What am I doing at midnight on a Saturday night, in an infamous dogging car park in Llangurig

Yesterday did not have the best of starts nor did it have the best of ends either.

It started with the inevitable rejection letter, a concise yet polite notification that I had not been selected for the National Theatre, Ty Newydd, Venue Cymru playwriting course, "I am writing to let you know that unfortunately this time you have been unsuccessful in your application to be a part of this course. I am writing to you later in the day than expected because we had so many submissions. They were all very interesting to read and it has been a very exciting job looking through them all. It is really wonderful to know that so many people are out there writing plays."

On the return journey from NTW06 The Persians the no-fuel light flashed on at 40 miles, approximately 10 miles short of the journey end. The perils of journeys through Wales are the lack of petrol stations open after 7pm and the lack of signal through most of the journey which means if you get stranded you would not simply be able to phone a friend.

In fact lack of phone signal is quite often a feature in my scripts as an element to heighten the danger surrounding a character.

We pulled into a car park in Llangurig the last reliable signal point and phoned a friend who agreed to drive out to pick us up. I was reliably informed that we were in an infamous dogging car park.

However taking a step back even the bad was good really, the rejection letter was for a piece of writing that I had barely a week to pull together due to clashes with the red planet prize. But the work I did on it was enough to give me an idea to develop further. I created characters that I really liked and want to re-visit.

Even the breaking down was positive because I am so grateful that I have such lovely friends in my life that are willing to get out of bed at midnight on a Saturday night and drive to pick me up.

So putting it all in perspective it was actually quite a lovely day.

On to the next deadline

I've had my head down focusing on the Red Planet Prize, popping it up occasionally to try to think, "what the bloody hell am I going to write about for the National Theatre Playwrighting course?"

After a bit of dithering I've decided to pull from the deep recesses of my mind a very old idea about conversations between people involved in a motorway pile-up. Unfortunately my dithering just leaves me about 5 days to write 10 minutes.

I also want to explore the idea of the way, faced with extreme emotional situations, we actually leave out the most important words and dance about the things we actually want to say.

One of these days I should really try to make things easy for myself. Still what would be the fun in that?

Your Submission has been received

The words, "your submission has been recieved" should fill me with a sense of completion, a sense of hope, a sense of possibilities of new beginnings but it hasn't. My shoulders have hunched, I feel sick in the pit of my stomach and I find myself feeling very negative.

Did I spend enough time on this? Why didn't I spend more time thinking about the log-line? Why didn't I use a different idea completely? Why didn't I use a script-reading service? Why did I bother to build myself up only to face the inevitable knock back again?

Still shoulders back, deep breath and move on to the next deadline which is frighteningly close, 10 minutes of script by the 8th August, in the hope of a theatre writing course with Kate o Reilly, mentoring by the National Theatre and a rehearsed reading of script.

I must not use the word fragmented

It's just a few days away to deadline and after a major re-write this weekend my 10 minutes are done. The 1 page synopsis is almost done. Almost done apart from the very last line - the log line. I've written out hundreds of variations now. So many in fact it looks like the teacher has given me lines as a punishment. Not that I was ever given lines to do because I was a good girl.

I've gone back to some of my original notes and now I'm staring at a sheet of paper on which I long ago wrote lots of words and phrases about the Book of Lost Causes.

Altruism, detective, hope, boxes, disparity, catherine wheel, randomness, pretence, disconnection, insulation, impact of money, zombies, latticework, control, failure, making a difference, family, average, weaving, infertility, fabrication, fragmented, blinkered, death, memories, identity, archive, myth, star, family history, interwoven, malfunction, siblings.

It has to be said I should get the award for overuse of the word fragmented. I really can't remember the past time I wrote a synopsis and didn't use the word fragmented.

I must not use the word fragmented.
I must not use the word fragmented.
I must not use the word fragmented.

Playwriting Course for Welsh Writers

Welsh writers are invited to join a new play writing project, run in conjunction with the National Theatre tour of Alan Bennett’s new play The Habit of Art.

ONLY 9 PLACES AVAILABLE FOR THIS VERY SPECIAL COURSE
If you are interested in writing for theatre in English and would like to have an opportunity to write in a beautiful setting with advice and support from experts, then join this very special National Theatre project in partnership with venue Cymru and Tŷ Newydd, National Writers' Centre for Wales.

