open to Scottish and Scotland-based writers. The prize consists of three winners being given individual mentoring sessions to develop their script to 30 minutes, with the chance of it being performed at the Edinburgh Fringe later in the year.

They want 10-15 pages (no more than 2000 words) of a contemporary comedy drama or a sitcom, which should be set in Scotland with at least one Scottish character in the cast. The deadline for entries is Friday 26 March 2010.

“Entries will be judged on the following criteria:

The originality of the television idea and the quality of the writing;
The comedy of the situation, characters and script; and
How well contemporary Scotland and its inhabitants are depicted with a fresh perspective.”

Find out more on the BBC Writersroom website.

It’s the third part of the criteria that stumps me a bit. It's that most magic and elusive of words: "contemporary." I see contemporary, I panic. What the devil does it mean? Gritty? Urban? Realistic? Filled with references to current affairs/music/film? I have my fingers crossed that in this situation it means simply 'set right now' and nothing more terrifying than that.

I’m working on a comic fantasy script at the moment, which I suspect will be no good for this despite it's partial contemporary setting. However, I’m determined to write more straightforward comedy this year (rather than just injecting everything with a bit of subversive dark comedy but not aiming for laughs), and this may propel me to do it.

Annoyingly, I thought of a rather wonderful comedy idea when I was making some vegan bolognaise last night, and can't for the life of me remember it now. It was one of those 'this is so good I can't possibly forget it' moments, too. Bah.

Will keep you posted on this.

She Writes

2010-01-06T13:00:00.000Z

She Writes is a new training programme for women screenwriters co-presented by Birds Eye View and The Script Factory, and supported by Skillset.

It has been designed to address the remarkable statistic that only 12% of British films are written by women. The programme, catering for eight emerging women writers, will take place over a year, during which time participants working on a feature screenplay will enjoy a residential retreat, attend specialist workshops, meet with mentors, gain a better understanding of the industry, have exclusive access to the Birds Eye View Film Festival, and workshop their projects with actors.

Find out more on the Birds Eye View Website.

I'm going to enter this - have a script in mind which needs some minor revisions (first ten pages and synopsis, that is). Looks like a great opportunity: anyone else going for it?

Brand New Year, Same Old Me

2010-01-05T13:08:00.004Z

2009 was a lovely year. It seemed to pass so quickly that I can't quite believe it's gone. I had one of the most wonderful years of my life so far (no joke), simply due to the fact that I was writing every day. I have been out of the habit of creative writing for a couple of months now due to other commitments, but I'm going to get back into it with gusto soon.

I'm not a huge one for planning or resolution making, but I do have a few things I want to achieve in 2010.

These are:

Write final (well, you know what I mean) draft of The Hush, and send it out.
Complete the comedy script I'm working on
Enter more competitions (that's one I say every year and never do though)
Read more books than 2009. I will continue to document them on Goodreads, as it's worked out well for me. In 2009 I read 84 books, all for the first time. I may allow myself re-reads this year, not sure yet.
Embark upon photo projects, rather than a photo a day (I kept a 2009 photo-a-day diary). Can't tell you quite how freeing it is not to have to take a photo each day - and we're only 5 days in. I feel like I'm breaking the rules.
Learn the guitar. Yeah, baby. I used to play every musical instrument I could as a teen, and I've been longing to get back into it. Got a beautiful guitar for Christmas, so I will spend my free time strumming away.

So there we go. I'll also try to get back into the swing of blogging - perhaps on my lunch hour, as I'm doing now.

I'm off for a coffee to warm my cockles, but I leave you today with a few photos from the festive period. We had a white Christmas in Edinburgh, and the snow is still lying on the ground, so it's been picturesque (if cold and rather slippery).

Lanterns on the chilly beach at Portobello on Hogmanay:

A squirrel leaping in the snow at the Botanic Gardens:

And some nice festive berries, covered in the snow.

Scotland Writes Q&A - Glasgow

2009-11-12T11:46:00.000Z

Just got this email, thought it would be of interest...

Scotland Writes Q&A

BBC Scotland Drama department are delighted to invite writers for a Q&A session in Glasgow hosted by Anne Mensah, the Head of Drama. This will give you a chance to find out more about the department and pose any questions you have about BBC Drama.

There will also be a chance afterwards to meet the rest of the team behind shows such as Waterloo Road, River City, Hope Springs, Wallander, and Fiona's Story. We look forward to meeting you!

5:30pm - 7:30pm
Thursday 26 November 2009

BBC Scotland
40 Pacific Quay
Glasgow
G51 1DA
To book your place, please RSVP to scotlandwrites@bbc.co.uk

Screenwriters Festival - Day 3

2009-11-07T15:35:00.001Z

I've started this on day 3, although this was my day 1. Confusing, yes?

Anyway, I went down on the Tuesday with Andrew, staying in a little vegetarian B&B about 25 minutes walk from the festival. Cheltenham was a lovely town, and it was nice to see all the red lanyards about (except for those of us who started on wed and didn't get one, moan moan moan). We went to the night out on Tuesday, meeting such illustrious types as Lucy, Elinor, Jason, Dave, Katie and Andy.

I am a serial panel attender at festivals, generally wearing myself out quickly, and the Wednesday was no different. Here are the panels I attended, and any notes taken...

Before The Beatles with Kevin Loader, Matt Delargy and Matt Greenhalgh
Panel involved in the film 'Nowhere Boy' about a teenage John Lennon. Bare bones of the story came from a book written by one of Lennon's best friends from his teenage years. The writer (Matt G) immersed himself in the music Lennon listened to at the time the film is set, found out what was in the charts etc, to feel inspired by it as John had been.

They broke some screenwriting rules (although as we all know, rules are there to be broken) by including a very long conversation as a scene, flashbacks, etc.

There was a great feeling that 'you can't touch the Beatles' - and nor would you want to. However, you can plant the seeds of the Beatles, and examine what made Lennon the musician he was. In this film, the examination focuses on his relationship with his two 'mtohers' - his birth mother and his aunt, who brought him up.

Interesting panel, made me want to see Nowhere Boy.

Negotiating Your Contract with Julian Friedman
This was a great session. First off, The Writers Guild have issued "Writing Film: A Good practice Guide" which Julian advised everyone to download. Get it here.

Julian was very helpful, and went through many key points to watch out for in a contract. Having signed contracts before, it was quite worrying to note how many I have NOT encountered before - but then I have not signed on for a funded project yet. Not going to pass on everything he said here as the technical details may not translate, but I have some fundamental points I wanted to pass on:

Know what the writers guild rates are - and join if you can, even as a candidate member. This is not only a badge of honour for your CV, but you may be paid more by producers, and you will have access to a lot of information.
Being fired is common, do not worry about it (boo)
Do not fall over with gratitude just because someone wants to make your film. The more money someone is willing to invest in your product, the more they will want/need to make it.
Always negotiate your purchase price and contract when doing your option agreement. You do not sign the purchase agreement at this point, but do initialize each page
Be as sure as you can that you are making the right agreement - you can't back out.
Always make sure you have the right to re-write your script and be paid before someone else can be taken on to re-write.

On notes:

Always ask for notes. Not only helpful, but you may need to establish that you did what you were supposed to do.
Make sure you just get one set of non-contradictory notes following a script meeting.
If you have a face to face script meeting, write everything down and email it back to producers to show what was agreed.
If there are problems you can see and have mentioned with script changes, state the problems and say you need another draft to remedy.

I agree with all this, and would append it by saying be tactful in how you approach the subject of disliking changes. If you simply dislike them because they are not your ideas, try them out. If you honestly think they are going to ruin the script, state your case articulately and politely. Try not to use negative language about the ideas, and be willing to try them and correct after if needed. I'd also recommend signing up to Twelvepoint, if you haven't already, as Julian has a lot of this information up there.

What I found out from this: I need an agent. I do not like all this contract stuff. I need a barrier between myself and other people for when the going gets tough. I've known this for a while, but this cemented it. I'm going to make this a priority for the next year.

Film BBC with Christine Langan
Much of this conversation was about Christine rather than BBC films, so I didn't make many notes. Some I took were:

BBC Films can be approached by represented writers only - those with an agent or producer on board.
They make films for cinematic release - not made for TV.
Ideas not immediately recognisable as commercial are often those which work best.
BBC Films need to appeal to the BBC audience, which is very diverse.
If you're writing period drama, keep the budget as low as you can.

I've written the phrase "building worlds with words" which sounds rather nice, assume she said it!

BBC Films I'm going to look out for: 'Bright Star,' 'An Education' (which is on now) and 'Fish Tank.'

Commissioning the BBC with Ben Stephenson
I loved this. Ben was chatty, articulate, funny and thoughtful in his replies (and no, I'm not just being a sook).

Didn't make many notes, but here are a few:

Series are king for audiences in the UK - we love them.
A serial writer can own up to 5 hours of television - this is singular to the UK.
Authorship matters.
Risk is a good and scary thing.

Ben talked a LOT about his passion for Being Human - he pointed out that it maybe high concept, but it was very cheap to make. I really should watch this...

TV I'm going to watch out for following this: 'Small Island', 'criminal Justice', 'The Silence' and the 'Our Women' season.

Solving TV Drama problems with Kate Harwood
Again, not many notes. Kate talked a lot about the importance of great writing and imagination, how the expectations for tv are back on the writer, and that tv and film was a practical artform.

She also used the phrase 'text in conversation' a lot - the idea of the importance of words. She had clips of 'The Firm', 'Cracker' and 'Boys from the Black stuff' to demonstrate this.

Last session of the day
Writin' USA with Ashely Pharoah, Stephen Volk and Hate Harwood
Only three notes made at this, which were:

It is a complete myth that you make any money from re-formatting (i.e. selling your series to the states, if you are a writer).
British scriptwriters bring emotional storytelling, and,
If you're writing or thinking of a long running series (a la Lost) - try writing it without thinking of the ending.

This busy day was followed by another night out, for the Twelvepoint party. Finally met more twitter cohorts, including everyone's favourite gibbzer. Talk at this point was dominated by the lack of lanyards and bar staff, how terribly nice everyone was, and that Piers looked nothing like his photograh on twitter. This must be true, for though I thought I saw him once and gurned at him from afar, on second thought I wasn't so sure and hid.

Coming soon: SWF day 4, in which I speed date and panic.

Screenwriters Festival 2009

2009-10-30T15:00:00.004Z

Back from the Screenwriters Festival late last night. I have a huge amount to catch up on today, so not much time to blog, but I will do a few different blog posts on the sessions I attended - particularly those I found really useful.

Went to 6 sessions on the Wednesday and a few on the Thursday (there were less on) along with speed dating sessions with producers and agents. Highlights were a session by Julian Freidman on contracts, a Q&A with Ben Stephenson from the BBC, an amazing session on 'Offensive Comedy' and the speed dating. Despite my having to pitch a horror to the likes of Aardman, and forgetting to tell at least 2 of the producers the title of my project, I didn't feel that I embarassed myself horribly, as I had feared. Have a few bits and bobs to follow up on which will consume much of my free time over the coming week, which is great.

