May: Persona, Small Chances and It’s My Shout

My secret New Year’s Resolution for 2012 was simple: Get Something Made.

Because, essentially, all your validation as a writer comes from people liking your stuff enough to bother about filming it/performing it/publishing it.

It was my birthday on Friday (a belated Happy Star Wars Day to you all). And I could look at the month ahead of me and feel proud for all the work that went into it. And that, y’know, I smashed that resolution in Month 5.

Persona Season 4 is currently airing through the smartphone app (get it for iDevice or for Android). As I haven’t seen the final footage, I’m excited to see how it turns out. First ep looks better than I could’ve hoped!

In Brighton this weekend? The play I co-wrote with Jack Delaney is premièring at the Brighton Fringe Festival – get your mitts on tickets here!

And now for something completely different.

While I was on the train to London on Friday, I received a phone call from It’s My Shout. For those unfamiliar, IMS is a Welsh short film scheme that’s been around for about ten years. It focusses on new talent, particularly involving teenagers and young adults in the filmmaking process.

I had submitted a short film of mine to them – Bryn Celli Ddu [Brin Keth-lee Thee] – and had received a rejection e-mail. Not uncommon, as I sent out a lot of things and therefore receive a lot of rejections.

However, it turns out they’d made a mistake. I had actually progressed through the selection process and my short film is being made this summer to be aired on BBC Wales in Autumn 2012. Best birthday present ever! (Though my fellow train travellers were probably bemused by the shrieking and hyperventilating).

And how can you, dear reader, make my month of May merrier?

Download Persona and watch avidly.

Pitch up at Brighton Fringe and watch Small Chances.

Watch Bryn Celli Ddu when it airs in Autumn (don’t worry – I’ll remind you).

My First Short Film: Change The World

My year got off to a cracking start! I’ve already talked about my great opportunity with Persona and now I want to shout about my first short film.

I met my enthusiastic director Jack Ayers via Shooting People. He put a call out for short scripts and I answered by telling him what I was working on and linking to my script samples page.

He replied quickly, telling me that he wanted to tell exciting stories about our modern world, short-shorts that had viral potential. We had a quickfire back-and-forth via e-mail about stories we were excited about, particularly based around London.

We agreed to meet later that week at the BFI (where else?) and, after making sure we were the right two people lurking in the lobby, we chatted over tea about London-based stories, incorporating urban legends and city lives. We threw a few ideas around, agreeing on four we liked most to go on to develop over the next few weeks.

Fuelled by excitement, I put together a couple in the first week, and finally eked out the fourth this week. A month ago, Jack told me that he wanted to use one of the scripts – “Change the World” – for a submission to Sundance London. It’s about the City Controller of London and how he woos the girl of his dreams by changing her world.

Unfortunately, the shoot last weekend was cancelled due to the snow. But we’re still aiming to get there before the deadline, meaning my first ever short film will be seen by the world in March.

I’ll keep you posted!

2011: My year with writing

This time last year, I reviewed where I was in my writing career.

I thought I had written the penultimate draft of Steampunk Assassins. I was writing the first draft of The Greenwich Problem. I was planning to write a romantic comedy termed Baking Lawyer (which I abandoned due to fatal flaws). I determined that Military Monster needed a complete overall (which is still awaited.) And I put everything else on hold.

And then 2011 happened.

In January, I finished the first draft of The Greenwich Problem for the BBC’s Laughing Stock competition.

In February, Realm Pictures won the Raindance/Pepsi Max competition. This started them on the road to The Underwater Realm.

In March, I was longlisted for Laughing Stock, which caused much excitement.

In April, I attended the London Comedy Writers Festival, got some great advice and met some awesome creatives. I also wrote another feature script for Script Frenzy.

In May, Realm House hosted the first UWR big production meeting.

In July, Dave, Jon and I went on the first UWR feature script retreat.

In August, I made a wiki for Realm Pictures.

In September, I created my first storyworld.

In November, I went to the London Screenwriters Festival. I got more great advice, and met more awesome creatives, and I pitched my scripts to three producers. I’m waiting to hear back from one of them about The Greenwich Problem. I also wrote an 80K NaNoWriMo novel that I will start editing in January.

In December, Realm launched their Kickstarter. The fund is currently at 85K and climbing. An absolutely amazing response.

Wow, what a year!

So, in 2012, I will:
- Final FINAL draft Steampunk Assassins and send it to producers
- Edit my Cyber Crime Sleuth (NaNoWriMo) novel and send to publishers
- Finish my Asylum pilot, enter it in Red Planet Prize, and send it to producers
- Make a short film
- Get an agent
- See Realm Pictures take Raindance 2012 by storm
- Get married XD

Darling Goals of May

Having returned from a relaxing break away from my day job and my tech, it’s time to knuckle down and return to work.

Script Frenzy and Realm Production Meeting are over. The screnzy script is in a drawer and I’ve knocked together some audition sides for the Underwater shorts.

So, what now?

These days away have been great for percolating ideas and five brand new plots sprung fully-formed from my thigh…I mean, brain. But, like fine wine and decent cheese, these ideas need some time to mature.

Therefore, my goals for this month are:

- Final draft of The Greenwich Project, ready for sending to a comedy prodco
- First draft of new children’s tv project Origami Stories
- Penultimate/final draft of horror short

And now I’ve declared them, so I’m trusting the internet to hold me accountable.

