Finishing line beckons for marathan writing stint

Feels like I've been writing non-stop since Christmas. Obviously, the reality is a little different. I teach 2.5 days a week, get 5-6 hours sleep most nights and do enjoy a long bath. But I doubt there's been more than a handful of non-teaching days since Christmas when I haven't been writing [plenty of teaching days too, first thing].

Most weekdays and every weekend have been about writing, writing and more writing. What's been occupying all my time? Computer strategy game Fate of the World is a hearty chunk of that. Wrote 6000 words for that last weekend alone, as the final push is on before the game launches its full version. [A beta version is already out there.]

CBeebies science show Nina and the Neurons has also loomed large. I've completed at least a first draft for four of my five eps, and some second drafts too. A more first draft to come, and plenty of rewrites as well. I've little more than a newborn writer when it comes to capturing the preschool style of Nina, but I hope to be crawl soon.

I've also returned to writing comics for the first time in two years. My 41st script for the Phantom is written to first draft and needs a thorough polish before I submit it to my editor, Ulf. Took a while to get back up to speed, but teaching postgrads about writing for graphic fiction every Friday afternoon has been a useful reminder.

All things being equal, I should be signed off on most of these commitments next week. Suspect I'll need a day or two of drooling in a corner before I recall what the outside world looks like. [Most weekends of time the only time I've left the house in daylight have been supermarket trips. Live to shop, shop to live - that's my motto.]

But right now, March is looking relatively deadline free. There are lots of things I need to progress, most of which have been shoved aside to hit deliveries for Fate of the World and Nina. I'm working with a London director on a short film project that needs a new draft, but that's a writing for fun project rather than paying work.

I've got half a dozen ideas for Doctors story of the day pitches waiting to be written up and submitted. Simply haven't had the time to do any of them justice, so have been scribbling ideas into notebooks, thus justifying my stationery fetish/addiction. Found one on the computer yesterday I'd written a week earlier and since forgotten!

Plus there's the small matter of my new calling card script which got shoved aside last August to write my 3rd Doctors ep. It's been sat waiting for my return ever since, but the game and Nina and teaching and everything else have taken priority. I need to get my new script the attention it deserves, so that's a March job too.

One good thing that arises from being so insanely busy: you don't have time to spend much money. I even got a tax refund last month [my first ever, I suspect] and it's been sat in my bank account ever since, waiting for its moment. Come March, I might get to shop for things other than food and essentials. In the meantime - onwards!

Feliz Navidad art by Joan Boix

One of the privileges of working in comics is that artists create special festive artwork for their xmas message. Above is one of my favourites from this year, a mix of Santa and the Phantom by Joan Boix. You can see more Boix art at his blog - enjoy!

My report card for 2010 - part 2

There's a lot of things I didn't do, or choose not to do this year. I stopped writing prose fiction after getting mucked about royally for much of 2008 on two proposed novels. To be honest, I haven't missed it. Teaching has filled that space, perhaps. I still have novels I want to write, but for now I'm enjoying other media too much.

I've also gotten out of the comics writing habit. Must be nearly two years since I scripted a new adventure for the Phantom. It got lost in the shuffle, thanks to teaching and TV drama commissions. But I'm working on a couple of story pitches this week, so it's likely I'll be squeezing some comics writing into 2011.

Didn't do a lot of non-fiction during 2010. The publisher of The Complete Inspector Morse sold its list to another company and I've been in discussions with them about an updated edition. There's been a lot of Morse activity, with eight new eps of Lewis [plus four more next spring], and a Morse stage. So that's another project for 2011.

I started a new TV drama calling card script, but it got sidelined by pressing deadlines for paying gigs. That has to change next year. My present calling card isn't bad, but needs rewriting. Plus it's a period piece. Downton Abbey may have taken the curse off period drama, but only if you've got big name talent attached to it.

My new spec is a contemporary piece, a project I'm really passionate about. Being away from it for several months has given me a clearer perspective [as is often the case]. Suspect that when I revisit it, I'll find it's over-stuffed with storylines and needs paring back to give the characters some room to breath, to establish themselves.

I marked a lot of student work in recent weeks. Nothing like seeing the flaws in somebody else's story to make you think on the niggling issues of your own. When in doubt, I've a tendency to add extra plotlines and story threads, rather than digging deeper into the characters I've got, their attitudes, their needs, wants and flaws.

So I have to keep that at the forefront of my mind when I return to my spec. Happily, it's got no further than the scene by scene. I can take it back to treatment stage, strip away the extraneous crapola and get to the heart of my characters. That's where I need to make the writing shine for the calling card to work on my behalf.

What else didn't I do in 2010? Didn't apply for the BBC Writers' Academy. Agonised long and hard about that decision. I knew I needed a new writing sample and didn't have one that felt good enough to submit, for a start. My knowledge of Holby, Casualty and EastEnders was a bit rusty, so that was another factor against going for it.

Getting in the academy is one in 100 odds. In the unlikely event I ever did get in, it would mean three months living hundreds of miles away from home with no chance of commuting. It would mean giving up family, friends and teaching. It would mean writing Doctors, Holby, Casualty and EastEnders - and nothing else. Total commitment.

The academy route isn't the only way forward. I got on to Doctors without it, and am making progress with my career goals, my ambitions. But I'm taking the long, slow route. Getting in the academy effectively turbo-charges parts of your writing career, offers shortcuts that circumvent the long, slow route. It's an alluring option.

In the next month or two I need to make my decision again - go for the academy in 2011, or stick with my own path. Guess that's a watch this space not. In the meantime, I need to set myself some goals for the coming year. Can't guarantee they'll all be specific, measurable and the rest of the SMART acronym, but I'll do my best.

So, what are 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.

The calling card TV drama script and screenplay are done to me. The commissioned-based goals do rely on other people for the vital yes, but will only happen if I devote time, wit and creative energy to preparation and securing opportunities. All these are achievable, but require hard work and discipline. Twas always thus. Onwards!