Vicious Imagery

JK Rowling chuffed Harry Potter's sold 30,000 copies

2012-01-31T09:19:00.000Z

An early TV interview with JK Rowling talking about Harry Potter. She's chuffed to bits her novel has sold 30,000. Bless. [Via @cat_clarke and Keris Stainton.]

Save Ferris: The first rule of Ferris Club is...

2012-01-31T08:22:00.000Z

With the Matthew Broderick Superbowl ad reviving Ferris Bueller as a pop culture icon, here's another look at a YouTube I featured on Vicious Imagery two years ago. Enjoy!

Your characters shouldn't know everything you know

2012-01-30T07:19:00.000Z

As a writer, you learn something from every draft of every story you write. The trick is remembering that lesson for the next time that situation arises. Otherwise, you find yourself having to re-learn the lesson again. And again. A good trick to avoid this is always write from the character's state of knowledge, not your own.

What am I talking about? Let me give you a [non-spoilery] example. In my latest ep of Doctors, one of the regulars investigates a medical mystery. They find a key piece of evidence mid-way through the script, which ultimately leads to them resolving the mystery. So far, so good - and it all worked fine as a scene by scene.

But when I started writing actual script drafts, I forgot that my protagonist didn't know who or what was causing the medical mystery. So when they found the first clue, I was writing them as if they'd seen the end of the story and thus already knew who or what was causing the medical mystery. A case of the protagonist who knew too much.

It's vital to keep a clear, conscious distinction between what you as the writer know [hopefully, everything] and what your characters knew at any given point in a narrative. You have total knowledge, they only know what they have already seen, heard or inferred. It's a tricky distinction to maintain, but ultimately crucial.

Took me a couple of drafts [and helpful notes from the production team] before I diagnosed what was going wrong. That led to some careful unpicking and reworking of the plot to reinstate the character's correct level of knowledge. That had a ripple effect on events, but the end result was worth all the hard work required.

A related thought I always try to keep in mind: everyone is the hero of their own life story. Everyone of us is pursuing their own quest to be get ahead, get rich, get laid, get happy, get better, etc. So should it be with every character in every story you write. Each character should be chasing their own goals, their own agenda.

Nobody wants to be the sidekick, the supporting character. That means all characters have their own unique attitude to events and the world. And that attitude should be evident in all their scenes, all their actions. They might help the hero, but only if it aids their own agenda and goals [or they've been coerced into helping].

When I'm writing the first draft of any scene now, the first thing I have to decide is from whose point of view am I writing it? What are they striving to achieve? Then I interrogate every other character in the scene to figure out their attitude to that goal. Will they help or hinder - and why do they feel that way?

Nailing my characters' individual attitudes - and state of knowledge - is crucial. Once I know that, I find it easier to write their dialogue, to know what subtext is hidden beneath their words. Agendas, attitudes, knowledge - all add richness and depth to characterisation, in my humble opinion. Your mileage may vary. Onwards!

Something to cheer up a glum Sunday afternoon

2012-01-29T16:23:00.002Z

Watch the intensity on the wee boy's face. Classic! [Via Steve Roberts on Facebook]

"How could I handle work on a day like today?"

2012-01-27T06:47:00.002Z

Australian politician plagiarises Aaron Sorkin

2012-01-26T09:32:00.001Z

An Australian politician has been caught out, shamelessly stealing a speech from Aaron Sorkin's screenplay for The American President. Wonder if the local press corps had to ask each other how to spell erudite afterwards?

Genius: Aardman animates Batman, Catwoman

2012-01-25T10:14:00.000Z

Via @edward_ross and @AlyMathers.

Another almost Animal from The Muppets clip

2012-01-24T20:59:00.000Z

Liam Finn and Greg Saunier compete for the role of Animal the drummer in any future [non-puppet] version of The Muppets.

Dead moody: The Glove - A Blues in Drag

2012-01-24T08:19:00.000Z

Robert Smith from The Cure and Steve Severin from Siouxsie and the Banshees teamed up for a side project called The Glove in the early 1980s. Among my favourite tracks on their album was this swirly, late night instrumental, A Blues in Drag. Here's a promo clip for that track which I'd never seen before today. [I heart YouTube.] Enjoy...

1978 Canadian cartoon inspires odd Bauhaus track

2012-01-24T08:09:00.000Z

There's a track by Goth pioneers Bauhaus that I always loved, but which always left me scratching my head. Party of the First Part has this weird dialogue that tells a story about a singer's Faustian quest for fame. Turns out the words come from The Devil and Daniel Mouse, a Canadian animated Halloween TV special from 1978. See for yourself...

"Genius!": Every Doctor Who story. Ever. In order.

2012-01-24T07:05:00.002Z

Contains spoilers. Obviously.

Star Wars Uncut: made by thousands in tiny wee bits

2012-01-23T12:39:00.002Z

Love the Homer Simpson cameo just before the 12 minute mark.

Gorgeous: Yosemite time-lapse in HD

2012-01-23T11:42:00.000Z

[via @jazzchantoozie a.k.a. Andrea Mann]

Raw, rough and righteous: The Jam - Beat Surrender

2012-01-23T10:23:00.000Z

Probably my favourite song by The Jam [and their last single I think], Beat Surrender seems to have been ignored ever since. This is a cracking live performance from The Tube. Some rough edges, but plenty of power and passion. Love it.

Channel 4 announcers refuse to say Simpsons

2012-01-20T09:40:00.002Z

US president Obama sings a few lines of Al Green

2012-01-20T07:40:00.000Z

What the Republican challengers would sing? Mitt Romney - King of Bain by The Police. Newt Gingrinch - Let My Love Open [Marriage] the Door. Ron Paul - The Man Who Would Be King by the Libertines. And Papa Don't Preach for Rick Santorum.

Movie Posters From an Alternate Universe

2012-01-18T18:38:00.000Z

Love these film posters re-imagining recent movies as if they'd been made at a different time, with different cast and crew - almost as if they were movie posters from a different dimension. See more of these gems by going here.

Depths that authors must plumb to pimp their work

2012-01-18T13:23:00.002Z

Obama revives long-form birth certificate controversy

2012-01-18T12:12:00.002Z

I heart Justified

2012-01-18T11:04:00.001Z

My PLR Top Ten, July 2010 - June 2011

2012-01-17T22:20:00.000Z

Every year the Public Lending Right sends registered authors a statement estimating how many times their books were borrowed from UK libraries. To compensate for lost sales, the PLR pays about six pence per loan. There's a maximum payment threshold [£6600] to prevent immensely popular authors from draining the PLR's coffers.

More than 23,000 authors will get payments for the most recent PLR period [July 2010-June 2011], with just over 360 on the maximum amount. I’m a minnow in such matters, but can look forward to a wee three-figure payment next month. My total's way down from last year as I've been concentrating on screenwriting, not prose.

