New Distractions

I’ve done it again! I have found a new distraction, a new project to immerse myself into and spend hours thinking about rather than going to bed or interacting with those around me. Wait! Make that two!

Scriptchat

The first is #Scriptchat, an online weekly gathering of scriptwriters, from beginners to seasoned writers, who share their thoughts and experiences. The chat takes place on Twitter every Sunday night for an hour. I joined it just over a year ago and it’s something I always look forward to: an hour chatting to people who like me, love to torture themselves. OK, that’s just me then. As of this coming Sunday I will be one of the new EURO co-moderators of scriptchat, in conjunction with my writing partner and husband Taro. We will be joining Alli Parker and have the honour of replacing the Euro scriptchat founder Mina Zaher. So if you already follow #scriptchat and everything suddenly goes weird and incomprehensible, that’s why.

Although if you're in the USA you need not worry as it's moderated by a great team.

HitRECord

The second is HitRECord. This is a collaborative project set up by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who likes to refer to himself as Regular Joe. HitRECord is in some ways a production company, but it’s a lot more than that, it’s a place to let your imagination run free, like a big brainstorm room where you contribute with ideas and these are picked up and merged with other thoughts and bounced back and picked up again and remixed once again and so forth. So just a simple image or a couple of words could become a symphony. This is perfect for anyone who like me has too many thoughts and ideas roaming around with no real home, and definitely for those who are happy to share and collaborate.

While Scriptchat is extra work, it’s very relevant to my writing. It’s the very important networking side, getting to know people with similar interests and also learning so much about this craft in a fun and interactive way. We all share and are willing to help selflessly.

HitRECord will hopefully not take up too much time either as to me it will be a place to share those extra curricular thoughts, doodles, videos and photos that are already part of my daily life.

Fear not though, I have still been writing my scripts. I have realised that I can’t write every time I have a spare minute as my brain isn’t always in the right mood. Yes, I have a moody brain. I can still fit in the above activities when my spare time is too short to get into writing mode, or I am too tired to focused on anything other than doodling or tweeting.

Everything in moderation ;-)

Writing and Cupcakes

Last night I finally got a chance to pop by the NFT cafe on the London South Bank to meet a group of writers. This was the fourth time the group got together since Christmas. It's all an extension to what started as a script chatting group on Twitter,  known as #scriptchat. After virtually meeting and chatting for the last two years about writing and filmmaking, the group decided to meet in real life. There are already groups who meet in the US, so it was nice to finally have a London tweetup, organised by the Europe scriptchat host Mina Zaher; cupcakes included (courtesy of Alli Parker).

I was nicely surprised by the amount of people who showed up. There must have been about 20 of us at one point. Some who I already 'knew' through twitter, others that I got to meet, and unfortunately some that I didn't but hope to at a further meet. The group consisted of writers from different walks of life, working on different genres and formats; some get paid to write, some would pay to write. Then there was me. I suppose if I was there, then I must be a writer too, or at least anyone who was there might think so.

I have screenwriting books that I bought about ten years ago, a short that I wrote even longer ago, and an ancient notebook filled with script ideas. That was it really. I've wanted to be a screenwriter for a while, but all I ever did was jot down ideas, read books, but never really dare to just forget about all that and sit down and write. I always had brilliant excuses to not write.

Last year this all changed simply because it had to. I was always saying that I would focus on writing once I went on maternity leave and even though it didn't happen when I had my first child, I finally took that step just weeks after conceiving my second son. Since the middle of last year I have been writing more and more. Alone and in partnership I have written a couple of shorts, a couple of spec pilots, some other bits and pieces and as of today have started that one feature I've been pondering about for a while.

Even though there are writers out there who started their writing careers whilst quite young, I don't regret not having started sooner. I didn't just sit by and watch life happen, I was enjoying it, experimenting, inventing, creating and, well, making life. So I got derailed but found so much knowledge and richness that I am now ready to incorporate it all into what I hope will be a writing and film making career.

Without further ado, hi. My name is Teenie and I'm a screenwriter.


(Interested in screenwriting? Why not join #scriptchat online on Twitter and real life. Details here.)

Composing a Script

Every once in a while when I find myself husband-less, I set off on a mission of my own. I get the front room spotless, put on a touch of make-up and slip on some nice clothes. With the kids fast asleep, I get the camera out. I place one of my many Singstar discs into the Playstation, pick up the microphone and sing to my heart's content.

Recording every moment, I sing over and over again. After a few renditions of the same 20 seconds of the same track, I finally choose one I'm happy with and put it online. That's what any talented singer should do - share their amazing talent with the world. So why the hell do I do it?

Last time I checked, I was only a slightly improved version of that same girl who at the age of eight could not tell how many notes were being played on a piano, failing to be accepted into violin classes, much to the relief of my parents and the world.

That's the beauty of Singstar. It doesn't matter if you can sing; just add a touch of make-up, regardless of gender, show as much cleavage as is acceptable for a mother, but most importantly, keep in time with the track so it's disguised by the original track.

So basically, I am tone deaf! I can't hold a tune, and most definitely cannot sing! Possibly a reason as to why I'm a writer and not a big superstar. So imagine my surprise when I suddenly realised that writing is in ways like composing. Seriously. It's all about the beats after all. Timing is everything and that is as true for music as it is for writing. Thankfully, and hopefully, with some practice, I can get the timing right. Phew.

Why am I telling you all this?

I had the pleasure of attending a Q&A session on Twitter last night. The session was part of #scriptchat, which happens every Sunday night, and was guested by the film, web and tv composer Rob Gokee (@robgokee). It was an eye opener session in which the importance of music in a script was highlighted.

If like me, you aspire not only to write, but also to produce or direct your own work, it is encouraged to get a composer onboard quite early in the writing process. We do afterall eat, sleep and even breathe to a certain rhythm, so why should it be any different to writing?

I will certainly be thinking a lot more about the music in my next re-writes. It will be interesting to see if the scripts sing back to me like a sweet melody or trip over every other word like a bad rap.


You can find the entire transcript for last night's scriptchat here.

I would be very interested to hear what your opinions are, whether you agree or disagree or simply have something interesting to say :-)