A belated post from behind the scenes of The Screenwriters Festival 2008 - It already seems so long ago. It was a blast again, and even harder work than last year! I was a volunteer group leader in charge of parking and transport (or Transport Manager for the sake of brevity and the CV.) Or as Danny put it, I wandered round with a clipboard telling everyone I had a PA!

I ended up working from 9AM till near midnight the Monday, then 7AM till 11 at night on the Tuesday - I had so much to catch up with on Monday (a lot of the runners had been there setting up since Saturday.) then a lot to deal with Tuesday. Running the driving for the VIPs especially is very reactive - you can only plan ahead so far, and the plans often fall through - people don’t show when they said they would (I heard “my PA‘s off this week” a couple of times!), or suddenly want transport when you haven’t got any cars.

To give you an idea how manic it was, I phoned the Girlfriend Tuesday evening to apologise for only texting her once the whole day (which she wasn’t pleased about.) Whilst I was on phone, I had 5 calls on the radio, 2 phone calls on my other mobile (!), and someone come up to me with a problem! (BTW, The Girlfriend was even less pleased after that. Women, eh? Who can figure them?!?)

So I had a PA on Wednesday! - I say a PA, I had a runner assigned to help me. But PA sounds better. Part of the problem the first day was that we were quiet bottom heavy. We had a lot of runners this year - about 35 compared to the 25 ish last year - but we had too many of them standing round, even though we added the strand of group leaders (7 people were doing what 1 did the year before!)

The last two days, it calmed down a bit. I even got to see some of the talks, and speak to me fellow bloggers for more than 5 seconds at a time! I may have mentioned to a few of them that I had a PA. (I had to get in the Jag we had for VIPS (like TV‘s James Moran) with my PA, and I told Richard the Chauffeur to drive slowly until I saw someone I knew!)

Despite working ridiculous hours for no money, despite the occasional minor conflict, I had a wonderful time with a great bunch of people. And I came away inspired to write more. Writer-Mountain Adrian Mead said that most of us spec monkeys* don’t do nearly enough, and he‘s right. I worked more hours in the first day for the Screenwriters Festival than I had spent in the previous two weeks working at my own writing. This is not good. If I have the drive and motivation to work that hard for someone else, then I can do it for myself. If I can do 36 ½ hours of the day job, then I can work a few hours for myself.

Last week, despite having man flu and recovering from SWF, I did 18 hours of writing (and more on networking and blogging and other vaguely writing - related activities.) Not bad, but not good enough - I was aiming for 20. (I‘m working on the next draft of my metlab script, and it‘s coming along very nicely thank you for asking.)

So I’m going to post on here what hours I do every week. Which means a post (at least) once a week! And stay tuned for an important announcement about what‘s already being called** the social event of the year

Later

* he didn’t actually use the term spec monkey.
** admittedly, only by me

screenwriting competitions

Some of my fellow runners were asking about screenwriting competitions, so here’s a post on everything I know on screenwriting comps - if anyone has anything to add, then feel free to post in the comments.

Here goes…

COMPETITION I KNOW ABOUT

There are loads of comps out there - generally they run once a year, so some of these might be closed for this year the year.

In the UK Red Planet launched at the festival, is the best.

The British Short Screenplay Competition (BSSC) is great, as they actually make the winning script (unfortunately, it’s just closed ) The regional film councils run Digital Shorts yearly - usually in the autumn. (you can find South West Screen here.)

Euroscript and Metlab (which runs through bang2write also run competitions that help develop your script as a prize.

Of the big American comps, Scriptapalooza is the most famous; Bluecat also offers feedback for a slightly higher fee; The Page International Screenplay Competition has separate prizes for different genres; Nicholl is possibly the most prestigious - it’s run by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, don’t ya know.

Finally, there is an organisation calls itself the International Screenwriters Festival that runs some kind of live pitching competition. Might want to check this out tho, they sound a bit dodgy!

