David L. Atkinson's Blog, page 24
January 19, 2017
Writing - Significant days
Lives are often marked by significant days. Births, deaths and marriages to name but a few. Then there are graduation days, accident days and prizewinning days. Tomorrow is going to be a significant day for those in the USA but possibly for more of us around the world.
[image error]Donald Trump
I have no strong feelings either way but as an outsider the man says some seemingly questionable things. From his and his family's point of view tomorrow will be a great day. It will be filled with anticipation, excitement, spectacle and happiness and from a purely human standpoint I wish the family well.
Of course, other than the days mentioned above, any day can end up being one of significance.
[image error]
I remember one Thursday in August 1968 when I received my GCE Advanced Level results and the emotion of failure is imprinted on my memory forever. It changed the course of my life significantly. If I had been successful I would have attended college in York whereas I ended up in Bradford where I met my first wife and the first two of my children were born. It is impossible to say what would have happened if I'd gone to York.
That is not to say that the initial failure didn't become a success. That is the nature of human beings. When things go wrong we have to accept that, move on and achieve what we are capable of from what may well be an unexpected position. When we create our stories then that is a situation that may well be useful.
In my third novel, The Biter Bit, one of Steele's team suffers a life changing event but it isn't all negative outcomes.
Synopsis
Patrick A Steele, accountant turned vengeful Robin Hood, is off on his crusades once again. He has given himself a role that sees him trying to right the wrongs and inadequacies of the legal system in the UK. His experiences as a child and through higher education have equipped Patrick with abilities that realistically only has value in the field of rough justice. Steele has developed a working relationship with the Gurentai, a more benevolent sub-group of the Japanese Yakuza and, as a result of a number of successful associations, have furnished him with a Swiss bank account and a very healthy retainer. As a result Patrick is building his own little empire. Everything seems fine in his life until he is drawn into trying to solve the problem of lawless youths that are targeting tourists in the City of York. He enlists the help of his two colleagues from Japan, Takuo Sumisu and Naomi Kobayashi, and with one of his own staff they head off to identify and eradicate the source of the problem. All is proceeding as planned until there is a knifing and one of the team is shot! The action then migrates across France and eventually to Le Marche in eastern Italy where it seems to have been brought to a conclusion until the team return home!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Biter-Bit-David-L-Atkinson/dp/1849142521/ref=sr_1_71?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1484833879&sr=1-71&keywords=david+l+atkinson
God Bless
[image error]Donald Trump
I have no strong feelings either way but as an outsider the man says some seemingly questionable things. From his and his family's point of view tomorrow will be a great day. It will be filled with anticipation, excitement, spectacle and happiness and from a purely human standpoint I wish the family well.
Of course, other than the days mentioned above, any day can end up being one of significance.
[image error]
I remember one Thursday in August 1968 when I received my GCE Advanced Level results and the emotion of failure is imprinted on my memory forever. It changed the course of my life significantly. If I had been successful I would have attended college in York whereas I ended up in Bradford where I met my first wife and the first two of my children were born. It is impossible to say what would have happened if I'd gone to York.
That is not to say that the initial failure didn't become a success. That is the nature of human beings. When things go wrong we have to accept that, move on and achieve what we are capable of from what may well be an unexpected position. When we create our stories then that is a situation that may well be useful.
In my third novel, The Biter Bit, one of Steele's team suffers a life changing event but it isn't all negative outcomes.
Synopsis
Patrick A Steele, accountant turned vengeful Robin Hood, is off on his crusades once again. He has given himself a role that sees him trying to right the wrongs and inadequacies of the legal system in the UK. His experiences as a child and through higher education have equipped Patrick with abilities that realistically only has value in the field of rough justice. Steele has developed a working relationship with the Gurentai, a more benevolent sub-group of the Japanese Yakuza and, as a result of a number of successful associations, have furnished him with a Swiss bank account and a very healthy retainer. As a result Patrick is building his own little empire. Everything seems fine in his life until he is drawn into trying to solve the problem of lawless youths that are targeting tourists in the City of York. He enlists the help of his two colleagues from Japan, Takuo Sumisu and Naomi Kobayashi, and with one of his own staff they head off to identify and eradicate the source of the problem. All is proceeding as planned until there is a knifing and one of the team is shot! The action then migrates across France and eventually to Le Marche in eastern Italy where it seems to have been brought to a conclusion until the team return home!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Biter-Bit-David-L-Atkinson/dp/1849142521/ref=sr_1_71?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1484833879&sr=1-71&keywords=david+l+atkinson
God Bless
January 18, 2017
Poetry Thursday 247 - Different views
Having enjoyed the alternative views of the world for various writers in the past, plus the words of songwriters unafraid to query the normal views of the world, I was stimulated to write these three poems this week.