Artists from the National Theatre, London will work with you for an online feedback session, a residential weekend and a rehearsal day to help you to write a 10 minute piece of theatre. The pieces will be rehearsed for a read performance in front of an invited audience at Venue Cymru during the run of The Habit of Art.

To apply: Please send a 10 minute (approximately) script to Artscripts@nationaltheatre.org.uk before 6pm on 8th August with your name address and contact details. The piece must be a scene of a meeting of two people, they can be imagined, real, from history, contemporary, famous or not. You will be able to use a cast of 3 actors for the rehearsed reading.

All successful applicants must be able to attend the weekend residency at Tŷ Newydd, 24 – 26 September, and the day workshop and performance at Venue Cymru on 16 October.
On 13th August the National Theatre will contact you to let you know if you have a place on the project.

Residential weekend: 24th – 26th September. Arriving at Tŷ Newydd for 7pm meal on Friday and leaving after lunch on Sunday.

Saturday 16 October, 10am – 6pm plus the evening show of Alan Bennett’s The Habit of Art from 7.30pm at Venue Cymru, Llandudno.

This course is highly subsidised and supported generously by The Dorset Foundation.
The cost of the course including a ticket to see The Habit of Art is £175.

Venues:
Residential weekend at Tŷ Newydd, National Writers' Centre for Wales, Llanystumdwy, Criccieth, Gwynedd.

Saturday rehearsal and performance day at Venue Cymru, LLandudno
For further information on this project, please email dingleson@nationaltheatre.org.uk

Discover: Mobile is supported by The Dorset Foundation.

Further information on the project:
The 10 minute piece can be a small part of a story of a longer play or scene or full sketch that lasts 10 minutes. The project is inspired by Alan Bennett’s new play in which he creates an imagined meeting in later life of the poet, WH Auden and his once friend and collaborator, composer Benjamin Britten. Therefore, we are asking all writers to write a piece of theatre that is a meeting of two people. These can be real, imagined, from history, current. You will have access to a cast of 3 actors.
If you are applying please ensure that you are free to attend the weekend residency at Tŷ Newydd from 24 – 26 September and the day workshop and performance at Venue Cymru on 16 October.

We will contact you to let you know if you have a place on the weekend residency at Tŷ Newydd and the day workshop at Venue Cymru on 13th August.

If you are on the course, you will be given feedback on your work and notes to support you through the writing of your second draft to bring to the weekend at Tŷ Newydd where you will work with a National Theatre writer and dramaturg. Here you will prepare a 2nd draft to take to the October rehearsal and performance day where you will meet the actors and National theatre Directors. You, one of three directors and the actors taking part in the project will prepare for the rehearsed reading in the evening.

The exact schedule of the day will be confirmed nearer the time, but it will be 10am – 6pm and the rehearsed reading will be open to an invited audience of interested parties, your friends and families. The approximate start time of this performance will be 4pm at Venue Cymru. You will then have a break and at 7.30pm watch Alan Bennett’s new play The Habit of Art.

Almost the end of June

It's almost the end of June. I've set myself a target of the end of this month to finish at least 30 minutes and the first draft of the one page synopsis.
I'm happy with my first 10 minutes but I'm going to keep going back to it until I make myself unhappy and then get myself back to happy again.
The problem is the one page synopsis. I'm rubbish at summarising projects. Ask me to write a full series bible and I'd be laughing but ask me to pitch the idea in one page and I just stare at a blank screen and force out a sentence every now and again. Then delete the sentence.
I keep reading and re-reading anything I can find on how to do it but still all I get is a blank screen.
I have lots to say about it, I've been developing it for about two months now, but summarise it in one page?

Lost causes

after noticing a brief mention by Danny Stack that there might be news soon about the Red Planet Prize I've pushed everything to one side to focus on "Book". This is the start of a novel written back in my MA days, turned into insipid radio play about a year after I finished the MA. The core idea is something I keep thinking about as I really do think it has a potential to become something much, much bigger if I let it. Its progressing slowly and so far I haven't had those vibes I often get that I'm forcing the story into something it doesn;t want to be. Still best not jinx it.