I got a text the day before yesterday from my colleague Liam, and English teacher at my College who also taught me to be a teacher, saying, "there might be a few hours of English teaching available for next year. Interested?" So naturally I texted back with wild enthusiasm and by that afternoon I had resigned from my current job! Basically, it turned out there are about 14 hours available teaching a mixture of GCSE and A Level English, but it's VT work (freelance). I knew my job would never release me for 14 hours (kind of understandably) so I just...resigned. This is scary because the new job is still a bit hypothetical. That is, they have told me I can do it, and sent me the details on the courses etc. but I still have to have a formality interview next month, and the job is still advertised on the website. Pretty scary! But I had to resign my current job in order to give enough notice.
It's all completely terrifying, but also very exciting!
Writing in cafes does seem to be the solution to my loneliness. I can stay in them for hours without feeling cripplingly aware of my solitude, and concentrate on my writing instead.
Brick Lane cafes are hilarious in the day. Everyone has a computer, and 85% of them are Macs. All the women have thick, trendy fringes. Everyone has a Moleskine notebook.
It's all completely terrifying, but also very exciting!
Writing in cafes does seem to be the solution to my loneliness. I can stay in them for hours without feeling cripplingly aware of my solitude, and concentrate on my writing instead.
Brick Lane cafes are hilarious in the day. Everyone has a computer, and 85% of them are Macs. All the women have thick, trendy fringes. Everyone has a Moleskine notebook.
It's amazing how much difference money makes to emotional well-being. I've been so stressed out recently (the kind of stressed when you're just tired, and can't really concentrate and things) because I'm so skint, and was feeling very trapped and not able to find a way out of it. But today I've (well, Dan has, because I couldn't do the maths) worked out how much more money I'll be on in September if they let me do this bit of extra teaching. They've promised me I can do it. Just that would average at £180 a month more money!! Enough to tick over and occasionally go to the theatre! There are other financial things that might also work out to help me (I've applied to do a PGCE and if I get funding for that, they might give me almost £3000 a year to do it, for example), but even if they let me do that 4 1/2 hours of teaching, assuming they pay me at the level I think they will, I should be fairly sorted.
So suddenly, with the prospect of a reduced rate of poverty, I feel like I can write again! I've even got something like the germ of a sort of idea!
So suddenly, with the prospect of a reduced rate of poverty, I feel like I can write again! I've even got something like the germ of a sort of idea!
Writing stuff first! I got another bit of feedback on "Writing Marble Road"! It's from the Royal Court Theatre - the one that works almost exclusively with new writers. I'm going to type out the main section below:
We enjoyed reading the script, which is formally inventive and cleverly constructed. Its exploration of sexuality and aging is detailed, frank and truthful. We do feel, though, the the economy and taut structure of the narrative can be a weakness as well as a strength, forcing the dialogue to lapse into exposition. We feel that the idea has potential for expansion, which might allow it's emotional detail and information to emerge more organically within the subtext and nuance of the dialogue.
My brother translated this brilliantly as follows:
"Don't push your luck with the just standing there and talking."
Ha ha! I'm pretty sure that's largely what they're getting at. It leads to too much expositing of plot and emotions etc.
I checked the website, and it doesn't look like they give feedback to everyone, so it I'm counting this as getting to Stage 2! It's really helpful feedback, too. They seemed to like the idea, and like the BBC, they've given me a clear idea of why they don't think it works yet. It's really helpful. I think I'm getting a good idea of how good this play actually is now: it's a Stage 2 play - not good enough to be staged yet, but good enough to attract a little encouragement. Good.
The current Orpheos logo looks like this, by the way:
Although the colour changes every time I copy it, for some reason. It's supposed to be a fairly bright, but nice, purple. I'm thinking about getting a bit of web space for this - it only costs about £10 a year for a domain name, and you can get email addresses for that, too. But I'll wait until September/October when I've got my rejection slips back. the plan then is to start getting a company together while spending 3 months rewriting the play based on the feedback I've got. So actual rehearsing should begin maybe in January.
So...my awesome weekend!!!
It really began on Thursday night with a brilliant Panic Attract gig at bar music hall! It was a really good gig - they've changed their sound a bit to include a bit less of the electronic stuff and a drum kit - Greg "The Octopus" Herescztin plays the drums and the electric guitar at the same time at some points! Loads of people came along to it, and it was a really good crack. Delooze, who were launching their EP that night, were also really good.
Friday night we went to Jamboree to see Artery - apparently New Order nicked their sound back in the day, then got big before them. They were really good, anyway - that particular brand of melodrama only available to men in skinny jeans - all leaning against the back of the stage looking despairing with his eyes shut, and putting his head in his hands beween verses.
Saturday, went with my boyfriend, Greg, and Deepak to Nestival - a little festival in a pub in Deptford! it was really cool - we got there well early and spent ages sitting in the pub garden drinking Elderflower cider and playing chess. I WON! This is exciting because I never win. Although I think I only beat Tim because he kept forgetting that my upside down Rook was acting as a Knight! In the evening, I went to a really cool party where you had to come as someone dead, and famous, or something you wish was dead! Most people came as something abstract. Jayde, whose party it was, came as New Labour, with blood on her hands, an albatros with "Iraq" round her neck, and a toy gun labelled "expenses". She also had a wreath of dead roses round her neck. Oooooh, satire! The other costume highlight was my housemate Rich, who made a MASSIVE ID card, labelled with thumb print etc. and put it on his head so his real head was the ID card photo! AMAZING!!! It was a really nice party - we played a cool game where you had to hula hoop while drinking a shot of tequila, and spent a lot of time singing songs while Dan played the guitar. Mmmm!
And then the journey home!!! We left about 5.30 in the morning, and met a bunch of actors on the bus stop! They were celebrating one their number getting a job in a touring production of Macbeth. I entreated him for a soliloquy, and he obliged! (After much pleading.) He gave us the Hecuba monologue from Hamlet, and then on the bus, after further entreaty, another two monologues from Hamlet! It was literally the best bus journey ever!! And then he performed for us a lovely monologue from a modern play. It was great, and it's been going round and round my head, but I foolishly didn't write down the name of it. The actor, Orlando (!!!!), was really good, too. He was a very subtle, emotionally intelligent actor, and managed, at 5.30 in the morning after a night of drinking, to recite 4 monologues with genuinely moving humility! AMAZING!!! Dan gave him his business card as he left (Dan's business card is awesome - it's his artist business card, and has some of his art work on the front. I want a business card - can't wait to get some for Orpheos.)
