Resolutions seem to break like...

...china cups dropped onto my kitchen floor.

Not that I've done that you understand. Puft ! Like I'd have china cups !

I'm remonstrating myself about not blogging as much as I had wanted. I have taken my eye off the ball. It's not for lack of events to blog either, it's more a case of lack of time. Before I got home last night (to start a 4 day weekend) I hadn't actually turned on my lovely iMac since last weekend. Poor thing.

So what's been happening ? The kittens have well and truly settled. Very comfortable, and are loving their new cat tree. 

..thank you Daddy x

Dr who is back. And Stetsons are cool.

Progress is being made, sort of, with the show, but we've had some set backs. Gemma, who was going to play Starlight, has had to pull out as she realised she has family commitments the week of the show. The wonderfully talented Faye has let us know that because of increased workload (at work, I guess) she has had to drop the larger of the two parts that she had been cast.

We may well be able to get Nick's Mum to do one of the now vacant roles, it would be brilliant to have her involved in a show again. Fingers crossed. So pretty much looks like we are only one person short, instead of two. Monday's rehearsal involved us going over one of the call centre scenes, which are the complicated ones.  We did this easily enough, despite the lack of a Starlight, and with Helen getting herself distracted, becoming too carried away with the background antics of Polly. Even so, scene got blocked out and was working well. We'd actually planned to only do about 5 pages of the scene, but decided to do the whole scene in the end. The comedy is coming alive, the (hopefully) wonderful visual comedy that is laced throughout the show. Wednesday night we blocked out a scene set in the Manager's office, and again the comedic talents of Lin (Bone) and Faye came to the fore. Such a shame that she (Faye) won't be able to do Hermione, but I understand if she's at risk of being overwhelmed. Much better that she let us know now, than in about 8 weeks time. 18 Rehearsal sessions left until the show opens. Clock is ticking. Clock  IS ticking.

The blocking, on the whole is taking less time than we imagined, which is good because we will have to go back and do some of it again for the benefit of the characters that we will now have to recast. We also need to make sure that we can sort out the filmed pieces in the show, as if we can't get them to work, we really do have a problem.

Dr Who returns. Fantastic, thrilling, scary and funny episode. The Impossible Astronaut, at risk of running out of superlatives, it was a brilliantly sharp script. I've now watched the episode 6 times, and it sings every time. Really tight. Really well done. Again laden with phrases that will, I am sure to be copied by millions of fans up and down the country.

I've brought a sun hat. After shaving off all my hair again, and the recently gorgeous sunshine, I thought it would be a good idea to protect my poor noggin from the sun. I have become rather attached to my sun hat. I am sure that the prevailing opinion may be that I look like a prat, but I don't care. I like it, so I wear it. I am ready to pick Chloe up tomorrow, and have her laugh uncontrollably at me.

I wear a sunhat now

I have come to the conclusion that I am not going to be able to complete the script Laptop for Script Frenzy. Now I know that I sure as hell WONT achieve it with THAT attitude, but as I am only at page 25 I really would have to cane it completely to even stand a chance of getting it finished before the end of the competition. This is sad. I really had wanted to make sure that I did complete it, as I had failed so miserably to complete NanoWriMo in November last year, using the move as a reason/ excuse.

Grrrr. Frustrated with myself. Need to get a review done for Beacon, as I haven't done one since I moved. Need a great big boot and rather bendy legs, so as to kick myself up the arse don't I ? Yes. See. I knew I was right.

... and sunhats are cool....

What else has been going on ? Well, work has not been without its dramas this week. People can be funny things, and sometimes the hardest thing they find to do is to look into the mirror and accept what they see. Me, I'm always looking in the mirror, although you may not think so to look at my dress sense. It his heartening to realise that despite some difficult times, the world isn't against me. I work with some really great people, and I just wish I got more of a chance to get to know them in that context than the ones I am normally presented to them in. Hopefully the crowd from work will come along to the show, and will be able to let their hair down and have a really good night.