That's despite the fact I've been concentrating on screenwriting rather than novels and non-fiction books. Shifting my focus elsewhere means my top ten tomes bear a startling resemblance to what they were this time last year. But some of my old comics work has been reprinted in graphic novels, rewriting my usual PLR Top 10.

Straight in at number one is a Judge Dredd comics album, Heavy Metal Dredd, while third place goes to the Fiends of the Eastern Front strip compilation featuring Stalingrad, a story I wrote with art by Colin MacNeil. Beyond that, the usual suspects from my fiction backlist continue to dominate the library borrowings.

My four Fiends novels and the omnibus edition of the Eastern Front trilogy continue to attract readers, as do my Nikolai Dante tales and the Dante novel omnibus. Last time my long forgotten Michael Caine non-fiction tome made a sudden reappearance. Well, it's back again, along with one edition of The Complete Inspector Morse.

Anyway, here's my top ten tomes for July 2010 - June 2011 (with previous year's placing in brackets):-

1. (-) Heavy Metal Dredd (Apr 09)
2. (1) Fiends of the Rising Sun (Jul 07)
3. (-) Fiends of the Eastern Front (graphic novel, Oct 10)
4. (2) A Massacre in Marienburg (published Dec 08)
5. (5) Fiends of the Eastern Front: The Blood Red Army (Apr 06)
6. (-) The Complete Inspector Morse (first edition, 2002)
7. (9) Starring Michael Caine (Aug 03)
8. (3) Fiends of the Eastern Front: Operation Vampyr (Oct 05)
9. (10) Nikolai Dante: Imperial Black (Sep 05)
10. (6) From Russia With Lust: Nikolai Dante omnibus (Apr 07)

Bubbling under - Fiends of the Eastern Front omnibus (down from 4th last year); Fiends of the Eastern Front: Twilight of the Dead (down from 8th); and A Nightmare on Elm Street (wasn't even bubbling under last year).

Mitt the Ripper: satirical ad from faux contender

2012-01-16T10:32:00.000Z

Comedian Stephen Colbert has launched a quixotic campaign to be selected as Republican candidate for the 2012 US presidential election. A political action committee [Super PAC] supporting Colbert has issued the daft attack ad featured above. Frankly, its Mitt the Ripper is a touch saner than some of the real candidate's Super PAC ads...[Nice voice over by John Lithgow aka serial killer Trinity in Dexter season 4.]

Why writers don't discuss getting fired: it sucks

2012-01-16T09:29:00.000Z

Most writers don't talk about getting fired - at least, not in public. Writers are happy to share war stories with other writers, but announcing you're been booted off a script is like saying you admire the wit and wisdom of Michael Gove: rare, not well-advised, and possibly the sign of a psychotic break on your part.

The reality is most every professional writer will be fired off a gig at some point in their career. It's a rite of passage, if not an enjoyable one. Everyone will tell you not to take it personally, that it happens to all of us, that you simply have to suck it up and move on. That's all true - but doesn't actually help much at the time.

For a writer, getting fired to akin to being dumped by someone you really fancy while you're in the middle of having sex with them. You may've spent weeks, months, even years getting to this. But halfway through, they decide it's over. You're not satisfying them. Seemed like a good idea but you're not doing it the way they'd hoped. Goodbye.

Unsurprisingly, this news is never welcome. Being rejected isn't much fun, but you can comfort yourself with the thought they made a mistake by not picking you. Getting fired is more personal, because it feels like a condemnation of your performance. You couldn't make them happy, and now it's over. Don't call us. Etc, etc, etc.

I've been on both sides of this situation. When I took over as editor of 2000AD, I booted several creators who didn't match my creative vision for the comic. Whether or not I liked them personally was irrelevant, it was simply about the work. So that was some [tiny] comfort when I got booted from a job last year. It wasn't personal.

But your confidence still takes a hit. You question yourself, your ability, your ambitions as a writer - it's only natural. You try to pick yourself, move on, find a new path forward. Slowly but surely, you rediscover your writing mojo. The wound heals over, forms into scar tissue. With time comes distance, and objectivity.

The worst case scenario is getting booted off your very first commission. That has the potential to crush an emerging writer. If the boot comes after that a few successes, at least you know you can make it as a writer - just not on that particular job. Most important thing you can do? Learn from the experience. Onwards!

Vote George W Bush or wolves will eat your family

2012-01-12T19:53:00.000Z

Went on holiday to the Florida Keys in October 2004, just before the US Presidential election. TV was swamped with attack ads, but this was my favourite for its bizarre subtext [see above].

Attack ads from the US Republican Primaries January 2012

2012-01-12T19:47:00.000Z

These make party political broadcasts look pretty tame.

Alan Moore still knows the score

2012-01-12T19:08:00.000Z

NSFW: Hürda Gürda Mürder

2012-01-12T11:30:00.004Z

One for fans of The Killing, Wallander, Dragon Tattoo - and Midsommer Murders.

Clock Opera tug the heart strings: Once and For All

2012-01-11T10:26:00.000Z

Lovely video for Clock Opera's Once and For All starring Dudley Sutton [aka Tinker from Lovejoy, soon to be seen in Cockneys vs Zombies written by James Moran]. Been a fan since Clock Opera remixed You Are a Lover by Tracey Thorn. Seize the day. Onwards!

Sherlock: "How the hours must fly by..."

2012-01-09T16:25:00.000Z

Play to your strengths: medical dramas & mysteries

2012-01-09T10:43:00.000Z

Suspect my subconscious is telling me something. Just submitted the fourth draft of my fourth episode for the BBC1 medical drama series Doctors and - yet again - I've written a detective story. My second ep of Doctors featured a series regular solving a mystery. So did my third ep. And now, so does my fourth ep [due to broadcast in May].

Why do I keep writing mystery stories for Doctors? Because I love crime narratives. When I go on holiday and have the rare opportunity to read for pleasure, not research, crime fiction is always my first choice. Deciding what TV drama series to watch next on DVD or Blu-Ray? Shows involving crime and mysteries will tend to be chosen first.

It's an abiding sadness for me that I never got to write for The Bill before it was cancelled by ITV. The show wouldn't entertain pitches from new writers who had less than two hours of TV drama credits. My current ep of Doctors brings me up to that magical two hour mark - but too late to write for the cops and criminals of Sun Hill.

The joy of Doctors is the show's immensely flexible format. You can have high farce one day, soul-searing emotional drama the next. Want to write detective stories? You can, especially as the show has a police sergeant and a police surgeon among its regulars. Suits me down to the ground, so I should probably play to that strength.

