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Monday 20 June 2011

Being your own Fairy Writing-mother

It’s been a while. For once my inactivity here is not due to inactivity in writing. It’s been a very active few months. Not as much writing as I’d like, and it’s pretty skew of the plan for 2011 that sits on the wall facing me BUT to focus on the positive - things are acceptable.

Focusing on the positive;
I’ve written the first draft of the 30 minute play for the mentoring project,
I’m up to 20 minutes on the first draft of the TV pilot,
I’m at 9 minutes on my redraft of a short film,
a HUGE project that is developing in my head and on the walls of the study.

However my biggest achievement in the past few months is setting up and running a monthly writing for performance group. I’ve been talking about it for, well..... years is not an exaggeration and finally I got off my backside and did it. Not only that but I’ve booked the Writing Group in for a showcase evening of small plays at Aberystwyth Arts Centre in October. So a rehearsed reading of a short play of mine, will be shown to the public, in October. Along with my play will also be plays by the other 9 members of the group and I’ll be producing the whole event, finding performers, directors, marketing the event – everything. It feels good to think that 10 new plays will come to life in October. And it’s because I got off my backside and made it happen.

There’s been a lot of inspiring stories about in the magical world of web and social media that helped me to think – stop waiting for this magical hand of the writing fairy to reach out and whisk you to a world of full-time writing and get off your backside and be your own fairy writing-mother.

Just a few of the stories of writers making their own dreams come true are listed here
Danny Stack – wrote, produced, directed, edited, promoted his own web series Liquid Lunch. http://www.liquidlunch.co.uk/
The story of the making of the comedy web series is here along with many, many mountains worth of writing advice http://www.dannystack.blogspot.com/.

Danny Lacey, the epitome of getting off your backside and doing it yourself really. Follow his blog or his web show. He isn’t waiting around for someone else to lead him along the pathway from obscurity to success he is literally hacking down those trees and making his own road.
http://www.stadamedia.co.uk/dannylaceyfilm/

Kristi Barnett http://www.kristibarnett.com/
And her trans-media project @KarenBarley
http://www.pyromag.com/entertainment/9394/a-twitter-tale-follow-to-take-part/
In Danny Stack and Tim Clagues's UK Scriptwriting podcast she talks about the motivation behind getting off her backside and doing it herself. I especially like this project because she is using multiple platforms and attempting to create a unique way to tell a story. http://ukscriptwriters.podomatic.com/

Not that my little showcase is anywhere near the scale of these projects but I’m heading in the right direction and I’m doing something about getting my writing out there.