[image error]
Who is watching
Big brother is probably watchingall we do, say, think and write,wherever we are or whatever we’re doing,eyes follow us day and night.
Eric knew many years ago,when he considered direction of our lives,Aldous knew in his new world alsoboth speculated on who survives.
What if there is no privacy?What if it’s already too late?What if eyes and ears are a legacyof the world from a previous state?©David L Atkinson January 2017
No great surprise to make reference to George Orwell (Eric) and Aldous Huxley in this subject area.
Two Places
Is it good to sit in the rainsipping on freezing cold lager,in the heat by a deep blue pool,outside a pavement café.
Or to tour the V and A Museum,in Mexico City with a viewover San Francisco Bay aquarium,for a change to something new.
To stroll through the African ghettoseeing the sights of downtown Seoul,with the tunes of an old libretto,played on an Icelandic upturned bowl.
No limits to minds connected,across the beauty of the Earth,as to boundaries – all rejected,brings the people added worth. ©David L Atkinson January 2017
The inspiration for this was a TV show about connected minds - telepathically - which I find intriguing. Rather like dreaming but with control and purpose.
Secrets
It’s not what we know of each other,that makes for great relations,or what we share together,that binds together nations.
Often said that sharing intelligence,joins bodies in mutual trust,but that’s not the abundance,of which the union had discussed.
Far from areas of commonality,that provide the adhesive benefits,more the level of confidentiality,and the nature of the secrets. ©David L Atkinson January 2017
This poem's subject, secrets, fascinates me. I heard the comment 'it isn't what we know that is attractive but the secrets we don't know'!
God Bless
[image error]
Who is watching
Big brother is probably watchingall we do, say, think and write,wherever we are or whatever we’re doing,eyes follow us day and night.
Eric knew many years ago,when he considered direction of our lives,Aldous knew in his new world alsoboth speculated on who survives.
What if there is no privacy?What if it’s already too late?What if eyes and ears are a legacyof the world from a previous state?©David L Atkinson January 2017
No great surprise to make reference to George Orwell (Eric) and Aldous Huxley in this subject area.
Two Places
Is it good to sit in the rainsipping on freezing cold lager,in the heat by a deep blue pool,outside a pavement café.
Or to tour the V and A Museum,in Mexico City with a viewover San Francisco Bay aquarium,for a change to something new.
To stroll through the African ghettoseeing the sights of downtown Seoul,with the tunes of an old libretto,played on an Icelandic upturned bowl.
No limits to minds connected,across the beauty of the Earth,as to boundaries – all rejected,brings the people added worth. ©David L Atkinson January 2017
The inspiration for this was a TV show about connected minds - telepathically - which I find intriguing. Rather like dreaming but with control and purpose.
Secrets
It’s not what we know of each other,that makes for great relations,or what we share together,that binds together nations.
Often said that sharing intelligence,joins bodies in mutual trust,but that’s not the abundance,of which the union had discussed.
Far from areas of commonality,that provide the adhesive benefits,more the level of confidentiality,and the nature of the secrets. ©David L Atkinson January 2017
This poem's subject, secrets, fascinates me. I heard the comment 'it isn't what we know that is attractive but the secrets we don't know'!
God Bless
January 17, 2017
Writing - Exciting moments
Why is it the middle of the night that inspirational moments occur? I had such a moment in the early hours of yesterday.
Cop in trouble
Within the Steele novels there has been a police woman, DCI Kathryn Best, who has featured as a lover and a protagonist of our hero over the last seven or eight books. In the early hours I had this sudden thought that she could be in trouble and demand Patrick Steele's assistance. A second element that will be part of the story is the high level of surveillance that is now available to the authorities and villains alike. The thing that is missing is the actual reason why the lady cop is in dire straits to the point where she can't rely on her colleagues for support.
Method
As always when I write there will only be a minimal plan but I do need that decision on the nature of the Detective Chief Inspector's difficulties.The plan for the first chapter is where it always is - inside my head. As I am writing this I am seriously considering beginning the book this afternoon and as such feel quite excited. If I do it will be the first time I have begun a story without the slightest knowledge of where it is going. Having said that I have the old familiar buzz of excitement over beginning another book.