Some writers want to be great at everything. By all means strive to keep learning, to improve all aspects of your writing - that's the only way to get better. But I believe it's smart to recognise the styles and genres for which you have a natural enthusiasm and affinity. Playing to your strengths makes sense to me. Onwards!

Tubular Bells - Brooklyn Organ Synth Orchestra

2012-01-07T08:43:00.000Z

This is genius: Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells [a.k.a. that odd, creepy music from The Exorcist] as you've never heard it before, played on at least twenty different instruments by keyboardists from numerous Brooklyn bands. Film directed by Amy Hobby. Stick around right to the end for a post-credits gag featuring Peter Sellars. Class. In a glass. UPDATE: this track is available on iTunes UK for 79p, I've just discovered. Bargain!

Genius: THINGU [Pingu's remake of 'The Thing"]

2012-01-04T09:51:00.000Z

This is genius. Made by Lee Hardcastle. [via Barnaby Edwards on Facebook]

Kiwi music: Julia Deans - A New Dialogue

2012-01-04T09:09:00.002Z

Endeavour: Barrington Pheloung's new Morse score

2012-01-04T07:17:00.000Z

Here's a clip of composer Barrington Pheloung and orchestra at Abbey Road Studios recording the opening scene score for Endeavour, the Inspector Morse prequel that aired earlier this week. Pheloung has been a constant on the various TV incarnations of Morse and Lewis for 25 years, making his music an intrinsic part of the shows.

Review - Endeavour: The Origins of Inspector Morse

2012-01-03T10:38:00.000Z

John Thaw would have celebrated his 70th birthday today, if cancer hadn't claimed him ten years ago. He played many great roles during his career, but it was his portrayal of grumpy Oxford detective Inspector Morse that earned Thaw two BAFTA awards. Last night Morse lived again on TV, with a new actor in the iconic role.

Endeavour told the story of Morse's first case as a policeman in Oxford during 1965. [I won't spoil any plot details, the show's out on DVD next Monday if you missed it.] Creating a prequel to such a beloved TV series was a big ask. Many Morse enthusiasts were vocal in their online protests before the one-off special aired.

So, did Endeavour do justice to Morse? My snap judgement is a resounding yes. Shaun Evans was a revelation as the young DC Morse, capturing the essence of Thaw's portrayal without attempting to mimic it. It's a terrible cliche, but he really did make the part his own, an utterly convincing performance at every level.

The supporting cast was just as strong, with Roger Allam gruff yet warm as Morse's new boss. DI Fred Thursday was an intriguing character, rooting out corruption and graft while ready to administer rough justice and break the law to get a result. You could imagine how his unorthodox methods would influence Morse's future attitudes.

The Russell Lewis script was a winner for me, full of red herrings and misdirection. Having enjoyed the Morse spin-off Lewis, I felt the writing on Endeavour was better. Perhaps it was the halo effect of rediscovering Morse afresh, with the added novelty of a period setting, but the result was more compelling than recent eps of Lewis.

Production values were lush, as you'd expect from the Morse stable, with Barrington Pheloung's achingly poignant score providing one of many threads from the original TV incarnation to this new upstart. The period detail was exquisite throughout, and Colm McCarthy's direction brought the best out of both places and performers.

I've no idea what John Thaw would make of Endeavour, either as an idea or in its execution. The moment when DC Morse looked in the rear view mirror and caught a glimpse of Thaw looking back at him was risky. It could have been mawkish and crass, but didn't feel that way - at least, not to me. A worthy salute.

UPDATE: Overnight ratings for Endeavour are out. According to Digital Spy, ITV1's Endeavour guided the channel to primetime victory, averaging 6.51 million viewers (26.9% of the viewing audience) from 9pm (including more than quarter of a million views watching it on the time-delay channel ITV+1. That's not a huge number, but it trounced perennial favourite David Jason in part 2 of The Royal Bodyguard on BBC1, which lost more than 2.5 million viewers thanks to competition from Endeavour.I've little doubt the final, consolidated ratings for Endeavour will be much higher when they're released in a fortnight. I'd be utterly amazed if the show does not get commissioned for a series of three or four new stories to be shot this year for broadcast early in 2013. On the strength of this one-off special, Endeavour thoroughly deserves a longer run on our TV screens.

David Bishop, author of The Complete Inspector Morse
New edition [including Endeavour preview] on sale now in the UK and in the US.

Kiwi music: Greenpeace single - Anchor Me

2012-01-03T09:14:00.000Z

Having had the Mutton Birds yesterday, seems only fair to showcase this classy cover version of the band's anthemic Anchor Me. It features numerous contemporary Kiwi music figures and was recorded to make the anniversary of French agents blowing up the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior in Auckland's Waitemata Harbour, back in 1985.

Kiwi music: The Mutton Birds - A Thing Well Made

2012-01-02T08:49:00.000Z

Kiwi music: Glass Owls - No Avail

2012-01-01T09:37:00.001Z

Kiwi music: Homebrew Crew - God Defend NZ

2011-12-31T08:31:00.001Z

Sherlock Holmes: Yep, he's always like that

2011-12-30T11:46:00.000Z

To celebrate the success of TV drama Sherlock [devised by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, based on Arthur Conan Doyle's much-loved Holmes stories], BBC Worldwide created this clip showcasing languages from a few of the 180 countries that have bought the show. New series starts New Year's Day on BBC1. Can't wait!

Zooey Deschanel & Joseph Gordon-Levitt do a duet

2011-12-30T09:57:00.000Z

A New Year's Eve treat for 500 Days of Summer fans, via @LuCorfield [a.k.a. Freya Wilson in Doctors, also seen in Rev, Threesome, Candy Cabs, et al.]

It's nearly 2012: Writers, time to get your freak on

2011-12-30T08:29:00.000Z

With the end of 2011 looming like a big, looming thing, here's a selection of blog posts about writing from the past year. Each one seems to have been of use to someone along the way, so I hereby offer a dozen of them in one big selection box.

1. Don't wait for an engraved invitation to write.

2. How to deal with notes - good, bad and ugly.

3. Why confidence is the signpost of better writing.

4. Why coping with rejection doesn't get any easier.

5. Why much of your writing is unseen and invisible.

6. My journey from writing novels to screenwriting.

7. Rejected? Again? Just shrug and move on.

8. Why complications do not equal complexity, fool.

9. When's the right time to get yourself an agent.

10. Writing for Nina, the Neurons and pre-schoolers.

11. John Wagner's words of wisdom about story craft.

12. Lessons learned during a very long writing quest.

Kiwi music: PNC - Slow Motion

2011-12-30T06:38:00.001Z

Brideshead Revisited 2: This Time It's Interiors

2011-12-29T07:52:00.000Z

Earlier this month I was lucky enough to revisit Castle Howard, a stately home in Yorkshire used as the filming location for Brideshead in two versions of Evelyn Waugh's much-loved novel, Brideshead Revisited. My camera died while snapping outside the house, so these interior shots come via Hipstamatic on my iPod Touch. Enjoy...