Royal Wedding. As someone who both dislikes the idea of royalty on political grounds, but has a deeply contradictory love of the royal family themselves - and all the things they do for the country I had decided that I wasn't going to be spending time on my extra day off to watch William & Kate's wedding. Somehow, my 'bah humbug' nature was overridden sufficiently for me to watch the spectacle and be very moved by everything that I saw. I really don't give a stuff about the ins and outs of their or anyone else's private lives. But to be a spectator on such a happy day reminds me of how much hope there is in the human spirit and in the love of another. I do wish them well for the future. Wishes I am sure they will not be short of.

It is at times like this, when pretty much half the country has gotten caught up in the fever and celebration and flag waving that we remember what it's like to be British. It is nice to see though, that because most of the flags are the ones provided by the Sun newspaper, and have a picture of the happy couple on them, thereby forcing Jo public to put the bloody flag up the right way. Otherwise I would be getting all anal about how some people don't realise that there is a right and a wrong way to hang a union flag.

The show must go on..

Sunshine has suddenly become an expected part of the weather in England. We've had glorious weather pretty much for about 4 days now, and before everyone starts moaning about it being 'too hot' or how stupid they were and that they got sunburned, I figured that I should just take a moment to enjoy it.

Done.

I now have a couple of days off work, due to the Easter holiday, and then am in for 5 hours on Saturday and not back in the office until Tuesday. This is all fantastic stuff, and really appreciated, coming as it does right toward the end of Script Frenzy. Realising that I haven't broken into double digits really does make it tough for me to achieve the 100 pages before the end of the month, but I guess that I won't get them sitting around on my arse writing my blog. I'll get them sitting around on my arse with a copy of Celtx open, writing some script.

I wasn't that well on Monday, and pretty much spent the day in bed. It'd been about 6 months since I last had a day off work through sickness, but I was absolutely wasted. Man flu ? Well, call it what you like, but I got up to get ready for work that day, and after calling in sick, went back to bed. I didn't wake up until about 7 hours later. Must have really needed that. Still got annoying cough and pains in my chest, from the coughing, but I am very much near mended. Went back to work Tuesday, but hate, hate, hate being off work. It also meant I certainly wasn't up to attending drama on Monday night.

This was the second session that I have had to miss. Poor Helen being left to carry the can. On both occasions the turnout from the cast has been lacklustre also. We can't afford to keep wasting these valuable rehearsals. Apart from the cost (£8 per hour), there is the cost in time. There are only so many weeks before the show is due to open. Helen was very good about the whole thing, and understanding. Wednesday's session was very good. We did about half of one of the more complicated scenes, and although I hadn't had a chance to go through it with Helen in advance, I planned it out on my own. The characters are really coming alive, with Jay Jay (Steve Penfold) and Troggie (Chris O'Connor) working very well. These scene was working out to show the desired amount of chaos and comedy, with Helen and I both finding it funny to watch, even at this early stage. Some of the cast, well most of them actually, haven't worked with us before and we've taken a bit of time to explain to them how our comedy works, why we have so many things happening at once and how at times, it appears to break most of the 'rules' of theatre, and get away with it.

We've gotten off to a rocky start, but if this is any indication of how the rest of the show will turn out, then we are on to a winner for sure.

Now on to some script frenzy !! If I'm good, and focused and get lots of work done, I may just treat myself with an afternoon out to Steve's BBQ tomorrow...

It's on ! It's on ! It's on !

GO GO GO GO GO...... GO ! 

What's with all the implied excitement I hear you ask ? Well, it's April 2nd and I've survived April fools day without any incidents to report. But THAT is not the cause of this unbridled enthusiasm. That is due to Script Frenzy 2011 now being 'live' and me actually having a chance, against my expectations to get some script down.

I managed 5 pages last night. Not sure that they are very good pages, but I am remembering that for the month of April, and for that script I will be suspending my 'inner editor', my 'inner critic', my 'inner poo-poo-er of things' and all their relatives, friends and family. I will need them all for the work that Helen and I have to do today on The Fatcat And The Grafter. Would be rather pointless doing a rewrite of that script without inviting at least an 'inner editor' along.

5 Pages ! Yeeek ! I'm off (wondered what the smell was). Talking of smell, the flat really needs a clean, but I have so many other things that I want to do that are, well, more interesting. Must clean, clean the flat, clear my head. I'm going to scrub at and vacuum away the grime that acts as a barrier to my creativity, and let it shine.