I would recomend the festival, although I'm not sure if I would recommend the two day pass - certainly not on the last 2 days - as we all felt a bit like we'd missed out. However, I had a great time and it was lovely to finally meet lots of bloggers and tweeters in the flesh!

In lieu of a proper post, here are my photos from the trip:

SWF Prep: Business Cards

2009-10-23T08:35:00.001+01:00

I love getting new business cards.

Like 82% of the population, I order mine from Moo. I use images from my own Flickr photostream for the cards - bit of an animal theme for this set.

(Actually, there were loads more animal ones but my boyfriend made me see the sense of cutting a few out.)

I also opted to go with 'Screenwriter' on these, rather than 'writer' as I have on my normal cards - thought it would be appropriate given the nature of the event.

I just need to get EVERYTHING ELSE ready and I'll be all prepared for the Screenwriters Festival next week. I'm going to arrive in Cheltenham with Mr Tibbs on Tuesday night, so if you are going to be around/out for a drink, do drop me a line.

Centre of the Labyrinth

2009-10-09T08:52:00.002+01:00

Edinburgh over the last few days has been lovely and autumnal - blue skies, crisp air, the scents of early, forbidden bonfires. It's the kind of weather that sets me in a contemplative mood, nudges me to reflect on what has been and what is to come.

My new job is going well - it's challenging, rewarding, and interesting. The nightclass is great fun, steeping my mind in the darkness of fairy tales and legend, feeding back into my writing. I'm making progress with the scripts, which may be slow at times, but is progress nonetheless. The impending screenwriters festival fills with me optimism and excitement - a mini break! I look forward to November, when I will work on The Hush, armed with my dark fairy tale knowledge. I am happier than ever at home, in love, in life, at work.

I feel like I've reached the centre of a labyrinth, a place I've been trying desperately to get to for years. Hope I stay here for a while.

Captain Kirk is climbing the mountain...

2009-09-09T08:56:00.000+01:00

Why is he climbing the mountain?

August Catch up

2009-09-07T10:20:00.000+01:00

Hello there! I am back after an amazing and tiring stint in the book signing tent of the Edinburgh International Book Festival. I spent August on my feet, surrounded by books and authors. It was wonderful.

I start a new, full time job today, writing content for a craft charity website. I am both excited and nervous about this, as you can imagine. Have invested some of my festival earnings in respectable clothing, so I will no longer look quite the eccentric, self employed writer that I did a month ago (i.e. a bit mental).

I have a number of writing goals for the rest of the year, which shouldn't be influenced by the start of a full time job. These include:

re-writing my former TV feature 'The Spirit Within' - now titled 'Light me a Candle' and a feature film script. This needs done by end October, in time for the Screenwriters Festival.
writing my spec TV episode for Scotland Writes, currently titled 'Have You Seen Pedro?' This needs completed by the start of November.
re-writing 'The Hush.' As hoped, inspiration hit me at the Book Festival, and while I was too tired to do any writing there I have a stack of ideas for the book. These are all small and shouldn't take long to implement, but I want to do a structural overhaul (in terms of chapters, etc) which might be a little time consuming. Want to do this over the next few months too.

Lots to do! I'll also continue to work occasionally in the second hand bookshop, and will be attending a literary nightclass from the end of the month onwards.

I will start blogging and twittering again in earnest, once I settle into the new post. I'll do a proper post on the Book Festival soon, but until then I leave you with some choice photos from my experience there.

1. My muddy boots on the wet grass of Charlotte Square:

2. The Gruffalo, who came to visit the Book Signing tent after a Julia Donaldson event.

3. The Book Festival logo, beamed onto the entrance at night.

4. Photos of some authors beside balloons and bunting, on the very last day of the festival (open just for primary schools).

See you soon!

Bye bye, July

2009-08-03T11:30:00.001+01:00

My word, but that was a quick month, wasn't it? No sooner had it started than it finished, and I feel like I got nothing productive done in the time.

Still, plodding on with the redraft of the Hush. Today I should hopefully push through to the point where I can re-write rather than writing from anew as I am now. It will make things a bit easier, although there's still a lot of work ahead.

My idea for the Scotland Writes competition is also coming along nicely. I have outlined about half of the episode, and know what's going to happen in the rest. There's a little something missing though, a vital spark, and when that falls into place I will be a happy lady.

I'm all booked up for the Cheltenham Screenwriters Festival, having confirmed accommodation (finally) last week. Going to be making the trip with Andrew, which is very fitting as we started our screenwriting journey together.

I updated 3AKT.co. uk, our company website - a little layout adjustment, new photos and some information on our upcoming short, Larynx. I'll blog a bit more about Larynx in the coming weeks, as we're going to put out a casting call at some point soon.

Over on my vegetarian blog I've posted the first in a series of posts on the Edinburgh Festivals - more to follow, may be of interest if you're up here in the next few weeks.

Finally, I can reveal to you part of the news I was so excited about a few posts ago - which is that I'll be working at this year's Edinburgh Book Festival. No idea what I'll be up to as yet, but it's a wonderful opportunity. I'll get to see who sells, what sells, what people are excited about, not to mention attending as many events as I possibly can. It's very full on and will take up most of my August, but hopefully I'll be able to squeeze a few blog posts in.

Right. I'm off to work on The Hush.

Edinburgh West Port Book Festival

2009-07-29T19:40:00.002+01:00

From 13th-16th August, the eclectic West Port area of Edinburgh (just off Grassmarket) will play host to its own Book Festival. I say eclectic here as the area has bookshops, tattoo parlours, pubs, fashion shops, vintage clothes shops, jewellery shops, nail bars and strip clubs, all sitting side by side. Eclectic.

The West Port Book Festival aims to 'offer free events to a diverse audience who share our passion for books, bookshops and fun. We have also been creative, dipping into the dressing up box, casting our eye around for new talent and transforming local shops into intimate, innovative venues.'

Some quite interesting events are on - in particular I want to see the author Eleanor Thom, as I read and enjoyed her debut novel 'The Tin Kin,' and I want to go to the Magic Books & Learned Animals event as my talented friend Sharon is doing a talk (also, her exhibition 'A Sage of the Stage, not a Beast in a Cage' has my favourite title of anything ever).

There's going to be 'the world’s ﬁrst Literary Twestival,' book binding workshops, magicians, many more author events, and a talk on lost books, among other things.

I should be able to make a few of the events - work commitments may interfere - but hope to go as this looks great fun. Anyone else going?

The good elf of ideas

2009-07-24T12:10:00.004+01:00

Last night, as I lay in my bed, I was kept awake by the fear that I wouldn't be able to come up with an idea good enough for the current Scotland Writes competition.

I blame this on the little imp who likes to sit on my shoulder and drinks away my self-belief (he uses a stripey red straw for this purpose). His name is Geoffrey, and he's really quite unpleasant.

A had almost given up hope when Winklestein, the good elf of ideas, appeared by my bed. With a graceful flick of his wrist, he sent Geoffrey flying into my washing basket, where he remains for the moment.

Winklestein reminded me that I had scribbled a short story a mere fortnight ago which could suit the purposes of the competition.

'But it's just a short story!' said I.

'Why not expand it?' he said. 'It's a fine idea for television.'

'It's a bit weird,' I said, unconvinced.

He tugged at my hair. 'Just because it's not set in a doctor's surgery, doesn't mean BBC Scotland won't like it. They might go for quirky, as long as it's well written.'

'There aren't enough story strands, and there are hardly any characters.' I crossed my arms and pulled a face at him.

In reply, he grabbed a few wispy tendrils of imagination that had been floating around my head and made me eat them up. (He might be a good elf, but he's a harsh taskmaster).

As the tendrils wove themselves around my brain, I was able to relax, and just like that inspiration hit me. I smiled up at the idea elf, who gave me a little wink in reply.

'Don't mention it,' he said. 'Just make sure you enter this one. I'm sick and tired of giving you ideas that you don't follow through.'

He left to visit a despairing gardener in Bathgate, and I was able to get to sleep, safe in the knowledge that the nasty imp was trapped beneath socks for the night.

Upcoming Workshop: How to be a Script Reader

2009-07-23T16:29:00.003+01:00

Lucy Vee (of Bang2Write fame) is running a course in September, in association with Moviescope magazine. Aimed at both potential script readers and screenwriters, How to be a Script Reader "will include what screen agencies might look for; how to give feedback to friends without falling out; what agents might ask their assistant to look for; how to write a reader's report synopsis and dealing with bad feedback" among other things.

It's in Bournemouth on September 19th 2009 and costs £65 - for full details see Lucy's Blog or the Bang2write website.

I unfortunately can't make this, but as someone who has received feedback from Lucy and who has been following her blog for a few years now I can say with certainty that she knows her stuff. If you go to this and put any notes online, let me know!

Bookshelf

2009-07-22T09:31:00.002+01:00

I saw a post on the Guardian website about bookshelf etiquette which got me to thinking about my own bookshelves.

At the moment I have a few Ikea bookshelves in the livingroom, and these are chock-a-block full of my precious few hundred books. I arrange them by genre, then by author, with authors who write in a similar style or about a similar subject grouped together where possible. It makes perfect sense, although it's a bit messy as I have to stack things vertically to fit them all in.

One day I will have a library room with a desk tucked in the middle of it, possibly beside a roaring fire. Massive bookshelves, maybe even a rolling ladder, will be beautifully arranged around the walls, with a large window overlooking my garden at one end. I'll have a comfortable chair with loads of pillows and a blanket that I can wrap myself in, and maybe a mug of cocoa by my side. I'll write and read, breathing in the books and running my fingers over their spines when I'm bored. They will still be arranged by genre, then by author, then by style. Alphabetical is just so boring.

How do you arrange your shelves? Is there anyone out there who does it by book cover?

--
Hush progress still going well - over 2,000 words yesterday.

Movie Meme

2009-07-21T10:27:00.002+01:00

I saw this movie meme on Catherine's blog and thought I'd take part - go on, everyone else, do it too.

1.Name a movie that you have seen more than 10 times.
I could name dozens, but my most viewed films are probably:

as an older child, Grease,
as a teen, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (I know),
in general, Star Wars.

2.Name a movie that you’ve seen multiple times in the theater.
It was a struggle to think of one, but I'm sure I saw the last Harry Potter film twice (not sure why), and I also think I saw the Fellowship of the Rings a couple of times. I'm not much of one for repeat cinema viewings though - I'd rather buy a DVD and watch it endlessly.

3.Name an actor that would make you more inclined to see a movie.
That's very difficult. I went to see Sunshine Cleaning because Amy Adams was in it, and I'd be drawn to films with Tilda Swinton or Maggie Smith in them. My brother and I used to watch any film that Bill Paxton was in as we thought he was flippin' hilarious, but that was a long time ago.

