... The Attic Studio have confirmed that they will do a reading of my romcom on Jan 31st. Having seen the calibre of the acting overall during just two visits to its below ground basement home in Filmbase, I'm getting pretty excited.
I've learnt in the past six months how much, as a writer, I can get from a reading of any of my work but especially something that doesn't quite work. With this script, feedback on the first draft was very positive by three of the four readers, but what was interesting was that there was little agreement about what was wrong. What one reader loved, another hated... Which is why this reading is so important to me.
I need to hear it to know for myself what works. To garner feedback from actors, other writers, directors that I can spin around in my head and use to figure out what I need to change or work on or maybe even, if I'm lucky, how to make it great!
And I have 24 hours to complete the rewrite. Why am I blogging? To spur myself on!
To all who are currently in the midst of a rewrite, GOOD LUCK and COURAGE!
Showing posts with label deadlines. Show all posts
Showing posts with label deadlines. Show all posts
Thursday, 19 January 2012
Thursday, 10 November 2011
Jameson Dublin International Film Festival/ Untitled
What a mouthful!
Okay, we have till Monday to submit a one page synopsis, a logline and CV for a new feature idea to the Irish Film Board/ JDIFF for their UNTITLED competition. The theme this year is 1916, which really stymied me for a while but I have pulled an idea roughly together that would be such FUN to write. They want lateral thinking, but it has to be historically accurate - tell that to Neil Jordan re Michael Collins!
But here's my problem - they lure you in with this competition called UNTITLED. But then you have to give it a title. Is that a carrot/ stick thing? As I am woefully disastrous with titles,it would be so nice if they didn't need one...
Anyone want to swop synopses before the weekend and give mutual feedback???
Here's the link to the information too: http://www.irishfilmboard.ie/irish_film_industry/news/Deadline_for_Entries_to_the_Successful_Screenwriting_Competition_UNTITLED_Extended_to_November_14th_/1778
Okay, we have till Monday to submit a one page synopsis, a logline and CV for a new feature idea to the Irish Film Board/ JDIFF for their UNTITLED competition. The theme this year is 1916, which really stymied me for a while but I have pulled an idea roughly together that would be such FUN to write. They want lateral thinking, but it has to be historically accurate - tell that to Neil Jordan re Michael Collins!
But here's my problem - they lure you in with this competition called UNTITLED. But then you have to give it a title. Is that a carrot/ stick thing? As I am woefully disastrous with titles,it would be so nice if they didn't need one...
Anyone want to swop synopses before the weekend and give mutual feedback???
Here's the link to the information too: http://www.irishfilmboard.ie/irish_film_industry/news/Deadline_for_Entries_to_the_Successful_Screenwriting_Competition_UNTITLED_Extended_to_November_14th_/1778
Tuesday, 1 February 2011
The Green Light Award
Just came across this competition via Lucy Vee on LinkedIn called Green Light. It's for ten minute scripts, max 5 characters, one location and they guarantee production of the winner, after they've optioned it for £500. The Early Bird deadline is May 1st and entry by then is £15.
I hadn't come across it before but it might be worth a shot? Apparently it is an annual writers award - I think they changed their name this year - which is hosted by the London Screenwriters’ Festival and open to all writers across the globe.
They say the primary goal of the award "is to assist writers by guaranteeing that their work is produced. We do this by purchasing the option on the winning script (£500 / $800 approx) and actually making it with an award winning team of professional film makers and actors".
They also provide professional script development prior to production as well as setting up a lunch with the winner and a top industry literary agent (UK based so if you can't make it, you can do it by phone). The winner also receives a free ticket to the London Screenwriters Festival 2011 (valued at £300).
Might be worth a shot?
The url is, and yes I know it's massive!!: http://www.linkedin.com/news?viewArticle=&articleID=350022389&gid=2902715&type=member&item=42052711&articleURL=http://t.co/wiySxe0&urlhash=BFis&goback=.gde_2902715_member_42052711
I hadn't come across it before but it might be worth a shot? Apparently it is an annual writers award - I think they changed their name this year - which is hosted by the London Screenwriters’ Festival and open to all writers across the globe.
They say the primary goal of the award "is to assist writers by guaranteeing that their work is produced. We do this by purchasing the option on the winning script (£500 / $800 approx) and actually making it with an award winning team of professional film makers and actors".
They also provide professional script development prior to production as well as setting up a lunch with the winner and a top industry literary agent (UK based so if you can't make it, you can do it by phone). The winner also receives a free ticket to the London Screenwriters Festival 2011 (valued at £300).
Might be worth a shot?