Also, in other news, I've only got a week more of work and then I'm off for a week ! Yippeee. The week off being punctuated by two really great things, (I have noticed how many times I have said that lately, like I'm always trying to make a list out of everything in life, but really suck at it because I only do two). Those two things being that Chloe is coming to stay, and that hopefully I will get to pick up the kittens next weekend.

I need something fawn over, and gush about how cute it is that isn't made by Apple ? I need to have an interruption to my rather set ways and 'spotless' living environment. Yup that's right, I think my lovely new flat is too clean, too tidy so I'm going to introduce two baby cats (kittens to you) to help mess things up a bit. My Mother thinks that I am mad. This is possibly not untrue.

Anyways, the script....

© Simon Sansbury, April 2011. A PDF can of Laptop, can be found here :- Laptoppdfcanbefoundhere

One script finished (almost)... another starts

One o'clock in the morning... now 60 minutes into script frenzy 2011. Two things are terribly apparent.

One. That although Helen and I have finished writing the play 'The Fatcat And The Grafter', we do still need to edit / rewrite it before the read through on Monday. (This will mean that I cannot devote Saturday to some one on one time with my frenzy script)

Two. I really wish that I could sit and blast out, in an energetic eruption of creativity, a few pages, but I'm honestly too knackered to do that right now.

I will probably take my netbook to work, so that I can work on 'netbook'. I haven't sat down and worked out the characters, but I do have a pretty good idea of the flow of the narrative, so I will be able to get down a few pages before having to do any more really detailed planning.

Other exciting developments in the world of Fallible_Fella (is it cool to refer to your blogging name in the third person ? Possibly not). Well, Helen and I had more people turn up to rehearsal on Wednesday, and this meant that we were able to cast most of the roles in the show. There are still some that we haven't been able to give to anyone.

In a twist of fate, we now have more than enough men, and are unsure about how to cast the last few male roles. (Mycroft Cockburn, Trevor(s), Narrator). Starlight, the ditzy air-headed girl is a role we also have to fill, but currently do not have a girl that would be able to take the role on.

With some other people interested that may come along on Monday, we may well just be in a situation where we can have the show completely cast before we start rehearsals, and without me having to take a part. This is actually something that although  I have said all along I would want to avoid,  (incase someone backs out, we always have me as a backup) but now I think the realisation is dawning that I'm rather going to miss being on stage myself. I will, no doubt get to be in the 'filmed' pieces, assuming we can sort out the organisation of those and all the technological aspects.

Monday ? Did I say Monday ? Yes. That's right, we will be moving to two sessions a week as of next week. Exciting stuff. This only leaves us with 23 rehearsals to get the whole show ready, but I'm sure that we can do it. We may have to cram in some extra sessions somehow (god only knows when or where)... but it's all about the art of the possible.

The other fantastic news is that Helen finally got around to giving me the contact details of the lady that has some Kittens for sale. (I was so worried, I was having Kittens about it myself). She says they may be strong enough to leave their Mother in the next week or so. I feel instantly cruel, taring these poor kittens away from their Mummy. If they are up to it, I will be able to pick them up the weekend at the start of my holiday, this gives two rather brilliant effects, being that I will get to spend time with them as I will be on holiday to settle the little darlings in. The other being that I will have Chloe for a few days that week, so she will probably be inconsolably excited when she finds this out. I am trying to stop myself from telling her, so that it comes as a surprise.

Can I keep my mouth shut ?  Hmmm

Act II is done

Helen came round tonight and we have managed, against our expectations to finish the 2nd Act of The FatCat And The Grafter. There's lots of tidying up to do, and lots of things that we need to revisit in Act I that perhaps now don't go so well with how the script ended up. Still as the evolution of the show goes, this is good stuff.

We're meeting again on Saturday to work on those points, and then, room being available, we're meeting Monday to read through the completed play to the whole cast. Yay ! We will still have a couple of roles left to cast, which we don't have people for, and there's a couple that we need to let some of the people coming along try out to get a feel for who would be best at what. I could tell you who's got what, but... Shhh !! Spoilers !