4.Name an actor that would make you less likely to see a movie.
Uh, Paris Hilton. Actor is possibly not the right word, though.

5.Name a movie that you can and do quote from.
Pfft, too many. I'll say Ghostbusters as it's my favourite to quote from.

6.Name a movie musical that you know all of the lyrics to all of the songs.
Grease, hands down. Even the rubbish songs that I used to fast forward (Stranded in the Drive In and Hopelessly Devoted, blah). I confess that I know the lyrics to many more films than Grease though.

7.Name a movie that you have been known to sing along with.
Pfft again. I'll sing along to anything with lyrics. I like doing silly voices so films like Beauty and the Beast or Seven Brides for Seven Brothers give me ample opportunity to work on my deep manly singing voice.

8.Name a movie that you would recommend everyone see.
In Bruges. We recently watched it and were delighted and surprised by it. Such fantastic characters and dialogue.

9.Name a movie that you own.
For some reason I own 2 different versions of the original Star Wars trilogy, 2 copies of First Knight, and 2 copies of Attack of the Clones. Star Wars makes sense as they are the butchered and un-butchered versions, but I'm not sure why I have the others.

10.Name an actor that launched his/her entertainment career in another medium but who has surprised you with his/her acting chops.
David Bowie, but only because I fancied him in Labyrinth when I was a child.

11.Have you ever seen a movie in a drive-in? If so, what?
If only Edinburgh was equipped with a drive-in! No.

12.Name a movie that you keep meaning to see but just haven’t yet gotten around to it.
Nosferatu.

13.Ever walked out of a movie?
No, but I wanted to leave during Oceans Twelve. It was one of the worst things I've ever seen in the cinema, ever (and I've seen a lot of pap). Attractive, big name stars and fancy shooting do not a good film make. Ugh.

14.Name a movie that made you cry in the theater.
I cry at everything, I'm very easily manipulated by film. I was surprised by my tears at Wall:E - a soon as he packed himself up on his little shelf and rocked himself to sleep I welled up.

15.What’s the last movie you saw in the theater?
Moon - fab stuff.

16.What’s your favorite/preferred genre of movie?
I like everything, I honestly can't choose one.

17.What’s the first movie you remember seeing in the theater?
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, on re-release, for my third birthday.

18.What movie do you wish you had never seen?
The Matrix Sequels. They were so, so bad. Actually I almost walked out of them too.

19.What is the weirdest movie you enjoyed?
The Singing Ringing Tree. Oh my, but it's amazing. Saw this as part of the Ballerina Ballroom festival last year and it immediately became one of my favourite cinema experiences. The giant fish, the nasty princess, the ropey narration and that creepy magical dwarf - brilliantly weird.

20.What is the scariest movie you’ve seen?
I am easily terrified and rarely watch horror (although I want to write it). This fear stems from a Robert Powell film called The Asphyx, which I saw when I was tiny and which completely freaked me out and still does if I think about it too much. It is probably not scary at all. I'm also very scared of Invasion of the Body Snatchers (both the 50's and 70's versions).

21.What is the funniest movie you’ve seen?
Comedy, eh? I dunno. I laugh heartily at Spinal Tap every time I see it, it may be my favourite comedy, but Duck Soup is hilarious too.

---
Re The Hush - 1 day down, 18 to go, and 1,000 words happily written.

Big Push

2009-07-20T11:28:00.003+01:00

Why, hello there! Things have been a little quiet for me online for the last week or two because I've been so very busy offline. It's all good, though, and I have some very exciting things in the pipeline because of my efforts. I shall not disclose these exciting things quite yet (sorry) but rest assured that I shall soon - and that I'll have fun things to talk about here because of them.

Anyway, these excitements mean that I essentially have to finish the current draft of The Hush in the next 19 days.

19 days to fill the gaping hole between the chapters I've already rewritten and the chapters at the end which I was happy with, then to polish up the whole manuscript, write a synopsis, and get together a list of places to send it to. It's all do-able, but I don't want to rush it.

Once that's done I will begin the arduous process of pestering agents and publishers who take unsolocited submissions. I'll also be able to move on to writing up my other ideas, as I have found my head awash with stories of late but have felt like writing them up just now would be like cheating on the Hush.

Today's plan, then, is to write at least 1,000 words. Onwards...

Tap tapping away

2009-07-07T13:28:00.005+01:00

Yesterday I began to type up my longhand manuscript for The Hush. I'm not finished the redraft yet, but I have a chronic fear that I will drop it in the bath or leave it in a cafe or the like. I realise that the easy way to solve this problem would be to leave the book on my desk at all times, but that's no fun.

The good thing about this is that not only am I redrafting and backing up at the same time, but also that my word counter on this blog will finally start to crawl up once more.

I still have about 20 pages to type up, say about 6,000 words, which I'm aiming to finish by the end of tomorrow. It's taking a little longer than I'd expected, but I am adding or changing a fair amount as I go so it's fine.

After I've typed up this lot, I intend to start backing up and polishing my text like this at the end of every day. This might prove unrealistic, but I like the idea of it so I'm going to give it a shot.

On another note, thanks to Lucy, David, Michelle and Laurence for typing up notes on Adrian Mead's workshop last weekend. I couldn't make it so it was great to see these - very helpful stuff, as always.

Off out now for a meeting and to buy the newest issue of the Pride and Prejudice comic, if I can find it. Joy!

EIFF and Inspiration

2009-07-03T09:52:00.001+01:00

The 2009 Edinburgh International Film Festival ended on Sunday, and for the first time in a few years I didn't go as an industry delegate (too pricey this year). I did get tickets for a few films and hung about the Filmhouse, soaking up the atmosphere for a bit. I also met the marvellous Potdoll for a coffee, caught up with some lovely uni friends, and was inspired to rewrite one of my features.

The script is a gothic horror of mine, which a few of you may have read an early draft of. It did ok in the first Red Planet competition and most people liked the synopsis, characters and setting, but I've never been happy with the plot, and my poor baby script has sat on a shelf, withering away, for over a year. I just couldn't think of a way to salvage it, to strengthen it while making it simpler.

Anyway, the first film I saw at this year's EIFF was the Fall of the House of Usher, a Roger Corman film starring Vincent Price. It was creepy, gothic, brilliantly scripted by Richard Matheson and with terrific performances, particularly from Price. It was a good quality print (the best they could find apparently - with French subtitles) but still had that lovely old scratchy noise which makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I loved it, and came out feeling very inspired.

I ran from the film to a cafe and, armed with a peppermint tea, stripped my script back to its basics. I wrote a new synopsis, a much tighter one with fewer locations and less actually going on, so the horror could be amplified. I then jotted down a list of character motivations, discarded two of my original characters and added three new ones, then got down to the business of a scene breakdown. At the end of the afternoon I had the whole film listed as bulletpoints, and was very happy with it. It's a complete, page one, rewrite, which is my favourite kind. I'm retaining the elements that were strong in the last draft - characters and setting - but changing the plot entirely. I am going old school horror on it, no less.

Next step is to write the script and redraft before the Screenwriters Festival in October, as I have a spot on the 'speed dating' sessions and will be pitching this very idea.

Roger Corman wasn't the only person to inspire me at the EIFF though. I went to see a fantastic selection of Scottish Screen's archive films, and was touched by one directed by Margaret Tait, who we were told was one of only two prominent Scottish female filmmakers. Her short 'Rose Street,' which she described as a 'visual poem,' was so touching that it's also inspired me to look back at my roots for inspiration - which I'm doing to a large extent in the Hush but which I haven't done in film as yet.

I also went to see Moon, which I'd definitely recommend. Unfortunately I read a review somewhere - might have been the Evening News - which completely spoiled the twists in it, but it looked and sounded fantastic and I always love Sam Rockwell. Saw some short films too, but the less said the better about them.

So, while I didn't go for the whole shebang this year, the EIFF was still worth attending, and has once again spurred me into further action.

Scotland Writes - Launch Event

2009-06-26T11:30:00.008+01:00

Yesterday I went along to the launch event for Scotland Writes, a new initiative from BBC Scotland intended to change the way BBC Scotland engage with new talent, find and develop new writers, and celebrate writing in Scotland.

The first event for Scotland Writes will be the Scotland Writes Competition, which is open to all new writers. The competition will be to write a 60 minute pilot episode for a series that the writer would like to see on TV and which also reflects Modern Scotland. There's £2000 on offer for the winner and there will be workshops for 20 finalists. There's no URL with full details yet but I'll post it when it comes. I know the competition is due to launch this month and close in October, so it won't hurt to get thinking about an idea now!

As well as the Scotland Writes competition, there will be Writersroom Roadshows (Sept), BBC Scotland Open Days (Oct, Feb and May), the Radio Lab (Sept & Oct), and a Writersroom Residential. The Residential sounds interesting - 8 writers who have stood out over the year will be invited to a week long residential course on writing for television. There are also going to be writing masterclasses on a range of different mediums, but I'm not sure of the dates of these as yet. Keep an eye on the Writersroom for details.

After a brief chat about the schemes, there was a panel event hosted by Kate Rowland, Creative Director of New Writing at the BBC. On the panel were Annie Griffin, Ann McManus and Gregory Burke. It was mainly a discussion of how they got into writing, and any advice they would offer to writers. Here are some of the highlights:

On the differences between film and TV:
AG: it is much more accepted in America now that the 'talent' is writing TV, where here TV often feels ignored, and more kudos and money is given to film, which can have a much smaller audience.
KR: the TV audience is quite sophisticated .
AG: in TV there can be an acceleration of storytelling. You don't need to see everything a character does. (She cited ER - a doctor spotting someone who needed treatment before an ad break, then afterwards coming right to the person chatting in hospital, treated and well. You should know the characters well enough to know what they would do and to fill the gaps sometimes.)

On what makes a script stand out:
AM: I immediately look for character voices: that is that each character has an individual voice. Heart is important in a script, but it comes back to strong dialogue and bold characters.
GB: a script that establishes the world quickly and helps you get into it. The writers voice must be genuine and understand what it is talking about.
AG: again, unique character voices. In something like Dawson's Creek every character spoke the same, in literary references. Women are also always underwritten, even by other women. They are often relegated to the girlfriend or wife role. We don't see enough women working in their jobs or fully engaging with their careers in TV. (She recommended watching the September Issue, a documentary, as the female subjects are very strong.)

On what they would like to see on TV:
GB: just more. We have lots of actors, but we need more scripts for them to work with (in Scotland).
AG: the talent base in Scotland is extraordinary, but there are lots of actors and not enough scripts because writers here tend to focus on features and shorts. TV commissioners are crying out for drama ideas.
KR: in a few years 50% of all BBC content has to be made outside London, and must have authenticity, so regional drama is going to become important.

