2011-04-06 - 2011-04-12 Writer's Blog

Another post written over a week! When uni is over I will post more frequently!


Its been over a week (two weeks now) since my last post. In internet time that is very long. I have a good reason though. I know, it makes a nice change. Well anyway yesterday (last week) I handed in my dissertation. I have been working on it all year and now its handed in.

It was quite a slog at times but now its in the office. Done. As you can see from the image my handwriting is atrocious! However I don't think I'm going to need to be able to write that much. I know strange. I plan to use a computer whenever possible!

The new issue of Writing Magazine has just arrived. (13:38 ish. This time last week.)

While this is a great magazine I have had trouble coming up with ideas for their competitions.



So I'll rip open the magazine and hopefully inspiration will strike. I still have two pieces of work to finish for university which I suppose I should also get on with!


The next piece of work due in is for Writing Culture and Society. This is a misleading subject title as the writing need have nothing to do with culture or society. For this subject I'm writing a science fiction story. It is written in a similar style to The Saga of Seven Suns. Each chapter has the heading of a character's name and that chapter stays in the point of view of that specific character. This structure came about because of the confusion of moving between POVs and locations mid chapter. Now the narrative is more focused and the novel is easier to follow.

It has only been because of tutorials that the necessity of this structure occurred. I would say to anyone writing a novel find your self a writing group. They are an invaluable resource.

The last piece of work, due in on Friday the 13th, is my screenplay. This is nearly done. I'm going through it at the moment and tightening the scenes. Some will probably be removed and their may be other's added. My script tutor told me a very important thing when editing a script. Edit in stages. I.E go thorough and look at dialogue, then description and any other aspects of the story. Only focus on one aspect at a time. This should lead to a coherent story.

Writer's Blog 2011-03-28

I think it was last year that I started looking at "Writing a Novel" part of the teach yourself range.

This next section is about the eight point story arc.

1. Stasis


2. Trigger


3. The quest


4. Critical choice


5. Climax


6. Reversal


7. Resolution

Anyone who's studied scriptwriting will probably recognise these. Each one of them can be phrased differently. I've heard "Stasis" expressed as "Who is the protagonist and what do they want?" This is a good place to start as it keeps the Vorlons and and the Shadows happy.

I was first presented with this idea in class. I must say that I misunderstood it. This is not a strict code rather it is guidelines. It is useful as a plan for a film or a novel. However in my opinion some subversion of the structure is advisable. Otherwise every story would be the same.

Everyone has seen films that follow this structure. To me it seems that particularly romantic comedies follow it. You must have seen them. The relationship is all going well. Then suddenly their is a hiccup. Somebody acts stupid, or a secret is revealed, and it looks like the couple will not live happily every after. Then we get the montage and they get back together in the end.

I've just finished a script based on this structure. In the planning stages I thought it to be a terrible encumbrance but in the final analysis it has been most useful.

The way I was taught was that these eight points then become part of a larger plan. For me this was forty points altogether. My script basically goes through and intersects all those points. Then will come the editing phase and hopefully the result will be an excellent script.

I have a scriptwriting tutorial later in the week. I will look more closely at this structure then. Until then: Good night, good morning, good afternoon and good evening. - depending on where you live.

Live long and prosper.

Writer's Blog 2011-03-21-2011-03-26

I am currently lying on the floor on my landing. Why? Because for some reason my computer is having trouble with the wireless. So I need to connect to the short yellow cable. I am on-line so it is sort of working.

I was in the centre of Cardiff the other day. I saw a young woman with a clipboard. I guess all town centres are smiler. These people are collecting money for charities and often ambush unsuspecting passers by.

Don't get me wrong I have no problem with charitable fund-raising its just the way they go about it. I'll admit to you that I have done this job. Though I am worse as I went door to door. I'm sorry. It is a terribly intrusive thing. Home should be the place where you can be sure of not being disturbed. For this job you have to lean this spiel of who the charity is and why you need money. I did the door-to-door job for three days. I hated it so much that I quite that quickly!

Anyway this woman's style should be the benchmark by which others work. She introduced herself, talked briefly and then basically said - they were raising money - it was so much a week - and could I help - perfect.

You see as soon as someone like this approaches, you know what they want. It often takes them ages to get to the point. Maybe its just me but I find it difficult to interrupt someone whist their delivering the long speech. So I would suggest to charities that they should try the simple style. They might find that they get more people signing up. The reason being that if the person they're talking to is going to say 'no' - you get there faster. You will then be able to speak to more people and make more money for the charity. That is the point after all!

So, being you typical poor student, I told her I couldn't afford it at the moment. That was it. I think though that charity collection is becoming more like a business. It is, as I know first hand, being done as a job rather than by people who are actually interested.

Of course you could try avoiding the collectors. My brother has the idea of carrying a clipboard yourself. He seems to reckon that the people would split to the sides of the street. It could work.

Writer's Blog 2011-03-13

I recently became disabled. It happened on the 21st of February. I shall never forget it. It was the day when I lost my home internet connection!

Yes. I had to manage without the internet for over two weeks. It is strange how quickly the internet becomes a part of our lives and the funny catch-22 situations you get into. My brother stopped just short of saying 'I'll email myself a reminder.' When he couldn't just use online banking. Of course he couldn't email either.