And then, when we got off the bus at Liverpool street, having said goodbye to Orlando and his friends, we foudn the piano! At the moment, as part of a brilliant art project, there are loads of pianos dotted around London decorated with stencils saying, "play me, I'm yours!" Dan did. Doesn't actually play the piano, but it turned out he probably should, as he has a cracking talent for it!! He played this really cool, exciting music. Then a guy wandered over, introduced himself as BYRON (me and Dan were beside ourselves!) and started playing the piano!! He played piano, Dan got his guitar out again and played that, and I sang! It was awesome! While we were doing that, Pete and Rich wandered about getting people to try on the ID card, and taking photos! People will probably assume they were making some kind of political point.
I finally dropped into bed about 7.30 on Sunday morning.
Yesterday was nice - quiet. Hung out with Tim, ate a Chinese, watched a film! What a cracking weekend!!! :-)
We enjoyed reading the script, which is formally inventive and cleverly constructed. Its exploration of sexuality and aging is detailed, frank and truthful. We do feel, though, the the economy and taut structure of the narrative can be a weakness as well as a strength, forcing the dialogue to lapse into exposition. We feel that the idea has potential for expansion, which might allow it's emotional detail and information to emerge more organically within the subtext and nuance of the dialogue.
My brother translated this brilliantly as follows:
"Don't push your luck with the just standing there and talking."
Ha ha! I'm pretty sure that's largely what they're getting at. It leads to too much expositing of plot and emotions etc.
I checked the website, and it doesn't look like they give feedback to everyone, so it I'm counting this as getting to Stage 2! It's really helpful feedback, too. They seemed to like the idea, and like the BBC, they've given me a clear idea of why they don't think it works yet. It's really helpful. I think I'm getting a good idea of how good this play actually is now: it's a Stage 2 play - not good enough to be staged yet, but good enough to attract a little encouragement. Good.
The current Orpheos logo looks like this, by the way:
Although the colour changes every time I copy it, for some reason. It's supposed to be a fairly bright, but nice, purple. I'm thinking about getting a bit of web space for this - it only costs about £10 a year for a domain name, and you can get email addresses for that, too. But I'll wait until September/October when I've got my rejection slips back. the plan then is to start getting a company together while spending 3 months rewriting the play based on the feedback I've got. So actual rehearsing should begin maybe in January.
So...my awesome weekend!!!
It really began on Thursday night with a brilliant Panic Attract gig at bar music hall! It was a really good gig - they've changed their sound a bit to include a bit less of the electronic stuff and a drum kit - Greg "The Octopus" Herescztin plays the drums and the electric guitar at the same time at some points! Loads of people came along to it, and it was a really good crack. Delooze, who were launching their EP that night, were also really good.
Friday night we went to Jamboree to see Artery - apparently New Order nicked their sound back in the day, then got big before them. They were really good, anyway - that particular brand of melodrama only available to men in skinny jeans - all leaning against the back of the stage looking despairing with his eyes shut, and putting his head in his hands beween verses.
Saturday, went with my boyfriend, Greg, and Deepak to Nestival - a little festival in a pub in Deptford! it was really cool - we got there well early and spent ages sitting in the pub garden drinking Elderflower cider and playing chess. I WON! This is exciting because I never win. Although I think I only beat Tim because he kept forgetting that my upside down Rook was acting as a Knight! In the evening, I went to a really cool party where you had to come as someone dead, and famous, or something you wish was dead! Most people came as something abstract. Jayde, whose party it was, came as New Labour, with blood on her hands, an albatros with "Iraq" round her neck, and a toy gun labelled "expenses". She also had a wreath of dead roses round her neck. Oooooh, satire! The other costume highlight was my housemate Rich, who made a MASSIVE ID card, labelled with thumb print etc. and put it on his head so his real head was the ID card photo! AMAZING!!! It was a really nice party - we played a cool game where you had to hula hoop while drinking a shot of tequila, and spent a lot of time singing songs while Dan played the guitar. Mmmm!
And then the journey home!!! We left about 5.30 in the morning, and met a bunch of actors on the bus stop! They were celebrating one their number getting a job in a touring production of Macbeth. I entreated him for a soliloquy, and he obliged! (After much pleading.) He gave us the Hecuba monologue from Hamlet, and then on the bus, after further entreaty, another two monologues from Hamlet! It was literally the best bus journey ever!! And then he performed for us a lovely monologue from a modern play. It was great, and it's been going round and round my head, but I foolishly didn't write down the name of it. The actor, Orlando (!!!!), was really good, too. He was a very subtle, emotionally intelligent actor, and managed, at 5.30 in the morning after a night of drinking, to recite 4 monologues with genuinely moving humility! AMAZING!!! Dan gave him his business card as he left (Dan's business card is awesome - it's his artist business card, and has some of his art work on the front. I want a business card - can't wait to get some for Orpheos.)
And then, when we got off the bus at Liverpool street, having said goodbye to Orlando and his friends, we foudn the piano! At the moment, as part of a brilliant art project, there are loads of pianos dotted around London decorated with stencils saying, "play me, I'm yours!" Dan did. Doesn't actually play the piano, but it turned out he probably should, as he has a cracking talent for it!! He played this really cool, exciting music. Then a guy wandered over, introduced himself as BYRON (me and Dan were beside ourselves!) and started playing the piano!! He played piano, Dan got his guitar out again and played that, and I sang! It was awesome! While we were doing that, Pete and Rich wandered about getting people to try on the ID card, and taking photos! People will probably assume they were making some kind of political point.
I finally dropped into bed about 7.30 on Sunday morning.
Yesterday was nice - quiet. Hung out with Tim, ate a Chinese, watched a film! What a cracking weekend!!! :-)
I realised I hadn't uploaded this image! It's the new logo for my theatre production company, Orpheos Productions!!