Kiwi music: Julia Deans & Anna Coddington - Isn' That Good

2011-12-29T06:02:00.001Z

Kiwi music: Computers Want Me Dead - In Your Blood

2011-12-28T06:23:00.001Z

Kiwi music: Artisan Guns - Into the Cold

2011-12-27T08:56:00.001Z

Kiwi Music: Princess Chelsea - The Cigarette Duet

2011-12-26T10:25:00.001Z

Kiwi music: Voom - B Your Boy

2011-12-25T12:20:00.001Z

Kiwi Music: Dear Time's Waste - Alice

2011-12-24T23:19:00.000Z

Endeavour: The origins of Inspector Morse

2011-12-23T09:31:00.000Z

In a couple of weeks ITV will screen Endeavour, a new Inspector Morse spin-off commissiioned to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Morse's first TV appearance. Endeavour stars Shaun Evans as Detective Constable Morse, helping the search for a missing school girl in 1965 Oxford. In essence, this is Inspector Morse - The Early Years.

Sadly, many of those who first brought Morse to life on TV are no longer with us - producer Kenny McBain, screenwriter Anthony Minghella, actor John Thaw. But the new, one-off drama will feature composer Barrington Pheloung's irreplacable music, and the script's by Russell Lewis, who wrote for Morse and storylined the Lewis spin-off.

It'll be fascinating to see how Endeavour rises to challenge of emulating Morse in a period setting. Neither Colin Dexter's original novels nor the TV incarnation were hardcore police procedurals, so the absence of forensics, mobile phones or the web in 1965 won't radically alter how Morse and colleagues solve the central mystery.

I imagine ITV is crossing fingers for a big, fat hit in terms of ratings. The Lewis spin-off is approaching the end of its natural lifespan, with the sixth series due to transmit in Spring 2012 bringing the number of episodes made up to 23 - not far short of the 33 Morse TV tales. Endeavour would be a natural successor for Lewis.

Why do I care about all of this? I've been an enthusiast of Colin Dexter's original novels and the TV adaptation of his characters for decades. So much so, I've even written a book about them, The Complete Inspector Morse. The newly published fifth edition even manages to sneak in a preview of the forthcoming Endeavour special.

So when ITV broadcasts Endeavour on January 2nd at 9pm, I'll be watching. Hoping it does justice to Dexter's characters, and to the rich legacy left behind by the likes of McBain, Minghella and Thaw. Hoping they used Pheloung's Morse-coded theme music. It's more than a decade since we had a new Morse on TV. Here's hoping for a cracker.

Kiwi Music: Ladi6 - Walk Right Up

2011-12-23T07:23:00.000Z

Visiting my home country of New Zealand back in June, I was gobsmacked by the stunning variety of great music bubbling up around the country. Thanks to the internet, Kiwi groups and singers can reach out to audiences round the world - no more tyranny of distance to overcome. Here's the first in a series of cool Kiwi sounds to savour.

Street Chant garage up New Zealand's anthem

2011-12-22T06:18:00.000Z

Some countries have brilliant national anthems - the Marseillaise for France, Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau for Wales, and so on. New Zealand? Not so much. God Defend New Zealand is a sod to sing in its traditional arrangement. So here's Kiwi garage band Street Chant offering their own version. Wonder if this could get played at the 2012 Olympics?

Revisiting Brideshead [a.k.a. Castle Howard]

2011-12-21T07:46:00.000Z

Spent a long weekend in Yorkshire earlier this month and couldn't resist a visit to Castle Howard, the stately home used for both the TV and film adaptations of Evelyn Waugh's novel Brideshead Revisited. Had an hour to kill before the house opened, so walked the grounds and took lots of photos. A startlingly blue sky that morning!

Cheer up, Frank Miller! Try watching this.

2011-12-21T06:54:00.002Z

The 1960s Batman TV series titles, rendered in Lego. Love it.

This morning's sunrise...

2011-12-20T12:05:00.000Z

Couldn't resist filming the striking sunrise this morning. Excuse the wobbly handcam, but it was a mite parky outdoors. The music is 'Space Love' by Leila, in case you're wondering, which I randomly bought one day after hearing it played in Tower Records at Piccadilly Circus. [Yes, that was during the last millennium. Deal with it.]

My report card for 2011: Part Two

2011-12-20T09:07:00.000Z

Near the end of every year I set myself goals for the twelve months ahead, as a means to focusing my efforts forward and not getting distracted by shiny yet irrelevant opportunities. Setting goals is good, but you also need to check their success or failure for them to have any real meaning. So, what were my key objectives for 2011?

1. Write a new calling card TV drama script.
2. Get at least one new commission for Doctors.
3. Secure a commission for children's TV.
4. Write a feature screenplay.

1. Write a new calling card TV drama script. Yes, I did this. It's called The Specials and focuses on special constables in Edinburgh, exploring why anyone would volunteer to help the police. Public service is the commonly stated reason, but what really motivates someone to risk their life for little reward and plenty of hassle?

I started on this in August 2010, but got no further than a draft scene by scene before paying jobs swamped the project for six months. I returned to The Specials in March this year and produced a decent first draft. Lots of unresolved issues, a bit all over the shop in tone, no obvious A story, but still a decent first draft.

Having gathered feedback, I started the second draft in October - but the offer of a commission to write my fourth ep of Doctors took precedence [along with end of term marking duties at my part-time teaching job]. I'll be spending the rest of this year [all 11 days of it] and the start of 2012 writing and polishing the second draft.

It'd been a long while [too long] since my last original, 60-minute TV drama pilot so I'm very happy with the way The Specials is progressing. I don't expect it will ever get made, but I'm working hard to make this script the best possible showcase of what I can do as a writer, pushing myself to dig a bit deeper. Hopefully it shows.

2. Get at least one new commission for Doctors. This proved a lot harder than I had expected. At the start of 2011 I had a bunch of story pitches awaiting consideration at Doctors. Some had been there a while, so I wasn't busting a gut to add to them, especially with numerous other active commissions keeping me super busy.

Then my story pitches started getting read - and rejected. One after another they got nixed, until I only had two left on the pile. I added a fresh candidate and it fell as well, unhappily duplicating the plot of an ep already commissioned. [Such is life.] I was starting to despair of ever getting another story pitch banked.

I arrived in New Zealand for three weeks' holiday to an email from my lovely script editor to say one of my two remaining pitches had been rejected - but the other had been banked. Get in! That eventually led to this month's commission for an ep due to be broadcast in May 2012. Took a while, but I definitely nailed this 2011 goal. Phew.

