NOT a drunk in a ditch post!

I know I've been conspicuous by my absence, but rest assured, I've not been lying in a ditch somewhere with a bottle in my hand.
(Well... there was that one time, but I'm claiming that it was in the name of research, and I'm sticking to that story no matter how insistent you might be that it wasn't)
 I've been spending my time writing like crazy, finishing the Pantomime.  (for those of you who are unsure what a Pantomime is, see this earlier post.)  From start to finish, it's taken exactly two months!  I'm shocked at how quickly it happened.  This now gives me about a year to spell check it and get some beta readers to give it the once over.

Hopefully, I've got a few new ideas for some posts, so I'll probably be posting a bit more regularly again. (Not that I've found a new routine yet)

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?