FINDING OUT MORE…

Apart from clicking on the links above, there are a few ways to keep in touch…

Lianne has a list on her blog Light and Shade that collates upcoming competition deadlines quarterly, so you can see what‘s coming up. Blogs in general are a good way of keeping in touch with what’s going on, picking up handy hints and ‘networking’ (industry jargon for making friends!) WARNING - They can become addictive, and seriously eat into yr writing time!

To name but three, Lucy Vee’s Bang2write is the most popular meeting point; Robin Kelly has lots of up to dates info; and Danny Stack’s Scriptwriting and Script Reading in the UK is the Daddy of UK writer blogs.

Subscribing to shooting people is also a great way of keeping in touch. You get a daily bulletin and discounts on writing stuff. You can also post on the bulletin, so if you have a question like “what are good writing competitions?” it will go in the bulletin and other members will answer in the next edition.

The BBC writersroom website is essential for many reasons. It has news on not for profit competitions (and occasionally runs it‘s own.)

SOME RANDOM ADVICE
- If you enter any competitions, read the rules.
- Make sure what you send is as polished as can be, not a first draft (writing is rewriting) - - Be realistic (but not too realistic!) about what to enter. I spent £££’s entering the first script I wrote into loads of competitions - that money could maybe have been better spent on professional feedback.
- Read the rules!
- Comps will not change your life. Even if you win, or get placed, you are unlikely to sell your masterpiece to Spielberg and become an instant millionaire. But any success will help build up a track record, and it can be one more step along the long, long road to success.

Phew! Hope that helps. Any further questions?

SWF 08

I’m just back from SWF 08 - had a blast, worked insanely hard as Transport Manager, saw lots of old friends, and met some fantastic new people. I’ll be posting about it properly soon. No, honestly. Regular readers will (both) know that I’ve been neglecting this old blog of mine recently, but that’s gonna change. Oh yes.

So look out for the phrases “Would you like to stroke Stuart Perry?,” and “Did I mention I had a PA?” (I had a PA, by the way. Just thought I'd mention that.) If anyone’s got any questions, feel free to post below. I’ll be putting up links to all the festival-related blogs I can find, so send ’em in. Meanwhile, for any new readers, here’s a link to last years (very, very extensive) post about driving for SWF ‘07.

Later

News flash! Here’s some posts just in from Messers Turner and A Crop, special limo riding guests David Bishop and TV’s James Brown… sorry, James Moran. Always get those two confused.

Add Some Music...

Thanks to Lianne for memeing me.

The meme is for songs that you are into to right now. Now, I’ve got to confess, I‘m not as into music as I used to be. It used to be almost my whole life, which I guess is kind of sad. I still listen to music every day, obviously, but it’s nowhere near as big a part of my life now. I hardly ever buy new CD’s anymore, which I guess is also kind of sad, so the songs I‘m into right now aren’t going to be radically new, but here goes.

Duffy - Warwick Ave. Hey, this is new, so I’m down with kids really. Gorgeous song - Okay, it’s new music that sounds like old music, specifically Dusty Springfield. Speaking of whom…

Dusty Springfield - A Brand New Me. Getting Duffy’s platter inspired got me into Dusty again. Had Dusty in Memphis on heavy rotation in the kitchen the last week, but this song is the sound of the summer.

The Skatalites - Twelve Minutes to Go. The ska comes out with the sun. Perfect summer music, perfect writing music (no words to distract you,) perfect driving music - just perfect music.

Wake Up Boo! By the Boo Radleys - also summery perfection - found this CD in a second hand record shop. Used to spend far more time in record shops. I almost used to like record shopping as much as listening to it. See also reading about music.