It was designed by my friend, the incredibly talented James Milligan (I'll link to his site when I find out what it is) and I love it!! Really inspiring me to actually produce something!
Also, I've started a new writing project. It's called "The Villain Variations." :-)
It was designed by my friend, the incredibly talented James Milligan (I'll link to his site when I find out what it is) and I love it!! Really inspiring me to actually produce something!
Also, I've started a new writing project. It's called "The Villain Variations." :-)
Right, I need a PLAN!
Today I have accomplished a salad. It's a good salad, don't mistake me. It's got strips of raw carrot, and orange pepper, and orange cheese, because I believe in colour co-ordinating, but it's unlikely to result in my getting a play produced.
So here's the plan:
Go to park after work. Write in notebook. Write lots of free and exciting and beautiful ideas and see if something develops.
Here's the problem: this is probably the most drippy thing ever, but I don't like writing conflict because I just get upset. But I'll obviously have to just bite down on the bullet and do it because that's what the lady from the BBC said.
Spend day writing lesson plans as I should, for I am at work.
I've been watching "Our Friends From the North". It's a BBC drama produced a few years ago, and it's amazing! It's ten episodes spanning about 30 years, and you see the characters across most of their adult lives. It jumps various time intervals each time. I've just watched episode 3, and so far we've covered about 3 years. But it's relentlessly depressing. Man! Working class life in the North in the '60s was bleak! Brilliant though. What they do that's really good is they don't hone in on the really key moments, like weddings, births, break-ups etc. They stick to the 'life goes on' moments, which are still super-dramatic anyway, but in a more kitchen sink way. The writing is absolutely spot on. It's good enough that in the early episodes you're quite aware the actors are a lot older than their characters even though they're really good actors, because the dialogue is so perfect, and young. Very good!
BTW: Does anyone know why my blog has gone all HTML-boring and made my pretty typewriter go away?
Today I have accomplished a salad. It's a good salad, don't mistake me. It's got strips of raw carrot, and orange pepper, and orange cheese, because I believe in colour co-ordinating, but it's unlikely to result in my getting a play produced.
So here's the plan:
Go to park after work. Write in notebook. Write lots of free and exciting and beautiful ideas and see if something develops.
Here's the problem: this is probably the most drippy thing ever, but I don't like writing conflict because I just get upset. But I'll obviously have to just bite down on the bullet and do it because that's what the lady from the BBC said.
Spend day writing lesson plans as I should, for I am at work.
I've been watching "Our Friends From the North". It's a BBC drama produced a few years ago, and it's amazing! It's ten episodes spanning about 30 years, and you see the characters across most of their adult lives. It jumps various time intervals each time. I've just watched episode 3, and so far we've covered about 3 years. But it's relentlessly depressing. Man! Working class life in the North in the '60s was bleak! Brilliant though. What they do that's really good is they don't hone in on the really key moments, like weddings, births, break-ups etc. They stick to the 'life goes on' moments, which are still super-dramatic anyway, but in a more kitchen sink way. The writing is absolutely spot on. It's good enough that in the early episodes you're quite aware the actors are a lot older than their characters even though they're really good actors, because the dialogue is so perfect, and young. Very good!
BTW: Does anyone know why my blog has gone all HTML-boring and made my pretty typewriter go away?
Well, I resolved to have lots of fun this weekend, to make me feel better about stupidly deciding not to go to Glastonbury. This was a mistake.
But fun I had! This was partly due to Cobwebb_Diamond turning up and telling me she was bored because it was too hot to spend a weekend in her room reading fan fiction. When Cobwebb_Diamond is bored, fun stuff happens! Within minutes of her boredom setting in, she'd informed me we were going to the opera for free in a place called The Scoop, outdoors on the South Bank! It was brilliant! It was the Barber of Seville, and in English, and funny! And they delayed act 2 while we all sang along to the Policemen's song from Pirates of Penzance!! Yay!
Then the next day, me and Rich Hung About on the South Bank, which was lovely and involved ice cream, and was a welcome break from hiding from the ants that are currently sharing our house. And in the evening, I WENT TO SEE NEIL YOUNG FOR FREE!!!!! Gavia's friend Iain's dad apparently just buys as many tickets for a gig as he pleases, and if his family don't want them, he just gives them away to people! Neil Young was awesome! He looked like a disgruntled roadie, and played most of the set with his jacket hanging off one arm, but had the same angelic, beautiful voice he had 30 years ago, and was generally amazing! A highlight was "Damage Done", which is a song about how heroin has ruined the lives of loads of his friends - "I've seen the needle and the damage done". However, it's the catchiest tune ever so everyone was singing along cheerily! Brilliant! And then, for his final song, he covered "Day In The Life" by the Beatles, and PAUL MCCARTNEY came on stage and sang it with him!!! It was really, really exciting!! I think he was drunk, but that kind of implies it wasn't planned, which is pretty cool, and it was great anyway!
And afterwards, we went to see a midnight showing of As You Like It at the Globe! It was one of the best performances I've ever seen there, which was lucky because we'd already been standing for about 4 hours by that point. If it had been King Lear or something, I'd have gone home. But it was brilliant! It is a strange play, but the language is surprisingly modern and the whole thing is very accessible. It was Rich's first Shakespeare, too, which is pretty cool - midnight As You Like It at the Globe on his first go!
And yesterday I did more hanging about with Lowri!! Haven't seen her for ages, and it was brilliant! We sang songs, and chatted, and ate delicious food and watched Bill Bailey and fell asleep. Yay!
And then I walked back (it is amazing living so close to the South Bank!) and my boyfriend came to meet me and I had a bagel from Brick Lane where no-one ever goes to bed, and we hung out for a bit and now I am tired!
Am feeling rather under-confident with my writing at the moment, but suspect this is because I haven't done any for ages. I think my brilliant new play might be set in the shadow of a wood, on the edge of strange things. I think the set and the lighting will be very strange and beautiful, to match the rest of the play.
