Sunday, May 18, 2008

Wash up

So the wash-up for the week was – finished rewrite of Chalk St Express which is now called Small Choices from a 10 minute to a 30 minute one-act, and sent it off to six places in the good ol USA. Rewrote King for a Day and managed to cut it in half so it is actually a 10 minute play – yet to find a good place to send it to but it's there and waiting. Also got the first two scenes – 24 pages – of Good World into some sort of shape. Still have to do the synopsis and cover letter which I have been conspicuously shoving to the bottom of the to-do pile. On Friday night I started going through the DG Directory and finding places to send it to. It became so overwhelming that I got drunk instead and so yesterday was a bit of a couch day. But the good thing was that I didn't feel bad about it. I had a good week of work, I was quite happy to have a day off – is this how the normal people live their lives?

Today, being Sunday, is weekly, write what you want day. Start something new, write the thing that has been on the backburner , etc. I'm actually quite looking forward to it. I'm going to get dressed up (or just get out of my pjs) and create a kinda party atmosphere. Will let you know how it goes.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Small choices

Finished Chalk St Express at about 2.00 yesterday. It's now called Small Choices which seems to fit it a bit better. Came in around the half hour mark which was perfect – couldn't have done it better. In the last few days I've been doing something with scripts that I've known all along but never get around to - READING IT OUT LOUD! Well, dah I hear you say. Yes, dah, indeed. Talk about catching all the mistakes, the little things that the eye always misses. And, all the double up and extra explanation that I seem to do with such ease – really have to work on that. So, if you live near me and you hear me screaming like a maniac you'll know it's just me hanging out with my fiction. I also sent Small Choices off to five other places. Write and submit, write and submit. Words to live by people.

Today it's back to the second scene of Good World and the rewrites of my short children's play King for a Day. I hope to have both done by the weekend.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Mad woman works

When I'm not sleeping, I'm working like a mad woman. I got the first scene of Good World down and while I haven't read it in a couple of days, of course it's perfect and wonderful and the best thing I've ever done. I'm also feverishly working on a one-act play to finish by tomorrow to send off for yet another competition. It's called Chalk St Express. I originally wrote it as a ten-minute play but it kept wanting to be more and as much as I tried to beat it into submission, it would do nothing but laugh at me. So now, I'm letting it have its wanton way and be as long as it wants to be, as long as it's not over 40 minutes. I'm hoping to get it about 30 minutes. There are a lot of monologues in it which I'm trying to stop. I have it hard wired into my brain by god knows who that lots of monologues are a lazy attempt to get exposition across. Anyone else been told this?

I battle on.

The devil sleeper

I'm sleeping a lot at the moment. I don't know why but anything under about 9 hours and I'm not having a bit of it. I came from non-sleepers. Both my parents spent a good couple of decades not getting more than 4 hours of sleep. Sleepers were only a small notch about the devil. Yes, I'm feeling dirty but in a good, well-rested way.

Thursday, May 8, 2008

The minutes of life

So yesterday I managed to rewrite nine pages of Good World and I think the changes are better, adding a dream sequence when Leila and Frances were children and setting this world that they are in now. I want to get the first 20 pages nailed and then start sending it out to theatre companies. Force myself to get the rest of it done if someone wants to look at it. That's the goal for today before heading off to the pub with the other half for date night. Date night. God bless me and my antiquated ways. God bless me full stop.

I'm also reading Michael Cunningham's Specimen Days. I'm on the second story and am still a bit iffy about it. I admire the ambition but am not quite sure that he has pulled it off. Again, wait and see. I feel dirty saying anything bad about Michael Cunningham. The Hours is one of my favourite books and I read it at a time when I needed a story about women and their struggles in the world. I've now read it about five times and get something new from it every time. So I'm hoping I'll get to the end of the new one (which is actually not so new ) and be blown away by it all. A girl can dream can't she?

I'm finding it very difficult to fit everything into a day here. It's amazing how when I take away life from the equation, all the minutes that are taken up doing life things – cleaning, thinking about cleaning, going to the shops, buying birthday presents, cleaning up after other half, sorting out stuff, finding space for stuff, thinking about what I should actually be doing instead of all the life things and the day is gone before I know it. I don't know how to change this but at least I know it is a problem.

First 20 pages. Go, go, go

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Desk calls butt

Still have not managed to get my butt on a chair at my desk but just had the most delightful couple of hours picking out stationery for my best friend's birthday which is today. I have about an hour and a half before I'm meeting her for lunch. To the desk Murdoch. To the desk.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Wash up

I am back now in the land of the living and re-entry has been manic. I came from the lovely ocean on Sunday night and I walked into my house and it all looked wrong. It looked like a miniature version of my house. I don't know how else to explain it. I spent a couple of minutes going 'Oh this is my kitchen, this is my coffee table, oh look, there is my boyfriend' but now I seem to be on this active kick. I can't stop moving. Which is not good for the writing. Need to get it out of my system and get back to the desk because time is tick-tocking away and oh my god … is it already May? Time to get moving along.

The washup from the mini-retreat was about 80 pages of the new screenplay and thus a finished first draft, about 30 pages of the new children's play, about 20 pages of a new play called The Twist of the Grave, a new 10 minute play called Morning Millicent, 4 books read and I lost about 7 kilos. Not bad? You betcha. Have to go and see about 25 theatre shows in the next few weeks and I have to think about returning to the day job. My lordy, good thing I am feeling so active.

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Progress report

So my beach side reverie has also proved to be quite productive also. Although, never productive enough because these things never are. BUT … I have finished the first draft of my screenplay which means I was a winner which felt very nice and made me feel like putting a nice big medal on my chest and parading it around. Which I didn't but there was definitely a moment of wanting.

I've also written the bulk of my children's play and you know what? FUN! Like an A+ in fun. Fun, Fun, Fun. I have had to physically restrain myself from needing to find the emotional dark past that led the dragons to evil fire-breathing ways but other than that, it has been … oh, what was the word again … FUN! Yes, there we go.

I'm now working on the next draft of Good World which is proving to be quite the little bitch play. But I persevere.

But that's not even the greatest part of being here. The greatest part of being here is … I FEEL FANTASTIC! And in light of that, everything else means shit.