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Post by JanineHJones on Apr 7, 2015 23:49:04 GMT
Well I personally think it was a raging success! Twenty-three people in attendance, most of whom joined us for the whole evening. I gave a teeny talk about what TNW is about for me, the focus on a safe space for read-throughs and feedback - that we should never be afraid to ask questions. I enjoyed it so much we never really moved on to accountability. We will be picking up that next week! We went round the room, everyone introducing themselves, saying what they're working on and how often they write at present. For me the daily habit is the thing - you have to decide what's attainable for you and we'll help you stick to it. Every time you write, go to the board "Today I have written..." and tell us about it. It'll make you feel better, trust me. What a wonderful bunch of interesting and engaged people we are - so much so that next week I want to start talking about our first table read; a ten-page read and critique of someone's work. Who will go first I wonder? I can... but I'd much rather you volunteer, so please get in touch (here or FB or anywhere) and I will discuss it further in the group next week. Thank you to everyone who attended for making it so special, such fun and so valuable - I really think this is going to be a marvellous stepping stone for each of us to progress to the next level, whatever that may be. Keep in touch, keep writing, JHJ. **IMPORTANT UPDATE** We are going to focus on the BAFTA Rocliffe Comedy Showcase for the time being, unless anyone would like to discuss anything else - take a look here and let's chat next week or online if you can't make it: www.bafta.org/initiatives/supporting-talent/rocliffe |
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Post by malidrwg on Apr 8, 2015 11:46:58 GMT
Thank you Janine - enjoyed it so much. At the moment I'm going to focus on 'Into the Woods' - trying to get that finished by next week. I also plan to finish my story for children and a short story for adults - if I get all that done by next week, I'll be very happy. Diolch yn fawr iawn for giving something back! Mali xx
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Post by JanineHJones on Apr 14, 2015 23:18:36 GMT
Week two, a couple of newcomers this week so we caught up with introductions and talked mainly about accountability.
I started Tuesday Night Writes to create a forum (i.e. here) for me to share with likeminded people, to encourage them and in the process myself. Already I've been totally shamed by all of you wonderful, disciplined people who don't seem to need the kick in the ass I was so keen to give! Many of you have created your own writing targets and are hitting them daily.
If you are, please log in here and let us know. If you're not, let's discuss what's getting in the way - are you relying on reasons (there are plenty of good reasons that mean we don't have time to write) or excuses (of which I could give you roughly one million)?? Let's bust through them together and start getting stuff down on paper.
Exciting news: Richard Starkey has volunteered to give us his 10pp submission for the BAFTA Rocliffe Comedy Showcase (deadline May 23rd) for our first table read. This will be not next Tuesday, but the Tuesday after, April 28th. I'll be in touch when I know what we need in terms of male/female volunteers to read.
See you next Tuesday,
JHJ
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Post by angelajobson on Apr 15, 2015 10:23:41 GMT
Sounds like a great meeting, look forward to hearing about other people's daily writing adventures. I've been posting mine on here for a few weeks, discipline isn't really a problem for me, having been self employed / freelance since 2002, so I'm used to creating and sticking to my own work routine, but posting a daily(ish) report on how things are going with my writing, good or bad, challenges and worries or successes, is very helpful. The system of posting in a daily thread is great because by the time the thread comes back round the following week, things have moved on and I look back at last week's entry and think 'wow, I really have achieved something since then', or 'flip, I forgot about that problem and it still needs a addressing' It's also great to know you are not alone as a writer, we all have things we're not sure about or get stuck or disheartened and need to chew a few thoughts through with someone else.  |
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Post by JanineHJones on Apr 15, 2015 12:02:17 GMT
Thank you Angela, you keep me going to - don't the weeks go fast though!