True Faith - New Order - I feel so extraordinary, Something's got a hold on me/ I get this feeling I'm in motion, a sudden sense of liberty/ I don't care 'cause I'm not there, And I don't care if I'm here tomorrow/ Again and again I've taken too much, Of the things that cost you too much. I used to think that the day would never come, I'd see delight in the shade of the morning sun/ My morning sun is the drug that brings me near, To the childhood I lost, replaced by fear/ I used to think that the day would never come, That my life would depend on the morning sun... When I was a very small boy, Very small boys talked to me/ Now that we've grown up together/ They're afraid of what they see/ That's the price that we all pay, When valued destiny comes to nothing/ I can't tell you where we're going, I guess there was just no way of knowing/ I used to think that the day would never come, I'd see delight in the shade of the morning sun. My morning sun is the drug that brings me near, To the childhood I lost, replaced by fear. I used to think that the day would never come, That my life would depend on the morning sun…/ I feel so extraordinary, Something's got a hold on me/ I get this feeling I'm in motion, A sudden sense of liberty. /The chances are we've gone too far, You took my time and you took my money/ Now I fear you've left me standing, In a world that's so demanding. I used to think that the day would never come, I'd see delight in the shade of the morning sun / My morning sun is the drug that brings me near, To the childhood I lost, replaced by fear/
I used to think that the day would never come/ That my life would depend on the morning sun... just though I’d get that off my chest.

Dinosaur Jnr. - Freak Scene/ Jesus and Mary Chain - Head On/ The Clash - I Fought the Law - When I was packing to move, I spent a happy afternoon listening to my old vinyl 45’s, and that’s the last time I remember getting really fired up by and passionate about music - loving it like I used to. These 3 song stood out. Rock and indeed Roll.
Rubber Ring - The Smiths. don’t forget the songs that saved your life, and the songs that made you cry/ Cos you’re older now and you’re a clever swine, but they were the only ones that ever stood by you.

Says it all really - I’m off to follow The Beech Boy’s advice, and Add Some Music To My Day. *

*okay, I know that’s 9 songs - I’m over compensating here! And I haven’t even mentioned Let’s Take A Chance by Lisa Richards, which I mention every musical meme.

Watch this film

The Sorcerers is my new favourite film. It’s gothic horror set in swinging London -
a violent sci fi/horror about an old scientist (Boris Karloff) who invents a device that links his will with that of a young hipster (Ian Ogilvy) But as he and his wife (Katherine Lacey) control this actions, and experience what he experiences, they become addicted to the vicarious thrills. It easily transcends it’s exploitative (and to be honest, slightly daft) premise with sheer technical verve and the brilliant way it comments on the voyeuristic nature of cinema.

Director Michael Reeves only ever made one other movie - the equally stunning Witchfinder General - before his early death at the age of just 25. The documentary on the DVD makes mentions him in the same breath as Spielberg and Hitchcock, and they’re valid comparisons. Like both, Reeves was technically brilliant and a great manipulator. Like Hitch he had an ability to comment on human nature, and the nature of cinema, within the constraints of genre.

The comparison with Spielberg only serves to empathise what a tragedy his early death. At a similar stage of his career, Spielberg had made Duel and Sugarland Express - 2 really good little films, but just a taster of what was to come.

the god* ate my blog miss...

Okay, I said I’d blog again 'later in the week' last time, although to be fair in didn’t say which week. I have been finding the old writing hard this year - hard to find the time and motivation, what with the hassle of moving and life and stuff. The funny thing is, I never really lost confidence in my ability, but I went through a period where I began to question why I bother. I wasn’t enjoying the writing as much, I thought I’d rather watch a DVD or read a book, or have a nap.

But I‘m settled in the new flat now, and I’m back, back, back. I’m starting to enjoy the writing again, and that’s the main thing - cos lets face it, if it takes ten years to make it (if you do) then you‘d be a fool to keep doing it if you don’t enjoy it. And at least I kept plugging away at it when I didn’t - I‘ve almost finished the new outline of my next metlab draft now, and I‘m nearly ready to start yer actual writing. And at least it isn’t a page 1 rewrite like the last draft so it should be easier than the last draft (famous last words!)

Catching up on the old blogs it looks like a few of you have been through a rough patch writing wise recently too (and that‘s just the ones that are admitting it.) Everyone goes through it, but it’s how you cope with it that counts - as Churchill said, “Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasms.”

Happy writing one and all, and keep on keeping on.


*bizzare typo left in for comic effect