Monday 20 April 2009

Back to Work!

I hope everyone had a nice break last weekend!

As mentioned, I had the whole week off work and (as promised) I "lounged around, doing nothing!"

I did do a bit of writing, which was great being able to do it at my leisure - instead of having to stay up late to squeeze it in between work! Funny thing is though, I actually get more done if I've got work the next day! I think it's because work is mundane and writing takes my mind off it. When I'm not at work I don't need to take my mind off it and so I don't write as much!! I hope I'm not like this if I ever make a career out of it - I'll never get anything done!!

My script has totally changed direction now. I'm actually structuring it as a proper series (which will probably end up as a sitcom) and I've even started to write a series bible with character backgrounds, bio's etc. I really enjoyed writing the bible and I'd recommend that anyone else who is considering writing a potential series does the same. Like me, you're probably only going to write one episode, but writing the bible gets all of the characters straight in your head. Give them a background and a personality and how they fit into the story then when you're actually writing you can tell whether or not they would actually react the way you've written or whether what you've written is complete bullshit! (As mine was before the bible!) It doesn't have to be huge (like the Star Trek bible). Just a page of premise for the series and maybe a paragraph or two for each character. I'm also writing the episode out as a summary. All in all, it's more of a treatment at the moment, but as ideas pop into my head I'll be expanding it. It may never see the light of day, but
it's there in case I need it!

So, not much else going on. Been pretty quiet all round - even the SharpShooter group has been quiet over the last week but now I'm back at work I'll be getting that mundane feeling again and my writing will once again keep me going!

I didn't get to watch many episodes of Sliders. Probably a good thing because if I remember correctly it goes a bit crap after series 3!

I watched Crank 2 on Friday with my other half and I've got to say - What a ride!!!
Totally outrageous!! If you like non-stop, over the top, action films then this is a must! Some people hate it, but we loved it! Hilarious and sick at the same time!! Be warned though, this film uses the "C" word more times than the "F" word (and it uses that a lot!) It's usually Jason Statham saying it though, so it's actually quite funny! The first Crank film is actually on ITV4 while I'm typing this, so if you're reading this as soon as I've posted it, flick over and take a look! Another warning - it's uses a LOT of those wobbly camera angles and dodgy cuts that TV's James Moran hates, but I think it gets away with it because it makes the film move faster!

Talking of the mighty James Moran - Don't forget to watch "Severance" this Friday on BBC1 at 11:45PM. Fantastic film! Actually written by James and not by some phantom, as all the TV listings would have you believe, what with not mentioning who actually came up with the idea! Read James' rant here (which I fully support!)

By the way, if anyone thinks that this font is crap, let me know. It's supposed to look like a script, but sometimes I think it looks a tad small!






3 comments:

Sofluid said...

I like the font!

Hello and welcome to the fascinating and exciting world of scriptwriting! I too am still learning - I started in April 2008.

We seem to be in a similar position (in that we work full time and look forward to writing as an "escape".) I too would love to make a career with my writing and have been working as hard as I can in my spare time to reach that goal.

I must say blogging has helped me tremendously... There are so many fantastic scribes who give so much [free] advice and I'm so grateful for all of that :) I see that you're already following some of them. Have a browse through my blogroll and you'll find many more!

Best of luck with this comedy series you're writing. You've definitely got the right idea early on - writing bibles, treatments and so forth is such a help in the development of projects. For quite a while I was one of those writers who dived straight in, thinking I didn't need to plan and that the idea would develop as I went along. Granted, that's sometimes a worthwhile exercise, but in reality, planning is paramount.

You really sound like you're getting to know the craft quickly, so well done and keep it up! :)

Splinter073 said...

Hi Sofluid!

Thanks for the comment! Thanks also for being the first person to officially follow my blog!

I found your blog a few days ago and read it from the beginning. Some of the stuff you write parallels my thoughts exactly! It's nice to find someone who has also started from scratch, as most of the other bloggers have already had work commissioned when they start their blogs. They're a brilliant resource though! ;)

It certainly is an escape! So much so that I keep daydreaming at work! Not good if I accidentally delete 4 years worth of a user's work...whoops!

I'd love to read some of your work. Sounds like you have some fantastic ideas!

Anyway, I hope you're watching Severance at the moment. James will kill us in our sleep if we don't!

Sofluid said...

Ah, I watched it on DVD a few months ago :) Liked it a lot!

I also read a lot of your posts yesterday!

I'm glad you like the sound of my writing and would appreciate having you as a contact who will give some feedback on my work :) Likewise would be glad to read through and give feedback on your work, too :)

My email address is michellecgoode@gmail.com

Happy writing!