--------------------------
The fate of Flight MH370 was once again in the news today. The search in the southern Indian Ocean has been terminated. It fits with my theory that the plane crashed or was brought down north-east of the Maldives.
Synopsis
Steele has to travel back to Japan to justify recent behaviours that may have revealed his connection with the Gurentai. He is given a task to complete that finds him on the ill-fated Flight MH370 in Kuala Lumpur. Hours later he awakens in a cell in a place and country of which he has no knowledge.
Being the resourceful man he is, Steele manages to escape and travels north meeting up with his fiancée Naomi Kobayashi in Astana the capital of Kazakhstan.
Steele is naturally curious about the fate of the other 238 passengers from the plane which drives him onward to investigate further. He discovers that there are links between Russian organised crime and a Muslim group which stirs fears in his mind regarding the fate of MH370. This causes him to go to the Venice of the North, St Petersburg, where he finds the leader of the Russian mafia and a link with the Muslim pilots of the plane.
All does not go well however, and Steele and Kobayashi are captured by their mafia enemy and incarcerated in MH370 on the way to the target that Steele suspected all along - in London.
Can Steele extricate himself from this seemingly hopeless situation?
Has Steele convinced the Gurentai that he is trustworthy enough to deserve their support?
Will Steele manage to deflect the missile in which he is incarcerated from killing thousands in London?
This story is a speculative journey based upon the data and misinformation surrounding the loss of Malaysian Flight 370 in March 2014.
The link to buy from Amazon is
https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Books/Flight-Secrecy-What-happened-370-David-Atkinson/1849148570/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1484654570&sr=1-1&keywords=Flight+into+Secrecy
God Bless
Cop in trouble
Within the Steele novels there has been a police woman, DCI Kathryn Best, who has featured as a lover and a protagonist of our hero over the last seven or eight books. In the early hours I had this sudden thought that she could be in trouble and demand Patrick Steele's assistance. A second element that will be part of the story is the high level of surveillance that is now available to the authorities and villains alike. The thing that is missing is the actual reason why the lady cop is in dire straits to the point where she can't rely on her colleagues for support.
Method
As always when I write there will only be a minimal plan but I do need that decision on the nature of the Detective Chief Inspector's difficulties.The plan for the first chapter is where it always is - inside my head. As I am writing this I am seriously considering beginning the book this afternoon and as such feel quite excited. If I do it will be the first time I have begun a story without the slightest knowledge of where it is going. Having said that I have the old familiar buzz of excitement over beginning another book.
--------------------------
The fate of Flight MH370 was once again in the news today. The search in the southern Indian Ocean has been terminated. It fits with my theory that the plane crashed or was brought down north-east of the Maldives.
Synopsis
Steele has to travel back to Japan to justify recent behaviours that may have revealed his connection with the Gurentai. He is given a task to complete that finds him on the ill-fated Flight MH370 in Kuala Lumpur. Hours later he awakens in a cell in a place and country of which he has no knowledge.
Being the resourceful man he is, Steele manages to escape and travels north meeting up with his fiancée Naomi Kobayashi in Astana the capital of Kazakhstan.
Steele is naturally curious about the fate of the other 238 passengers from the plane which drives him onward to investigate further. He discovers that there are links between Russian organised crime and a Muslim group which stirs fears in his mind regarding the fate of MH370. This causes him to go to the Venice of the North, St Petersburg, where he finds the leader of the Russian mafia and a link with the Muslim pilots of the plane.
All does not go well however, and Steele and Kobayashi are captured by their mafia enemy and incarcerated in MH370 on the way to the target that Steele suspected all along - in London.
Can Steele extricate himself from this seemingly hopeless situation?
Has Steele convinced the Gurentai that he is trustworthy enough to deserve their support?
Will Steele manage to deflect the missile in which he is incarcerated from killing thousands in London?
This story is a speculative journey based upon the data and misinformation surrounding the loss of Malaysian Flight 370 in March 2014.
The link to buy from Amazon is
https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Books/Flight-Secrecy-What-happened-370-David-Atkinson/1849148570/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1484654570&sr=1-1&keywords=Flight+into+Secrecy
God Bless
January 16, 2017
Writing - Blue Monday
Today is reputedly the most miserable day of the year and labelled 'Blue Monday'
[image error]
So I began looking round for something a wee bit more cheerful and came across an article about the first beauty queen. In 1908 the Daily Mirror opened a beauty contest and attracted 15000 entrants.