On writing for TV:
AM: authenticity is great but you must put yourself in the commissioners shoes when writing. Trust that they know what they are talking about when they want a particular thing.
KR: the priority for the BBC is long running series, balanced with serials and one-offs. There are at least 16 drama singles produced by the BBC each year. (She then mentioned Occupation doing very well.)
AM: avoid writing for a particular demographic. Write for yourself first. People jump on the bandwagon and write dramas similar to those they have already seen on television - avoid this.
AG: if you feel strongly about something, people are looking for that passion.
AM: if you have a voice and a passion for your idea, keep bugging them (execs).
AG: if you spend a month writing a script, say to yourself: if something thinks it is rubbish will I argue for it or give up? You need to stick by it, or someone else will fill that slot.
AM: BBC Scotland really do embrace new talent. Use these schemes, they are great.

My favourite quote came from Gregory (or rather, from Gregory's agent to Gregory, then to us):
TV is all about the long game.

---
From the day I took away this: if you have an idea, work at it, submit it to schemes, and use opportunities like this to promote it and yourself. Don't give up on it.

My problem just now is that I have no ideas suitable to a drama series. Must get the thinking cap on.

Guardian Short Story Competition

2009-06-22T15:40:00.004+01:00

Just saw this on the Guardian website and thought it might be of interest:

"we're inviting readers to submit their stories to our annual summer fiction issue. We've asked authors William Boyd and Julie Myerson to judge your submissions, and they will be looking for the most original, gripping and well-crafted pieces of writing. Their favourite story will be published in the [Guardian's Weekend] magazine; the five runners-up will have their stories published on guardian.co.uk/books.

All you need to do is send us a story of no more than 2,000 words by 10 July. It can be on any theme, but it must be previously unpublished and we can only accept one story per entrant."

See the Guardian Books website for the full terms and conditions.

I wrote a short story whilst travelling a couple of weeks ago which I might just polish up and send in. Anyone else going in for this?

Edinburgh Book Festival 2009 - Programme Launch

2009-06-11T17:07:00.002+01:00

The 2009 Edinburgh International Book Festival programme launched today.

An interesting collection of authors and illustrators are going to be there: Will Self, Richard Dawkins, Tracy Chevalier, Margaret Atwood, Kate Atkinson, Nicholson Baker, Terry Deary, Irvine Welsh, Neil Gaiman, Alexander McCall Smith, Ian Rankin, Douglas Coupland, Cornelia Funke to name a few.

Looks like even more writing events than normal (though I could be wrong) with some topical discussions on writing in the recession, making your living as a writer, and the usual talks on structure, publishing, short stories, graphic novels et al. Much as I love all the author talks, it's these workshops and discussions I tend to favour, so it's good to see that there are so many.

Tickets go on sale at 8.30am on Monday 22 June.

Wonder if I will embarrass myself in front of anyone this year?

All you need is love...

2009-06-08T19:00:00.002+01:00

...and a bit of funding, to make a film.*

If you haven't seen their blogs already, then I would like to point you in the direction of a couple of worthy souls who you will be able to help out in the funding capacity.

Lucy at Bang2write is raising funds for a seven minute horror/comedy short called Slash. "Slash follows the fates of mismatched couple Tom and Kimberley and their disastrous weekend camping trip in the woods." In return for your donation (any amount), Lucy will send you a helpful 19 page PDF called "Secrets of Script Reading" - written by her good self. Check out her blog for more details and a link to the payment page.

You can also assist Mr Danny Stack in his Twitter short film fund, and help him to raise £1,000 to complete his latest short. You can choose a different amount to donate: you can donate enough to be credited as 'thanks,' 'associate producer,' or even as an executive producer, or you can donate a few quid to help the fund. Either way you get his great booklet 'Get Your Movie Made' which lists the contact details & personnel of the leading UK film companies.

So there you go. I look forward to seeing the final results of both films, and I have my lovely guides printed out and ready to pour over. Go the independent producers, says I.

*Alright, so you need more than just these two things, but they certainly help.

Holiday, Celebrate

2009-06-06T16:16:00.002+01:00

Hello there! I'm a little under the weather at the moment, so thought I'd post a few snaps from a recent mini-break.
I love the seaside. One day I will have a house overlooking a nice beach... Perhaps.

I am also a big fan of strolling around the countryside to find sites of archaeological interest.

And, of course, I do like to walk on the sand.

Normal service will resume next week!

Pen and ink

2009-05-21T15:25:00.003+01:00

I have been re-writing the Hush longhand for the last few weeks.

It was unintentional at first. I always carry a notebook these days in case 'inspiration hits' - which it thankfully does, on occasion. However, I never write anything more than a few sketchy pages at most, having always preferred to type. I was caught in some rain after an appointment a few weeks ago, so grabbed a coffee and opened the notepad, ready to sketch a few ideas. Within an hour I had about 1,000 shiny words and a completely new start to the Hush - and one which I really liked.

I continued to write in the notepad for the next few days until I had re-written chapter one, then spent a few hours typing it up. In typing it up I gave the chapter another polish, but in what felt like a very organic way.

Since then, I've dedicated a notepad to the project, and have been merrily scribbling away in it. I treated myself to a fountain pen (just a cheap one) which feels like it glides over the paper - so much fun.

I do have a vague fear that I will lose the norebook and all my work, but I'm going to make sure I type up each chapter as it is rewritte, so hopefully that will not be as devastating as it could. Of course, I could just make sure I do NOT lose it...

While I can't see pen and paper beating Final Draft for my screenwriting, I'll definitely be writing more prose fiction on paper. Does anyone else write longhand?

Opportunity: CBBC Writing Competition

2009-05-20T09:25:00.002+01:00

The BBC have launched a competition for Children's drama writers. Looks like you don't need to have had anything produced to enter this scheme (although professionals can enter too), and the prizes look good, so if you're interested in writing for children then this might be of interest.

"We are looking for 30-minute original TV scripts of unmissable and infectious storytelling, offering fresh cultural perspectives, tales combining authenticity with hope and joy, stories from a child's point of view, characters that will engage and surprise the audience, scripts that are powerful, emotional, and contemporary, shows that will work for the CBBC audience and channel but can dare to take risks.

A shortlist of 15-20 writers will be invited to a masterclass in July 2009. The final 8-10 shortlisted writers will then be selected and spend an intensive residential week developing their work, improving their craft and pitching to CBBC in September/October 2009. The final shortlist will receive CBBC mentoring from the development team and a £300 bursary"

The deadline is 5pm, Wednesday 1 July 2009 - although you need to fill in an application form online and have it sent back to you, which you should probably do in advance in case there is a flurry of activity on the site or problems sending it back.

Full details and an application form can be found on the BBC writersroom site.

The Letting Go

2009-05-19T09:15:00.001+01:00

Here's my entry for the Orange First Words competition I blogged about last week:

The Letting Go

Gemma ran her finger along the spinal crease, careful to secure the tail of the fish. She placed it on the table and subjected it to a critical stare. It was, without doubt, her best. The paper was of the most exquisite design, each fold was precise and sharp, and the balance was sublime. This perfection was no mean feat, as the other ninety nine origami fish around her flat proved. However, Gemma did not feel happy with her achievement. While her home was an aquarium to the paper fish, they were not filling the void she had intended. Instead, they seemed a reminder of all she hadn't done, all she couldn't do. She had to change, and change everything. Without thinking, she grabbed a candle and held it to the fish. As it burned and writhed, scarring the table, she smiled and reached for another of her paper treasures.

It's a bit on the nose, but I think it's alright considering the word length. I came up with a few ideas and wrote them all down - this, a teenage romance, and a violent fantasy. Thought this was probably best for the audience, but the other two will definitely be worked on in the future.

Good luck to all who entered this. Has anyone else put their entry online?

Update: I do apologise to those of you who saw this post come and go yesterday - I meant to post it today and then retracted it. On the plus side, I can now link to Laurence's great entry.

Memoirs of a one time Zombie

2009-05-18T15:54:00.000+01:00

As my twitter friends will know, I spent much of last week getting ready to go to a zombie themed birthday party.

I wanted to go as an old fashioned gothic zombie rather than a modern one, so I made a bridal dress and veil with that theme in mind. I couldn't resist splattering a bit of fake blood over my make up and dress in the end, though (zombie peer pressure).

Total time to make:
Dress - about 3 hours (cost approx £13)
Make up - about 30 minutes - I had to cover my upper body in grey body paint, then heavily accentuated by eyes with purple and black.
Fake Blood - 5 mins to make, 5 mins of fun spattering.
Blood adapted from a recipe on the brilliant Wikihow entry on How to Look Like a Zombie.

Here's the final result:

Nice, eh?

I think I should try for a career as a Zombie. It was tremendously good fun.

Photo taken by talented zombie, brother and photographer DN Anderson.

Competition: Orange First Words

2009-05-07T09:40:00.003+01:00

Here's an interesting little competition run by the Guardian and Orange, in the run up to the Orange Prize for Fiction awards:

'Kate [Mosse] has come up with the title of a new novel - The Letting Go. All you need to do is write the first paragraph (up to 150 words) before the closing date of midnight on Monday May 18 2009.'

Full details and the application form are on the Guardian website.

The winning prize is a trip to the awards in London, among other things - I may give it a bash.

Course - Writers Factory: Intermediate Screenwriting

2009-05-06T12:01:00.000+01:00

Here's details for an upcoming short course at the Screen Academy Scotland that might be of interest:

'If you've already written several short film scripts and are confidently aware of and able to utilise basic screenwriting principles, then this is a great opportunity to build your skills and portfolio through writing longer format (up to 30 min duration) screenplays. This course was devised by The Writers’ Factory tutors after much demand from emerging professionals.'

The course will run on Thursdays 6.00-8.00pm, from 21 May-6 Aug 2009.

Find more details and apply on the Screen Academy Scotland site.

Favourite Children's Books

2009-05-05T15:30:00.001+01:00

To celebrate ten years of the Children's Laureate, Waterstones asked five authors to select seven of their favourite children's books for a Laureate table. The authors were Quentin Blake, Anne Fine, Michael Morpurgo, Jaqueline Wilson, and Michael Rosen (click each author to see their choices in full). Waterstones say that "the Laureate's Table will launch in selected stores with handwritten thoughts from authors accompanying each of the titles."

I quite like the author tables they have in store, and there are some nice books among these picks for children. There's been media generated controversy that no Harry Potter books are in the list (the horror!), but the selections are interesting indeed.

Over on the Guardian site, Lucy Mangan discusses the selections made and lists her own favourite children's books. I thought I'd do the same here - although narrowing it down to seven is going to be tricky indeed.

Some which were favourites as a child (in no particular order):

Matilda by Roald Dahl
This meant so much to me when I was younger. It's actually very difficult to pick between this, The Witches and The BFG, but this nudges past them for two real reasons. The first is that I was given it for a birthday and remember my joy at seeing it, and the second is that at the time I was delighted to read about a girl obsessed with books. It also made me try to move pencils etc with my mind - I can't have been alone in that.