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Post by JanineHJones on Apr 21, 2015 23:11:34 GMT
Hello hello, A small but perfectly formed group of writers joined us this week to discuss all things script. Newcomer Jo joined us from Casualty costume. We had major successes this week from Amy who's updated her blog here: amyrooney.wordpress.com and Christina who's finished and handed-in the first draft of her radio play. Everyone seems to be on track with their individual projects, including John who's going to start on an idea for a kids' TV show. And above all, Richard is working on a very exciting sitcom idea for BAFTA Rocliffe and we'll be having a table read of 10pp of that next week, starting at 8pm in the writers' room at World of Boats. Hope to see you there to listen and give feedback. I got through most of last week's to do list, so you'll find a link to a shared Dropbox file here, with a calendar updated so far, with the competitions I've collated: www.dropbox.com/sh/49rnyv4eo4a0gtp/AADm7EZBsSTL7zREIXlZBT1La?dl=0Please, please do let me know of any errors and omissions and I shall try to keep it up to date, plus use the folder for any file shares of programmes, scripts, info, etc. With regards your personal information, I would like to let you know that I've collected it, I'm filing it safely in my house and I won't be sharing it with anyone without your express permission. I wanted to make that clear, as I'll be emailing you in the future and all you have to do is ask me to quit if it gets too much or becomes irrelevant. The to-do list for this week includes a bit of homework, if you can be bothered, but it seems very good advice from Richard - actually using LinkedIn, rather than just being annoyed by it! There's a lot of information on LinkedIn and you'd be amazed the people to whom you have access. HOMEWORK: should you choose to accept it, is to contact one person, on a professional level and on Richard's advice a 2nd connection on LinkedIn - so someone you don't directly know, contact them with a personal message about their work and see if you can make a connection. I've already failed the challenge as I got into an adding frenzy responding to invites and accidentally added two exes who I never wish to speak to again. Hope they don't notice, it is LinkedIn after all. Let us know how you get on! There are other things I'll be chasing up and I'll let you know next week. For now I shall add the notes from a session I attended last week with the Writers' Guild and Hannah Thomas of Ffilm Cymru, who I'm hoping will come and speak to us soon about Production and Development and the Beacons short film scheme, which I hope will be running again in Autumn. Contact me if you have any questions, otherwise, See you next Tuesday. JHJ NOTES from FFILM CYMRU:
The special guest at the most recent meeting of the Welsh Committee of the Writers' Guild of Great Britain was Hannah Thomas, Head of Creative Sector Development for Ffilm Cymru Wales.
Ffilm Cymru Wales (formerly the Film Agency for Wales) is essentially the Welsh arm of the British Film Institute.
Their remit is to invest in Welsh talent, although the film projects themselves don’t need to be thematically Welsh.
They co-produce – investing a maximum of £250,000 per film.
They also invest in project development – up to a maximum of £20,000.
Their current budget is £1.4 million a year, coming from the B.F.I. and the Arts Council of Wales, as well as commercial activity.
There are twice-yearly deadlines for applications for development funding – applicants will need to provide a detailed treatment and a full-length sample of writing; partnerships with directors or producers would be preferred.
The Horizons scheme provides seed-funding – to a maximum of £6,000.
The following points emerged during the Q & A session:
The need to do more in terms of communication with writers was acknowledged; but they do hold Launchpad events, in order to facilitate networking. Writers are encouraged to follow their Twitter feed (@ffilmcymruwales), and consult their website (http://www.ffilmcymruwales.com) for guidelines and information about current and past projects.
The bulk of their co-productions are with other English-speaking nations, but the possibility exists for co-operation with other countries where minority languages are an important issue.
There is a short films scheme – Beacons – which will produce 10-12 films on a budget of between £5000 and £15000 each (with crowdfunding encouraged to try and attract further funding). The most recent deadline has passed, but the scheme will run again soon.
Script treatments should be around 8 pages in length, and give some idea of the project’s genre and potential marketability.
With regard to developing adaptations of extant work – only the rights-holder can approach Fflim Cymru Wales for support
They are looking to develop a varied slate of projects – from horror/sci-fi to films for the “Exotic Marigold Hotel” demographic. |
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Post by steveq on Apr 22, 2015 8:54:29 GMT
Absolutely lovely evening last night, really enjoyed chatting more informally about writing.
Also particularly amused by how quickly the conversation ended up at toilet humour.
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Post by steveq on Apr 22, 2015 9:14:35 GMT
Also really struggling to find how the "2nd connection" function even works on Linkedin!
It's the only social media that makes me feel remarkably unintelligent because it doesn't seem to behave how I expect it to.
Anyone? Help? :-)
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Post by JanineHJones on Apr 22, 2015 11:06:54 GMT
I'll be honest, I am totally mystified by LinkedIn... perhaps we'll get Richard to hold a seminar?