But fun I had! This was partly due to Cobwebb_Diamond turning up and telling me she was bored because it was too hot to spend a weekend in her room reading fan fiction. When Cobwebb_Diamond is bored, fun stuff happens! Within minutes of her boredom setting in, she'd informed me we were going to the opera for free in a place called The Scoop, outdoors on the South Bank! It was brilliant! It was the Barber of Seville, and in English, and funny! And they delayed act 2 while we all sang along to the Policemen's song from Pirates of Penzance!! Yay!
Then the next day, me and Rich Hung About on the South Bank, which was lovely and involved ice cream, and was a welcome break from hiding from the ants that are currently sharing our house. And in the evening, I WENT TO SEE NEIL YOUNG FOR FREE!!!!! Gavia's friend Iain's dad apparently just buys as many tickets for a gig as he pleases, and if his family don't want them, he just gives them away to people! Neil Young was awesome! He looked like a disgruntled roadie, and played most of the set with his jacket hanging off one arm, but had the same angelic, beautiful voice he had 30 years ago, and was generally amazing! A highlight was "Damage Done", which is a song about how heroin has ruined the lives of loads of his friends - "I've seen the needle and the damage done". However, it's the catchiest tune ever so everyone was singing along cheerily! Brilliant! And then, for his final song, he covered "Day In The Life" by the Beatles, and PAUL MCCARTNEY came on stage and sang it with him!!! It was really, really exciting!! I think he was drunk, but that kind of implies it wasn't planned, which is pretty cool, and it was great anyway!
And afterwards, we went to see a midnight showing of As You Like It at the Globe! It was one of the best performances I've ever seen there, which was lucky because we'd already been standing for about 4 hours by that point. If it had been King Lear or something, I'd have gone home. But it was brilliant! It is a strange play, but the language is surprisingly modern and the whole thing is very accessible. It was Rich's first Shakespeare, too, which is pretty cool - midnight As You Like It at the Globe on his first go!
And yesterday I did more hanging about with Lowri!! Haven't seen her for ages, and it was brilliant! We sang songs, and chatted, and ate delicious food and watched Bill Bailey and fell asleep. Yay!
And then I walked back (it is amazing living so close to the South Bank!) and my boyfriend came to meet me and I had a bagel from Brick Lane where no-one ever goes to bed, and we hung out for a bit and now I am tired!
Am feeling rather under-confident with my writing at the moment, but suspect this is because I haven't done any for ages. I think my brilliant new play might be set in the shadow of a wood, on the edge of strange things. I think the set and the lighting will be very strange and beautiful, to match the rest of the play.
Apparently, it takes 10,000 hours of productive practice to get to be world class at something. As it happens, that works out as 3 hours a day for 10 years. Which means I need to write for three hours every day until I'm 35 1/2, and I'll be a brilliant writer!
At work, they are trying to make me be a teacher and teach literacy full time. I don't think they're going to succeed, because I've told them I won't do it unless they get me a proper contract, and I don't think they'll succeed in creating a new role with all the redundancies at the moment. I can't decide what would be for the best.
Option 1: This doesn't happen. I (hopefully) get my 4 1/2 hours' teaching a week, meaning I am poor but not completely, hopelessly skint, have no way of paying off my credit card, but do have time to write. Also, I may have to do a PGCE (time consuming and I'd have to pay for it).
Option 2: This does happen. I get a full time teaching contract and am no longer skint, despite credit card debt. Extra income means I can probably get balance transfer to interest-free card and actually start paying it off. However, they will definitely make me do a PGCE, and I will have less time to write.
I don't really know which option is for the best, so I've decided to do nothing, and see what happens! I know I should be thinking I absolutely won't do it because of cuts to writing time, but being this poor is no fun, really. Also, it is making me stressed, which means I am not as much fun and have no money for theatre, which is a problem if you want to be a playwright.
Have decided to start a completely new play. It will be brilliant, and beautiful, and strange. I only have to work out what it will be about!
At work, they are trying to make me be a teacher and teach literacy full time. I don't think they're going to succeed, because I've told them I won't do it unless they get me a proper contract, and I don't think they'll succeed in creating a new role with all the redundancies at the moment. I can't decide what would be for the best.
Option 1: This doesn't happen. I (hopefully) get my 4 1/2 hours' teaching a week, meaning I am poor but not completely, hopelessly skint, have no way of paying off my credit card, but do have time to write. Also, I may have to do a PGCE (time consuming and I'd have to pay for it).
Option 2: This does happen. I get a full time teaching contract and am no longer skint, despite credit card debt. Extra income means I can probably get balance transfer to interest-free card and actually start paying it off. However, they will definitely make me do a PGCE, and I will have less time to write.
I don't really know which option is for the best, so I've decided to do nothing, and see what happens! I know I should be thinking I absolutely won't do it because of cuts to writing time, but being this poor is no fun, really. Also, it is making me stressed, which means I am not as much fun and have no money for theatre, which is a problem if you want to be a playwright.
Have decided to start a completely new play. It will be brilliant, and beautiful, and strange. I only have to work out what it will be about!
I got feedback from the BBC Writersroom on my play, Writing Marble Road!
Stage 1: They read the first 10 pages, decide it's not what they're looking for and send it back to you with a polite letter saying they're not interested.
Stage 2: They decide it's good enough to read the whole thing, and send it back to you with the reader's comments.
Stage 3: They think it's good enough to read the whole thing, and good enough to send to another reader to have a look at. The other reader thinks the writer's not ready yet, so they send it back with comments, and ask you to send them your next play.
Stage 4: Both readers love it, so they send it to someone in Development.
Yay! The last thing I sent them was the best thing I'd written at the time, and it only got to stage 1. This one is currently the best thing I've written, and it got to stage 2!
I put the letter on my wall. :-)
They were really nice about my play, too. They said some of the writing was "really evocative" and I had come up with "an engaging trio of characters." Their criticism was also really useful. They said there needs to be more conflict and drama, and it needs a clearer beginning, middle and end. They also said some more specific things about it, but as I don't intend to re-write it for a while yet, I'm concentrating on the bits of advice that probably apply to most of my writing.
