Tag: Update

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Last One

So- that’s it! Finished… very weird. First drafts to hand in to the Royal Court on the 15th, some other writing stuff looking nice and promising (though not holding my breath!) and I can finally maybe not be quite so poor without all of the travelling – oh and the time! 2 days a week back to do stuff with. I have a lot of stuff bubbling away in my brain at the moment- particularly a radio idea which I may start work on after the 15th of Jan- and then see if I can get in contact with the producer I know at the BBC to talk it over… so all in all I’m feeling nice and positive. Just about. It fluctuates so much -and is bound to take a dip when I get into redrafting – though having said that- this redraft should be a lot less stressful than Being Someone Else – I can see the problems, and it’s a simpler idea, so hopefully it should feel good- honing it into a more demonstrative form! But, yes, the Royal Court YWP has been a brilliant experience- to make contact with the London ‘scene’ – to meet some nice fellow writers, make some friends, have a good reason to write and to keep my brain ticking over! The last session was finished with a really interesting conversation about if and how theatre can change people/the world. Really interesting- just skimmed the surface on it, but so interesting! I love discussing that kind of thing (though I probably came across as a bit odd).

And now it’s Christmas! Yay! Love Christmas, looking forward to giving myself a week off, giving out cool presents, and not having to worry about where the food and heat is coming from! Oh and the countryside – miss it so much! Need to go on some nice long walks, maybe even a trip to the Yorkshire coast. Love it! So yes, this may be the last regular blog entry as I leave for home on Saturday the 20th, so thank you for reading along with me on this small blog journey, and onto the next I say!

Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year.

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Swings and roundabouts

So! Hello! It’s been a bit longer than I intended between blog posts- following my finishing the all mighty Masters (I’m really not going to shut up about it for a while yet) I had resolved to blog much more regularly, to keep my thinking and writing muscles ticking over, however I unfortunately contracted gastroenteritis a week ago. Just in case you hadn’t guessed, it’s not fun. There’s been an outbreak of Norovirus in the W Midlands, so a chance it’s that- but anyway. So very unfun. I am beginning to appreciate little things now, like being able to sit up straight without excruciating pain, and eating solids.

And my beautiful shiny silver bike was stolen! RIP… probably in pieces being sold for scrap metal now. Bah.

But ho hum, worst things happen at sea etc!

Anyway, moaning done, I’ve had a really, really good piece of news that makes up for almost all of it (swings and round-a-bouts) The Royal Court have invited me to this year’s young writers programme – the applications have been closed for it because that said they’d had so many festival applications (400) that they were using the YW programme to work further with those shortlisted (30 people total). Plus, it was only my second draft that I sent! My third is way more consolidated and actually, y’know, makes sense, so hopefully this bodes well. Really, really good news – I will finally be able to get a foot in the door of the London ‘scene’, and get a chance to work with one of the foremost new writing theatres in the world. It’s going to be expensive- the train will be about £40, every Monday for 11 weeks, I think I’m going to have to get another job, at weekends, in order to pay for it. But needs must, this is how you make a career in the arts, you work bloody hard, every hour of the day, doing things you don’t like, and things you do, until the ‘do’ like begin to outweigh the ‘don’t’, it takes years, but I know every bit is a little more sand on the scales (why sand? I don’t know) so I will continue!

However this does mean that I can’t do NaNoWriMo – as well as working on a new piece of theatre for the YW programme, I will need to work as well, I daresay it would be possible but plan is to not stress too much from now on, not overload myself etc., and I think two jobs, a new play and a novel, would certainly count as overloaded.

So yes, plan for this week? Get better, back on solid food etc., back to work, to steward performances for The Corner Shop ASAP (I feel really bad about being ill at such a busy time) and look for a bar/cafe job that will give me enough money to get to London, and probably pay for Christmas. Oh yes, and try and ring round friends about my birthday do- being new in a city is a bit rubbish for birthdays, friends scatter far and wide, getting them all in one place at one time is proving to be more and more difficult.

Right, off to generally lie down and sip water. Thanks for reading!