[image error]Ivy Close
Ivy Close, aged 17, beat off the competition and won herself a new Rover car and a portrait of herself exhibited at the Royal Academy in London.
The portrait covered the whole of the Daily Mirror and can be seen on the left. If you wanted to see it today it is in 2017's City of Culture - Hull - exhibited in the Ferens Gallery.
After the fuss had died down and Ivy slipped back into obscurity she became the matriarch of a theatrical dynasty that persists today in the form of her great grandson Gareth Neame, a Bafta winning TV Producer, who came up with the idea of Downton Abbey. In fact after a brief career in films she bowed to the directing and producing talents of her son Ronald (Poseidon Adventure, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie); grandson Christopher Neame who was also Bafta nominated producer; and, currently Gareth.
It just goes to show that from little acorns great oaks can grow. I'm not suggesting we all enter beauty competitions but there are plenty of writing competitions in which we can easily enter. It is good experience and gets your name out there.
God Bless
[image error]
So I began looking round for something a wee bit more cheerful and came across an article about the first beauty queen. In 1908 the Daily Mirror opened a beauty contest and attracted 15000 entrants.
[image error]Ivy Close
Ivy Close, aged 17, beat off the competition and won herself a new Rover car and a portrait of herself exhibited at the Royal Academy in London.
The portrait covered the whole of the Daily Mirror and can be seen on the left. If you wanted to see it today it is in 2017's City of Culture - Hull - exhibited in the Ferens Gallery.
After the fuss had died down and Ivy slipped back into obscurity she became the matriarch of a theatrical dynasty that persists today in the form of her great grandson Gareth Neame, a Bafta winning TV Producer, who came up with the idea of Downton Abbey. In fact after a brief career in films she bowed to the directing and producing talents of her son Ronald (Poseidon Adventure, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie); grandson Christopher Neame who was also Bafta nominated producer; and, currently Gareth.
It just goes to show that from little acorns great oaks can grow. I'm not suggesting we all enter beauty competitions but there are plenty of writing competitions in which we can easily enter. It is good experience and gets your name out there.
God Bless
January 14, 2017
Writing - 10 more things
Snippets from the week's news, sliced, diced and processed for your convenience.
[image error]
1. French time used to be nine minutes ahead of GMT, based on the time in Paris.
Quel surpris
---------------------------------
[image error]
2. Sugar level in strawberries is calculated on the Brix scale.
Fascinating
---------------------------------
[image error]
3. The first known use of the word "slut" in printed English was from 1402.
The operative word is 'known'
---------------------------------
[image error]
4. The hemlines of school skirts in South Korea have risen 10-15cm (4-6in) in the last decade.
Always my favourite fashion item
---------------------------------
[image error]
5. The first British Tupperware party was held in Weybridge, Surrey in 1960.
Awful stuff designed to be impossible to dry.
---------------------------------
[image error]
6. A Christian doomsday group in the US is warning that the end of the world - or the Rapture - will occur on Saturday 21 May.
At least I get my birthday in.
---------------------------------
[image error]
7. It costs $60,000 to train a Navy Seal dog - like the one that accompanied US special forces on the Bin Laden operation.
That's woof!
---------------------------------
[image error]
8. Goats are able to recognise the voices of their very young kids, and differentiate them from other animals' offspring
Better than humans then.
---------------------------------
9. Humans are naturally predisposed to believe in gods and life after death.
Until now when most seem to worship money.
---------------------------------
[image error]
10. The government's wine cellar contains about £2m worth of wine and spirits
Time ladies and gentlemen please.
---------------------------------
God Bless
[image error]
1. French time used to be nine minutes ahead of GMT, based on the time in Paris.
Quel surpris
---------------------------------
[image error]
2. Sugar level in strawberries is calculated on the Brix scale.
Fascinating
---------------------------------
[image error]
3. The first known use of the word "slut" in printed English was from 1402.
The operative word is 'known'
---------------------------------
[image error]
4. The hemlines of school skirts in South Korea have risen 10-15cm (4-6in) in the last decade.
Always my favourite fashion item
---------------------------------
[image error]
5. The first British Tupperware party was held in Weybridge, Surrey in 1960.
Awful stuff designed to be impossible to dry.
---------------------------------
[image error]
6. A Christian doomsday group in the US is warning that the end of the world - or the Rapture - will occur on Saturday 21 May.
At least I get my birthday in.