This under wire performance, is actually ahead of our usual 'ah lets start rehearsing the first act before we've written the second' which is kind of what happened last time. It left us with a rather bloated 2nd act when we came panic write it, a month into the rehearsal schedule. What On Earth (is Happening) was a long play as a result, and that was with us taking a knife to large parts of the script in Act II, about a week before the show went up as we recall. Ooops. Thankfully the great bunch of people that we had in the cast were able to take that in their stride, but it's an unnecessary hassle and stress for all those concerned that we want to make sure we avoid this time.

It does also leave me in the situation where I won't be able to devote a weekend to attacking Script Frenzy, my script 'Netbook' with vengeance until probably the 2nd week of Frenzy. Then, although I have a week off work I do have Chloe for 4 days, which I am really looking forward to also. I am sure there is a way round it all. It's funny how I feel better when I am tasking myself with doing more, and then achieving it.

There are plenty of empty evenings, even once I exclude the ones where I will be involved with rehearsals for The FatCat And The Grafter. I remember last year, it was only some point into the month that I decided to abandon the joint project that Helen and I had started, and write something on my own. Hard work, focus, vision, determination. I can do this. I'm like a coiled zebra, ready to pounce, and stripy.

Same *bleep* different day

I'm curiously aware that I should be careful what I wish for.

I am so glad that this week is over, it really has been a supreme struggle, where I have been pretty close to giving up. I've managed to stop myself resorting to a spot of Apple based retail therapy as a compensation. It does look distractingly gorgeous, and is sooooo nice..... But, in reality it would be foolish to engage in any more big ticket expenditure. Especially with things feeling so fragile at work at the moment.

When I cast back to how I have felt at similarly low point before, I can see that at least on this occasion I am aware that I am not in a good place, that things need to change, before something else happens that forces that change in a more uncontrollable and destructive way. I'm not going to allow this situation, brought about as it feels by the particular demands of certain people to ruin my life.

If the way I feel good is when I have a clear plan, and when I am achieving steps towards a well defined goal, then it is a new plan that I need.

The world breaks everyone, and after, some are stronger in the broken places. - Ernest Hemingway.

The clocks go forward by an hour shortly, what is it that the people of the UK will do when they realise tomorrow that they have been cheated out of an hour ? Personally I will probably just be really pissed that I didn't get to spend another hour in bed, and get on with the rest of my day.

Tomorrow Helen is coming over, and we're hoping to finish the rest of the play, and then go back over the obvious flaws in Act I. If we can manage this, it would mean that at next weeks rehearsal, not only will we be able to announce the casting for most of the characters in the show, but that we will also be able to give people a near final draft version of the script.

THEN... it's onto the next big thing... 2011 Script Frenzy. There do seem to be some post-its missing, and this may be because some of them fell off the wall (serves me right for buying £1 shop post-it notes), or it may have something to do with me finding a couple of them stuffed down the back of Chloe's bed. Grrrrrr.

Back to work we go....

Tonight is my last night before returning to work from my holiday. This may usually cause feelings of listlessness or melancholy within me. Not so this time.

After a great conversation with my deputy on Friday and some hints at some things that are happening in a quick online conversation from someone else at work, I am actually really looking forward to going back. Not because I have hated my time off, the contrary is true. I have had productive time and slouching time in a pretty much 40/60 split during my time off. I consider this a good balance.

Too often I relax so much on holiday that I don't actually do anything at all, and then feel depressed at the lack of achievement. This I have avoided this time round. I have set myself some goals, some things by which I can feel that I have indeed gained something out of the time off work.

I'm pleased with the progress that is being made at drama, the momentum is definitely gaining pace. Already have more people going to the coming week's session than attended last week. Just need to pin Helen down long enough to finish the rest of the bloody script.

I am also feeling good about the progress I have made with preparing for Script Frenzy. Looking forward to all this week will bring. Go get 'em tiger !

T - 30

Script Frenzy

30 days and counting (down) to Script Frenzy. An email from the Offices of Letters & Light (or organisation that runs the madness) reminded me that 'the frenzy' is fast approaching and I don't have one iota of an idea that I can develop into a 100 page script.

Remembering how crap it felt last year, when I wrote Retro Rocket (and succeeded in the 100 pages written during April target. Yay !) and didn't really have a plan, and how that nearly ended in failure, I wanted to make sure that I avoided that this year. When I'd entered National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) I had also neglected to plan, and elected for an organic free form approach to the writing. I just sat at my desk, and let the ideas poor out. Good, bad or downright terrible.