The url is, and yes I know it's massive!!: http://www.linkedin.com/news?viewArticle=&articleID=350022389&gid=2902715&type=member&item=42052711&articleURL=http://t.co/wiySxe0&urlhash=BFis&goback=.gde_2902715_member_42052711
Friday, 22 October 2010
Aim for a minor miracle... or walk the dog?
I'm turning a new leaf. There was an article by screenwriter Caroline Farrell on the Irish Playwrights and Screenwriters Guild website (www.script.ie). She's done really well with her scripts, getting them short-listed, long-listed, chosen, made and her attitude is inspiring.
Basically what she was saying is that there are tons of competitions out there. Any one of them might bring us recognition and even dosh. Which despite being selfless writers, we would all really like. Especially if it's in recognition of our work!
And we all have scripts that might have been shelved for a while. Is it time to dust them down, polish them up, make another pass at and send them out? What use are they sitting on the shelf? Maybe the right person or panel is out there that might love it as much as the last one didn't!
From reading scripts for competitions over the years, I have few illusions. No matter how objective you are, it is still a subjective process. There is taste, experience, mood, level of exhaustion and number of scripts in the pile to read all to be taken account of.
The first script of mine that ever got picked for European recognition - for Moonstone Writers Labs - I wrote in ten days. It was optioned quickly and nearly got into production. I still adore it and have hopes to work with a director on it next year, even though I know it will change quite radically. Which is the point of screen-writing - we need to get our material made. It's soul-destroying having them languish unrequited on the shelves!
I've laboured years over others and had some luck in competitions but I got disheartened and stopped years ago. Now I'm thinking, it's time to try again. I'll rewrite - I'm a different person now, I have different insights, skills to bring to a script/ story/ characters - but a deadline can be a wonderful incentive and who knows, some of us have to be lucky!
-
Basically what she was saying is that there are tons of competitions out there. Any one of them might bring us recognition and even dosh. Which despite being selfless writers, we would all really like. Especially if it's in recognition of our work!
And we all have scripts that might have been shelved for a while. Is it time to dust them down, polish them up, make another pass at and send them out? What use are they sitting on the shelf? Maybe the right person or panel is out there that might love it as much as the last one didn't!
From reading scripts for competitions over the years, I have few illusions. No matter how objective you are, it is still a subjective process. There is taste, experience, mood, level of exhaustion and number of scripts in the pile to read all to be taken account of.
The first script of mine that ever got picked for European recognition - for Moonstone Writers Labs - I wrote in ten days. It was optioned quickly and nearly got into production. I still adore it and have hopes to work with a director on it next year, even though I know it will change quite radically. Which is the point of screen-writing - we need to get our material made. It's soul-destroying having them languish unrequited on the shelves!
I've laboured years over others and had some luck in competitions but I got disheartened and stopped years ago. Now I'm thinking, it's time to try again. I'll rewrite - I'm a different person now, I have different insights, skills to bring to a script/ story/ characters - but a deadline can be a wonderful incentive and who knows, some of us have to be lucky!
-
Tuesday, 25 May 2010
Getting work done: the nine-day technique
Writers are always being asked how many hours they work, if they sit at the desk from nine to five or allow themselves to skive off from time to time. (We do, it's what keeps us slightly sane. Sometimes.)
Every writer has to find the technique that works for him or her. One writer I've heard of straps himself to his seat. That way, if tempted to move, the belt restrains him and he decides to do a little bit more work first.
The playwright Bernard Farrell once told me he wrote for the same 9-5 hours he'd got used to when he worked for a ferry company. But he added that yes, he was still working when he walked the dog for hours on the beach or gazed out the window.
Creativity is an unpredictable master and sometimes it is a matter of making yourself write, even if you don't like the material you write because it's a craft and you learn by doing.
Which brings me to my technique for getting work done. I don't work 9-5, I don't have any set routine; I often works nights, weekends, sneak into the office when everyone's quiet or occupied; I frequently burn food because I've snatched a few minutes... but the main thing that has helped me get work done in the last year is my nine day writing cycle.
I was always told that a little knowledge was a dangerous thing... it's not true. it is a very useful thing, even if not useful in the way the knowledge itself was intended, and especially if dipped in dark chocolate and marshmallows and left in the fridge for half an hour. (Or maybe I'm thinking of strawberries?)
I have a friend who is studying to be a Shamen but when we shared a house, she introduced me to a smattering of numerology. The one part that stuck is the idea that you can reduce every day to a number between 1-9 - today being the 25th of May, 2010 = 2 + 5 + 5 + 2 + 1, ie a '6'.