---------------------------------
[image error]
7. It costs $60,000 to train a Navy Seal dog - like the one that accompanied US special forces on the Bin Laden operation.
That's woof!
---------------------------------
[image error]
8. Goats are able to recognise the voices of their very young kids, and differentiate them from other animals' offspring
Better than humans then.
---------------------------------
9. Humans are naturally predisposed to believe in gods and life after death.
Until now when most seem to worship money.
---------------------------------
[image error]
10. The government's wine cellar contains about £2m worth of wine and spirits
Time ladies and gentlemen please.
---------------------------------
God Bless
January 13, 2017
Writing - Paraskevidekatriaphobia
This phobia is an extension of Triskaidekaphobia which is the fear of the number 13.
[image error]
It is derived from the Greek word for Friday - paraskevi.
Relevant on the day to raise the matter then. Semantically the extension of the name for one phobia into a connected phobia is interesting in itself. Of course, as in the case of most phobias, there is little basis in logic for this phobia but there could be theories that give reason.
[image error]The Last Supper
From the 1890s, a number of English language sources relate the "unlucky" thirteen to an idea that at the Last Supper, Judas, the disciple who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th to sit at the table. The Bible says nothing about the order in which the Apostles sat, but there were thirteen people at the table.
The historical reason is actually not that logical anyway as the attributes of God were the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy. In fact there are older theories for the fear of 13 going back to the Vikings and Babylonians. They are just theories.
[image error]Apollo 13
There have been some noteworthy events that have occurred on the date;
Apollo 13 suffered an oxygen tank explosion while in space on April 13th 1970
On Friday October 13th 1307, the arrest of the Knights Templar was ordered by Philip IV of France.
In 1881 an influential group of New Yorkers led by US Civil War veteran Captain William Fowler came together to put an end to this and other superstitions. They formed a dinner cabaret club, which they called the Thirteen Club. At the first meeting, on Friday, January 13, 1881, at 8:13 p.m., thirteen people sat down to dine in Room 13 of the venue. The guests walked under a ladder to enter the room and were seated among piles of spilled salt. Many Thirteen Clubs sprang up all over North America over the next 40 years.
To assuage the worries of people who may think there is something in the fear there are other numerically focused phobias.
[image error]
The number of the beast.
17 is an unlucky number in Italy because in Roman numerals it is represented by XVII which can be rearranged to VIXI meaning 'I have lived' a euphemism for 'I am dead'.
Tetraphobia is a fear of the number four and seems to be common in Asia and south-east Asia.
39 is a number of shame in Afghanistan.
So there are lots of examples and the converse is true. In Japan 8 is a lucky number and in some regions, eg Italy, 13 is a lucky number.
[image error]Colgate University
Colgate University in New York State was set up by 13 men each with $13 and 13 prayers. Their luckiest day of the year is Friday 13th.
Lots of opportunities to allow inspiration to blossom!
God Bless
[image error]
It is derived from the Greek word for Friday - paraskevi.
Relevant on the day to raise the matter then. Semantically the extension of the name for one phobia into a connected phobia is interesting in itself. Of course, as in the case of most phobias, there is little basis in logic for this phobia but there could be theories that give reason.
[image error]The Last Supper
From the 1890s, a number of English language sources relate the "unlucky" thirteen to an idea that at the Last Supper, Judas, the disciple who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th to sit at the table. The Bible says nothing about the order in which the Apostles sat, but there were thirteen people at the table.
The historical reason is actually not that logical anyway as the attributes of God were the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy. In fact there are older theories for the fear of 13 going back to the Vikings and Babylonians. They are just theories.
[image error]Apollo 13
There have been some noteworthy events that have occurred on the date;
Apollo 13 suffered an oxygen tank explosion while in space on April 13th 1970
On Friday October 13th 1307, the arrest of the Knights Templar was ordered by Philip IV of France.
In 1881 an influential group of New Yorkers led by US Civil War veteran Captain William Fowler came together to put an end to this and other superstitions. They formed a dinner cabaret club, which they called the Thirteen Club. At the first meeting, on Friday, January 13, 1881, at 8:13 p.m., thirteen people sat down to dine in Room 13 of the venue. The guests walked under a ladder to enter the room and were seated among piles of spilled salt. Many Thirteen Clubs sprang up all over North America over the next 40 years.
To assuage the worries of people who may think there is something in the fear there are other numerically focused phobias.
[image error]
The number of the beast.