So that's the reason for my recent lack of posts. I have however discovered that its good to get out of the house sometime. Over the course of that fortnight I went to the library and a cafe to work. This was good. It may sound strange but working in that kind of place is quite useful. There is something nice about having people around you even if you're not talking to them. Though, having said that, the library, which I naturally expected to be silent, could have done with being a little quieter.



So welcome back internet! All is up and running now and I can return to a topic I started weeks ago. I ended my last post by saying that in writing nothing is ever waisted. I'm working on a novel at the moment. Actually I've been working on it for a long time. So sometimes when I write I'm actually pasting old sections in from previous drafts. Sometimes the story has taken a new directions and so I end up with segments that don't really fit. This leads to the opportunity I spoke of in my last post. It is my hope that I can take some of those sections and turn them into short stories in their own right.

Like, I suspect, most people, I failed to keep my new year's resolution. I had said that I would submit a short story to a magazine every month. Well in February I failed. The good thing about this resolution is that I can retcon it to be 12 short stories over the year instead.

Yes that is a cheat I know. However reconing seems to have been a theme of film recently.So instead I will try 12 stories this year.

Fingers crossed some will be accepted.

Writer's Blog 2011-02-14

I have mentioned the web reviewer Sfdebris before. Recently he reviewed the episode Shades of Grey. This is a clip show which, as he points out, is a thing hated by almost everyone. When I saw he was to review this I though, 'How can you possibly review a clip show. Well he managed it. Here is the review:




What I find particularly interesting is his suggestion of other possibilities for the story. Clip shows come up now and then usually because of money problems. As a writer just starting I hope never to be responsible for a clip show. The easiest way to do that is not to become involved in television!

Being serious I don't understand why clip shows happen. Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Babylon 5 never had clip shows. If you're a skilled writer you can create tension with two people in an empty room. Intersections in Real Time does this. This episode is about an interrogation/torture but there is no reason why that would have to be the theme.

TNG ran into money problems on another occasion. The Drumhead was produced as the writers felt they didn't want to go down the route of another clip show. So I hope never to produce anything of that sort. However from a text perspective, novels and short stories ect. There is something you can do that may sound similar but is very effective.

This I will discuss in the text post. Nothing in writing is ever really waisted.

Writer's Blog 2011-02-11

In continuing to look at Writing a Novel there's a paragraph I'd like to share with you:

There is a basic human need for fiction, a need which comes on the heals of our primary requirements...There have been storytellers since people had full enough bellies to stop and think for a moment...the audience is seeking the fulfilment of these same three needs: entertainment, escape, understanding. (p16)

Each chapter has many exercises. At the end of this chapter we are asked to think of our favourite story.

I can't say what my favourite story is. Frankly it depends on a great many factors. I'll probably have a different answer depending on who I'm with. Two excellent stories come to mind though:
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and the Old Kingdom trilogy.

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is a great story. I've read it, listened to it and watched it. So as not to ruin it for you, this is the story of a man who travels the galaxy in his dressing gown. The radio version is the best, followed by the book, then the TV series - the movie? AVOID. Okay it wasn't that bad. It wasn't Star Wars prequels bad. But it doesn't hold a candle to the BBC series.

The Old Kingdom trilogy is a set of fantasy novels. I have been looking at the follow up book, Across the Wall, recently for a critical essay for university. I found I remembered very little of the original trilogy other than the fact that they were very good books. They are not your typical fantasy novels. I don't really want to say more than that other than: 'They're brilliant - read them!'

I would just like to highlight something I tweeted the other day. Recently I've been watching Charmed. I completely missed it in its original run. It must have been on a channel other than BBC! Anyway I just wanted to say how much I appreciate the writing in this series. In one of the last episodes I watched, Piper brakes up with her boyfriend. They talk briefly, he calmly says he understands, kisses her and leaves. I'm glossing over the details but the point is that there were no feelings of hatred and it was calm. Often when a relationship ends in film or TV there's always crying and swearing and, in the case of Buffy, death. These two people were written like human beings!

Writer's Blog 2010-01-31

Foundation, Earth, and a Referendum



About two weeks ago I began reading Second Foundation, by Asimov. I was confused. I thought it was just me, my mind does tend to wander, but no - I was reading the books in the wrong order.

So now I know. I've moved on to another Asimov:



And will come back to the trilogy later. This is kind of embarrassing but that's part of what a blog is for.

In other news...

Here in Wales we're have a referendum on giving the Welsh Assembly government more power. I shall most certainly be voting yes to this.

As you may be aware there has recently been a big issue in the UK about student fees, for university, rising. Well, because of the Welsh Assembly it isn't happening in Wales. So for Welsh students this is great news.

Those of you reading this in England this is a sad state of affairs. I wish I could make some suggestion of what could be done. It seems that the Liberal Democrats have proven themselves to be true politicians - they make promises and do the exact opposite. Being kind though they are in government with the Conservatives so I guess there was no choice.

Of course they could have chosen not to join them.

It will be interesting to see if this rise in tuition fees has any effect on university attendance next year.


See you later in the week.