Now 6 days are great for family, for meetings, for interaction of any kind. But that's all I remember about 6. I'm sure there are whole websites devoted to '6'. I've a huge number of them in my date of birth and my mobile number so I feel a certain affection for '6', regardless of the Devil trying to hog them all.
And here's the gist that I remember about the value of the days. 1 - good for starting things/ ideas/ adventures/ travel etc; 2 - good for finding the person/ partner/ mentor/ producer/ director that can help you achieve your idea; 3 - communication and creativity; 4 - hard work and graft, not always easy but if you knuckle down, you get a huge amount done on a '4' day.
5 - conflict and confrontation; a bit like the second act of a feature script. Doesn't mean you will fight with someone or fall out over a contract but it means you could, so be on guard, be calm, be prepared. 6, you know. 7 is for wisdom, learning, gaining knowledge; 8 for chasing what's owed to you/ business stuff; and 9 for completion.
And that's the important bit. I give myself cycles of nine days, always ending whatever work I've set myself on that '9' days. It's better than giving yourself a week because you can still, mostly, take weekends off.
And it's a realistic span of days, given commitments and urgent work that leaps onto your lap making mewling sounds. It's not too long and it's not too short.
And, of course, it's a deadline, even if it's self imposed. Especially if the cash incentive isn't there. When it's done, you can tackles something else, or a different part of the same project so you're not tying yourself down to an endless avenue of work on any particular project/ phase of a project, so you keep your mind fresh and motivated.
And sometimes, when a month turns into the next, you get a really long 'nine' days because the last days of one month can go all the way from 1 to 8 and the first date of the new month, because the month has changed, may be 1. So you get to continue that cycle until you hit a 9.
I've found it works anyway.
Every writer has to find the technique that works for him or her. One writer I've heard of straps himself to his seat. That way, if tempted to move, the belt restrains him and he decides to do a little bit more work first.
The playwright Bernard Farrell once told me he wrote for the same 9-5 hours he'd got used to when he worked for a ferry company. But he added that yes, he was still working when he walked the dog for hours on the beach or gazed out the window.
Creativity is an unpredictable master and sometimes it is a matter of making yourself write, even if you don't like the material you write because it's a craft and you learn by doing.
Which brings me to my technique for getting work done. I don't work 9-5, I don't have any set routine; I often works nights, weekends, sneak into the office when everyone's quiet or occupied; I frequently burn food because I've snatched a few minutes... but the main thing that has helped me get work done in the last year is my nine day writing cycle.
I was always told that a little knowledge was a dangerous thing... it's not true. it is a very useful thing, even if not useful in the way the knowledge itself was intended, and especially if dipped in dark chocolate and marshmallows and left in the fridge for half an hour. (Or maybe I'm thinking of strawberries?)
I have a friend who is studying to be a Shamen but when we shared a house, she introduced me to a smattering of numerology. The one part that stuck is the idea that you can reduce every day to a number between 1-9 - today being the 25th of May, 2010 = 2 + 5 + 5 + 2 + 1, ie a '6'.
Now 6 days are great for family, for meetings, for interaction of any kind. But that's all I remember about 6. I'm sure there are whole websites devoted to '6'. I've a huge number of them in my date of birth and my mobile number so I feel a certain affection for '6', regardless of the Devil trying to hog them all.
And here's the gist that I remember about the value of the days. 1 - good for starting things/ ideas/ adventures/ travel etc; 2 - good for finding the person/ partner/ mentor/ producer/ director that can help you achieve your idea; 3 - communication and creativity; 4 - hard work and graft, not always easy but if you knuckle down, you get a huge amount done on a '4' day.
5 - conflict and confrontation; a bit like the second act of a feature script. Doesn't mean you will fight with someone or fall out over a contract but it means you could, so be on guard, be calm, be prepared. 6, you know. 7 is for wisdom, learning, gaining knowledge; 8 for chasing what's owed to you/ business stuff; and 9 for completion.
And that's the important bit. I give myself cycles of nine days, always ending whatever work I've set myself on that '9' days. It's better than giving yourself a week because you can still, mostly, take weekends off.
And it's a realistic span of days, given commitments and urgent work that leaps onto your lap making mewling sounds. It's not too long and it's not too short.
And, of course, it's a deadline, even if it's self imposed. Especially if the cash incentive isn't there. When it's done, you can tackles something else, or a different part of the same project so you're not tying yourself down to an endless avenue of work on any particular project/ phase of a project, so you keep your mind fresh and motivated.
And sometimes, when a month turns into the next, you get a really long 'nine' days because the last days of one month can go all the way from 1 to 8 and the first date of the new month, because the month has changed, may be 1. So you get to continue that cycle until you hit a 9.
I've found it works anyway.
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