17 is an unlucky number in Italy because in Roman numerals it is represented by XVII which can be rearranged to VIXI meaning 'I have lived' a euphemism for 'I am dead'.
Tetraphobia is a fear of the number four and seems to be common in Asia and south-east Asia.
39 is a number of shame in Afghanistan.
So there are lots of examples and the converse is true. In Japan 8 is a lucky number and in some regions, eg Italy, 13 is a lucky number.
[image error]Colgate University
Colgate University in New York State was set up by 13 men each with $13 and 13 prayers. Their luckiest day of the year is Friday 13th.
Lots of opportunities to allow inspiration to blossom!
God Bless
January 12, 2017
Writing - Producing a script
Today I'm tentatively dipping a very small toe into the area of script writing. A dodgy area on the face of it when there have been so few very good script writers.
[image error]
When I think of scriptwriters few names spring to mind. One of the best comedy writers was the late Carla Lane who produced several classy sitcoms throughout her career.
[image error]Carla Lane (1928 - 2016)
Sadly we lost Carla's talent last year as we did for a largely unknown writer - Carrie Fisher - who was a 'finisher' and polished already prepared scripts.
So how do we become involved in this genre of writing?
Well there are a plethora of online resources that may lead to degree level study and beyond but so much that researching them has done little alleviate my apprehensions. However, I will endeavour to produce some help.
1. Have a story in mind and the type of audience you may be aiming to please.
2. Adopt the industry standards for producing your script.
3. Give helpful details about characters and settings.
4. Make sure you haven't written too much. (the average page of a script lasts for about 1 minute).
5. Flesh out your story and then write.
6. Edit and have the story proofread.
7. Research other similar scripts for areas of overlap.
Once you have produced your script there are competitions (BBC) and publishers to convince to read your work.
There are some interesting differences between story writing and script writing. In the latter you break up the story into scenes, have lists of characters and you have to specify scenes. When you consider that 1 minute = 1 page of script then you aren't going to write so much. A half hour sitcom will take 30 - 40 pages, so the relevance of the 4th point above.
Am I going to have a go? I don't think so.
The BBC Writers' room have issued the following challenge.
We challenge you to write the best opening you can dream up. Be as detailed and original in your choices as possible and take a crack at those first five pages. If you're feeling bold, perhaps even ten!How can you write a cracking opening to make sure people keep watching, listening to or reading your story? Here at the BBC Writersroom, we will read the first ten pages of your script to decide if we should read further…
But did you know that for radio, you only have one minute of air time to grab the audience's attention. That's about one page of writing!
For online content, you only have six seconds…
So make strong choices and put them at the top of your script! That doesn't have to mean a car accident or explosion. It could be an intriguing character or a bizarre incident.
Please read and comment on the scripts and support the Writersroom community. The BBCWritersroom team will set you challenges each month, but we will not be involved in reading or giving notes.
For further details go to the BBC Online site and look for the Writers' room.
God Bless
[image error]
When I think of scriptwriters few names spring to mind. One of the best comedy writers was the late Carla Lane who produced several classy sitcoms throughout her career.
[image error]Carla Lane (1928 - 2016)
Sadly we lost Carla's talent last year as we did for a largely unknown writer - Carrie Fisher - who was a 'finisher' and polished already prepared scripts.
So how do we become involved in this genre of writing?
Well there are a plethora of online resources that may lead to degree level study and beyond but so much that researching them has done little alleviate my apprehensions. However, I will endeavour to produce some help.
1. Have a story in mind and the type of audience you may be aiming to please.
2. Adopt the industry standards for producing your script.
3. Give helpful details about characters and settings.
4. Make sure you haven't written too much. (the average page of a script lasts for about 1 minute).
5. Flesh out your story and then write.
6. Edit and have the story proofread.
7. Research other similar scripts for areas of overlap.
Once you have produced your script there are competitions (BBC) and publishers to convince to read your work.
There are some interesting differences between story writing and script writing. In the latter you break up the story into scenes, have lists of characters and you have to specify scenes. When you consider that 1 minute = 1 page of script then you aren't going to write so much. A half hour sitcom will take 30 - 40 pages, so the relevance of the 4th point above.
Am I going to have a go? I don't think so.
The BBC Writers' room have issued the following challenge.
We challenge you to write the best opening you can dream up. Be as detailed and original in your choices as possible and take a crack at those first five pages. If you're feeling bold, perhaps even ten!How can you write a cracking opening to make sure people keep watching, listening to or reading your story? Here at the BBC Writersroom, we will read the first ten pages of your script to decide if we should read further…
But did you know that for radio, you only have one minute of air time to grab the audience's attention. That's about one page of writing!