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Post by JanineHJones on Apr 28, 2015 23:19:21 GMT
What a totally brilliant meeting and an excellent first table read. Thank you so much to Richard Starkey for letting us read his work, for his incredible cast, Ross, Mali and Steve and for all of you giving your time and thoughts - I was so impressed. Also, I'm not sure if we said it (enough), but I really liked the script. I have high hopes for Richard. We were fortunate to have a couple of Casualty writers drop in (because they're in Cardiff for the writers room) so it was lovely to hear from newcomer to the show Kim and stalwart and creator of Holby City, continuing drama legend Tony McHale. It was really great to get some insight from them about the nature of TV and receiving notes. We talked a lot about the 'Four Times Rule' where you finish your own script and then edit it, yourself, four times... there's always room for cuts (a point about which Kodjo and I almost came to blows later on). Jaye and Mali shared with us some thoughts from last week's radio drama talk with Lucy Gough at Pontardawe Arts Centre. They talked about a really delicate balance between thinking of SOUND first and then dialogue, building with sound, but not overusing it. I hope that makes sense! It's a delicate thing. I'm hoping to invite James Robinson, Radio 4 drama producer, to join us in a few weeks. And I'll be hosting a radio script read and radio listening session - you all have it in your power for your first BBC commission to be a radio drama, if you're aware of the form! Limitless potential, don't forget... within reason, haha. I loved what the ladies were saying about the need in radio to create DISTINCT VOICES... but that doesn't mean just using all the accents and reverting to stereotypes. If anything you need to work harder at your character development as you can't use physical description, behaviours and so on (e.g. I earlier used the notable character trait of 'cardigan'. It is a character trait, but it wouldn't work on radio!) Another really important tip is not to overcompensate for a lack of visuals by giving away too much information - the audience are engaged with their imaginations and they'll enjoy the story all the more if they are having to work things out, slowly coming to realisations, sticking with it for the intrigue. Same could be said of all drama of course, but having heard last weekend that the Radio 4 switch off rate is in the first 1-2 minutes, I think it bears repeating. This weekend I was at Llandudno Comedy Writers' Conference, it was wonderful and I spoke to a lot of great people. I mentioned the group and I'll be following up with the contacts I've made in a way that I hope will be useful to us all. There are two more comedy competitions we need to know about, for which I hope we can adapt BAFTA Rocliffe scripts, or at least work towards. SITCOM TRIALS - DEADLINE MAY 22nd sitcomtrials.co.uk - join the private FB group for more info. They want a 10min piece with a break and a 3min culmination scene (max. 4 cast) - winners will be performed at the Cardiff event and the winner judged by the audience. Entry is FREE. SITCOM MISSION - DEADLINE JUNE 30th www.comedy.co.uk/sitcom_mission/ - very much looking towards development for TV Looking for self contained 15 minute TV episodes (not extracts) with series potential - the winning four sitcoms to be developed and taken to an industry showcase at London's New Diorama Theatre. Entry is £10. In addition it's possible to pay either £30-£100 for different levels of script feedback from the competition organisers - and of course we can run feedback in the group. I was thinking of a round robin where all interested parties could pass on their scripts to one other person for notes, possibly through two drafts? Let's discuss. Finally we discussed the Tuesday Night Writes writers' group Writersroom and our proposed collaborative project: "Funnerals" - another cracking idea by the talented Mr Starkey. The idea of the sitcom is a struggling business putting the fun into funerals... so once Rocliffe comedy is out the way, we should start planning that. So much to talk about, you gorgeous lot. I'm away in Machynlleth next week, comedy fest and writing retreat combined. So Jaye is going to host a table read of her Pint-sized Play entry. Again I'll be grateful if as many of you as possible can turn up and give feedback and support. We'll arrange readers via the Facebook group. Thanks again, chaps, that was excellent. See you a week on Tuesday! |
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Post by JanineHJones on May 19, 2015 23:16:47 GMT
Well, two more table-reads down and BAFTA Rocliffe comedy is upon us THIS SATURDAY, plus Writerslam *and* Sitcom Trials this Friday, so next week should be a more relaxed affair.
Great reads tonight, Kelsey and John both bringing ten-page samples for us to critique, both of whom have worked quickly and very hard to get them ready to submit this Saturday. I am genuinely impressed at the standard of two very different ideas with two vastly different treatments, but both well-written, great samples and - importantly - both really funny. Hopefully the writers will take on some of the notes, rework and submit this week feeling proud of their achievements.
There is no gain in us as a group being unnecessarily mean, nor is there a benefit in just being nice. I think we've struck the perfect balance of constructive feedback, honest opinion and a wealth of experience and ideas. If you can't have confidence in your own writing - and that is a difficult part of being a writer - then defer those feelings and have confidence in the support of the group. When we say it's good, we mean it!
We've had a little chat about how to progress over the next few weeks as we want to fit in more reads, a radio listening session, pints outside in the sun, writers' room writing and I have prospective visits from more Casualty writers and representatives from other writing-related groups.