So, time to keep writing! This is a bit of a problem. I don't really like the play I'm writing at the moment, and it depresses me a bit, but I think I'm going to have to persevere with it because Russell T Davies says you're not a writer unless you finish it. Basically, I'm going to miss both my possible deadlines. Where The Line Is Drawn won't be good enough to submit to a competition by the end of June, and I don't have time to write my children's TV show by then either. Damn!
My next important deadline is November, and I REALLY can't miss it. I have to submit a play to the Royal Court's Young Writers Programme, to try to get onto their amazing writing course which costs £100 and has launched lots of careers. but you have to be under 26 to do it, so this is literally my only chance. So I need to have a brilliant play polished and brilliant and sparkling by then. 5 months.
What do I do? Do I keep working on the play that doesn't inspire me and try to muddle my way through it and make it sparkle, or do I shelve that play and start work on a completely new project for 5 months?
Also, not only do I need a brilliant, sparkling play to submit to the Royal Court, I also need a brilliant play in development by September. September is when I expect to get most of my rejection letters from the theatres I sent Writing Marble Road to, so by then I need to be able to say, "well, yes, but I'm a much better writer now." :-)
Also, live Twitter updates from Iran. Wow.
Stage 1: They read the first 10 pages, decide it's not what they're looking for and send it back to you with a polite letter saying they're not interested.
Stage 2: They decide it's good enough to read the whole thing, and send it back to you with the reader's comments.
Stage 3: They think it's good enough to read the whole thing, and good enough to send to another reader to have a look at. The other reader thinks the writer's not ready yet, so they send it back with comments, and ask you to send them your next play.
Stage 4: Both readers love it, so they send it to someone in Development.
Yay! The last thing I sent them was the best thing I'd written at the time, and it only got to stage 1. This one is currently the best thing I've written, and it got to stage 2!
I put the letter on my wall. :-)
They were really nice about my play, too. They said some of the writing was "really evocative" and I had come up with "an engaging trio of characters." Their criticism was also really useful. They said there needs to be more conflict and drama, and it needs a clearer beginning, middle and end. They also said some more specific things about it, but as I don't intend to re-write it for a while yet, I'm concentrating on the bits of advice that probably apply to most of my writing.
So, time to keep writing! This is a bit of a problem. I don't really like the play I'm writing at the moment, and it depresses me a bit, but I think I'm going to have to persevere with it because Russell T Davies says you're not a writer unless you finish it. Basically, I'm going to miss both my possible deadlines. Where The Line Is Drawn won't be good enough to submit to a competition by the end of June, and I don't have time to write my children's TV show by then either. Damn!
My next important deadline is November, and I REALLY can't miss it. I have to submit a play to the Royal Court's Young Writers Programme, to try to get onto their amazing writing course which costs £100 and has launched lots of careers. but you have to be under 26 to do it, so this is literally my only chance. So I need to have a brilliant play polished and brilliant and sparkling by then. 5 months.
What do I do? Do I keep working on the play that doesn't inspire me and try to muddle my way through it and make it sparkle, or do I shelve that play and start work on a completely new project for 5 months?
Also, not only do I need a brilliant, sparkling play to submit to the Royal Court, I also need a brilliant play in development by September. September is when I expect to get most of my rejection letters from the theatres I sent Writing Marble Road to, so by then I need to be able to say, "well, yes, but I'm a much better writer now." :-)
Also, live Twitter updates from Iran. Wow.
My mood seems to have lifted somewhat recently, which is just lovely! I've been kind of grumpy and unhapy for ages, but lately things feel better.
The play is drivel. Incipid, self-indulgent wank without an artistic thrust or the courage to carry it through anyway. I hate giving up on scripts, because Russell T Davies says you're not a writer unless you finish it, but this is making me feel unhappy. Drivel, drivel, drivel. I have nothing to say about the topic, and I find nothing of beauty in it either. But then, there are some things I like, I suppose. And I've just read a Tom Stoppard with a faintly similar idea which has at least taught me how to structure the wrteched thing on the page. It's funny, coincidences like that happen a lot: when you really need an answer, sometimes it just turns up.
On being 25: lately I have been filled with a new, creeping fear - you know, the kind that gets under your skin before you really notice? I've never really deeply minded about going to work, because I've always thought it would be all right in the end, and I will eventually be able to give up ful time 9-5 work and join my colleagues as a writer. But lately, I've been thinking that won't necessarily happen. I'm not good enough yet, and what if I never am? Or I am, but no-one notices? Etc. etc. Point is, this poverty and debt and trapped-ness could be always. I could fail as a writer, then fail to be a serious academic. It could all go so very ... well, ordinary. The way things usually go - a full time job until I'm old, if I get to be old, and a dusty collection of aspiration-turned-bitterness.
But I'm definitely feeling more cheerful about it all!
The play is drivel. Incipid, self-indulgent wank without an artistic thrust or the courage to carry it through anyway. I hate giving up on scripts, because Russell T Davies says you're not a writer unless you finish it, but this is making me feel unhappy. Drivel, drivel, drivel. I have nothing to say about the topic, and I find nothing of beauty in it either. But then, there are some things I like, I suppose. And I've just read a Tom Stoppard with a faintly similar idea which has at least taught me how to structure the wrteched thing on the page. It's funny, coincidences like that happen a lot: when you really need an answer, sometimes it just turns up.
On being 25: lately I have been filled with a new, creeping fear - you know, the kind that gets under your skin before you really notice? I've never really deeply minded about going to work, because I've always thought it would be all right in the end, and I will eventually be able to give up ful time 9-5 work and join my colleagues as a writer. But lately, I've been thinking that won't necessarily happen. I'm not good enough yet, and what if I never am? Or I am, but no-one notices? Etc. etc. Point is, this poverty and debt and trapped-ness could be always. I could fail as a writer, then fail to be a serious academic. It could all go so very ... well, ordinary. The way things usually go - a full time job until I'm old, if I get to be old, and a dusty collection of aspiration-turned-bitterness.
But I'm definitely feeling more cheerful about it all!
Well,I didn't do any of your pen-to-paper actual writing at the weekend, but I did do writerly things! I met up with my friend Andrew - fellow writer - to discuss our plays and see where we needed to take them. I showed him my Chart. And he fed me, which I am always very keen on. It was really productive, as usual, and very pleasant. We were in his boyfriend's awesome flat overlooking Old Street, so we felt like real hipsters!