Having not succeeded with NaNoWriMo and only managing something like 17,409 words (when I say something like, that's the exact figure) I don't want to repeat the failure.

Fail to plan. Plan to fail.

So what does this writer do when he doesn't have a plan (can I call myself a writer ? - someone check that one out and get back to me) ? Post-its. Yes post-its. Those non-recyclable yellow gems that turn any flat surface into a 'brain storming wall'. Now that it's my wall I can stick post-its up with gay abandon. (Heterosexual abandon just doesn't work so well). 

This works for me, may not work for others.. but you have to go with what works. I have progressed a little from the initial post-it driven 'floating of ideas' to the developing of one particular idea. I had considered using Frenzy (as it appears to be affectionately shortened) to write the first series of Retro Rocket. I have dismissed this as I have not revisited the idea since last April's Frenzy, so the 'pilot' script will, in itself need lots of editing. An attack of the big red pen (or in my case, the impatient pencil) is required. Also with Retro Rocket, I just haven't actually resolved those issues about show direction that had been the stumbling block. It was not answering those questions that I think made it hard to push on with the script originally. It didn't have a plan (return to previous point about planning).

I also discarded the 'man goes back in time to undo the mistakes that cost him his marriage - only to find out that he erases his daughter from existence' because, well, I just thought it was a crappy idea.

Likewise 'man on bus / train that isn't allowed to get off at his intended destination' is perhaps worthy of a short film (about 5 minutes) but I couldn't for the life of me see how I could get 100 pages out of that idea. It may be possible that the idea I have gone for ends up with elements of that. We'll have to wait and see.

Laptop (alternative titles being :- Feedback or Netbook) is the story of what changes occur in a man's life as a result of him buying a laptop (or netbook) off Ebay. The computer contains information that he is not aware of, and also has automatic sign-on enabled to internet chat sites. This draws or drags him into a world that he is initially intrigued about, but as he discovers more is increasingly scared as he gets more and more deeply involved in the things that were happening in the life of the laptop's previous owner.

What does the machine have on it that makes it so important to so many different groups (big business, criminals, government etc) ?

How did it come to be on Ebay in the first place, if it was so important ? (was the previous owner mugged ? Are they still alive ?)

So our hero, if that's the word is forced to try and convince these people that this was not his laptop before, and he has no way of finding out what's hidden on the hard-drive. He has a hard time convincing these people, a succession of organisations or individuals keep tracking him down to convince him to give them what they want. None of them believe him when he says that he's just brought the laptop on ebay. They believe him even less when it gets stolen.

He then has to try and find the laptop, as giving it to the people that want it so badly is the only way to get them out of his life.

This would be as boring as hell as a stage play, and is definitely suited to filming, even something that could be done on a low budget ,and with a bunch of amateur film-makers. (you see where I'm going here, don't you ?)

Let me know what you think, dear reader. Perhaps as I develop the idea, I post those onto the blog ? Hmmm. All this AS WELL AS , The Fatcat And The Grafter. 

This is good. I like to be busy. When I'm not busy I'm sitting at home watching shit someone else has written on TV.  

First (working) day of 2011

Back to reality today. A long old day, went in early to make some progress with the end of month admin that somehow, despite no matter how much I aim for otherwise, always ends up being a last minute affair.

It was the same with my homework when I was at school. 'Simon could do better, if only he applied himself'. Hmm. Thing is I've always had the ability to be fantastically well applied when the mood takes me,  but the sad story is that there are so many things that I didn't feel the desire to 'apply' myself to.

Maybe it's sulking, maybe it's laziness, I'd like to think otherwise. Okay maybe a bit of it was sulking.

The new (lack of) hair style has been well received, well at least at work. I am sure my Mother will proclaim that I look terrible, where as my daughter will probably hurt herself laughing so much. (She may even 'ROFL').

The week has barely started, and I am hoping that Helen will be coming up tomorrow night so that we can make some progress with 'The Fat Cat & The Grafter'. Not really liking the title so much now, I think that will have to change. I'm getting bored with it. I have had time to get bored with it, I think that's part of the problem. In the past, Helen and I have written the script in more of a crash of 'has to be done, shit the show is on in three months' kind of way. 'What On Earth Is Happening' wasn't complete when we started rehearsing, in fact I think the second act wasn't done until about two months before curtain up.