3. Secure a commission for children's TV. This was a bit of a cheat. At the end of 2010 I was verbally offered five eps of Nina and the Neurons, so having this as a goal for 2011 was a bit cheeky. But verbal offers and actual commissions are two different things, as bitter freelance experience has shown me over the years.

Happily, the verbal did turn into a commission in this case. I heartily recommend working for CBeebies. Not the best paid work in the world [especially for in-house productions], but the staff are so friendly and helpful. This is another goal soundly achieved, and writing for Nina gets me kudos with nieces and nephews. Bonus!

4. Write a feature screenplay. Sigh. Epic fail on this front, for the umpteenth year in succession. I've been not writing a feature for what seems like forever. I even enrolled on a feature film writing night class at Screen Academy Scotland this year to ensure I stopped putting this goal off - but the class got postponed to 2012.

It's not that I'm short on ideas for features. I've got two very different concepts that have haunted me for years, itching to be written. But there are more obvious career benefits to creating a new TV drama calling card, so the feature urge gets sidelined for more pressing goals. Yet again, this task is a rollover. Tsk, tsk.

Final judgement: three out of four ain't bad. I achieved a lot of other things as well, even if some of them didn't turn out as expected [or wanted]. But three of my four goals were met and matched, that's a decent effort. So, what goals do I wish to pursue in 2012? Let's start with the obvious, my rollover objective from 2011.

1. Write a feature screenplay. The night class mentioned above in due to start in January, so I should have a first draft feature screenplay by September. Not sure whether it will be Red Room or M. Foxglove [both working titles], but one of them will be at least 90 pages of screenplay before the end of 2012.

2. Submit at least six new story pitches to Doctors. This BBC drama series doesn't guarantee commissions, not unless you're a core contract writer [which I'm not]. So I can't say I'll definitely get a new commission in 2012 - that's beyond my power. But I can improve my odds my submitting lots of new story pitches.

3. Develop a new TV drama calling card script. Still need to finish draft two of The Specials, and my old calling card deserves one final rewrite. Throw in the planned feature, pitches for Doctors, sundry unforeseen projects, and it's quite a full slate. But I need to start a new calling card, at the least. These things take time.

4. Pursue opportunities in children's TV. This lacks specifics, but I'm at the very early stages of a collaboration in this area that might bear fruit. Plus there could be another series of Nina in 2012 I might squeak myself on to. And I've a neglected project called The Silly Ayles that needs some development care and attention.

5. Pitch two radio drama projects. I've never been active enough pursuing openings in radio drama. It's a brilliant medium, one where I've made a few minor in-roads. And I've got two ideas that could make interesting, yet very different radio drama projects. So that's my final goal for 2012 - turning those into worthwhile pitches.

And that's more than enough goals for 2012. History suggests I won't nail all of these, but I won't be happy with achieving less than three out of five. And who knows how real life and unknown opportunities will intervene over the coming twelve months. But that's my plan for the coming year. Now to make it happen. Onwards!

Groovy title sequence for "...Dragon Tattoo"

2011-12-20T07:42:00.002Z

Coming soon: the sequel to Sione's Wedding

2011-12-19T14:41:00.000Z

My report card for 2011: Part One

2011-12-19T10:22:00.000Z

Freelance writers don't tend to have personal development reviews or appraisals. In lieu of that, each year I like to look back over my progress, identify where things were awry [in the hope of learning from my personal history], and set out some goals for the twelve months to come. Feel free to move on if this doesn't interest you.

Let's start with what I have achieved during 2011. After two years away, I wrote my 41st issue of costumed hero the Phantom for Egmont Sweden's Fantomen comic. That was fun and I wouldn't mind doing some more, but other things have kept me busy.

Completed work on Fate of the World, an award-winning strategy game published by Red Redemption. I'm an occasional visitor to the world of computer games writing. The money can be great, but I wouldn't that to be my only creative outlet.

Had a short film script optioned, but it didn't get made. The story was logistically ambitious [a.k.a. a nightmare for the director], so I wasn't that surprised when it didn't come to pass. Such is life.

I was among ten scribes chosen for the Write Foot Forward coaching scheme, led by the irrepressible Jo Calam. This proved an invaluable punt up the posterior and helped me identify a particular weakness in my writing. If you need the help, I heartily recommend Jo as an enthusiastic coach for creative talents.

Wrote five episodes of Nina and the Neurons: Brilliant Bodies, a science show for pre-schoolers on CBeebies. That was an education in writing to tight constraints, and an exciting new challenge. I've had nibbles of other opportunities in this field and it's an area I'd like to explore further during 2012.

My agent Katie Williams shifted this year and took me along to The Agency. She's done me proud in the time we've been working together, so I was happy to move with her. I know it's just a quirk of the alphabet, but having my name appear on the same page as Alan Bleasdale and Peter Bowker is a moment to cherish. [Daft, I know.]

Been teaching 2.5 days a week on the MA Creative Writing course at Edinburgh Napier University. Now on to our third cohort, the course is building a strong reputation for its love of genre fiction and the unique writing graphic fiction module. Plus we banned workshops, challenging an orthodoxy that's stifled such courses for decades.

What else? I ventured back to non-fiction prose with a 5th edition of The Complete Inspector Morse, published in October by Titan. Hopefully it sells enough to justify The Complete Inspector Lewis, which I'm eager to tackle. Can't wait to see the young Morse special Endeavour, due on ITV in January to mark 25 years on Morse on TV.

After five and a half years of trying, I finally got commissioned to write for the BBC Scotland drama series River City. Unfortunately, I couldn't nail the tone and characterisation wanted, so that experience didn't end well. Such is life.

After not applying for several years, in 2011 I added my name to the hundreds who wish to join the BBC Writers' Academy. I made it through to the very long list but didn't get selected for the workshop shortlist. I might apply once more in 2012, but I'm probably getting a bit long in the tooth for the Academy now. We'll see.

On a happier note, I've just been contracted to write my fourth episode of the BBC1 drama series Doctors. The script is far from locked, so I won't say much more beyond the fact it's called Fragile Strength and is scheduled for broadcast May 8th, 2012.

So, that's a look back over what's been keeping me busy this year. Also managed to squeeze in a three week trip home to see my family in New Zealand; went to Milan for 48 hours in September to experience Fashion Week; Carnoustie to teach teenagers about writing for comics; and Stirling for the 360 Narratives weekend event.

In part two, I'll compare my achievements to my state goals for 2011; plot a course for the year ahead; and set specific goals I want to achieve during 2012. Onwards!

Like a bit of ska? Then you'll love The Yoots

2011-12-15T07:19:00.000Z

This New Zealand ensemble - an offshoot of Fat Freddy's Drop - plays old Maori folk songs in a ska style. Joyful music to counteract these cold winter days.

All action movies should be just like this...

