Vague routine related post.

It's surprising how routine can set us up for tasks ahead. 

I had a routine for when I would try and write, or at least think of an idea for my next post, when I would write the next part of my MS.  Unfortunately, circumstances have meant that my routine has been turned on it's head, and now I'm finding it a bit difficult to find a new one. 

Luckily, I had already mapped out the scenes for the Panto, so I'm still able to do a little bit on that, but where as before, when I sat down to write, I knew that this was writing time, and it just seemed to flow out of me.  Now, I find that even when I am sitting down to write, that other things are competing for my attention, and inspiration for blog posts are not appearing. 

Looks like I need to get a new routine in place as soon as I can.

(I've just found out something that amused me.  The spell checker in Blogger doesn't recognise the word blog)

Life imitating art?

I've decided that I should read Hunger Games before I go and see the film. 
Yes, I know I'm a bit behind the times, I've no excuses. Well, I've plenty of excuses, but none of them would hold up to close scrutiny.
I'm unsure whether seeing the film straight after reading the book will be a good idea, but my hand is kind of forced on this one. 
On the subject of the film, I've so far managed to avoid any reviews and comments about it, other than it's worth seeing, and some advice to sit at the back of the theatre do to the shaky camera work. (Thank you friends) :o)
The one thing that did strike me when I started to read the book, was how shaky the print was.  It seemed that the movie was filmed in line with the text.

Then it dawned on me.  It was me shaking with anticipation of reading an exciting book.

. . .

Gone crazy . . .

. . . be back soon!

Just one more read through, and then...

I can’t believe how nervous I am about the next step I need to take with my MS.  I’m about to use the C-Word.
No, not that c-word, the other one: Critique.
I’ve been through some hefty revisions over the past year, and hacked a lot of words out, added a whole load more when I realised that I’d missed out entire chunks of the MC’s development arc, and finished with a few minor plot tidying tweaks.  And now, (after one more read through), I have to take the next step. 
I think that the main issue for me is that my CP's know what they are lookin for, and what makes a good story.  My Crit Team have probably volunteered because they think that they are going to get a good read.  What happens if it’s not one?  The fear of letting them down is quite tangible, and it's hovering there, waiting to say:  I told you they’d be disappointed.
Then again, if I don’t let them read it, then I’ll never know how much work I’ll need to do to make it the best I can.
I guess I’d better start that final read through now...

Team Crit

A friend asked me the other day if I'd got my Crit team assembled yet.
A simple question, you might think, BUT, I didn't even know that they came in kit form!

Now I have extra worries...
Can I get them ready made?
Do I have to paint the pieces before I glue them together?  I hope not, they will all have axe wielding maniac smiles if I do.
Will I have to file off the little plastic knobbly bits before I glue them together?
What if I glue the wrong bit in the wrong place?  If I do, will they end up as Evil Crit Partners and try to take over the world?

I knew getting your work critted was a tough experience, but I wasn't prepared for this!

Unexpected differences.

It turns out that writing a stage play is quite a different kettle of fish to writing a book.  It's probably easier if I list the the differences that I've experienced so far:

1) There's a deadline.  Yes, I know that once you get a publishing deal that deadlines start to appear, but for me this is a new thing. I know it's a year away, and that I should have the first draft in place well before then, but it's still there, popping it's head up over the horizon, shouting "Cooee", giving a little finger waggling wave and then dipping back down again.  He's an odd little thing, and I'm sure there's a more menacing side to him that will become apparent as he gets nearer.

2) The pressure of high expectations. I'm actually writing this for people that I know.  The whole of the cast will received their copy of the script and then be judging it against previous productions to see how good (and funny) it is.  When I write a book, I try and make it the best I can, but it will be someone who doesn't know me who will deciding whether it has publishing potential.

To add to the pressure, several people have told me that they are more excited about this script than any previous Panto script.  It seems that they think that I'm funnier than I really am.

4)  Where's number 3?

5)  Being funny on demand is not easy.  When I'm with friends, feeling relaxed, and with no expectations for me to make them laugh, (I like to think that) I can be quite amusing.  I can make jokes about incidents, or a comment that someone makes, and run with a theme.  If something doesn't work, I'll get a small amount of humorous abuse, but it's forgotten quite quickly.  