To be fair, it showed in the writing, there was too much dross and crap in the second act. We can do, and will do better at reigning in the meandering aimless, and equally plot less. There's something about the need for the looming deadline, the fear of failure, of letting other people, and yourself down. But it's funny how, no matter how hard we've tried, we just can't 'ease' ourselves into that, we can't 'plan' through that, and tell ourselves to spread the load a little. Like masochists for the stress. Strange how that 'fight or flight' mentality is the thing that forces the creativity. That's why I really like the burn of 'Script Frenzy', and 'Nanowrimo'.

Need to come up with a plan. Fail to plan, plan to fail, that will give me time to work on 'Red Herring'. Now all the chaos of the move has died down, I now feel the urge to at least finish the story.

Bad Blogger....(again)

Okay, so I've been a bad blogger. A very bad blogger.

What's happened in the world since the last time I made an entry ? Oh, only the general election, a surprise coalition government shared between the Conservative and the Liberal Democrat parties, The series of Dr Who so excitedly received in the last entry is over halfway done, streams of volcanic ash have grounded planes in the UK, leaving thousands of people stranded.... err what else ? Oh Apple have put their ipad on sale in the UK...

Lots of other stuff happened.

I entered Script Frenzy, technically, entered twice. The script that I was writing with Helen, the one about facebook's part in the destruction of society (it's a comedy) is still not finished. We are only about 30 pages in, and at this rate it doesn't look like it is going to be finished any time soon. We are both keen though, and there is hope that it will be made into our fourth stage show, though not any time soon. By soon, I mean THIS YEAR.

The other script, RETROROCKET I did get past the 100 page target by the end of the month of April. I actually got to somewhere around 106 pages. The sad thing, is that it is also still not finished.

Both scripts have one thing in common, is that I have avoided a scene by scene breakdown. It is something that I will never avoid again. I have gotten used to working that way, and it helping me frame the story, and pace myself. Otherwise I find the dialogue just running away from me. I can sense the rewrite is going to involve something of a cull.

Oh well. Beacon Bar-b-que is this weekend, with the premier of the current season's finale for The Adventures Of Stephen Brown.

The Writing's on the Wall

This post was originally written in the early hours of Tuesday March 30th. Due to internet skulduggery it didn't get posted.  

Helen came round last night, and rather than do some more filming, we got started thrashing out more of our story for scriptfrenzy. As the near 100 post-it notes testify, we came up with more than we thought we would. We were both suitably impressed that we had achieved so much from what looked at the outset like it would be such a waste of an evening. Once the pizza was ordered, and Helen started on the vodka, I would have predicted a slow decline into near slumber. Me, I was on the tea all night. Just didn't fancy the vodka.

Anyways. We took the original ideas, of about 20 items or comments on single sheets of pocket note paper, and expanded them.. evolved them, and the story along with it. What's resulted has both impressed and shocked both of us. The story seems to be headed into territory that was neither asked nor desired of it. But like a child that you nurture, watch develop and grow into someone who does things you would never even have considered doing.. so does the script. This did seem to happen with each of the plays that we've written. Interestingly though, it doesn't seem to happen so much with any of the scripts I've written for The Adventures Of Stephen Brown, or Doorstops.

What had begun life as a visual comedy piece about the over reliance of technology and lack of human contact in society, to something that sits rather uncomfortably with the horror of the collapse of a society so far up it's own backside that it could brush it's own teeth from behind.
 

Not quite sure what my landlord would think of the post-it notes on the chimney-breast though. They do come off. Honest.

It's been SSSSSSOOOOOO long (that's a very long time indeed) since Helen and I got so wound up about a project. Not since What On Earth Is Happening (performed December 2006) have we had the energy, inclination and er... idea to put into a stage show. What we've come up with, could probably fill a stage show to brimming, perhaps even a film or book(s) or 6 part serial. There are plenty of works that have explored what happens to a post apocalyptic society. Some old, some new. I haven't come across any that explore it in the way that we want to though.