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
Anne had red hair, which was good enough for me, but she was also feisty and clever. This is a beautifully written book, with such evocative descriptions that you sometimes really feel you are smelling the flowers and feeling everything with Anne.

Little Women (and Good Wives) by Louisa May Alcott
Jo was one of my heroines as a girl - a passionate writer with a fiery temper. It's only on re-reading Little Women recently that I noticed all the religious elements to the text, such as the constant references to The Pilgrim's Progress. Isn't it strange what you just skip over and forget as a child?

Peace at Last by Jill Murphy
This is the first book that I remember buying so has a special place in my heart. It's about a daddy bear who is tired but can't find anywhere quiet to sleep. Awww.

My favourite children's books read as an adult:

The Northern Lights by Philip Pullman
I really do love this book. I wish I had read it as a 12 year old, it's just fantastic. My favourite of the His Dark Materials series by a long stretch, and one which I wouldn't hesitate to recommend. The first time I read it I was dazzled by the way Pullman launched into Lyra's world, introducing us to dæmons, armoured bears, Gyptians and witches with no explanations.

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
I'm sure plenty of people will be more familiar with the film versions of this classic tale, but this is a wonderfully witty, inventive read. Captain Cook is my favourite villain, bar none. I have no idea why I didn't read this as a child, I would have loved it.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K.Rowling
I think this is the best of the Harry Potter books. It's not overlong, the story moves along nicely, there are lots of twists and turns in the tale, and it's quite dark in tone. It's another I would have loved to have read as a child.

Books which didn't quite make it include:
The Very Hungry Caterpillar,
The Secret Garden,
The Princess and the Goblin,
The Little House on the Prairie series (I remember the Long Winter being a particular favourite),
The St Clare's and Malory Towers books (I named my favourite doll Claudine after a character in St Clare's!),
The Wee Free Men

This was a very difficult list to compile! It's taken me hours. I'll no doubt change my mind as soon as I press 'publish' too.

I should stop now, or I'll go on listing books forever and ever.

Lighthouses, graveside walks and peace signs

2009-05-04T18:40:00.002+01:00

Hello there, and a happy bank holiday monday to you. I haven't taken the day off, although I did watch Ladyhawke earlier whilst mucking about online.

I'd hit a bit of a brick wall with The Hush, which thankfully I have worked on through this afternoon. Feeling more positive about the new opening of the book than I was - it now starts with a bang, rather than a whimper. I'm still using WriteMonkey for it, although as expected the typewriter noises proved to be more fun than helpful in my normal silent working space.

I've just updated my Screenwriters on Twitter list with lots of lovely new people, so you should check that out if you are so inclined.

Blog title post refers to a walk we took to Newhaven yesterday:

My strolling around Edinburgh graveyards:

And the V key on my laptop which has become erratic, to say the least. I keep writing 'hae' not 'have,' 'I'e' not 'I've,' and so on. It lends an extra Scots air to dialogue, whether wanted or not.

Lest I forget: Happy Star Wars Day! I'm currently dressed as Salacious Crumb*, trying to persuade my boyfriend to watch one/any of the films.

*Not really, I'm a liar.

Write Monkey

2009-04-29T16:57:00.002+01:00

I've been using a piece of software called WriteMonkey recently to write my book, and I love it!

WriteMonkey is "Zenware for full screen distraction free creative writing. No whistles and bells, just empty screen, you and your words."

It's great. You download the programme and install it, then you're good to go. You can choose custom settings: I'm running a black screen with green text, have a word count at the top when I pause, and have set paragraph and text sizes. At the moment I also have typewriter sounds, which takes away a little from the promise of 'distraction free' writing but which is fun nonetheless.

There's something very satisfying about the black and green page filling the screen, and having everything from the clock to other applications hidden is a nice feature.

Screenwriting: free script sites

2009-04-22T10:15:00.001+01:00

84% of voters in my Writing Education poll studied existing scripts or novels, so I thought a post pointing to places you could read screenplays for free might be useful for anyone new to such things.

For beginners, a good (and free) way to see how scripts "should" be formatted is to read as many as you can. You can also learn a lot from what's already out there, regardless of whether it's been produced or not. If you can find a script for one of your favourite films or TV programmes it's fantastic to dissect it and try to figure out why it works for you .

(If you're doing this as a beginner, then my first piece of advice to you would be to go to the BBC Writersroom page on Script Formats, and download the PDF of the type of screenplay you want to write. It's invaluable, and FREE. Read it, mark anything you find interesting on it, and look out for its tips on screenplays you read. What are people doing/not doing that it also comments on?)

Screenplay Sites

There are loads of places to get them online - just watch that you don't get duped into reading a transcript, which will be no use to you. I use a few different sites:

Daily Script - movie and TV scripts. This is the site I use the most, mainly as it was the first one I discovered a few years ago.
The Internet Movie Script Database - mostly movies, though there are a few TV shows. You can search for scripts, look by genre or through the alphabetised films.
Script-O-Rama - a mix of scripts you can read online or download as PDFs.
Simply Scripts - another mix of online and downloadable scripts for TV and Movies.
TV Writing Pilot School - just found this, lots of free TV scripts.
BBC Writersroom - important to look at if you want to submit to the BBC, this has both TV and radio scripts.

It's also worth checking out Triggerstreet, and Zoetrope, where you can read and comment on screenplays written by other members (some amazing, others rough), and can submit your own for comment. You'll need to join Zoetrope before you can find the members area, but it can be useful.

Any more screenplay sites that you would recommend?

I find it quite fun to find different drafts of the same script online and compare them. You never know why the changes have been made (new writers? new director? studio pressure? Just plain old rewriting?) but it's interesting to see the changes nonetheless.

Scripts which are particular favourites of mine:

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (pdf) - amazing style. I couldn't stop telling people about this the first time I read it.
The Princess Bride - one of my favourite films by one of my favourite writers, and another script with style.
Trainspotting - nice pace and dialogue, well constructed. Also I like to recommend this to people who are not Scottish but who are tempted to write what they think is a Scottish accent. You don't need to!
Toy Story - look how many people worked on this! There might not be much in the way of personality to the script, but it's a good one.

What's your favourite script?

Sluggish

2009-04-17T14:05:00.002+01:00

Hello there. I've had a bit of a cold the last week, which turned into a migraine yesterday. Not feeling particularly clever today, so this is a little catch up post.

Managed to enter Coming Up. Got myself in a bit of a muddle and thought I had to send the whole script in, NEXT week, so it was a bit of a rush job to write up the synopsis for yesterday, but at least I entered. I'm going to finish the script over the next couple of weeks and try to get a bit of feedback on it. Don't want to lose impetus with the project.

Congratulations go out to David, Jason and Dave on winning spots on the Red Planet workshops this year - and anyone else who got a place. I'd love to know how you get on at them!

I got free tickets to see Coraline in 3D on the 28th, which is rather exciting.

I've hit a brick wall with the book - too many ideas, not enough focus - so I've been writing screenplays the last couple of weeks. It's been great fun, I'm feeling very motivated about screenwriting just now.

I'll get back to the screenwriting poll posts asap. Have a nice weekend!

Screenwriting MA's: A Personal Verdict, Part Three

2009-04-10T08:50:00.003+01:00

I've covered my reasons for doing a Screenwriting MA, and what the course covered. Today it's time for the really important part of this: my thoughts on the MA.

Screenwriting MA's: Part Three

-What did I think about the MA?

It was a fantastic, challenging year, I had some great lecturers, made some amazing friends, and was consistently happy. Personally I gained the most from the workshops, the research module, and the script structure analysis class (officially Writing and Screen Project Development). My goal of having "a degree in something I actually liked and wanted to do" was certainly met. As for the others?

Confidence in my writing through practice and feedback - yes, although writing groups and script readers would also provide this in time.

Support from other writers - absolutely.

Experience working to briefs and in workshops - yes yes, deadlines were key and good preparation for the 'real' world.

A network of professional contacts - again, yes - although it could be argued that a lot of the contacts are at the same level and we can't get each other many jobs. I love 'em all though.

To build up a portfolio of screenplays - again, yes, although at least two of them needed a BIG polish afterwards.

My verdict? If I could go back in time and do the MA again, I would. I would actually do it part time rather than full time, both to elongate the experience and to have more time to work on everything. It wasn't easy working 2 days a week and squeezing the MA in the other 5 (it's full time in hours you need to work, but 2 days a week on campus).

There were downsides, of course. Some classes (while enjoyable) felt irrelevant, people on the course had different goals and wanted the course to go in different directions, and when the people marking your script didn't 'get' it, it could be frustrating. An MA is expensive and hard work, you are not guaranteed a job, you are not guaranteed to be a 'better writer' than someone without an MA (although I don't know anyone who thinks that they are), you must continue to learn and grow as a writer in the harsh real world, and without some talent* and drive the MA probably won't mean a jot.

If you're thinking about doing a Masters in Screenwriting, I'd advise you to make a list of your reasons for doing so, and then select a course which will provide you with a level of work appropriate to your needs and desires. If you can get what you need from a (much, much cheaper) screenwriting nightclass, could you try that first? If it's a Masters you want, it should be hard work and contain academic modules, leave you with a decent portfolio, and I would say that you need to make sure there's PLENTY of practical screenwriting going on, interaction with active professionals, and that the university has a good reputation for such courses. I went in and met one of the lecturers before applying for my MA, to get more details on the course and ensure it was right for me. Are you going to a Skillset Academy? If not, are you doing a Skillset approved Screenwriting MA? As long as the course you take can meet whatever goals you set from it, I'm sure it will be worth it.

Since completing the course a number of graduates have gone on to professional commissions for feature films, TV series, plays, radio dramas, and shorts. Some graduates have decided that screenwriting isn't for them, many are still plugging away and trying to get their scripts read. A couple of people were hired by professional producers directly as a result of being on the course - but only a couple out of 40 or so.

For me, the MA has led to a few different short film commissions, contact with an agent, script editing and script reading work, contact with producers and writers, a few writing jobs, a feature commission - and a bit more confidence.

I loved the MA, and would do it again. It had its flaws, but it was one of the best years I've ever had, I have made some lifelong friends, and it has certainly given me a great push forwards.

Anyone else who has completed/is taking a Screenwriting MA who would like to air their views is definitely encouraged to do so in the comments section - the opinions on my course were varied and I am just one voice.

*This infernal 'talent' word - who knows if they have it?

Screenwriting MA's: A Personal Verdict, Part Two

2009-04-09T08:53:00.003+01:00

Yesterday I covered the place I took the Screenwriting MA, and my reasons for doing so. Today, it's all about what the course taught.

Screenwriting MA's: Part Two

-What were we taught on the MA?

The Screenwriting MA at the Screen Academy Scotland has morphed a bit over the last year, but when I was there it was split into trimesters, with four modules a trimester for the first two, and a summer project for the last.

