It's like fellwalking

Ever climbed a fell and seen the top. Then you get to the top and find it was just a bump and the real top is still to climb. Then you get to the top and find it was just a bump and the real top is still to climb. Then you get to the ....

Well this first nearly half a year has felt a bit like that.

I've been working hard on my bad habit of overwriting. Having come in from a prose background it has been hard to cut the description and action down to the minimum. I love those vivid phrases and all the detail. But if I want to do that I should be tackling a short story or a novel.

Instead I've had to think of the script as a technical document. Something that will be read and used by both the creative and the technical sides of the industry. That isn't too bad because I write technical reports every day. I've found the toughest part has been mastering the balance. It is still a creative document too and so shouldn't be cold, clinical and formulaic. In other words don't be boring.

I think I've hit the balance now but time will tell.

I've also seemed to be chasing deadlines. Don't know if Spring is usually this hectic or whether I've just become more aware of it this year.

I started with loads of deadlines ahead and thought I'd just see how many I'd hit. I quickly realised I'd have to prioritise. What did I stand a chance on and what would expand my portfolio if I missed. That's kept me pretty busy.

I made about 25% of them which was still a lot more than if I'd ambled along writing specs as the mood took me. I need deadlines. I regret not managing to hit Bruntwood. Yes I know the deadline is still four days away but it has to be posted and I don't want to send off an early draft. The work isn't wasted though. The subject fits into Protect The Human too.

I haven't stopped my spec work though. Three features at different stages, an hour long TV drama and a radio play. Plus I need to get back to every1sacritic because the new deadline is on its way.

So does it ease up? All these deadlines? Or do you crumble into a mess.

Mmmmm. Crumble. Off to get pudding now.

Procrastinating in Bookshops

Well I've not got much writing done this week. My Alter Ego, Aunty Ethel, was flat out trying to clear her desk before the holiday. Still ended up having to work remotely to finish it off so too knackered in the evenings.

However I've procrastinated enough. I did a check on deadlines and it scared me rigid. Can't keep finding pencils to sharpen and cupboards to clean. OK, I don't do the cleaning cupboards thing. I've been known to dump stuffing out of a box and wonder in passing when they'd added extra sage to the recipe. But honestly, bread mould is just another form of penicillin isn't it? And no-one actually died.

So what deadlines are brewing?

26th March Wed: Hotbed <30min Stageplay
28th March Fri: BSSC Early Deadline
31st March Mon: Supershort Late Deadline
04th April Fri: C4 Coming Up 30min Deadline
07th April Mon: Supershort Without A Box
11th April Fri: Harper Bazaar Short Story Competition
14th April Mon: Deadline for College of Comedy Application
15th April Tue: every1sacritic 15min play
15th April Tue: Page Feature and Short Competition Late Deadline
01st May Thu: Nicoll Fellowship Application
13th June Fri: Bruntwood Playwriting Competition
28th June Sat: BSSC Late Deadline

Doubt I'll make them all but if I fail on one I can use some of it for the next.

(Update: Lianne has just issued her latest deadline list. Always worth checking out.)

I've also set myself a deadline for my feature treatment. To chuck it Lucy's way before the end of the week. She's got some free time so send your stuff in. Really good value and very comprehensive notes.

I am also a bit depressed after a visit to the local bookshop. Usually it makes me feel a lot lighter in spirit (and pocket too). Don't need booze to feel better, just to wonder round a bookshop. However I overheard a couple of conversations. OK they spoke so loudly you probably heard them yourselves.

Conversation 1 between two 13yr-ish girls.

Girl1: What's this?
Girl2: A bookshop.
Girl1: So they sell books?
Girl2: Guess so.
They swagger over to the comic book section.
Girl1: Eugh. Seen what these girls are wearing?
Girl2: Gross.
Both look the store over.
Girl1: This stuff is so boooring.
Girl2: They've got booky-wook?
Girl1: Nah. There's nothing here.
They strut out.

Conversation 2 between designer mum and 8yr-ish daughter.

Girl: Can I get this?
Mum: What's the point, you're wasting your token?
Girl: But I really want it and it says 2 for 1.
Mum: But it costs more than your token. You can get a book with your token.
Girl: It's only 6.99
Mum: How much? What a waste of money. Come on. Debenhams has a sale on.
Mum dumps book back on shelf and drags daughter out.

I bought my kids their first books before they were born. I read The Hobbit to them when they reached four. With all the voices. (Tip, don't start with a different voice for each dwarf. You can't keep track but they can.) My youngest will voluntarily go to bed early if it means a bedtime story. And they traipsed round Hay on Wye without protest, buying as many books as I do.

I feel sad that they may become a minority. All those children missing the chance to make their own films in their heads.

OK. So what am I going to do to beat this funk. Read, write and watch some films. With a bit of chocolate on the side of course. After all it is Easter.

Happy Easter everyone. No slaughtering the Easter Bunnie.