How can I talk about this, without giving away SPOILERS ???? Oooh it's hard to say. Do I need to worry that if I give anything away it will spoil it for anyone ? Is anyone really THAT interested ? Isn't it just me that keeps coming to the page and notching up another number on the visitor counter anyway ?

The idea is going well. We're going to write it as if we didn't have to think about the practicalities of putting it on in a place like St Peter's Theatre. This will give us free creative reign as we 'lash out' setting up our newly created world.  Itching to get started on April 1st. April fools' day. Just how appropriate vs ironic that works out to be, I guess only time will tell. Helen wanted to cheat, and start writing the script ahead of time, because no one would know. We would know. What's the point of joining in on something for the sake of doing it to gain the feeling of achievement, and then kidding yourself you did it, when you didn't.  You're only cheating yourself, the teachers would tell us.

Anyway. I need sleepy-byes. Simples. Nights to all.

So what happened to common sense... being driven... and well.. getting things done.

I have ! I have I tell you.

Despite a lack of comment at the progress, much was achieved during my self imposed exile, my holiday to the next room as it were. I was rather pleased with one script, and then got started on the other, the one that I am meant to be writing with Chris. We had done lots of fat chewing, ideas throwing and pretty got the scene by scene sorted. The scene by scene. Ah that wonderful thing that gives scripts their start, middle, end and how to get from one to the other, in easy baby steps.

I've done some 'thought showering' today. Funny really, as like a lot of other people, I sometimes come up with things in the shower/bath, on the loo or whatever. Usually in a place where you have no means by which to capture the idea.

But I've thrashed out a little to do with 'Retro Rocket' this idea that I had about purposefully recreating the look and feel of 70s & 80s scifi shows, with wobbly sets, the big shoulderpads, the even bigger hair. The eye-liner (and that was just the men). The really naff and unbelievably shallow female characters.. the special effects shots, where you could so easily see the wire pulling the model spaceship along. Did we care ? No. Did it spoil our enjoyment ? Not one bit. It was only when those nasty Hollywood types threw all their money at things that we started to feel ashamed about home grown scifi. Scifi like the original Dr Who, Blakes 7, Saphire & Steel, Space 1999. You only have to look at the collective works of Gerry Anderson to know that the odd string here and there doesn't dent the entertainment value of the show.

Somehow, back then, the sets were unstable, the performances had more ham than Waitrose at Christmas, but somehow, we were glued to the screen, we were absorbing the nature of science fiction. The 'believability' having absolutely nothing to do with how many carefully drawn CGI characters or spaceships there were. The baddies all looked like people in awkward poses with coloured cling film on them.. but it didn't seem to matter to us.

The imagination was the thing that was fired. That was allowed to grow and run amok. Today, everything is done for us. The scene is set, and given to us, we don't have to do any work at all. We're not involved in the ways we were in the 70s & 80s.

Have we, in making scifi mainstream, dumbed it down to the point that it fits into 'Hello' but has lost both the sci & the fi that gave the genre its name ?

Anyhoo... just to completely ruin my idea.. I've attached a scan of my scribblings.

Hopefully that works.

There's not a massive amount of data there to work on, but it's hard work, creating things when Homes Under The Hammer is on.

The ideas that Helen and I are forming into something we can work on for Scriptfrenzy exist at the moment as a load of pieces of paper, which I have allowed, in my infinite (lack of) wisdom, Helen to take away with her. I did cunningly, photograph them before she went. They are on my blackberry, and I haven't been bothered to get them off and put them onto a computer. Just yet.

I have suggested, on that front, that we do blog, and Vlog our progress, and efforts. This will hopefully, draw people to our youtube stuff, but also mean we are still uploading some films, even though the month of April is going to be so gloriously, and completely given over to ScriptFrenzy.

I do.. also have a back up, backup plan, just in case this one doesn't work. But for now, the idea of that script is... well, it's called 'Network' and is pretty much a social commentary on what would happen if people were no longer allowed to work, that workplaces, and all places of congregation are banned (for health and safety reasons, or for anti terror reasons, we're not sure). The idea being that people work from home, or from the park, on their laptops, all communicating by skype. Everyone with a headset. What would happen to the economy, without anyone buying petrol, cars, using public transport. All that lost tax revenue. No schools allowed to open, no supermarkets (homeshopping allowed with severe precautions).