The writers who lecture on the course are active professionals rather than academics, so for most of the course you are getting taught by people who can give a professional perspective on things, rather than what they think might happen in the 'real' world. I imagine this to be a problem on some other Screenwriting MA's, although perhaps they are all led by professionals. For reference, the writers who taught the majority of classes for my year were the lovely chaps Mark Grindle and James Mavor (their IMDB profiles seem to bear little relation to their actual work, but there we go).

The first trimester mixed us with the producers who were undertaking the MA in Screen Project Development - and led me to the producer of my first short. One of the modules was the one I suspect most people imagine Screenwriting MA's to include: analysing existing films and programmes to see if/how/why they work. This was the class that went into the detail over tone, theme, pace, dialogue, structures, character, and taught us to analyse other people's scripts. The main projects were script reports - from a few pages to a hugely detailed analysis. The important thing to note about this class is that it wasn't a "how to" class, it's was more an analysis of existing modes of screenplay storytelling, to see what seemed to work. Whether films 'worked' or not was a matter of huge discussion - the class often being split in angry opinion.

Another class that trimester was a straightforward production course, which was useful for some and an object of annoyance for others. I thought it was interesting to examine ratings, genres, time slots, what sold, who was buying what, how contracts were drawn up, who was involved in a film, etc. There was an abundance of guest lecturers here - people from the BBC, ITV, C4, independent production companies etc.

We had a not-entirely-useful academic film theory module that trimester, and the biggie - the first round of screenwriting workshops. These were great, and exactly what I wanted from the course. Coming up with ideas, working with others through the gestation period, writing loglines, premises, outlines, treatments, first drafts, redrafts. It was a positive environment with clear deadlines and there were no do's or don't's in terms of what we could write. Some people followed 3 or 5 act structures, some people worked with sequences, some people wrote experimental shorts. We all came away with a 10 minute script.

Second trimester saw us taking a hugely academic module, one which I found really useful (and which has now vanished from the MA programme, boo). This was a research module, leading to a big dossier. Most of us researched for the feature film (or TV series) we were to write over the summer, and although it was hard work it was incredibly helpful. A lot of people on the course would disagree with me on this one, but I stick to my guns: it was hard work but rewarding.

The other academic module this term was on writing for "interactive" entertainment - namely games. Finally, we had more workshops, this time focusing on either our summer feature or a 25-30 minute script - I chose to write a 25 minute piece for my portfolio.

The last module saw us left to our own devices for our major project - a feature length screenplay. Some of us arranged meetings and workshopped ideas, we had a professional mentor to give advice, and a couple of us worked with actors to get their opinions. We had to submit a first draft of the script for grading, which made up a huge percentage of the final mark. This module was a bit lonely, and for some people (myself included) the first time the lecturers saw their script was when it was submitted.

Come September 2007, our final project was handed in to get graded, along with a reflective essay on the process. On November 15th 2007 we graduated, and that was the end of the MA.

Tomorrow: my thoughts on the Screenwriting MA.

Screenwriting MA's: A Personal Verdict, Part One

2009-04-08T10:22:00.001+01:00

I am often emailed and asked about the Screenwriting MA I took, so I thought one big post covering my thoughts would be useful. It's turned into a mammoth post of 2,000 words, too big to read at once, so I'm going to split it into three - part one today, part two tomorrow, part three on Friday.

Screenwriting MA's: Part One

- Why did I take an MA, and where did I go?

From September 2006 to November 2007 I attended the Screen Academy Scotland (just discovered that the name has just been changed to something ridiculous and long winded) and completed a Postgraduate Masters in Screenwriting. The Screen Academy Scotland is part of the Skillset Screen Academy network.

From Skillset: "The network is a group of institutions (some are single institutions others are a consortia of institutions) that have been recognised as existing centres of excellence in film education in the UK.... The network provides courses covering the full range of jobs in the industry from craft and technical grades through to management and design."

"The UK has a worldwide reputation for technical and craft skills but film is a fast moving business and to maintain that reputation the industry recognises that it must invest in the development of its workforce... Film lacks a normal industrial infrastructure resulting in largely informal recruitment methods and little support and development as peoples careers progress. This has had serious implications on both diversity and the film industries ability to retain talent."

So there you go. There are seven Screen Academies, each offering a variety of courses, but the Screen Academy Scotland is the only one vaguely Northern, and the only one in Scotland. I attended the Edinburgh Napier University campus, which offers:

MA Screen Project Development
MA Screenwriting
PG Cert online Screenwriting
MFA Advanced Film Practice

- essentially, film production and screenwriting courses.

My reasons for doing the MA have been fairly well documented in this blog over the last three years, but in summary I wanted the following:

confidence in my writing through practice and feedback
support from other writers
experience working to briefs and in workshops
a network of professional contacts
to build up a portfolio of screenplays
a degree in something I actually liked and wanted to do

I had already completed a couple of screenwriting courses, so I knew I enjoyed writing for the screen (very obvious, but important and not something everyone applying for a MA thinks of), and I didn't want to do a "this is a screenplay, here is how you write it" course. I wanted variety and a challenge, so an MA seemed the thing.

Tomorrow: What was I taught on the Screenwriting MA?

The results are in

2009-04-07T16:15:00.002+01:00

Thanks to everyone who cast a vote in my "Writer's Education" poll (on reflection I'm sure I could have thought of a better name than that). I'll go through the results a little below, but I thought it would be a good idea to do a post on some of the main answers received. Expect one a day over the course of the week...

Here are the results - from highest to fewest votes.

What level of writing education have you undertaken/would consider undertaking?

1 . Postgraduate education - 48%

2 . Undergraduate education - 26%
3 . Writing Courses - 58%
4 . Occasional Workshops, Seminars, Masterclasses - 71%
5 . Writing books and guides - 87%
6 . Studied existing scripts or books - 84%
7 . Transferable experience - 32%
8 . None - 6%

What does this tell us? Well, I would say that it shows that most people think there is value in learning from others. Whether that's from books people have written, classes they teach or seminars they give - it can all be helpful.

A massive 87% of people have used writing books/guides and 84% have studied existing scripts/novels - stats which I find particularly interesting. Screenwriting and novel writing books are, on the whole, cheap and can be extremely useful when you're starting out - and to refer back to when you're a bit lost. There are also so many places online to find free screenplays, and so many libraries for books, that if you want to learn by example it's extremely easy to do so.

9% of voters had been to no form of class, seminar, workshop, course or the like - maybe a higher stat than I was expecting. However, it does mean a whopping 91% of you have been to such courses. As for me, I love them - there's nothing like meeting lots of other writers in the flesh and talking about your craft, and learning from people who are doing well in it.

Postgrads fared remarkably well - 48% of voters have either done or would consider doing a postgrad in writing. This is an area of writing education where people can be the strangely disparaging, and there's nothing more disheartening to someone who has invested their time and money in a degree than reading or hearing someone mocking MA's, complaining that they are pointless, etc - so it's nice to see lots of votes here. I'll do a proper post on this as a topic tomorrow, and go into more detail and my own experiences.

Transferable experience and related undergraduate education also fared well, at 32% and 26% of votes, respectively. I think transferable experience can often be overlooked by those who have it. For instance, trained actors can spend a huge amount of time dissecting scripts, and this has to be useful if you want to switch careers and become a writer. You might not know the writer's lingo, but you know the end product. One of my biggest personal regrets is taking a Maths degree when I first went to Uni. There were many annoying reasons for this, but I convinced myself that if I was going to be a writer I didn't need an English degree. True of course, but now I know it would have at least pushed me in the right direction and given me confidence, where my maths degree did exactly the opposite.

Lisa mentioned in a comment that she gained a lot from blogs - and I immediately smacked myself on the head for forgetting to put this in a category on its own. Some writing and screenwriting blogs are amazingly helpful and can give you all the information you need - I should have included this as a result. I read lots of great writing blogs, and again I'll do a small post with some of my favourites in terms of blogs that 'educate' readers.

Note: something that I have learned from this poll is that I can't spell transferable properly on first try.

Bloggy birthday!

2009-04-03T10:39:00.001+01:00

It's the third birthday of this little blog today. Aww.

When I started this, it was to measure my success/failure at getting into a Screenwriting MA, and then to blog about it when I was there, as well as to talk about my general writing. It's spiralled into a new beast, this blog, but I like it.

The first post was short and sweet - interesting that I was writing a novel then as well. I know exactly what novel I'm talking about - I didn't finish it, but the idea has mutated over the last 4 years now and has turned into a graphic novel idea now.

I think my second post is probably a bit more revealing: "I've wanted to write for my entire life (27 years and counting) and it's only in the last year or so that the impulse to do so has become crazily strong. I can't imagine wanting to do anything else for a living, and I'm so desperate to get to a place where I can do it and be paid!"

Some things don't change!

Can't leave well enough alone

2009-04-02T13:00:00.001+01:00

The first three chapters of my novel have been intensely rewritten in the last few weeks, and I can't seem to get away from them. For instance, the first one has gone from being a chapter to a prologue, back to a chapter and (in a few minutes) back to a prologue again, changing in style and substance each time.

I think this will be the last such change, however. It's definitely a prologue. I think.

I'm not really too worried about my inability to leave the book alone at this stage. It's what rewrites are all about - new ideas, strengthening characters, polishing the story. Sometimes a polish necessitates a good sanding too, and filling in lots of gaps.

Also, whilst moping in my Afternoon Bath yesterday (I love afternoon baths, in case that wasn't coming through, they are a decadent treat of the self employed) I had an Idea.

(Did you notice the capital I there? Not just an idea, but an Idea.)

I'm not sure if it's a good one, but I am most certainly going to pursue it, and it's going to change the structure of the novel a fair bit. Fingers crossed that it actually does work.

Goodbyes

2009-04-01T13:50:00.003+01:00

This post is a diversion from my normal fare, but yesterday I found out that a friend passed away at the start of the week, and I just wanted to write a short post as something of a thank you to him.

He was a work friend, someone I sat beside or talked to nearly every day for three years. He helped me when I applied for the Screenwriting MA by arranging new working hours in my job, something that meant I could afford to do the MA in the first place. He was a good man who had lots of friends, who was very proud of his family, and to whom I owe a lot. He will be missed.

I wasn't much in the mood to write yesterday, and I'm still not today. (This tiny post alone has taken approx 2 hours to write, I'm too distracted.) I think I'll go have a long afternoon bath.

I've disabled comments for this post, it'll all be back to normal tomorrow.

Poll: Writing Education and Training

2009-03-31T12:00:00.002+01:00

As regular readers of this blog know, I am a fan of writing workshops, classes, books and festivals. I think that while people have natural inclinations towards particular talents, these talents can be enhanced through learning, knowledge sharing, and practice.

I'm sure most people would agree that doctors need medical education and constant training, but what about actors, artists, writers? Is talent alone enough to succeed, or can your career in this increasingly competitive world be bettered by learning?

I thought I'd set up a poll to see what others think. It's probably best geared towards screenwriters, but I'd like to invite all writers to participate. The poll is on the left hand side of the blog, under my profile, and has a variety of options for you to choose from. I've enabled multiple option selection, so please do click any that apply to you. (I'm not sure how easy it will be to interpret multiple options but that's for me to worry about!)