2011-12-14T07:03:00.000Z

Little Adolf: Unintentional, unfortunate, uncanny

2011-12-11T15:23:00.000Z

The Little Printer looks like a fun wee gadget for the home, collating things you like online and printing them out for you at home in a mini-newspaper. Snazzy. But when you scroll down the web-page demonstrating it, a scrolling image of the Little Printer starts looking an awful lot like a Little Hitler [see below]. Oops. Might want to tweak that design a tad.

Douglas Adams on why Sunday afternoons suck

2011-12-11T14:27:00.000Z

In the end, it was the Sunday afternoons he couldn't cope with, and that terrible listlessness that starts to set in about 2:55, when you know you've taken all the baths that you can usefully take that day, that however hard you stare at any given paragraph in the newspaper you will never actually read it, or use the revolutionary new pruning technique it describes, and that as you stare at the clock the hands will move relentlessly on to four o'clock, and you will enter the long dark teatime of the soul.

"Ohmygod! Trampoline! Trampoline! Ohmygod!"

2011-12-08T18:09:00.000Z

The home video above popped up on Facebook today, a byproduct of the Scottish windstorm dubbed #HurricaneBawbag by the Twitterverse. Now the clip's up on YouTube for everyone to savour. Altogether now: "Ohmygod! Trampoline! Trampoline! Ohmygod!"UPDATE: Sadly, it seems this work of [unintended?] genius is no longer available for public consumption. Shame.

See me exhort women to have more, err, sex

2011-12-08T17:52:00.000Z

Last year I appeared as sex therapist Dr Buddy Love in Asexual Healing, written and directed by Martha Appelt. Her wry tale of love, lust and disappearing genitals will be featured in the Glasgow Short Film Festival next February. In the meantime, you can watch the trailer above or check out the Asexual Healing page on Facebook. Enjoy!

Genius: 2011's movies in a nutshell

2011-12-08T13:42:00.002Z

Genius: Time-lapse traffic in Ho Chi Minh City

2011-12-07T16:47:00.000Z

"I'm using crew in the street sense. Yo."

2011-12-07T10:50:00.002Z

Recut Trailers: in the style of Fincher's Dragon Tattoo

2011-12-02T07:04:00.000Z

Trend of the week on YouTube is cutting new sizzle-reels for favourite films in the style of David Fincher's The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo trailer. The Muppets (!) did it first, now everyone's at it. Here are a few of the better efforts - enjoy!

Not porno dialogue: "They used to call me Anal Girl"

2011-12-01T11:11:00.000Z

Anal Girl
(500) Days of Summer at MOVIECLIPS.com

Still time to support my Movember 'tache for cash

2011-11-30T15:50:00.000Z

It's the last day of Movember and, as you can see from the photographic evidence above, I'm not much of a moustache grower. Nevertheless my efforts have raised £222 for the fight against male cancers. There's still time to donate money to this worthy cause - even a fiver helps! If you want to chip in something, go to this page now...

Why people are striking today across the UK

2011-11-30T09:50:00.001Z

Genius: Len Lye's pioneering short films

2011-11-26T14:28:00.000Z

Len Lye's something of a legend for his 'direct films', created by painting or scratching directly into the film stock. The New Zealander started doing this in the 1930s, producing a pioneering range of shorts that still influence artists and animators. He also created amazing kinetic sculptures, decades ahead of their time.

Much of Len Lye's work is held by the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in the New Zealand city of New Plymouth. I was arts reporter for the local paper and used to cover the Len Lye exhibitions when they happened [hence the photo above, from when I still had hair]. As a result, I'm a lifelong fan of what Lye achieved and his maverick spirit. Enjoy!

Lush: Countdown [animated short film]

2011-11-26T14:06:00.002Z

Genius: Shining! Shawshank! Rambo! Arthur!

2011-11-24T07:42:00.000Z

Arthur Recreates Scenes from Classic Movies is a daft, genius site that pretty much does what it says on the tin. Young Authur is obviously an auteur in the making, working through a range of influences until his own cinematic voice emerges. Here are three favourites from his oeuvre. There's more where these came from. Enjoy!

Fenton! Benton! Alien! Hitler! Jesus Christ!

2011-11-23T13:43:00.000Z

When is the right time to get yourself an agent?

2011-11-23T09:02:00.001Z

One question that exercises the minds of many writers near the start of their careers is, when should they seek representation? As an author or screenwriter, the idea of having an agent seems very attractive. The fact they want to represent you equals instant validation, helps show the world you're a writer worth noticing.

Writers who don't have an agent [yet] sometimes labour under misapprehensions about what it is that agents actually do. Some believe an agent will get them work. It does happen, but far more likely is an agent will open doors for you, access people and opportunities you otherwise not have known about or be eligible for pursuing.

Whether or not you get the commission will be based on your track record as a writer, and the work you submit after the agent has opened the door. Once you secure the gig, then the agent really comes into their own, handling the negotiations, getting you the best possible deal, and protecting your rights. They have your back.

So, when do you know it's the right time to get yourself an agent? It varies for every individual. I had 20 novels published before I got an agent [proof that you don't need an agent to get a book contract]. I secured my first radio play and my first TV drama broadcast credit as a writer on Doctors before I got an agent.

In the case of my novels, they were all media tie-in tomes commissioned via standard boilerplate contracts. There was little or nothing for an agent to negotiate, and they wouldn't have made much money - so I didn't need representation. The same applied to my first radio and TV commissions, although the money was getting better!

But since getting an agent - the lovely Katie Williams, now at The Agency - I've had new opportunities that never arose before. Katie also negotiated a very good deal for me on one particular job that provided several months of financial freedom in which I developed and wrote the first draft of my new calling card script.

So having an agent has definitely paid off. I haven't got the job behind every day Katie's opened, but that's the life of a writer. You'll always hear the word no far more often than you'll hear the word yes. [If you can't cope with rejection, get another job - both you and those nearby will be much happier as a consequence.]

I made classic newbie screenwriter mistakes before I got my agent. I applied to multiple agencies as soon as I finished my MA course. Sure, I had a radio play to my credit, did well at uni, and even won a first prize at the 2007 Page International Screenwriting Awards. But I simply wasn't ready, and that showed in my writing.

More than anything else, it's the quality of your writing that matters for finding and securing representation. You want an agent who believes in you and your work, who will go out and promote you, open those doors. And you need to demonstrate that you'll make their agency money. It's called show business for a reason, people.

How do you demonstrate that you'll make them money? By already having paying work on the go when you approach them. In fact, this is the acid test for whether it's the right time to seek representation. Ask yourself this one, simple question - and be completely honest about the answer. Do you want an agent? Or do you need an agent?

Wanting is not enough. Desire is good, but there should be more. You should be in a position where not having an agent is detrimental to your career. Then you offer a clear narrative to the agent you're approaching. You have secured a commission, but need their help with the contract. They make money and help you simultaneously.