This, however, is a bit more clinical.  I can't just write a load of jokes, and hope for the best.  I have to make the characters funny, and everything needs to work.

6)  The characters are a lot different.  They are all a bit shallower, but the traits that they have are larger than life.  There are about ten main characters in my story.  The cast of actors is around twenty five!  This means that I have to find a further fifteen characters, give them lines, and make them interesting.  They have to pop up a few times, so that they feel a part of the whole production.

3)  Ahh, here it is.

7)  Writing for an audience reaction.  When I'm writing a novel, I find that I can build up the story line as I go along.  With Panto, the characters have to illicit cheers or boos from the audience, and interact directly with them.  It's odd writing something to get an instant reaction.

Have you tried writing for different mediums?  Was it odd for you too?

A Commission! (of sorts)

Before I start, I fear that this post is going to be a little bit long winded.  Can I ask that you try to bare with me while I ramble on, and eventually get to the point.  Hopefully, it will be worth trawling through the waffle to hear the news at the end.  (For those of you who can't wait for the news, or can't cope with me bleating on, then I won't hold it against you if you just scroll down.)  Now that I've cleared that up, here's the post:

Some of you may know from earlier posts, that I belong to an Amateur Dramatic Group.  The productions that we put on over the year follow the same pattern.  In the summer (June/July) we put on a sensible(ish) play, and in the winter (January), we put on the annual pantomime.
The Pantomime is one of the more surreal British traditions that hasn't really made it past our shores.
Knowing that a fair few of you guys are not in the UK, I feel that an explanation (with the assistance of Wikipedia) of what a pantomime consists of is required:

Pantomime story lines and scripts are almost always based on traditional children's stories, like Aladdin, Peter Pan, and Cinderella.

While the familiarity of the audience with the original story is generally assumed, plot lines are almost always 'adapted' for comic or satirical effect, it being common for characters and situations from other stories to be interpolated into the plot. Certain familiar scenes tend to recur, regardless of plot relevance, and highly unlikely resolution of the plot is common. Straight re-tellings of the original stories are rare in the extreme

There are a number of traditions that a Pantomime follows.  Here are a few (with pictures from some of our past performances.):

The leading male juvenile character (the principal boy) - is traditionally played by a young woman, usually in tight-fitting male garments (such as breeches) that make her female charms evident.

An older woman (the pantomime dame - often the hero's mother) is usually played by a man in drag.

Risqué double entendre, often wringing innuendo out of perfectly innocent phrases. This is, in theory, over the heads of the children in the audience.

Audience participation, including calls of "He's behind you!" (or "Look behind you!"), and "Oh, yes it is!" and "Oh, no it isn't!" The audience is always encouraged to boo the villain and "awwwww" the poor victims, such as the rejected dame, who usually fancies the prince.

Music may be original but is more likely to combine well-known tunes with re-written lyrics. At least one "audience participation" song is traditional: one half of the audience may be challenged to sing 'their' chorus louder than the other half.

The good fairy enters from stage right (from the audience's point of view this is on the left) and the villain enters from stage left (right from the point of view of the audience). This convention goes back to the medieval mystery plays, where the right side of the stage symbolised Heaven and the left side symbolised Hell.

Sometimes the story villain will squirt members of the audience with water guns or pretend to throw a bucket of 'water' at the audience that is actually full of streamers.

A slapstick comedy routine may be performed, often a decorating or baking scene, with humour based on throwing messy substances.

The Chorus, who can be considered extras on-stage, and often appear in multiple scenes (but as different characters) and who perform a variety of songs and dances throughout the show. Due to their multiple roles they may have as much stage-time as the lead characters themselves.

Are you still with me?  Phew!  So, why am I telling you all of this?  Well... last week, we decided the title of the January 2014 panto.
Cinderella.
We then looked for volunteers to write the script.  Yes, you guessed it.  I got the gig.  I now have a year to produce the first draft of a full length (minimum 90 minutes) pantomime, and a polished script by May/June when we start auditions.
At the moment, my head is full of plot lines, one liner jokes, and silly situations.  Excited isn't the word!