Targets: the next six months

What do I want to achieve in the next six months? I have a completed TV script (sent back with a nice Thanks-but-no-thanks letter from the BBC)which I would like to adapt into a stage play. I started this, but think I was sticking too strictly to the original. I discussed it in my writing class and can see it needs a big rewrite in sections, with amends to characters and order of events (eg, instead of Elise remaining off-stage throughout we need to see what's happening to her), so that's number one on the list.

There's also some great competitions I should be entering short stories into. But first I need to prune, adapt and edit a short story up to competition standard. My attention span is usually too short for that sort of thing!

1) The Manchester Fiction Prize:

First prize: £10,000*

Deadline for entries: 12th August 2011
Entry fee: £15
Judges: Heather Beck, John Burnside, Alison MacLeod and Nicholas Royle

Under the direction of Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, the Manchester
Writing School at Manchester Metropolitan University is launching the
second Manchester Fiction Prize. The competition will award a cash prize
of £10,000* to the writer of the best short story submitted, and is open
internationally to both new and established writers aged 16 or over; there
is no upper age limit.

All entrants are asked to submit a story of up to 3,000 words in length.
The story can be on any subject, and written in any style, but must be
fiction and new work, not published or submitted for consideration
elsewhere during this competition.

The Manchester Fiction Prize celebrates the substantial literary
achievements of Manchester, building on the work of the Manchester Writing
School and enhancing the city's reputation as one of Europe's most
adventurous creative spaces. The prizes will be awarded at a gala ceremony
hosted as part of the 2011 Manchester Literature Festival.

2) The Asham Award:

I mentioned this last year but (no surprises) never got round to completing an entry. It was themed, which I found difficult to get excited about. Must keep an eye out for an update on the website for this year's competition details. It's only for female unpublished writers and gets very good PR.

3) And of course, the Bridport Prize. I cover the details of this in a previous blog entry.

Big in Japan

In a moment of vanity (once I was done googling myself*) I checked out my Blogger stats to see if ANYONE bar me reads this self-indulgent twaddle. Well...turns out they do! I'm particularly popular in Japan, Canada, the USA and Denmark. No doubt most people are happening upon it by accident, but I'd like to think it's other writer hopefuls and people interested in drama scripts. If you fall into the latter categories (or the former, if I'm honest - beggars, choosers and all that) then why not get in touch? That's sort of the point of this new-fangled rejection of face to face human contact. We're all supposed to be connected and networking through cyber space. What do you do? Why are you here? And what do you want more of?

I look forward to hearing from you.

*Not much to report on the google front - I have a common name and my life is, thus far, clearly not considered noteworthy by Sir Tim Berners-Lee and friends.

Class work example 3

We were thrown into the blackness and landed in piles. I felt something scrunched up by my shoulder that didn’t move when I shrugged. I prayed it stayed still because it was never alive, not because it had ceased to be. There were grunts, staccato demands barked as the men dragged us around like sacks of spuds. ‘Mover, perra,’ and ‘callate, puta Americana.’ One grabbed me round my chest, pinching and pulling at the flesh of my armpits with his stubby fingers. His hands left a sluggy trail where they brushed over my face, and his rotten odour filled my mouth. I could hear my own constant wheezing breaths and the pump-pump of my heartbeat like white noise. I half expected one beat to be too much, to push my insides out of my chest like a scene from Alien. Finally the turn of phrase ‘heart in my throat’ made sense; it sat engorged at the base of my neck, threatening to choke me.

Once the Men left us alone we were silent for a long while. Or at least it felt like it. Time isn’t quite so measurable in the dark, when it expands and contracts into gaping holes or flurries of panic. The first voice to speak out wasn’t mine. I was waiting, willing someone else to go first, frightened that if I spoke no-one would answer back. I didn’t want the answer to be finite, and in the dark there are always possibilities. ‘H-hello?’ came the first voice, female and stuttering. There was a pause and I felt us hold our collective breaths. A man responded ‘I’m here’ he said. His voice came from behind me, her voice from in front. Surrounded I spoke out ‘How many?’ At the same time another voice spoke, posing the same question. ‘Are there more of you?’ she asked, a distorted echo.