Representation is a two-way street. They work for you, taking a commission for all the work covered by your agency agreement. If you're not earning, neither are they. Just wanting an agent isn't enough. You should need an agent before you approach one. It's that simple, in my humble opinion. [Your mileage may vary.] Onwards!

UPDATE: If you're decided that you do NEED an agent, how do you approach them? There are many different methods people have used, but one that's proven to work can be found in Adrian Mead's excellent e-book, MAKING IT AS A SCREENWRITER. You can download it here for just £7.79 + VAT. [All proceeds go to the excellent charity Childline, by the way - Adrian doesn't make a bean from it.]

Genius: Sunday in the park with Pepper Spray Cop

2011-11-22T06:24:00.000Z

The notorious images of a cop casually pepper spraying protestors in America exploded into a visual internet meme over the weekend. Here are just a few great subversions of that image, featuring victims sublime to ridiculous. See many, many more here. Enjoy!

360º Narratives: Phil Parker on where are we going?

2011-11-21T13:15:00.000Z

Spent the weekend at 360 Narratives, a new initiative run by Playwrights' Studio, Scotland with the motto "challenge, collaborate, create". Among the guest speakers was UK script development guru Phil Parker. Here on my rough notes on what he said:

Storytelling is the thing that connects us all, but originality is being killed by adaptation.

A study found £125 million had been spent on development in UK films but with no upturn in box office. So UK film companies abandoned UK screenwriters, abandoned commissioning new, original work. They now only develop true stories or adaptations.

But screenwriters now have opportunities people never dreamed of before…

There’s this notion that stories can just be moved from one medium to another. But PP believes some stories fit certain media. Cited Jeanette Winterson’s quote that adaptation is smashing a beautiful vase to make a teacup and saucer.

Adaptations are liked because those stories already have an audience. It de-risks the screenwriter is the perception, because the stories already exists, the characters exist. What can go wrong? We’lll just play with it. All an original piece of work has going for it is the screenwriter’s track record.

Originality is being crushed in our culture – but there are opportunities. It’s a new era.

Got a Youtube clip into the Top 10 globally and you get paid $150,000.

There are no gatekeepers – you just need a platform. It’s the new world. It’s not coming, it’s here – but UK writers haven’t woken up to this yet.

Angry Birds went through 54 iterations before it was a massive success. What changed? It took off when they added a backstory, when they added narrative.

PP looks for the communality in things. Angry Birds was about justified revenge. Every single person has been treated unfairly at some point in their lives, they can empathize.

Give your character an undeserved misfortune and the audience empathizes with them. This goes all the way back to Aristotle, but it still works today, all over the world.

We were all powerless as children, and felt we were treated unfairly at some point. You carry that childhood experience as part of your adult emotional core. Those emotions stay with you for the rest of your life.

Audiences react emotionally to a character who suffers an undeserved misfortune, it makes them care about the character.

PLATFORMS – and how do you place yourself on them

THE SHORT – used to be the short film, heavily funded by regional film bodies like Scottish Screen. Now the short is found on Youtube. Funny dominates short forms.

THE WEBISODE – stringing together short pieces to form a narrative. Check out Angry Orange on Youtube, 20+ eps, made by guys in Oregon, now a worldwide hit.

THE E-BOOK – these enfranchise writers. Web publishing is a different game. You need to know your audience, your genre or sub-genre. You need to market to that audience. Anyone with wi-fi can access your story from anywhere in the world. A hit e-book makes the writer a fortune because it cuts out the middle man i.e. publishers.

LOW/NO BUDGET FEATURES – according to the BFI Yearbook, 143 no/low budget movies were produced in the UK during 2010, although none of them made any money. What makes a movie stand out? The writing. Technology allows you to make it now. Distribution is still problematic in the UK, however.

Screenwriters should either be writing massive Hollywood spectacles movies – or films that can be made for £500,000. If the latter, pick a genre that suits low budget – horror or very character heavy drama. Great plotting and directorial style will elevate them. Most low budget plotting is terrible.

Collaboration is the key for 360 degree narratives, but it doesn’t happen overnight.

Intellectual Property [IP] ownership is a real issue. You need ot define everyone’s IP ownership within a collaborative project.

Genres are real, you are always working within a genre and you need to understand it.

PP argues there are essentially only 4/5 genres – horror, thriller, romance, drama and the personal drama. He believe the desire for love or validation are the two key emotional focuses of the last decade in film narratives.

Where are we going? That’s in the lap of the gods. There are no enough good, low budget screenplays in the UK. Quality in development is crucial. So is writer’s ambition. Need to get past Scottish miserablism.

Want to get on? Say ‘sod ‘em” to broadcasters and other gatekeepers for funding. Those gatekeepers are scared. They’re retreating into their caves, waiting for the storm to pass. People with their little empires – 360 narratives are anathema to them. Circumvent them.

Marketing yourself is a problematic area – but crucial. You have to connect to the relevant online community, place yourself in their spaces and keep going. This is where collaboration is crucial.

Marketing yourself – you should be doing it instinctively, it’s not somebody else’s job to find you work or funding. Collaborations – think of yourselves as a team, not as a gathering of individuals. Everyone has to contribute.

PLATFORM? Go with the one you can afford. Find your audience and what they like. Put up a chapter a week online, building to a larger story. Build your audience online and then move to offline. You can experiment like crazy – why not do it?

"Fenton!": This shouldn't be funny - but kinda is

2011-11-21T12:24:00.003Z

'Dot': stop motion short made with a mobile phone

2011-11-21T10:33:00.003Z

My new book about Inspector Endeavour Morse

2011-11-16T09:24:00.000Z

Titan Books have just published a new edition to The Complete Inspector Morse, my guide to every incarnation of Oxford's famous fictional detective. The UK paperback came out last month, the US and Kindle versions officially went on sale yesterday.

The new edition is far more timely than I expected, with Morse returning for a new case on British television in two months. January 2012 is the 25th anniversary of Morse's first TV tale, The Dead of Jericho starring John Thaw and Kevin Whately.

ITV has commissioned Endeavour, a feature-length story about Morse as a young detective constable in Oxford during 1965. Many of those involved with Morse [and the Lewis spin-off] have worked on Endeavour, a pilot for a potential new series.

Happily, details of the new TV drama special broke in time for me to slip them into this, the fifth edition of The Complete Inspector Morse. The new book includes fresh info about the first dramatisation of Colin Dexter's creation [John Thaw was not the first man to play Morse!] and the 2010 Morse stage play starring Colin Baker.

Genius: Gandalf the Gray [Tabby]

2011-11-15T06:02:00.002Z

Genius: movie titles by the great Saul Bass

2011-11-14T07:54:00.001Z

The most 1980s TV title sequence ever?