For online content, you only have six seconds…
So make strong choices and put them at the top of your script! That doesn't have to mean a car accident or explosion. It could be an intriguing character or a bizarre incident.
Please read and comment on the scripts and support the Writersroom community. The BBCWritersroom team will set you challenges each month, but we will not be involved in reading or giving notes.
For further details go to the BBC Online site and look for the Writers' room.
God Bless
January 11, 2017
Poetry Thursday 246 - A little introspection
A week where feelings of introspection and echoes of previous depressions emerged.
Self-Image
Remove all images.Hide shamefully away.Life accumulated abuse,can’t take that away.The evidence is plain to seein every photograph of me.©David L Atkinson January 2017
I really don't like my photograph being taken.
[image error]
Mute
When you’re alone and you press the MUTE,what do you hear?The ticking of a gold carriage clock,rattling of the pen,scratching of the nib on paper,ink bleeding on lines again.The wind rattling wires and leavesas it fusses its way through the trees,but no human sonic detritus.The world could be devoid of human life.Nature is in control dictating waves of sound,as brush strokes on the medium of travel,randomly through the ether,to dissipate and unravel.©David L Atkinson January 2017
It was a momentary experiment during which there were no extraneous sounds from traffic etc. People who live in the countryside probably experience the dominance of the sound of nature far more than us city dwellers.
Wind
The continuous moan punctuated.An instruction to silence shh!Or the threatened destruction.A crash, crack or breakcauses sleepers to awake.Little chance of further rest that night, the wind will have its say till night turns into day and we arise to see the result of its might.Shh! Yet another gust. Attention to pay we must, for it has left us more to do,little choice for us but to waitfor his strength to abate. Then to clear up the detritus till the next time.©David L Atkinson January 2017
I love the power of natural events. They are like some repeated message that humans are not top of the tree where the earth is concerned.
God Bless
Self-Image
Remove all images.Hide shamefully away.Life accumulated abuse,can’t take that away.The evidence is plain to seein every photograph of me.©David L Atkinson January 2017
I really don't like my photograph being taken.
[image error]
Mute
When you’re alone and you press the MUTE,what do you hear?The ticking of a gold carriage clock,rattling of the pen,scratching of the nib on paper,ink bleeding on lines again.The wind rattling wires and leavesas it fusses its way through the trees,but no human sonic detritus.The world could be devoid of human life.Nature is in control dictating waves of sound,as brush strokes on the medium of travel,randomly through the ether,to dissipate and unravel.©David L Atkinson January 2017
It was a momentary experiment during which there were no extraneous sounds from traffic etc. People who live in the countryside probably experience the dominance of the sound of nature far more than us city dwellers.
Wind
The continuous moan punctuated.An instruction to silence shh!Or the threatened destruction.A crash, crack or breakcauses sleepers to awake.Little chance of further rest that night, the wind will have its say till night turns into day and we arise to see the result of its might.Shh! Yet another gust. Attention to pay we must, for it has left us more to do,little choice for us but to waitfor his strength to abate. Then to clear up the detritus till the next time.©David L Atkinson January 2017
I love the power of natural events. They are like some repeated message that humans are not top of the tree where the earth is concerned.
God Bless
January 10, 2017
Writing - Women who draw
The title of this blog is a direct lift from a BBC article highlighting the drawing talents of a number of female artists and illustrators and reminded me of the influence art has on all of those who may dabble in one aspect.
[image error]Women who draw
A website designed to showcase the work of female illustrators and promote diversity has got off to a flying start, after receiving submissions from around the world.The Women Who Draw website, which had its "soft launch" in December, crashed under the weight of more than six million page views in its first three days, according to its US founders, Wendy MacNaughton and Julia Rothman.
The site's mission statement is to "increase the visibility of female illustrators, female illustrators of colour, LBTQ+, and other minority groups".
On Monday, it is relaunching, backed by a new server and showcasing 700 new members, whose work organisers have collated within three weeks.
They also have more than 300 artists on the waiting list.
A great innovation and surely calls for a similar site for men. Having said that one has to remember one of the countries favourite authors.
[image error]Beatrix Potter
Beatrix Potter not only wrote the words AND drew the pictures in her books, but then finally had to self-publish because none of the establishment publishers would touch her books. What a talented lady.
