Writers Blog Tour 2014

Wow. What an honour to be asked to contribute to the 2014 Writer’s Blog Tour. Big thanks to the wonderful Tracey Flynn for asking me. Her insightful blog entry is here.

Right, here goes:

What am I working on?
I started this year with a list of unfinished projects as long as my arm and I decided to plough through them and finish them off without getting distracted by competitions and other projects. I started quite well, finished two of them and still managed to get distracted by two competitions both requiring new works. But then I got three commissions for Big Finish Productions’ Doctor Who audios. Two of them are done (pending notes) and I’m working on the third.

How does my work feel different to others of its genre?
That’s a really tough one to answer.
I think it’s a lack of cynicism. It’s been said that I write with a heart. I’m in daily correspondence with my inner eight year old (he says hello by the way) which definitely influences the stories I choose to tell and how I tell them. While I may write some cynical characters and I don’t always have happy endings but ultimately the finished story tends to convey my own childlike optimism.

Why do I write what I do?
I just love having a good time so I tend to write comedy. My conversations are often spent trying to make light of things and make people laugh and I think my writing’s the same. Having said that I’ve turned my hand lately to writing more serious stuff as I’ve had more of a serious point to make regarding gay rights and the serious global erosion of them.
I like to call myself a story teller and for the most part I want to entertain and distract but I also want to challenge social conventions and open people’s minds to other ways of living. That sounds a bit wanky, but as someone that’s never fitted squarely into any box (who does really?) I worry that a lot of people blindly follow paths that are set out for them by tradition/ family/ media and don’t question whether it’s really right for them. I feel it’s my duty to champion people that buck those social trends and get overlooked by the media at large.

How does my writing process work?
It involves a lot of notes and a lot of thinking at first. I spend probably too much time churning ideas over in my head and letting things stew before I sit down in front of the keyboard.  I start with the bigger picture, normally worked out on paper and then start to hone and whittle breaking  the story down into acts, then scenes. It’s mostly done by instinct initially, trying to get the first draft out quite quickly. There are points all along the process where I stop and think it’s pants and have to will myself to continue but once it’s done there’s a wonderful sense of relief. That gives me a solid basis to work from, not to mention a sense that I haven’t been wasting time.
Then the real fun begins, printing it off and going through with a lovely red pen, making alterations, more notes, switching scenes, realising how often I use the same sentence structure or use the word “well”. Aaarrgghhhh!!!
Type up notes, print, repeat. Several times.

That’s me done so now it’s time to pass on the baton to three inspirational writers:

Tony Higgins a fellow fringe theatre writer who has gone on to write for telly. Blog pending.

Cera Rose Pickering a truly inspiring powerhouse who’s constantly busy and working. Cera’s blog is already here. (told you she was a powerhouse!)

Jack Bowman one of the creators of the utterly fantastic and award winning Springheel’d Jack saga for Wireless Theatre Company. Blog pending.