And on Sunday evening I went to the London Playwrights' Collective's annual networking party. It was very pleasant, actually! I went with Andrew and Dan, and there was cake, and I won some Lush things in the raffle, and we met some other writers and directors, which was quite exciting. We also learned about the new social networking site that Bush Theatre is setting up, called Bush Green. It sounds awesome - writers can upload their writing, have a profile page listing their creative interests, collaborators etc. and directors can search for suitable plays, and download them for about £2. Very cool idea. They're also going to have featured plays etc. and have a strong emphasis on the idea that if Bush Theate isn't able to put on a play they think is really good, they can put it out there for other theatres to look at. You can earmark your own favourite plays and recommendations, too.
So, today I have a little time off at work. I need to spend it working first, but then I want to re-draft the script for the Regency Graphic Novel I'm working on with Jom (it's only one scene so far), and maybe write some Scribblers if there's time. I don't have my new masteriece with me so I can't work on it until I get home, but then me and my boyfriend have plans to be creative together as he has lots of music stuff to be getting on with!
Also, saw Star Trek - totally incredible, very easy to get obsessed over, intend to go back to watching lots of old Trek now! Saw it at the Imax - amazing! So cool with all the shooty speedy ships and the space! Woo! :-)
And on Sunday evening I went to the London Playwrights' Collective's annual networking party. It was very pleasant, actually! I went with Andrew and Dan, and there was cake, and I won some Lush things in the raffle, and we met some other writers and directors, which was quite exciting. We also learned about the new social networking site that Bush Theatre is setting up, called Bush Green. It sounds awesome - writers can upload their writing, have a profile page listing their creative interests, collaborators etc. and directors can search for suitable plays, and download them for about £2. Very cool idea. They're also going to have featured plays etc. and have a strong emphasis on the idea that if Bush Theate isn't able to put on a play they think is really good, they can put it out there for other theatres to look at. You can earmark your own favourite plays and recommendations, too.
So, today I have a little time off at work. I need to spend it working first, but then I want to re-draft the script for the Regency Graphic Novel I'm working on with Jom (it's only one scene so far), and maybe write some Scribblers if there's time. I don't have my new masteriece with me so I can't work on it until I get home, but then me and my boyfriend have plans to be creative together as he has lots of music stuff to be getting on with!
Also, saw Star Trek - totally incredible, very easy to get obsessed over, intend to go back to watching lots of old Trek now! Saw it at the Imax - amazing! So cool with all the shooty speedy ships and the space! Woo! :-)
Well, now. Hello. It's been a while. So, i wrote my first draft, thought it was rubbish, re-read, decided it was OK. I felt like I was drowning in character arcs, confused, befuddled, lost. So I asked my mummy, and she told me to make a Chart. I used my special Dalek colouring pencils, and my highlighter pens in the shape of cats, and I made a beautiful chart. If I had any idea how to upload images, I would upload it. It really does help - now I can look at it and see clearly how the story progresses, if one plot line hasn't been addressed for ages, and how much of the plot concerns which characters. It's OK, actually - I'll have to do a bit of tweaking, but most of the plot does concern my main protagonist, and my sub plots are fairly well spaced out. I'm going to go through and try to make sure I use the love subplot to give people a break from the more heavy stuff now and again, but generally I'm fairly happy with it.
I'm not following Duck's editing diary absolutely this time, I'm just using it as a guide. With such long scenes, I don't know if a scene by scene guide is so important, and I'm finding a more fluid guide to what has to happen when more useful. Also, I don't want to re-write from scratch. I've decided that the way I like to write, each subsequent draft should be a re-write of the previous, with the dialogue and characters getting better each time. I will still have to be very cavalier with it, and be prepared to chop out anything that doesn't fit with the new improved structure, though. So tonight, I'm going to finalise my structure, then put my script in the order of the new structure. It won't make sense, but at least everything will happen roughly when I want it to, and then I can go through and look at how it feels, and what the pace is starting to feel like, and make it make sense. Then it will be a case of spending my remaining month making it really good, and improving all the writing.
I have until the end of June to finish it and send it off to the Warehouse Theatre's International Writing Festival. I'll get it as good as I can by then, send it off, and then keep working on it until I've got my most recent play back from all the other theatres and I can send this new one out to them. My final deadline for this play is the end of November, if I need it, which is when I have to submit it to the Royal Court Theatre's Young Writers Programme. They run an amazing course, but I have to submit with a new play, and I've already sent them Writing Marble Road as a general submission.
So, Plan! I have a Plan until potentially the end of November! And I already have an idea for what I want to write next! Although, I think when I finish this play, I'm going to re-write Time Flowers and send it to the BBC. I won't be able to send them this one I'm writing now, because it's very much a stage play, so I might as well have a radio play to send them while this one's out at the theatres! Then I'll have Where the Line is Drawn out at the theatres, and Time Flowers at the BBC, and I'll have about seven months at least to write the next one before I get them back. Also, I should get a bit of feedback on Writing Marble Road from Soho Theatre, so I can take that on board in my final draft of Where the Line is Drawn before sending it out to the theatres. That is my Plan. I have Planned it.
I'm not following Duck's editing diary absolutely this time, I'm just using it as a guide. With such long scenes, I don't know if a scene by scene guide is so important, and I'm finding a more fluid guide to what has to happen when more useful. Also, I don't want to re-write from scratch. I've decided that the way I like to write, each subsequent draft should be a re-write of the previous, with the dialogue and characters getting better each time. I will still have to be very cavalier with it, and be prepared to chop out anything that doesn't fit with the new improved structure, though. So tonight, I'm going to finalise my structure, then put my script in the order of the new structure. It won't make sense, but at least everything will happen roughly when I want it to, and then I can go through and look at how it feels, and what the pace is starting to feel like, and make it make sense. Then it will be a case of spending my remaining month making it really good, and improving all the writing.