Again nobody spoke. The pause was too long and so two more people started at once, like a conversation with satellite delay. Again I asked my little question: how many. The number was most important, providing substance where nothing else was tangible. Concentrating I could feel very little. My arms were tied and numb behind my back. My face was pressed against the floor, gritty against my cheek. I lay on my side in a position like the result of a suicide leap, spine twisted and legs bent awkwardly. I pictured the chalk outline from cop shows, and in my mind I was already dead. ‘I’m here’ it was the woman who first spoke up ‘my name is Geneveive’ her English was perfect, but she spoke with a thick French accent. ‘I’m thirty-four years old, from Lyon. I’m a journalist.’ ‘Hello Geneveive’ another woman spoke out encouragingly. ‘I’m Annik. Dutch. Also a journalist.’ ‘Thank you.’ Courtesy, rather than a hand to hold, was all we could offer.

Taking a ragged breath I decided it was my turn ‘Hi…everybody. I’m Bethan, I’m British, from Leeds.’ I paused before the final push. ‘And I’m looking for my husband.’
Then they came thick and fast.
‘Paul. From Boston.’
‘Tina, Paul’s wife.’
The two voices came from very near each other, maybe within touching distance. I tried to stretch a foot, to make contact, jealous of theirs.
‘My name is Diana. Travelling from Cambridge, England.’
‘Diana! I’m here – over here!’
‘Stephanie!’
‘That’s my friend, Stephanie.’ There was rustling in the dark, perhaps Diana reaching out her foot.
‘And Dan, Daniel. I’m with them. Girls, where are you?’
‘Over here’ ‘Here’ The words came at once, a confused echo from opposite sides in the darkness.
‘I don’t know where that is’ Dan’s words were met with another confused silence. The connection between us was tenuous, and I didn’t want to break it.
‘Is that everybody?’ I asked, to which there were murmurs in reply.

With no visual clues I couldn’t see if I should talk. Nobody had instructed not to but it seemed unwise to anger the Men.
Out of the darkness we heard Geneveive ‘Who are you?’
Confused, I responded. ‘We already said. I think that’s everyone.’
‘No, I mean who are you. Like I’m a news journalist from the Netherlands, out here with only a small crew. My cameraman is missing, and I think the others escaped. I am lucky, I have no one at home waiting for me.’
‘No-one? There must be someone.’ Tina spoke up from across the room, and I felt an almost physical pain as I imagined she would be squeezing Paul’s hand, grateful.
‘My parents are gone, that’s ok, and I have no other family.’
‘Someone will care though.’ I couldn’t help myself. Being alone there was bad enough for me.
‘I have friends, but they will be fine – they have each other. Somebody said before their husband is missing.’
I swallowed, but shielded by the dark decided to tell them.

Holby City applications - how not to do it

With reference to the job description please use this section to fully demonstrate the extent to which your skills, abilities and experience meet the specific requirements of the role.

I would be well-suited to the trainee script editor role on Holby City due to a combination of my academic achievements, workplace experience, and attitude towards the challenges of the role. I have always enjoyed working with scripts, from a background of A-level theatre studies and a degree in English. In my spare time I still regularly read plays, attend the theatre two or three times a month and have an interest in how plays are written and their development from page to stage or screen. This hobby has now developed into a part-time freelance role; I work as a reader, researcher and consultant for both television production companies and freelance TV writers. This work has provided a broad base of knowledge, ranging from script reports and editorial suggestions to research for a biopic, and has enabled me to develop my analytical skills at a high level. I made the decision to freelance part-time following a work placement on Holby City in 2009, when I used annual leave from my job at a media agency to trial working for a continuing drama. During my time at Holby City I was pro-active in offering help not just to the research team where I was based but also to editors, storyliners and script secretary. I feel this gave me not just a fantastic insight into the way the show is run, but also to gain experience that I have since built on in my freelance role through editing scripts and producing reports.

