Friday 23 January 2009

First Draft- DONE!!

Today I finished the first draft on the script for my TV pilot. Hooray. Feels like an achievement even though I know there’s still a lot of work to do on it. I’m already making the odd change even though I know I should leave it for a bit. All the books tell you to leave it alone for a while after you’ve finished anyway. I know I won’t be able to resist touching it up (oo-err) and I’ll be diving in making changes.
I can see or feel some problems with it already.
· I believe one of my characters changes personality about halfway through just because I didn’t know how to write for her to begin with and the character formed throughout the process.
· Need to strengthen the thread that holds the story.
· I know the story is very slight because the characters all have to meet i’ve been busy setting everything up so need to put more story in there.

I am really excited by this process though. Drafting and re-drafting my novel felt like a massive and daunting task whilst this feels more like fun, I’m sure it won’t in a week or two and I’ll be regretting that last comment.
To cap the day off the Harlan Ellison book Shatterday came through the post today so it’s been a good un all round.

Sunday 18 January 2009

Writing goals for 2009

On New Years Day I awoke early. I don't know how because I think I'd only just gone to bed. I think I'd only just stopped drinking. To be honest it was all a bit hazy.
Anyhow, as soon as I awoke I started to write some resolutions, I'd never done this before so it felt strange. What came out wasn't so much New Year's resolutions but writing goals for the year, hence the title not being New Years Resolutions.
So here's my writing goals for this year, up on the internet for everyone to see, which sort of forces me to get a move on and do some work, or everyone will be able to see that I've failed.

Here they are:-

1. Finish redrafting my childrens novel and send it off to publishers, agents etc

2. Write the sequel to above novel. (First Draft)

3. Write two film screenplays.

4. Write a full tv series.

5. Write a tv pilot out of an unfinished novel I wrote a couple of years ago.

6.Write a short film

7. Write a t least 5 short stories, finish one I started last year.

8. Build a portfolio of stuff.

Actually i think number 8 is hopefully achieved through numbers 1 to 7.

So far I have wrote 1 short story. Working on some of the others. would love to hear other people goals for this year, so send me an e mail if you want.

Saturday 10 January 2009

What i've been watching, reading etc

Had a bit of f ilm week this week. Never usually have as much time to watch them, but with my hours being reduced at work i've had more time to write (lots of short stories coming) and more time to watch films.
Here's what i've been watching this week.

The Hours- the film which Nicole Kidman won an oscar for - by a nose. I really enjoyed it, even though the tone of it was depressing, it all worked well. After reading the novel i wondered if it would work as a film. It did. Great performances, great film. Want to go and see Stephen Daldry's new film out at cinemas at the moment, The Reader.

Isolation- low budget Irish horror film about a gentically modified killer mutated cow foetus. Yes you read that right. Lots of gore and medical instruments. The medical instruments make me feel far more uneasy than the gore does.

In the valley of Elah- Loved this. Starring Tommy Lee Jones, it focuses on him trying to find out what happened to his son who is reported AWOL after returning from the war in Iraq. Written and directed by Paul Haggis, who was responsible for Crash and also wrote Million Dollar Baby, Casino Royale and more.

Outpost- All i have to say is super strong supernatural zombie nazi's. Sold yet? Takes a while to get going but the last half hour is a brutal joy.

Also been watching Seinfeld. Upto Season 3 at the moment. Love this programme, i promise to write a blog upon it in the future.

That's all for now. Bye.

Wednesday 7 January 2009

What do you write in your first blog?

What's the first blog for? The rest of this blog will be about me (that's what blogs are aren't they) specifically they will be regarding my writing endeavours, but what does this first blog have to say?
Basically i just want to write a blog so that my page doesn't look crap and empty. I could jazz it up with some pictures and videos and stuff, but i don't know how to do any of that *sorry*. I am technologically retarded. Getting this far with my blog has been hard enough. It irks me how easy kids find computers these days. They don't remember the days when you had to go into a seperate room to have computer lessons, because the computer was so big it needed a whole room to house it. They wouldn't even believe you if you told them that computer screens had basically one colour, green, with a lighter green when you typed something. God, i'm sounding old. I'm only 27, honest. No, that is not old.
Well i seemed to have waffled on a little and haven't even come back to the main reason i'll be blogging yet. One is to meet fellow writers. Novelists and screenwriters as i currently am working on both. In the planning stages of a film screenplay, a psychological horror. In the writing stages o a tv series, which is unfortunatley fluctuating between a sitcom and a more serious drama, need to sort that out. Lastly, am on the third draft of a childrens novel.

I'm off to work on adding links and stuff to this blog. Please comment if you stumble across it, even if its just to say hello or to be nasty. Be nice to know someone has found it.