We want to explore this in the comical way that we have explored all the other ideas we have had. For example, imagine a couple, in their kitchen, with their headsets on, awaiting calls from colleagues / customers, and they launch into a full blown argument, but have to pause it, when one of them gets a call. About to let fly again, when the other does too. Similar comedy may be found in when couples are trying to have sex.

The whole idea about home working, pushed to the limit. You may well go to work in your slippers and nightie, (again, that was just the men), but would people want to see you do that ? Video calls, leading to people dressing their upper bodies in office-wear, while remaining in just boxers and slippers etc below the belt.

There's comedy in them there hills. I'll have to get those ideas transferred, and uploaded. In the meantime, there's someone on their way down to do some writing, so I best go get ready.... and make sure I haven't forgotten to get completely dressed after all.

2nd day and going well

2nd day of my holiday away, but not very far (about 10 feet as it happens), and I'm feeling good.

I got up Monday about 8:30, and was at the desk, tapping away at the keyboard by 9. With the odd break or two, working the majority of the day until about 4, when I peeled myself away from a 98% completed 'The Adventures Of Stephen Brown' script, and went and had a bath.

What a skank, I hear you say. Soddit.

Anyhow. Even the curve ball that was thrown my way, which was that two of the principle guest characters in this story can't make any filming days together had been catered for. I just needed to throw in some reference to what was going to be happening in the next story, and I was done. I just didn't want it to look like I had just 'thrown it in'.

Helen came round Monday evening, and after what seems to have become the customary takeaway (last week was Pizza, this week was curry) - both of us stuffed to the gills with Korma (despite ordering Passanda - but that's another story entirely) we got to being creative. We came up with loads of ideas. Some we could film, some we could not. We gave up waiting for anyone else to arrive... we are a filming group of two at the moment. Which is intimate, and rather nice, as Helen and I get on so well together, but the idea of a club is that there is, well, some people in it. Anyway.

We threw our artistic sensibilities out of the window, and filmed me eating a poppadom, and then edited it to show... well, oh just watch the film it'd be easier... www.youtube.com/m27online

We got that edited and uploaded, as well as making some progress in getting last week's effort edited. I've noticed that the last few things have seen me in front of the camera, which had actually been some time. It's nice, for me to 'act' (or is that 'act up' ?). Helen is really good on the camera, and is so much the better of the two of us at 'going handheld'.

Chris came down today to work on our script for 'The 9th Man'. We were a little disheartened at first that we had not got further than we had previously. We spent the time reminding ourselves what we had talked about before, and fleshing that out into a scene by scene, just breaking the synopsis down into Excel and putting some more detail in. Looks like there's going to be some really interesting drama in those episodes, if only we can get the time to sit down and write the damn thing. I'm sure in this age of technology (Celtx being the preferred script writing software of choice) progress can be made, even when we can't be in the same room together.

By far though, the thing that really put me in a very good mood, was utterly unexpected. The best things always are. When I went to bed (just after arriving at my holiday residence on Sunday night), I wrote a blog entry, and then after that I checked up on my twitter page. It was at that point that I discovered that my daughter had, at some point during the day craftily updated my status a couple of times. One of the things she wrote was 'my dad is awesome, in a utterly weird kind of way'. That did bring a tear to my eye (and not because of the grammatical errors). It was so nice of her, and so unexpected. It doesn't matter what else the world throws at me. My daughter thinks I'm awesome (in an utterly weird kind of way). It's I think the greatest compliment I've ever received.

Today, after 4 failed attempts, my merchandising purchases from 'Script Frenzy' arrived. Two travel coffee mugs, with Script Frenzy iconography and 'Stop watching. Start writing. Script Frenzy. April' on them. So appropriate I thought, as it is the TV that sucks me in and swallows all my time in a manner a kin to the appetite of a black hole. I also brought a book 'No plot ? No problem !' - by Chris Baty.

Write here. Write now !! Do it !!! Sounds like a motivational speech given by Peggy Butcher. (get out of my pub, you're - the - bard).

1 script submitted. 1 film shot, edited and uploaded. Other projects moving forward. I should be on holiday more often. I'd get more done.