I have until the end of June to finish it and send it off to the Warehouse Theatre's International Writing Festival. I'll get it as good as I can by then, send it off, and then keep working on it until I've got my most recent play back from all the other theatres and I can send this new one out to them. My final deadline for this play is the end of November, if I need it, which is when I have to submit it to the Royal Court Theatre's Young Writers Programme. They run an amazing course, but I have to submit with a new play, and I've already sent them Writing Marble Road as a general submission.
So, Plan! I have a Plan until potentially the end of November! And I already have an idea for what I want to write next! Although, I think when I finish this play, I'm going to re-write Time Flowers and send it to the BBC. I won't be able to send them this one I'm writing now, because it's very much a stage play, so I might as well have a radio play to send them while this one's out at the theatres! Then I'll have Where the Line is Drawn out at the theatres, and Time Flowers at the BBC, and I'll have about seven months at least to write the next one before I get them back. Also, I should get a bit of feedback on Writing Marble Road from Soho Theatre, so I can take that on board in my final draft of Where the Line is Drawn before sending it out to the theatres. That is my Plan. I have Planned it.
Yep, I have written a hundred-page stage play in about 3 weeks! True, it makes little sense as it begins as a near-future semi-dystopia, and then stops being one at the end of the first act. True, one character changes name and personality after her first two scenes. But this is a First Draft. It is allowed to be gibberish-with-potential. I'm very excited about writing Act 2 now!! :-) Oh, it's called "Where the Line is Drawn". I thought it if I came up with a name at the beginning, it might be less rubbish than the names I come up with at midnight on the day I have to hand something in. Right, then. I think I should get some sleep...Play sucks. Drivel. 33 pages of drivel. I am a bit intimidated by my last play, which I was proud of, even though I still remember it spent ages being not that good. Just want to go to sleep, which is my standard response to stress. Unfortunately, it seldom makes writing problems go away. Only writing really seems to do that. Not even sure if that's true, it may just be what you're supposed to say. Who cares what I say, though? Drivel, drivel, drivel. Maybe I shoudl write an issues play. Then people might actually buy it.
In an attempt to make this play any good, I have recently been through several new versions. One, it's a nice, gentle discussion of the issues involved in which the main character is surrounded by stable, loving people. Two, move the whole story into a semi-dystopian near-future and alter the crucial points to fit the new setting. Three, take the story to the nth degree and use the existing plot as a catalyst for an Aristotlean hero-style self-destruction in which the main character tears apart herself and everything she has created. But I don't really like writing stories like that.
So I did what I always do when I'm stuck, and asked everyone I could think of. Now I feel crowded and muddled and I still don't really know what to do and none of these people agree with each other. And Duck says I can't just introduce science fiction into a story when I get bored with a story. I'm dreading actually opening the thing again, because I'm aware I got quite carried away with it yesterday.
Stupid stupid stupid. The problem is, I don't like plots. I think they basically get in the way of the filler scenes. And I don't like it when horrible things happen to nice people. I realise that both these things are problems for a writer. I like it when there's very little plot, and lots of discussion. The problem is, I set up such a specific dilemma here that there's not much to do but talk about it, which feels so self-conscious and forced. So obviously a play as a vehicle to discuss the issue, rather than the issue existing largely as something to write the play about. Yes! It's much better that way around! I want to write a really good play, with excellent, interesting characters, beautiful dialogue and intriguing discussions, and I don't really care what it's about. OK, I'm going to try not to worry too much about what this play is actually about and concentrate on the things I actually like about it. The characters, the attractive little character scenes, the character-development during down-time. Plot is such a dirty word.
In an attempt to make this play any good, I have recently been through several new versions. One, it's a nice, gentle discussion of the issues involved in which the main character is surrounded by stable, loving people. Two, move the whole story into a semi-dystopian near-future and alter the crucial points to fit the new setting. Three, take the story to the nth degree and use the existing plot as a catalyst for an Aristotlean hero-style self-destruction in which the main character tears apart herself and everything she has created. But I don't really like writing stories like that.
So I did what I always do when I'm stuck, and asked everyone I could think of. Now I feel crowded and muddled and I still don't really know what to do and none of these people agree with each other. And Duck says I can't just introduce science fiction into a story when I get bored with a story. I'm dreading actually opening the thing again, because I'm aware I got quite carried away with it yesterday.
Stupid stupid stupid. The problem is, I don't like plots. I think they basically get in the way of the filler scenes. And I don't like it when horrible things happen to nice people. I realise that both these things are problems for a writer. I like it when there's very little plot, and lots of discussion. The problem is, I set up such a specific dilemma here that there's not much to do but talk about it, which feels so self-conscious and forced. So obviously a play as a vehicle to discuss the issue, rather than the issue existing largely as something to write the play about. Yes! It's much better that way around! I want to write a really good play, with excellent, interesting characters, beautiful dialogue and intriguing discussions, and I don't really care what it's about. OK, I'm going to try not to worry too much about what this play is actually about and concentrate on the things I actually like about it. The characters, the attractive little character scenes, the character-development during down-time. Plot is such a dirty word.
I'm in the Scribblers' house, failing to write a plan for my new play. I'm sitting with a good friend, who has been typing solidly for at least an hour. So have I, but while he's been typing a script, I've been writing drivel about people who live in a lighthouse and failing to come up with a plot. Considering another nap. Everyone is very focused. Boyfriend is in full musician mode, which makes me feel proud of him, but also like I really should be accomplishing something myself! I am not feeling much like a writer at all at the moment. I was proud of my last script, so I'm a bit frightened the next one will be trivial rubbish. Also, I'm not that excited about the idea I've got for this one, so I don't think I want to spend 3 months on it yet. Ahhh!
Ah well, tonight we're going to have a superhero party based on characters we invented for ourselves to write adventures about!
Ah well, tonight we're going to have a superhero party based on characters we invented for ourselves to write adventures about!
Ha! Actually this isn't so bad. I took aside the two worst ones separately and told them what I thought of their behaviour in a polite and mature manner, and they apologised and seem a bit nicer now. They're all sitting in silence doing a mock exam now. OK, that was what I had to do with them anyway but it is satisfying! I am being very serious and strict. Ha! You lose this round, suckers!
