I found it, that feeling you get when you absolutely love something, when it's all you think about, when it just comes naturally, and when everything you touch turns to pure, solid gold.
My CBBC entry was so much fun, more fun than I've had for ages. It was just a joy to type words, one after the other, and not to care what anyone else might think of it. It just flowed, and flowed, and flowed. And when I reached the end I hardly had anything I needed to change. It was just perfect. Maybe it was the fact the story has been in my head for three years now, and is being written as a novel, or maybe it was working to a deadline that did it? Whatever it was I now want to write the second episode, and the third, and the fourth, and so on. Pure writing joy.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I now have my writing mojo back...yeah, baby, yeah!!!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
The CBBC Rush
18 pages written, 12 to do.... 6 days and 10 minutes till the deadline.
Will I make it?
Read the comments to find out.
Will I make it?
Read the comments to find out.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
CBBC
Frantically working on my CBBC entry, trying to get it finished by the deadline. But a thought occurs to me, what if it's too scary?
A drama aimed at the 6-12 year old viewers, so exactly HOW scary can I make it? Do I avoid scenes with characters suffering nightmares, in dark places being chased by creatures they cannot see, or do I go,"BOLLOCKS" and just write it how I want to and risk a nation of six year olds weeing their pants in terror?
Mind you, if I do that, those children will remember the program for the rest of their lives, which is what good TV drama is all about.
Oh dear, what should a writer do?
A drama aimed at the 6-12 year old viewers, so exactly HOW scary can I make it? Do I avoid scenes with characters suffering nightmares, in dark places being chased by creatures they cannot see, or do I go,"BOLLOCKS" and just write it how I want to and risk a nation of six year olds weeing their pants in terror?
Mind you, if I do that, those children will remember the program for the rest of their lives, which is what good TV drama is all about.
Oh dear, what should a writer do?
Monday, June 22, 2009
Bastard Pooter
Bastard pooter crashed because of bastard Mac update.
Bastard reinstall went bastard wrong and I lost ten years of bastard photos.
And I haven't been able to write a word of the bastard CBBC thing for three bastard days because of it!!!!
Nine bastard days to go and still only three bastard pages. Better get a bastard move on then.
BASTARD!!!!!
Bastard reinstall went bastard wrong and I lost ten years of bastard photos.
And I haven't been able to write a word of the bastard CBBC thing for three bastard days because of it!!!!
Nine bastard days to go and still only three bastard pages. Better get a bastard move on then.
BASTARD!!!!!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Apology
Last night I posted something I had noticed about James Moran which I thought was funny. On reflection it wasn't and may have been interpreted as a criticism of his work.
The one comment I received called me unprofessional and quite rightly so.
I would just like to state that James Moran deserves the success he is experiencing, because he is very talented and works extremely hard, and at no time have I thought, or intended to apply, the opposite.
So if anyone was offended by my post, please accept my humble apologies.
Dom
The one comment I received called me unprofessional and quite rightly so.
I would just like to state that James Moran deserves the success he is experiencing, because he is very talented and works extremely hard, and at no time have I thought, or intended to apply, the opposite.
So if anyone was offended by my post, please accept my humble apologies.
Dom
Monday, June 15, 2009
The Sound Of Silence
I've been a bit quiet of late, tis coz I have my head down trying to do this CBBC thing.
I will surface soon enough, and there had better be plenty of comments on my posts when I do....or there will be trouble :-P
I will surface soon enough, and there had better be plenty of comments on my posts when I do....or there will be trouble :-P
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
A Writer Shall Be Rewritten
I've just started the third rewrite on Second Skin, my supernatural comedy drama, thanks to some pretty honest notes from some very lovely people. And it's a biggy, almost a complete overhaul of character, plot and original idea. The thing I don't like about rewrites, and it's a big thing, is my enthusiasm for the project evaporates slightly with every new version. To me writing then becomes mechanical and loses the joy and excitement which first attracts me to a project. With a loss of enthusiasm comes a loss of motivation. I'd rather Facebook or Twitter.
How to combat it? One suggestion is to put the script away for a few months until it starts to interest you again. After all should you really work on something you've lost your enthusiasm for? Wouldn't this weaken the effectiveness of any rewrite?
Another suggestion is just to plow on through with it despite a dwindling enthusiasm. Get the rewrite done, leave it for a while and then come back to it. Then you can see if the rewrite worked and go back and change what didn't. This is significantly harder work than the above and can lead to a lot of indecision, but is still my preferred way of working. I don't like to give up and for me putting aside a script until my enthusiasm returns is doing exactly that.
Another problem I have with excessive rewriting is the diluting of the original idea. The idea is to make your script better, improve on characters, sharpen dialogue and tighten structure. Your script maybe much improved at the end, but does all that rewriting dilute your original voice? After all we are continuously told an original voice is what producers are looking for.
I think as a new writer you're under pressure to make your scripts perfect and I for one know that in the search of that perfection I lose some of that initial sparkle, that rawness which makes the script a Dominic Carver original. Maybe more considered rewrites are the way to go, getting as much feed back as possible before attempting one. This way less time is spent on actual rewrites, enthusiasm is less likely to be lost, and less of the original voice is consigned to the scrap pile.
By the way, the term 'New Writer' annoys me too. I've been writing for years now, just because I haven't had a major commission, option or success so far doesn't mean I'm a 'New Writer'. 'New Writer' is a dirty word in my house and will no longer be used to describe the current stage of my career. I am a writer... end of!
How to combat it? One suggestion is to put the script away for a few months until it starts to interest you again. After all should you really work on something you've lost your enthusiasm for? Wouldn't this weaken the effectiveness of any rewrite?
Another suggestion is just to plow on through with it despite a dwindling enthusiasm. Get the rewrite done, leave it for a while and then come back to it. Then you can see if the rewrite worked and go back and change what didn't. This is significantly harder work than the above and can lead to a lot of indecision, but is still my preferred way of working. I don't like to give up and for me putting aside a script until my enthusiasm returns is doing exactly that.
Another problem I have with excessive rewriting is the diluting of the original idea. The idea is to make your script better, improve on characters, sharpen dialogue and tighten structure. Your script maybe much improved at the end, but does all that rewriting dilute your original voice? After all we are continuously told an original voice is what producers are looking for.
I think as a new writer you're under pressure to make your scripts perfect and I for one know that in the search of that perfection I lose some of that initial sparkle, that rawness which makes the script a Dominic Carver original. Maybe more considered rewrites are the way to go, getting as much feed back as possible before attempting one. This way less time is spent on actual rewrites, enthusiasm is less likely to be lost, and less of the original voice is consigned to the scrap pile.
By the way, the term 'New Writer' annoys me too. I've been writing for years now, just because I haven't had a major commission, option or success so far doesn't mean I'm a 'New Writer'. 'New Writer' is a dirty word in my house and will no longer be used to describe the current stage of my career. I am a writer... end of!
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