Next week we have a read (with no deadline, bliss!), a catchup and chat about the next few months and we start looking at ideas for the BBC Writersroom drama submissions in August. Can't wait! (but first, sleep)
JHJ
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Post by JanineHJones on May 27, 2015 11:18:01 GMT
Once again a lovely table read, courtesy of Ailsa's first ten pages of what will *probably* be a comedy for radio, lots of helpful notes from all of you and really lovely reading, thanks to Amy, Lucas and John. Five newcomers attended last night, having heard about us from a variety of different sources and three of whom are very keen to have their material read, so we've quickly become a lovely forum for hearing your work - which was one of the main goals of the meetings. Do encourage other writerly friends to come along and if you know any actor types who'd like to come and read, that's also very welcome. The main focus of our chat last night was this Autumn's upcoming BBC Writersroom Drama window. Dates are TBC but it doesn't hurt to follow the Writersroom on Facebook/Twitter and sign up for their mailing list - they are not frequent communicators, so don't be worried about spam. I have my eyes very firmly on this and I think everyone who's interested in submitting (and most of you should be) has time to come up with a new piece of work for this - and we can pair you with editors and perform table reads of extracts, whether or not you're able to attend the weekly meetings in Cardiff. The good news is the Writersroom will accept the following - so unless your focus is purely in writing for comedy (in which case, why not try a comedy drama?) then we should all be working on a passion piece in one of these formats: Film TV drama Radio drama Children's drama Stage plays The submission T&Cs are here: www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/send-a-script/terms-and-conditions but I'm going to bang the drum - again -- The Writersroom are very specific, note it's in the T&Cs THREE times - please DO NOT re-submit work you've sent to them before. Personally? I believe that the more scripts you write the better you become. Writing takes practice. Don't cling to your one, wonderful idea, instead practice having more ideas and writing more scripts. You will always have that great twenty-seventh draft of your amazing idea as a second script (agents will always want to see your second script). But let's start again, let's start afresh, today! Get out your notebook, go and sit in the park, write a list of FIFTY ideas for scripts you want to write, issues people are not talking about, interesting things that happened to someone you know - anything. Whatever the deadline, you have at least a couple of months to start from scratch and come up with something new, workshop it with us, find a collaborator who will help you edit (there are at least half a dozen professional editors in the group), have a table read and perfect a drama for the next window. So from next Tuesday we're going to start sharing our ideas, brainstorming, workshopping, improvising and creating new scripts*. If you can't come along to the group, please do feel free to share here and we can match you up with an editor or reader when appropriate. Happy writing, writers. See you next Tuesday, JHJ |
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Post by JanineHJones on Jun 4, 2015 22:02:27 GMT
Thank you as always for a bumper turnout this week and another table read by newcomer Ben. We were lucky enough to have with us four Casualty writers who gave great advice, as did you all, so thanks once more for entering into the spirit of things; whether that was reading, listening or offering your thoughts. I think the table-reads are most valuable and I hope you do too. Please contact me if you want something read in the group (about ten pages) and let me know when.
Courtesy of our lovely Casualty gang, we then discussed different ways into writing professionally - specifically the diverse routes they had travelled. And we came back round, perhaps because of my bias, to the current discussion topic of the BBC Writersroom - and how that's still an incredibly valuable route. I think almost all of us will be prepping scripts with a view to entering them in the Autumn drama window. For those who are not, please keep beating the drum and I will be sure to include whatever it is you're going for on our agenda.
Once you have your solid drama script - and only you will know whether your piece is more befitting of an episode, a telly movie, a feature film, theatre play or radio drama - then we can also talk about what else we can do with it. For those of us who are not successful in the Writersroom (this time), there will always be other places to send a good drama script. If your script is good (let's say when it's good) you can use it as a calling card to solicit an agent - and if you don't have any success cold-calling, I strongly recommend (again) the London Screenwriters' Festival - take a good script and you will be snapped up!
And I can't promise anything, but I do know people on many different shows and BBC departments, or working in indie production companies, so if you're script is *really* good - and I really mean it has to be *really* good - then I will put it forward to people who ordinarily don't read un-agented work. Which is probably about the best offer you'll get all week. I'm staking my reputation on it when I do, so it would have to be a script I can get behind. So there's your motivation to write something utterly brilliant, if that's what you were looking for.
Finally, on a personal note, I 'announced' in the meeting that I will no longer be script editing/reading/reporting for free. I have a pile of about a dozen scripts waiting to be read at the moment and I will get to them as soon as I can, around my writing and other commitments. But that's my lot. However, if you're not already on my pile, then I strongly suggest you come along to the meetings when you can and find someone there to read your work. Or try making a match here on the board or in the Facebook group. My script editing services will of course be available for a fee, but I don't know why you'd pay when there are almost 150 people in the FB group who are keen to build up their reading experience; some of whom are also professional script editors. If you're stuck, ask me and I'll hook you up with someone.
It was a really fun night this week, so thanks to all who attended. I'm off in radio drama land next week so the meet will go ahead without me. I'd love someone to write it up here - any volunteers?
JHJ
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