2011-11-14T07:49:00.002Z

Genius Nature: A Murmuration of Starlings

2011-11-14T06:31:00.002Z

This daft fantasy game rap is epic (-ish)

2011-11-10T11:33:00.001Z

Get stuff when you donate to my Movember

2011-11-08T09:43:00.001Z

I have donated my face to Movember this year and am attempting to grow a 'tache for cash. Above you can see the results after eight days - not exactly impressive, but I've never been the most hirsute. Several lovely people donated last week, pushing my total close to £100. But I want to raise more money and awareness for health issues.

So here comes the hard sell: donate £5 and I'll email you a Doctor Who short story that's been out of print for a decade. Donate £15 and I'll email you a text pdf of Starring Michael Caine, my guide to 80 films featuring one of Britain's most iconic actors. Donate £27 and you'll get both, plus pdf text for one of my 20 published novels [your choice!].

So what are you waiting for? Get donating. Now! Go here to donate. Do it.

I said damn! All artwork should be this lush.

2011-11-07T14:46:00.000Z

Gorgeous movie-inspired sketches by Massimo Carnevel - see more here.

Star Wars: Let the Wookie boogie, Meco

2011-11-07T09:20:00.000Z

Star Wars, the way it should be played: funky.

A message to students graduating today...

2011-11-03T07:37:00.000Z

Graduation Speech

Say Anything...

— MOVIECLIPS.com

Today the second cohort of students graduate from the MA Creative Writing course I help teach at Edinburgh Napier University in Scotland. So here's an inspirational clip from that class film, Say Anything. Onwards!

I've donated my face to Movember 2011

2011-11-01T09:05:00.000Z

I've joined the madness that is Movember, growing a moustache to raise cash and awareness for men's health issues. [The rules require each participant start the month clean shaven.] I'll be posting photo updates of my efforts here during the month so you can witness my efforts to grow a Lievremont [see picture below] by December.

This blog gets more than 200 visitors every day - that's more than 6000 visitors a month. Hopefully everyone finds something of value on Vicious Imagery. If so, why not donate to my Movember page? I know times are tight, Christmas is coming up, etc - but a few quid shouldn't bankrupt you. Donate today. It's in a good cause!

Dundee Comcis Day: Wagner's words of wisdom

2011-10-31T10:37:00.000Z

Trundled north for Dundee Comics Day yesterday, part of the local Literary Festival. Ran into lots of folk who used to work for me at 2000AD et al - Cam Kennedy, Robbie Morrison, Frank Quitely, Colin MacNeil, Jim O'Ready. Failed to catch up with John Wagner, which was a shame, but his talk was inspirational. Here are a few notes:

"Strong characters make strong stories. Events are fine, but you have to filter them through character. If you combine bad and good in the one character, that's always stronger. The reader can take them how they like. Judge Dredd is a genuine hero and a genuine villain. I had him do something heroic and villainous in every story.

"Short comics stories have three stages - beginning, middle and end. The beginning introduces your characters, and establishes their objectives. In the middle stage your characters succeed or fail by their own means at achieving their objectives. For the ending, you need a surprise or twist of some sort to wrap the story up.

"Character is about how they react to things, it comes out in the choices they make. You try and garner reader empathy through their choices. Emotional depth is such a personal thing. It much easier to write emotional stories on your own. Working at DC Thomson, nothing was ever good enough. But it's good to fight complacency."

Something to cheer up a blue Monday...

2011-10-31T08:29:00.001Z

Watch my Nina and the Neurons episodes via iPlayer

2011-10-30T08:22:00.000Z

My 4th and 5th episodes of Nina and the Neurons: Brilliant Bodies were broadcast this week on CBeebies. Thanks to the wonders of iPlayer you can catch up with them here and here. [And they'll be repeated on CBeebies and the BBCHD channel a lot - alas, no residuals for me.] Want to know how the show's written? Read this post from last month.

If you've ever struggled with the Scottish accent...

2011-10-26T15:18:00.000+01:00

...imagine how hard it'll be for Scots trying to make voice recognition devices like Siri on the new iPhone. Witness this from ace Scottish sketch show Brunistoun [via @SimonNRicketts]. Repeat after me: eleven! Eleven! Eleven!

Spot the Bafta-winning documentary maker...

2011-10-24T18:17:00.004+01:00

Hint: he's the tall one, at the back.

Bad writing habits: complications ≠ complexity

2011-10-24T08:11:00.000+01:00

Like most writers I know, there are some bad habits and default settings that do me no good. I know what my strengths are, and tend to accentuate these when developing a new project. For example, I'm not bad at plotting and love cutting between story strands. Which is all well and good - but not when it impacts on characterisation.

So what is my worst writing habit? What do I lapse back into doing if I'm not careful? Complications over complexity. Instead of having the courage to dig deeper into my characters' emotional turmoils and dilemmas, I'll throw in some extra plot points. Another strand of narrative to keep everyone too busy to feel anything.

But this breakneck tendency robs my characters of the chance to be themselves. If everyone's too busy with crisis management, they don't have time to confront how they're feeling. Stories become a headlong rush to the next plot point. There's no room to breathe, to reflect, to react. Result? Empathy fail. We just don't care.

I'm rewriting one of my calling card scripts at the moment and - sure enough - the first draft's guilty of choosing complications over complexity. I discovered this by taking it for a walk on Saturday, talking through the different character strands. That helped me identify who's story the episode was [not an unimportant discovery!].

Talking the script through from the characters' perspectives made something else apparent: I had an entire plot strand that could be jettisoned to no detriment. It was a cunning wheeze of a story that slipped from one character to another before resulting in a big, set piece finish. But it didn't belong in this script.

So I've deleted it. That only cut five pages but seems to have lifted a weight from the whole thing. It's left much more room to concentrate on the central characters - what they're going through, what they're feeling and how their reactions help drive the plot forward [rather than them jumping through hoops in service of the plot].

I also discovered another problem: scenes with a generic POV. You want each scene to be written from one character's point of view - ideally, the character with most at stake at that moment. [Stakes needn't be life or death, just important for them.] Writing from their POV, seeing them battle to do something, helps create empathy.

The good news is I have done that in some scenes, just not all of them. Plus writing every scene from a character's POV is not always easy in a first draft. Often you're still figuring out who the characters are, how they talk, react, interact. A first draft helps you discover those facets that only become apparent during the writing.

So my job for the next few days is pulling apart my first draft, winnowing out the extraneous plot complications. I'll be looking to replace them with character moments, little glimpses into how they're feeling. And I'll be digging into their heads and hearts to re-envisage from their POV. Should be exciting. Onwards!

24 years of hurt is over - time to enjoy the moment

2011-10-23T11:22:00.000+01:00