Question: What level of writing education have you undertaken/would consider undertaking?

Answers:

Postgraduate education: screenwriting MA's, PGDips, creative writing MA's, etc
Undergraduate education: English degrees, writing degrees, etc
Writing Courses: for instance, 10 weeks of screenwriting nightclasses, intense weekend courses, Writer Academys, etc
Occasional Workshops, Seminars, Masterclasses: such as the Adrian Mead, Raindance or Script factory workshops, or perhaps at Book, Film or Screenwriting festivals
Writing books and guides: such as Robert McKee's Story, Stephen King's On Writing, William Goldman's Which Lie Did I Tell etc.
Studied existing scripts or books: you can learn a lot from what's already been written
Transferable experience: perhaps you are an actor, director or producer who has studied scripts, an editor or publisher who knows the business, etc. Also, I spelled this one incorrectly on the poll but I can't change it...
None: you can't learn anything about writing from other people. If you have it, you have it.

I think there is room for more answers to this question, so if you have gained valuable knowledge in other ways please leave a comment on this post. For instance, I gained a lot from my very first bout of script feedback, but I had to know how to at least format a script before sending it out to people. Additionally, if you have attended classes or read books but have seriously learned nothing from the experiences, please say.

I'll keep the poll open for one week - so until 12:00 GMT Tuesday 7th April.

I'd love to hear your views.

Hello there

2009-03-27T11:46:00.004Z

I realised that I've been busy blogging about competitions and the like for the last week or two, rather than what I've been up to. In truth, that's because I've been so busy with non-writing bits and bobs.

Still, I'm plodding on with the rewrite of The Hush, hopeful that the first three chapters will be tight by the end of the month. I'm amazed at the changes I've made - some of them are just huge. It's become a less grim book than it was before, with a few major character changes influencing the storyline in a positive way.

Chapters one and two have both doubled in size with the rewrite, which is a bit of a concern. There are chapters later on which I want to slim down though, so hopefully it will all balance out.

I'm really enjoying the process, and finding that I'm writing a lot from scratch again rather than simply changing words or sentences. Vaguely hopeful that there will come a point at which I will be able to use more of what's already there, but it's all good.

Going to have a relaxed weekend I think, probably won't be back on the blog until Monday. Have a good one!

2009 BBC National Short Story Award

2009-03-26T18:03:00.004Z

The 2009 BBC National Short Story award was launched today.

It's one of the highest profile short story competitions in the UK so worth checking out if you are eligible. The awards are £15,000 for the winner, £3,000 for the runner up and £500 for 3 further shortlisted stories.

Stories should be of maximum length 8,000 words, and the author must have "must have a prior record of publication in creative writing" (not online). Download the full terms and conditions for more details.

The deadline for entries is 5pm on 15th June 2009.

I don't think I'll be eligible! You never know, though.

Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle

2009-03-24T18:04:00.001Z

Stewart Lee has a new show on BBC2, the aptly named Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle.

It's ruddy marvellous. The first episode saw him tear apart celebrity books, and last night he turned his attention to television. Neither E4 nor Only Fools and Horses will ever seem the same again. I just love his style, the way he delivers his routines, and that some segments of it run for FAR longer than many other comedy routines would. I'd love to see him live, hopefully he'll be up for the Fringe at some point in the near future.

If you missed this and like his stuff, you can catch up on the iPlayer - I'd definitely recommend it.

There's also an interview with Lee on the Times Online for those interested.

Unimportant Meme

2009-03-21T18:15:00.000Z

Potdoll tagged me with a meme to "mention 6 things or habits of no real importance about you". Here you go:

1. I have every Discworld book. Most of them are hardback, all of them have been read at least three times. I love 'em.

2. I can't dive or jump face forwards into water. It terrifies me. I've been snorkelling before and had to lower myself down boat ladders in flippers - embarassing and difficult.

3. I'm terrible for re-reading books over and over again. I'm therefore making an attempt to read as many new books as possible this year. Currently sitting at 24 for the year.

4. I am something of a compulsive stationary buyer, notepads in particular. Finance alone prevents me from having hundreds of them.

5. When I was at primary school I was in the school choir, but mostly mimed through shyness. As the years have passed I've turned into one of those awful people who walks around singing to themselves.

6. As a teen I memorised the Greek alphabet, 'for fun.'

Rules.

1) Put the link of the person who tagged you on your blog..

2) Write the rules

3) Mention 6 things or habits of no real importance about you.

I tag Andrew, Edda, Adaddinsane, Dave, Cate and Michelle

Coming Up

2009-03-20T09:30:00.001Z

I've told at least half a dozen people about this scheme in the last week, so I thought I'd share the details here.

Coming Up
"COMING UP is the only talent scheme currently in the UK where emerging film-makers have the opportunity to make an authored drama with a guaranteed network broadcast. We will make up to 7 challenging and individual films from the best fresh talent in the UK. Each film will be for a half-hour C4 slot and we are looking for:

Bold ideas
Strong voices
Originality
Ambition
Wit
Urgency
Films that push boundaries in a way that wouldn't / couldn't be done in mainstream drama
Films that can be shot in 4 days on a limited budget"

In addition to application forms, you have to send away:

A synopsis/pitch for your idea for Coming Up (1-2 pages A4 max)
A detailed CV/Biography
A writing sample (60 pages max)

Full details and application forms are avaialble on the Channel 4 site. Also, if you go to the Touchpaper TV site you'll be able to download examples of previously successful pitches.

The deadline (post only) is 17th April, 2009.

I have been working out an idea for a while now, and started getting it down on paper on Monday. It's quite regional but very contained and should be cheap to film. I have a synopsis down, but working through the draft is taking me in a few different directions so I'll need to rewrite the synopsis before sending off. I will be entering this one. Anyone else?

Skillset Careers Interview

2009-03-19T18:17:00.001Z

I was through in Glasgow on Monday for my Skillset careers interview.

I'd applied for this back in September, just before the scheme became over subscribed and was put on hold for a while. I had completely forgotten what I'd written on the application form (note: always take a copy) and it was interesting to see what my goals had been 6 months ago when I originally applied.

The interview itself was with a producer rather than a writer, so it wasn't geared specifically towards my area of interest, but it was useful nonetheless. We reviewed my CV (I need to concentrate it more on my writing rather than including every bit of film work I've done), we talked about some schemes and competitions, and she gave me some pointers on places to contact etc.

If you're interested in getting an interview then you can get in touch with Skillset - they are free in Scotland just now, not sure about the rest of the UK or how long this will last.

To be honest one of the most useful things for me was finding out that I am on the right track, and just need to persist and make sure I actually follow through with competitions etc. I have a grand habit of getting excited about things, blogging them, doing lots of work, and then not following through. From now on, I WILL go for everything appropriate, no more excuses.

With that in mind, my next post will be about Coming Up...

Graham Linehan Masterclass

2009-03-14T16:37:00.002Z

Friday 13th saw me in Glasgow for the 2009 Scottish Students on Screen event. Have to be honest and say that the event wasn't really for me in the end and I left very early, however the Graham Linehan masterclass was the real pull and I managed to fight my way in to that.

As you would expect from a writer on shows like Father Ted, the Fast Show, Black Books and the IT Crowd, he was an intelligent and funny speaker and genuinely interesting to listen to. I took a lot of notes which I thought I'd pass on here. I've typed them up in the order I took them so they might not flow brilliantly, but they are as near to his words as I could scribble...

***

The character of Ted was created with writing partner Arthur Mathews in a U2 spoof band. Arthur and Graham got started by sending unsolicited sketches to Smith and Jones. From there they were called in, got an agent and it all steamrollered.

He can't write unless he knows there's an audience, or (he changed his mind) he's being paid for it, as payment adds to the pressure and means you have to do it.

He feels that he developed his writing muscles with Father Ted as he was able to use the wide armoury of jokes he had gathered from his time on Smith and Jones - visual gags, quick jokes, and the talking heads of Dougal and Ted.

Father Ted remains his most rewarding experience as a writer, as he was writing with Arthur and thought Arthur was funnier than he was. He was also a bit scared of him, as Arthur was 10 years older. He felt he had to up his game and make what Arthur had already written even funnier, and make the story better, to prove himself.

He thought Ted was a good character as we already make so many assumptions about priests, so simply by a character wearing the outfit we hit the ground running, and a lot of the character work can be easier done.

For sketches and sitcoms, think of a situation that people think they know about but don't really know about. (He was talking about this mainly in relation to the Fast Show characters Ted and Ralph.)

A bit of warmth in a comedy is a good thing to have.

Writers can work best with audience restrictions - TV Burp has to appeal to one of the most potentially easily offended audiences on tv and is one of the funniest shows on. He thinks there is too much reliance on swearing and lewd humour in British sitcoms, and that often the sex situations don't seem real enough to happen, therefore aren't funny.

Don't write down to audiences and explain everything, write up - your audience will understand what is going on in time.

When you see something on TV that's really, really good, you should watch it lots and absorb it. He famously did this with Seinfeld when writing Black Books. He thinks the Simpsons is good for this too - one thing he took from the Simpsons was the idea of starting with something shockingly unlike the rest of the episode.

He has a fear of writing negative women in case he does it badly, as he says that 'women are mysteries for men'. He hated the trend a few years back of women characters in sitcoms who just came into a scene and commented on how silly the men were, and never wants to write a character like that. Despite this fear of writing negative women, he admits that Mrs Doyle is the best female character that they (he and Arthur) have written - she's not an ideal of a woman but of how the Catholic Church treated women, and how some women acquiesced with this view and allowed themselves to be negative figures.

There's an idea that if you're not typing, then you're not writing, but that's bull***t. (He swore there, of course, didn't actually say *.) Thinking about what you are going to write and planning it in your head is part of it.

He recommends StumbleUpon as a good way of finding out more about something you are writing, or getting inspiration. (If you've not used it before, check it out, there's a firefox add on which is great fun). He searches for terms - eg airplane - and sees what amazing web pages are returned.

He scribbles down lines, scenes, prop ideas, characters etc on cue cards as he thinks of something. When he has 100 he likes to lay them all out and find connections for episodes.

He likes to have three big funny moments worked out before he starts to write an episode, as he thinks it gives you the confidence to write the whole thing. If you are writing a scene which is a bit dull, you know you're going to get to the funny bit soon. When rewriting you might find the scenes aren't as funny as you thought, but they propelled you through the first draft so were useful.

You need to know your characters inside out, before you even write anything. He recommended checking out the Indiana Jones character PDF which is going about just now as a great example of a well worked out character. This particular comment was in relation to an audience question - one boy found that he couldn't link the funny bits in his sitcom together. Graham suggested that this was down to not knowing what the characters were going to do or say.

He's not a great fan of treatments, particularly not if you want to send something in for a producer to read. He reckons that if you are at all fired up about the project then you should write the script.