Drawing is one of the activities I engage in to relax and currently I'm into faces.
As an author that is hardly surprising as one's characters need the third dimension of the expression on faces. Experimenting with those expressions can produce some interesting results.
I used the theme of Christmas to produce some disturbing expressions. The one above is worrying!
Finally, a benign face but is it any less worrying than that on the bell?
God Bless
[image error]Women who draw
A website designed to showcase the work of female illustrators and promote diversity has got off to a flying start, after receiving submissions from around the world.The Women Who Draw website, which had its "soft launch" in December, crashed under the weight of more than six million page views in its first three days, according to its US founders, Wendy MacNaughton and Julia Rothman.
The site's mission statement is to "increase the visibility of female illustrators, female illustrators of colour, LBTQ+, and other minority groups".
On Monday, it is relaunching, backed by a new server and showcasing 700 new members, whose work organisers have collated within three weeks.
They also have more than 300 artists on the waiting list.
A great innovation and surely calls for a similar site for men. Having said that one has to remember one of the countries favourite authors.
[image error]Beatrix Potter
Beatrix Potter not only wrote the words AND drew the pictures in her books, but then finally had to self-publish because none of the establishment publishers would touch her books. What a talented lady.
Drawing is one of the activities I engage in to relax and currently I'm into faces.
As an author that is hardly surprising as one's characters need the third dimension of the expression on faces. Experimenting with those expressions can produce some interesting results.
I used the theme of Christmas to produce some disturbing expressions. The one above is worrying!
Finally, a benign face but is it any less worrying than that on the bell?
God Bless
January 9, 2017
Writing - The moment of procreation
I am not referring to sex but the moment of inception of a new story or poem.
[image error]
I believe that I have experienced that excitement a number of times. I have written 11 full length novels and the excitement was definitely there at the beginning, however, I was beginning to feel that the experience was waning. (I haven't written prose since October). Saturday, in conversation with friends, subjects arose that began to stir the sleeping muse.
[image error]
The stirring raised dilemmas as to which I start to write and whether to continue in the Steele genre or to move on to something different. The subject matter is futuristic and speculative so not easily applied to the Steele format.I have written a dystopian novel and the subjects I am considering are more akin to that genre but would stand alone from Cessation.
Synopsis
The story is a speculative journey into a possible future that may lie ahead of us all. There is evidence that such a future may not be impossible. We have been warned that unless we increase the ability to produce electricity there could be power cuts in the next ten years. Our modern day lives are permeated through with the need for electricity and its production.
Although Cessation could be categorised as a dystopian story I find that rather a negative word and the purpose of writing the tale is to allow elements of hope in a seemingly desperate situation.
The story begins in 2023 a couple of years after the lights go out for the last time. Our group of survivors are thrown together on a farm in the low Pennines north of the M62 motorway and within striking distance of a number of northern towns which could prove useful for supplies. Initially the group is small and live on a farm called Serendipity but as time passes the size of the group waxes and wanes for a variety of reasons.
It would be quite exciting to select one of the many political situations that exist today and project into the future with possible consequences.
God Bless
[image error]
I believe that I have experienced that excitement a number of times. I have written 11 full length novels and the excitement was definitely there at the beginning, however, I was beginning to feel that the experience was waning. (I haven't written prose since October). Saturday, in conversation with friends, subjects arose that began to stir the sleeping muse.
[image error]
The stirring raised dilemmas as to which I start to write and whether to continue in the Steele genre or to move on to something different. The subject matter is futuristic and speculative so not easily applied to the Steele format.I have written a dystopian novel and the subjects I am considering are more akin to that genre but would stand alone from Cessation.
Synopsis
The story is a speculative journey into a possible future that may lie ahead of us all. There is evidence that such a future may not be impossible. We have been warned that unless we increase the ability to produce electricity there could be power cuts in the next ten years. Our modern day lives are permeated through with the need for electricity and its production.
Although Cessation could be categorised as a dystopian story I find that rather a negative word and the purpose of writing the tale is to allow elements of hope in a seemingly desperate situation.
The story begins in 2023 a couple of years after the lights go out for the last time. Our group of survivors are thrown together on a farm in the low Pennines north of the M62 motorway and within striking distance of a number of northern towns which could prove useful for supplies. Initially the group is small and live on a farm called Serendipity but as time passes the size of the group waxes and wanes for a variety of reasons.
It would be quite exciting to select one of the many political situations that exist today and project into the future with possible consequences.
God Bless
