After twelve glorious weeks, the BBC's version of The Apprentice is over. [Sad to say, I missed the first week, being on holiday in New Zealand at the time. Swings and roundabouts.] My two favourite candidates made the final, and the immensely likable Lee won through to claim a job with Sir Alan Sugar. A shame for runner-up Clare, but she'll not be short of offers after her efforts. Best of all, the person I wanted to win won, the first time in four series. Nice.
In other news, I've managed to skin my left knee. Again. Did just before Christmas running down Chambers Street in Edinburgh, the first time since my days of flying off bicycles as a boy. Did it again last night, trying to stop a boundary in the annual east versus west Biggar Cricket Club match. Ouch. On the plus side, I scored a boundary for East Biggar before getting bowled, and took two wickets with my slow moving dobbers. Alas, West won. Again.
What else? Finished the third draft of my script for the BBC writersroom's Sharps opportunity. Thanks to Lucy, Lucy and Laura for reading the previous incarnations and offering feedback. The script's come n leaps and bounds thanks to their comments. No idea if it'll get anywhere with Sharps, but that's out of my hands once I stick my script in the post today.
The best thing about writing The Woman Who Screamed Butterflies was it got me writing again. Not that I don't write something almost every day of my life, but this was a new project, one all of my own devising. I've spent most of this year working on speculative efforts based other people's characters, scenarios and creations. The Woman Who Screamed Butterflies was all my own work [with Lucy, Lucy and Laura acting as creative midwives].
Up to now, my most successful script has been Danny's Toys, a quirky tale that came unbidden from my imagination. I'd no idea what to do with the story, and knew it would almost never get made. But I wrote it anyway, just for the joy of writing and because it was a story I wanted to tell. The results got me a good grade for my MA, won a first prize at the Page International Screenwriting Awards in LA last September and placed in the BlueCat Screen Lab contest.
I think The Woman Who Screamed Butterflies might have come from the same place as Danny's Toys. They feel like siblings, quite different but with familial similarities. Both bear the trademarks of my most personal works: tragic tendencies, touches of tyranny, fear and pain, moments of humour and magic realism. I doubt The Woman Who Screamed Butterflies will get made, but I'll proudly add it in my script portfolio. That's what I'm talking about.
5 comments:
That's the eternal Q isn't it:
Do you write a script to get it made?
Or do you write a script that tells the best story you can create?
I try and lean towards the latter, with the hope of the former, rather than worrying about selling out at the expense of story. What's the point in being a storyteller otherwise?
How good is that title? So good, that's how good.
oh, you rotter. I have a blog, you know, you don't need to go linking to horrid things like that :P
I have an image of a very hippy poster with all those butterflies. A very nice, peaceful hippy poster.
I'd certainly tune in to find out more.
Right, that's it. I can't take any more of the not-knowing. It's the not-knowing that kills you. Please furnish me, my fine fellow, with a definition of 'magic realism.'
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