I would also bring other relevant skills to the role from my job as a media Account Manager. I regularly work with clients on media strategies, which involves presenting research and ideas to them in a relevant and interesting way. This précising of information would come in useful when acting as an intermediary between writers and producers, working out ways of balancing the writer’s intentions with the long-term character development and story arcs. Working as part of a team is also integral to my job, and communication is key to keeping track of large workloads. This is a skill that would allow me to work simultaneously on different stories, as I currently manage up to fifteen clients at any one time. The way I currently adapt to different client styles would also enable me to modify the way I work with producers, and to work fluidly within the Holby team structure. I have experience working under pressure for demanding clients, so would be able to cope with the tight programme deadlines. I also deal with large budgets and can calmly negotiate rates with media owners, which I believe will allow me to present each side of a story debate articulately and rationally.

However these skills are more than a sum of their parts. I not only have a relevant education, script experience and workplace acumen but I am clearly driven, determined and enthusiastic. I used half my annual holiday allowance to complete a work placement, negotiated a way of making my account manager role into a part-time position and have made strong television writing contacts over the last eighteen months. Though I only have a brief insight into continuing drama script work I have spent the last year working to ensure this is the right decision. There is no better place to get involved in drama script editing than at the BBC, because regardless of cuts or feedback in some press the output and the quality of talent speaks for itself. In particular Holby City should be lauded for its dedication to being both entertaining and thought-provoking, continuing to raise pertinent questions about NHS funding and medical ethics. Holby also constantly revaluates the roles within its development, with moves such as the appointment of a writer-producer making the move toward a more writer led show. The role of trainee script editor is one that would allow me to utilise my talents, but to learn quickly from a strong, experienced team. I would love to work on any BBC drama, but since my work placement Holby has a little place both in my heart and on my TV viewing schedule.

Writing course update

It's all been pretty busy recently. Am having a brilliant experience on the St Martins course, due largely to the excellent teaching/ crowd control of Elise Valmorbida. She is obviously a good author (recommend The Book of Happy Endings and The Winding Stick), and as a copywriter spends a lot of time thinking about the effect of words on people, but more than those things she has a way of eeking out information. She insists that there are no authorial caveats before reading, there's no criticism without editorial suggestions and no idea is a bad idea - just one that needs work. I also feel that without even realising it my writing has changed hugely since I took the first course two years ago. My style is brasher, harsher and more confident. And, to use a phrase I despise the connotations of, more 'masculine.' A tutor of mine at university claimed to be able to tell the gender of a student through their essay style, with females using more phrases such as "possibly", "perhaps" and "this could be seen as..." and male students, as a rule, wrote more definitively and more authoritatively. At uni this was definitely true of my work - how could little old me possibly be suggesting that I know better than an expert, or that my work is even worth the time it takes to read at all? Such a shame, but hopefully am ironing out that issue now.

A couple of weeks ago the assignment was about Crowd Control; the aim being to have more than two characters entering into conversation.

Write a new story scene which features at least six characters, telling the tale from ONE participating character's perspective, building momentum through conflict to a climax...

Please be aware of: how gently/slowly you need to introduce characters into the scene; how much detail you need in order to distinguish characters clearly from each other; how you contrast the depth of detail about certain characters with minimal indication of others; how your narrative point of view will determine understanding of the other characters; how to balance revealing action with dialogue and unspoken emotional currents; how the reader may perceive the other characters differently from the main narrator; how often to mention the existence of minor characters who are 'needed for the numbers' but don't take centre stage just now...

Strangely this is something I don't think I've ever tried before. It was as the problems in Libya were just coming to the forefront in the news and must have been on my mind, as I wrote about a political hostage situation. Making the assignment a bit harder for myself than it has to be I also had all the characters in the dark, thus negating any opportunity to differentiate during the conversation through physical description. Doh. But I enjoyed the assignment nevertheless, and will publish my latest version in the next post.

In other news yet another rejection from Holby City. This time should have been extra disappointing as the job was pretty much perfect for my skills and experience (trainee script editor, Holby City) however when the email came through I barely batted an eyelid. I know what to expect from the BBC by now, and it's a big fat No Thanks. However I've been very busy with alternative opportunities, and here's hoping it will work out and I'll have a brand new blog to start on soon...