The teaching course took up a lot of my spare time over the weekend - I had to plan a micro-teach in my subject. I went for metaphors, similes and cliches through the medium of Shakespeare's sonnet that begins, "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun..."
However, I fucking hate teenagers. I never want to teach them. Some of them were picking on me today. Picking on me! I am an adult! And I work here! It's weird though, it makes me feel like I'm 15 again. I tried ignoring them, but then did the grown-up thing and took the main one aside and told him this was not appropriate behaviour etc. etc. but I doubt it will help. They were properly calling my name in a funny voice, like in school - dick heads! I think I'll have to tell the teacher if they don't stop, but I hate the idea of him talking to them about it. I have to spend an hour with them this afternoon. Little fuckers.
Ah well! It's funny though. I'm still used to all that, even though I've been out of it for years and years now, it feels the same. And the new environment, where I get treated with adult respect, and I'm good with strangers my own age, feels like the one that's strange.
However, I fucking hate teenagers. I never want to teach them. Some of them were picking on me today. Picking on me! I am an adult! And I work here! It's weird though, it makes me feel like I'm 15 again. I tried ignoring them, but then did the grown-up thing and took the main one aside and told him this was not appropriate behaviour etc. etc. but I doubt it will help. They were properly calling my name in a funny voice, like in school - dick heads! I think I'll have to tell the teacher if they don't stop, but I hate the idea of him talking to them about it. I have to spend an hour with them this afternoon. Little fuckers.
Ah well! It's funny though. I'm still used to all that, even though I've been out of it for years and years now, it feels the same. And the new environment, where I get treated with adult respect, and I'm good with strangers my own age, feels like the one that's strange.
Oh, that's only three days! Not so bad! And actually, I have got a fair idea of what I want to write about for my new play! Woo! I'm worried people might think it's incredibly autobiographical and awkwardly personal though. It won't be, but that's what people might think.
It's very tempting to rest on your laurels after finishing something, but I find it's important to time it carefully - if you let it go on too long, you get depressed. Or, I do anyway.
Nothing further to report. I have to do a micro-teach for my teaching qualification next week. Haven't planned it yet. I want to do Basic Poetry Appreciation. I was going to invent a game where you have lots of cards each containing parts of an extended metaphor and you have to match them up, but the teacher pointe dout I would first have to explain what a metaphor was. Aaah!
It's very tempting to rest on your laurels after finishing something, but I find it's important to time it carefully - if you let it go on too long, you get depressed. Or, I do anyway.
Nothing further to report. I have to do a micro-teach for my teaching qualification next week. Haven't planned it yet. I want to do Basic Poetry Appreciation. I was going to invent a game where you have lots of cards each containing parts of an extended metaphor and you have to match them up, but the teacher pointe dout I would first have to explain what a metaphor was. Aaah!
Well, then! I have now sent my play out to six London theatres who offer to read unsolicited scripts. The most exciting is probably the Soho Theatre, who promise not only to read, but also to send feedback on every single script they receive. Yeah! I also re-wrote it a bit and re-formatted it for radio, and sent that version to the BBC Writersroom. It's quite interesting to think of ways to convey the same atmosphere and ideas through a different medium - replacing stage directions which have characters seem to interact visually, with audio directions which have characters talking over each others' soundtracks to imply they're interacting.
It's a great feeling to send a script, with a lovely, professional-looking cover letter out to theatres. Even though I'm not expecting any responses beyond rejection letters, it's very exciting to feel that you have some reason to correspond with the literary department of a theatre, and to know your script will at least make it inside their offices.
I've scrapped the Wind in the Willows story, and instead I'm going to write the Jane Austen story, re-draft a short story I have for the children's comp., and concetrate on an idea for my new play. I've signed up to Script Frenzy, where you write a 100 page script in a month, so I need a great idea by 1st April. I'm hoping this will be a great way to write my first draft really quickly.
I saw Tim's play over the weekend. It was written by his friend, and it was brilliant! it was called The Quest for Beauty and anthropomosrphised things like Death, Fate, Vengeance and Beauty. The story manages to be essentially the plot of a teen flic played out by near-deities as they travel through strange landscapes. Vengeance loves Beauty. She finds out, misunderstands and thinks he's just interested in her looks, and runs away. Without Beauty, all the worlds turn to ash and Vengeance and Death must go on an epic quest across worlds looking for her. The dialogue was excellent - all crackly and witty, and exactly the right kind of melodramatic. it managed to contain lots of the very beautiful, epic language that I'm always very jealous of, because I can't do it. Tim was brilliant! He had two roles - the comic book store owner, and the Shadow King. He was very good in both roles, and they were very different, but particularly excelled as the Shadow King. he was genuinely quite frightening in the role, and it was very easy to believe he was king of shadows - he did a good job of commanding the stage and making everyone feel like they were in his realm. Fate's performance also stood out - his role was one that called for a lot of subtlety and gravitas, and he pulled it off exactly. Excellent! He barely moved, but you nev er forgot he was there. Also, Death's performance was exemplary. It was quite clear he'd written it, just because the nuances of the dialogue fitted his speech patterns so well (and because he had loads of the best lines!). He was genuinely really funny, and very moving (there was a line that particularly stood out in my mind about Death pulling a bewildered child from its crying mother, only much better phrased). Anyway, excellent!
Well, I've just looked at my Chart and the next thing I have to do is write a 4000 word children's story set around the river. the prize is £500, or £200, or £50 and the top winner gets a fiction writers' consultancy. No idea what that means.
Here's what the website says:
Here's what the website says:
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. We're hoping to find a 'Wind in the Willows' for our times. The competition is part of this year's Henley Literary Festival.
Judges are award-winning/acclaimed writers for children and young adults: Beverley Birch ('Rift'), S.I. Martin ('Jupiter Williams'), Paul Bryers ('Kobal' from 'The Mysteries of the Septogram'), and Sarah Mussi ('The Door of No Return' ).
They say elsewhere: The Prize is fror a river-related story for young people (ages 5-16).
Right, one week. I've got to send it next Wednesday. :-)
I think when I devise my new chart at the end of March, I'm only going to include script-writing competitions. Even though there are loads more short story comps, I think I should really be concentrating on getting better at scripts.
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