Finally, one more May resolution: do not attend production meetings before drying hair. Especially around sneaky DOPs. Evidence in video below:

[Also, there are some awesome people talking about a breath-taking series of shorts - let them distract you from my dreadful hair.]

Waiting for Go

I hate waiting.

I am an extremely impatient person. The acquiring of a smartphone was such a blessing because I finally had something to do while waiting for appointments, friends to show, trains to arrive.

Right now, I’m waiting to hear back from six different writing opportunities. Two – Laughing Stock and Phill Barron – have graciously kept me updated at regular intervals.

Another is one of my friends, who I know has started a new job. One month of waiting down, probably another one to go.

There’s a competition I submitted for that I haven’t heard a whisper from, so I’m assuming a silent rejection on that front.

And then someone I hit up for a short collaboration and an answer to a Mandy.com ad, which left my inbox barely two days ago. Obviously, I’m not expecting a response to those just yet, but they’re adding to my pile.

Surely, someone wants to e-mail me!

Then I remember that it’s Saturday and normal people have lives.

Time to make more product then!

Plays and players

Just got back from seeing The Extraordinary Revelations of Orca the Goldfish and Lunch Hour. Fast, funny and incredible for one-act, one-location plays.

Then, my friends wanted to head out for drinks and chips. I am on a diet and wanted to walk home. Suddenly, everyone’s afrit for my personal safety but I wander off anyway. Big mistake.

Oh, I’m perfectly fine and unmolested. However, I saw monsters in every shadow and kept going over in my head the scene from my short where the heroine walks alone across campus, watched menacingly from the shadows…

Turned up at home with my heart pounding a mile a minute and an impatient text from my friend ensuring I’m back safely. Safe and sorry, yeesh.

Things more interesting than my inability to walk home without scaring myself silly:

A great article on how to be your own script reader – in the face of your own worst critic and glamoriser.

Samuel Clemens’ idea of a book review

Throw money at a large pink stone and a movie comes out – fund ‘Big Pink’ and get cool stuff, including a film made by awesome folk.

An octopus in a pie factory

You remember that New Years Resolution to concentrate on one thing at a time?

Yeah, guess how well that’s going.

Still reeling from my Laughing Stock second round status (unbelievable squee), I ran straight into a horror short about the Tube. Which is perfect for creepiness.

Oh, and I’m working on a webcomic idea with an incredibly talented artist. More on that when we’ve decided on Strip #1. For now, I’ll say three words: Victoriana. Spirits. Steaaaaam.

And there’s that other horror short? Why am I so in love with horror shorts? Horror films make me freak out.

I should probably actually finish Steampunk Assassins off, yeah?

Also, sticking my nose into my friends’ script will probably just end up in more work for me – though there may be a whiff of a credit.

I need to make like squash and CONCENTRATE.

One to one-hundred-and-ten pages

I went on an excursion to Bristol to visit a friend. From Pads, it’s about ninety minutes, so I left the laptop at home and took the hard drive (for TV catch-up) and the iPhone.

I do my best writing on trains. But would that hold true without keys beneath my fingers and the ability to do more than one thing at a time?

Turned out pretty well. I opened up my scripts in Celtx and fiddled about with them – the major downside was not being able to copy and paste long sequences, as I overhauled my final fight scene in Steampunk Assassins. I also looked up an old draft of the script using Dropbox to see if I still had an old scene that may get reworked into the finale sequence.

The other project I worked on was my entry for the Laugh A Minute competition, which is inspired by Lucy V’s call for sex. Unfortunately, nobody actually has sex, but they were about to get down to it before the hijinks ensued.

The difference between a one-page romp and a feature-length saga is obvious. One’s really long, innit? Also, things like setup, characterisation, plot and turning points go from being lovingly tracked through beats and acts to something quick and dirty that barely has a line to work with.

And, of course, Steampunk Assassins has been an idea for almost seven years and a WIP-script for around twelve months. This naughty little short went from genesis to completion in less than a week – including two rewrites.

I’m thinking about sending out my short tomorrow. I may not send out Steampunk Assassins for another six months. It’s harder to let go of something that you’ve sunk yourself into – but then what’s the point? I’m not writing for my desk drawer and my Dropbox.

Cool things:

Lucy V takes us through Thriller V Horror

Sherlock script up at BBC writersroom

More production blog from The Underwater Realm, which just looks prettier and awesomer (totally a word) with each passing week.

A million different doors

Firstly, congratulations to the exceptionally talented team at Realm Pictures for winning the Pepsi Max It competition. You can see their award-winning entry here and the production blog for their next project here.

So, with all this talent exploding just down the road, surely I should be drawing some inspiration and cracking on with my Next Big Thing?

Obviously. Which is why I’m updating my blog.

I finished my entry for Laughing Stock and then…what? There’s my Baking Lawyer rom com feature that I started to plot – then realised it was only half-baked (*groan*). I struggle with the “Fun and Games” parts of the scripts – the fun, trailer set pieces. I much prefer my turning points and my dark times.

Then there are a couple of short to medium length shorts that I have brewing in my brain. I wonder if they might be a better use of my time – and have a little more flesh to them already.

There’s also a novella and a comic book that I’ve sounded out to a couple of people, as well as doing a final pass on Steampunk Assassins.

In short, I have absolutely no idea in which direction to run.

So I’m standing still.

Prequel

Done. Entry form, cheque, script, synopsis, treatment and postage.

*runs to post and get to work*