He says not to worry about copyrighting everything as people don't steal ideas. He says that a producer wants to find the right person to work with, not a script to steal.

***

Hope that's of interest.

Scottish Students on Screen

2009-03-12T15:17:00.002Z

Tomorrow I'm off to Scottish Students on Screen 2009 in Glasgow. Never been before, but there are a few different masterclasses on so hopefully something will take my fancy.
From their website:

"Highlights of this year's event are a master class with Father Ted creator Graham Linehan, a multimedia session with internationally renowned game designers, a directing workshop with Still Game director Michael Hines, a documentary film session with The Scottish Documentary Institute and a Music Video workshop with acclaimed production company, Forest of Black, among other great sessions. "

I am no longer a student, of course, but Screen Academy alumni get invited to this sort of thing and for a few quid it seems mad not to go - plus I do love Father Ted and the IT crowd so it would be brilliant to hear Graham Linehan talk. I imagine the Graham Linehan class will be filled up quickly, but hopefully there will be plenty more classes on if I don't get a space.

I will make my usual vague attempts to network tomorrow - business cards are at the ready, script ideas firmly lodged in my brain, and the idea of it isn't worrying me too much. Just hope I don't do my normal thing of slinking away from conversation and into a corner. If I do manage to talk to people, and if those people then find their way to this blog and read this post - well, good for me is all I can say.

Rewrite Revelations

2009-03-11T15:29:00.004Z

There are stylistic problems with my book that I've had trouble trying to address in the rewrite. Namely, it's as if the book has been written in two different ways - the first half feeling very different from the second - and it has proven difficult to resolve.

I was pondering the problem this afternoon when the answer hit me in the face like a cat allergy. BAM. I know exactly what to do.

It means starting the rewrite from page one again, but that's fine by me.

I have rewarded my brain with a bar of fairtrade chocolate. I will try not to eat it all at once, but I make no guarantees.

Onwards and upwards, eh?

A life on two pages

2009-03-10T11:11:00.003Z

I hate writing CV's. I need to hone both my creative (writing) and employment CV's this week, and spent most of yesterday sitting miserably in front of my PC doing this laborious, dull task.

I don't know why I find it so hard. There's just something so wrong in reducing your existence to a series of mere dates and duties. I want to throw curve balls in there: useless trivia (I once auditioned for Alan Rickman!); favourite quotes (Listen - do you smell something?); boring facts (I don't like runner beans!); and my favourite colour (green, of course).

I know that if I do this on a normal CV, most employers will roll their eyes and throw it in the bin. Creative CV's are something of a mystery to me at the moment, so I'm not sure what would happen there - but as brevity often seems to be the key to them they pose their own challenges.

There must be a point in a career where CV's are unnecessary or can be short (like: 'I am Russell T Davies, you fools, why haven't you hired me already?'*). I await this day with glee.

Next monday I've lined up a Skillset careers interview, and we'll be reviewing my creative CV there. Thing is, I want it to be decent for that, which is probably daft/pointless.

Does everyone else have these CV problems? Not to curse you, but I hope some of you do.

Hopefully I will finish up this morning, so this afternoon I can get back to the book. My poor precious is sitting, unloved, at 8% redrafted. Must do better.

*I have not seen his CV. This is a jest, a jape, a LIE.

Birds Eye View Festival 2009

2009-03-09T10:13:00.001Z

I went to the Birds Eye View festival screenings in Edinburgh yesterday. A selection of 5 short films by female directors were shown, followed by some networking (which I didn't go to).

Quite often I'll attend short film events and not click with everything on show. It's quite a personal medium, and can be a very self indulgent one, so one persons ideal short can be another persons idea of nonsense. Last year's EIFF saw me attend a few short screenings: one in particular made me want to gouge my eyes out and plug my ears with them just so I wouldn't be subjected to some of the films any more.

Yesterday's Birds Eye View films shown were:

Love You More - an energetic, raunchy short about two teenagers
Sanctuary - a very moving documentary animation about an asylum seeker in the UK
Trip - about a dad taking his two daughters to the beach
Good Morning, My Sun! - a documentary short about an energetic elderly lady in Kyrgyz
August 15th - adapted from a true story about a young Chinese woman on a fateful bus trip

(I don't want to give anything away plot wise!)

The films were universally good - all but Good Morning, My Sun! were polished affairs (the rough translation and shambolic pacing in this mirrored the woman's home, whether or not this was intentional I don't know, but it lent it some charm).

I'd be hard pressed to find a favourite... Love You More was probably the highest calibre film, but August 15th is the one that has stayed with me. I'd watch them all again, and wish them all success in the festival circuits.

There are more events in London running over the next few days, and Potdoll has typed up some interesting notes from the Mary Harron masterclass.

Rewriting

2009-03-07T10:58:00.001Z

I am very messy at home, and had notes for the rewrite scattered over several different notepads and bits of paper. I spent some time gathering them together and writing them up in a fancy pen on a big piece of card, which now sits beside my laptop.

Added to these notes are some I took at the Edinburgh Reading Room. The Hush is a fantasy centred in a very specific point of time, and I spent a morning at the library last week checking that some of the things I'd written were actually true. I also got loads of good ideas from the research - some characters are going to change drastically.

I've put another status bar at the side of this page to indicate my rewrite progress. Again, I've set 40,000 words as the goal, and hopefully this won't take quite as long as the original draft did. I've changed so much already - deleted most of the first chapter, inserted a prologue, merged chapter two to chapter one - and it's been great fun. Don't think I'll get anything done today, but hopefully a long session tomorrow will have me further forwards.

Links to look at

2009-03-06T09:16:00.006Z

There's a curious little article on the Guardian site that you might find interesting: is writing for a living a joy or a chore?

Amit Chaudhuri says: "Writing novels is no fun; nor is, generally speaking, reading novels."
What?! I didn't think that there would be novelists out there who wouldn't enjoying reading or writing them. I wonder why he started?

I'm more with Julie Myerson: "Writing gives me such enormous pleasure, and I'm a much happier (and therefore nicer) person when I'm doing it."

For me, it's a joy, with or without deadlines or money involved. I love it. I can't imagine doing it if I hated it - there are so many jobs in the world, why shackle yourself to one you hate?
***

We've been watching a lot of 30 Rock lately. Trying to limit ourselves to 3 a night to make it last as long as possible - it's just so good, I'm sure we could watch it all over a couple of evenings. The Times had an article about Tina Fey the other day, which was fascinating too. She's my new hero.
***

Finally, I recently took part in the first 24 hour date stamp: check out the photos submitted.

IMDB

2009-03-05T10:48:00.003Z

I'm on IMDB.

***End of boast***

Ahem. Well, I can't go into much detail about the film I'm credited against just now, but when it's released I will tell you all about it. At this point I can tell you that it was produced and directed by the multi-talented Victoria Thomas, with Mona Hammond and Una McLean as our lovely leading ladies.

(It's weird - I'm both embarassed and excited to be telling you about this. I'm not very good at proper self promotion, you know.)

Between the Skillset careers interview I have lined up, a catchup with old and new friends from the Screen Academy on Saturday, and this, I am feeling far peppier about Screenwriting than I was a couple of months ago. I'm going to redraft one of my scripts (the one which did ok in the last Red Planet Prize) when I have finished the next novel rewrite, and get it OUT there. No more putting things off, just because I'm not confident. I will feign it from now on.

Comic

2009-03-03T17:24:00.003Z

I've been using Pixton this afternoon. Here's attempt number 1:

I saw this link to this (along with some good examples!) originally on Jim Dempsey's blog.

A few short story competitions

2009-03-02T10:20:00.001Z

There's a bit of a theme to these competitions!

River & Rowing Museum Short Story Competition

'To celebrate the centenary of 'The Wind in the Willows' and its enduring appeal, the River & Rowing Museum is inviting submissions of new river-related stories for a young 21st century audience.'
First prize £500, deadline 15th of March 2009, details here.

The Academy of Children's Writers

'We are currently promoting our Twenty Fourth Annual Write a Story for Children Competition that is open to all amateur writers over the age of 18. There are cash prizes of £2,000 for the best story submitted, £300 for second prize and £200 for the third placed story.'
Entry fee £2.70, deadline 31st March 2009, details here.

One for my younger readers:

The Leaf Books Young Writers’ Competition

'We’d like you to send us poems (up to 25 lines long) and micro-fiction (short stories under 300 words) on any theme imaginable. We’ll then pick our favourites and publish them in an anthology. There are three age categories: 18 and under, under 14 and under 11. One winning entry in each category will receive £50 and a free copy of the anthology.'
Entry fee £3, deadline 31st March 2009, details here.

February

2009-03-01T17:15:00.004Z

Firstly, I just want to say thanks to everyone who sent me messages on twitter, facebook and the blog yesterday. I've given up a lot to pursue this crazy full time writer notion I have, so it's lovely to get such encouraging, positive messages from people. Sincerely, thank you all.

I celebrated with a little dram, as intended, then went out for dinner with friends. Altogether a good Saturday.

My main aim for February was to get the Hush down on paper. It's been floating around my head for about a year now, and started as a micro short story that I wrote one afternoon. When I was doing nanowrimo back in November the Hush was like an itch that I couldn't scratch, and I spent the weeks between November and February making notes, saving newspaper articles, gathering family stories, and sitting on everything until I felt like I to write it all down.

It's been an interesting process and I've really enjoyed it. The good writing days were just brilliant, and the more I wrote the more I understood my characters and their world. I scribbled notes for a second draft as the month passed, and wrote a few pages of things to address when I'd finished the draft yesterday.

The plan for March, then, is to use those notes to lead changes in a rewrite. I'm going to start the rewrite mid-week I think, as I'm fairly sure I should take a few days away from the book (although I don't really want to). My first redraft will address the character and story changes that I have noted. The next draft should check my style, tense, grammar etc. After that, I might sent it out to a few folks to read, then it's synopsis time.

I have a few script and short story ideas that I want to sort through this month. I also have an idea for a comic - but I don't really know where to start with that, so some research will need to be undertaken on that front...

Finished the Hush!

2009-02-28T14:25:00.006Z

Just a quick post to let you know that the first draft of The Hush is finished.

It stands at 139 pages, or 41,567 words.

Hooray!

I've long had this strange fantasy, borne from seeing Romancing The Stone too much and having a long standing dream of writing. It's this: that I would finish writing a book, cry with happiness, feed my cat and drink a miniature bottle of something. (It's the introduction to Joan Wilder at the start of Romancing the Stone - here's a bad quality clip.)

I don't have a cat to feed but I've shed a few tears (I know, I'm too soppy) and I have a little bottle of whisky waiting to celebrate with me. I'll post a proper summary tomorrow, but for now, I'm of to scribble some notes for the rewrite when things are fresh in my mind, then have a wee dram and read a book while my boyfriend watches the rugby.

Hope you all have fruitful Saturdays.