Making the most of the lockdown

June 4, 2020Leave a comment

Additional success since my last blog post!

It’s a shame the rest of 2020 has turned to shit, but there you go. This is actual footage of my hair at the moment:

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Following placing in the top 15 of Clive’s opportunity, I made the shortlist (Top 8) for the 26th Euroscript Screen Story Competition 2020, so yay me! Happy with that for two reasons A) the obvious but b) Umbilical (then known as The Bond) was the first script I ever wrote.

It was at my first London Screenwriters’ Festival (2017 – there’s an online version at the moment, check it out) that I had a script surgery with Euroscript’s Ian Long. He loved the logline and tagline – all I had at that moment – and so, encouraged, I went away and wrote it within one month. Rewriting followed and it’s also now under consideration with three producers.

I’m still learning though – particularly thanks to seminars at the latest festival – so I’m going to rewrite again and elevate it further.

For another WIP – my comedy-thriller called ‘Snitch’ – I’ve been chosen as one of the scriptwriters to work with an NFTS script development student, as part of their coursework. It’s so important to get fresh eyes on your work and this is a whole other level since it involves six months of feedback and discussion with the same person – I’m a big fan of consistency.

I’ve also submitted Snitch to another opportunity from the wonderful WFTV, who run writers table reads, with six writers for a six week stint (via Zoom, of course). The three writers we’ve read so far seem very happy, so I can’t wait for my turn.

I completed the Raindance courses – with the final three sessions taking place online because of you-know-what. But the Net Community Hub, for which the courses were being undertaken in order to produce a short film, has had to close its doors for the foreseeable future. With our clientele being elderly and vulnerable, we’ll be the last place to open up again 😦

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Having said that, I’ve the time to research and write the film , plus look for funding – for the film, for the loss of income, for the match funding for next year but also – always looking on the bright side – to get a new kitchen fitted. It’s something we’d never be able to do without closing for a week so that’s my priority for the moment, work wise. There’s a link to the hub above – if you want to donate towards our kitchen and reopening, please do and I’ll love you forever 🙂

That was a lot of news in one go. I shall try to cultivate some consistency with regard to my blogging.

Stay safe and well x

It’s been almost two years (I thought it was longer)

December 29, 2018December 29, 2018Leave a comment

2019

Yep, almost two years since I last blogged. Outrageous isn’t it? Or would be if I hadn’t been busy with all sorts of things that, sadly, were just more important.

But here I am, having guilt tripped myself into it, mainly to get back in the habit of just writing freely – even if it’s a load of nonsense (which it quite likely will be).

I’ve been concentrating on screenwriting, which includes reading and watching lots of stuff too, and also organising the first Murderous Medway which – even if I say it myself – was bloody good. Quote of the day? “The quality of the panel discussions was as good as any I’ve heard at Harrogate” – from a regular Theakston’s Old Peculiar attendee.

So it’ll be happening again this year – details will come in due course. My personal aim for 2019? To write at least 3 pages per day. I’ve still a few hours left today …

First up though (and the guilt comes from having had this a while) from one of the Litfest’s lovely volunteer’s Christina, who did some work experience at a television production company earlier this year and shared her thoughts on how disabled creatives can break into the industry. Stay tuned!

Here’s to a happy and productive 2017

January 6, 2017January 6, 2017Leave a comment

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Are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin …

2016 was a year many people will never forget, from the world changing democratic decisions to the loss of so many icons in music, television and film. Yet in other ways – the olympics/paralympics for example, and for me on a professional level – it was excellent. I took a quick look back while looking forward.

While last year involved much consolidation, I was able to embrace and combine more of the things I love.

Determined to stay completely freelance and concentrate on writing and social media, I was rewarded by being commissioned across a variety of projects, both personally and for the Rochester LitFest.

I began blogging for Yahoo, which is brilliant on two counts: I’m writing more regularly about my favourite things, and I have to watch a lot of television – no choice, it’s my job now 😉 – it’s also helpful with respect to my own scriptwriting that I dissect the shows, watching them more critically and figuring out why they worked so well and what made the characters engaging. That it coincided with an exceptional year on television made it a pleasure rather than work.

Although I’ve been working in social media for a long time, I decided to go to college and earn myself a Diploma in Social Media for Business. It’s extremely satisfying to be an official social media goddess and I’ll be putting what I’ve learnt to good use, running workshops as well as continuing to work with private clients.

Of all the sad losses in 2016, one that hit the Medway community particularly hard was the demise of the beautiful little WOW Magazine, our bible of what’s on where. Happily though, this means we can concentrate on the WOW Kent website, for which I’m the online editor. Together with founder and editor Emma Dewhurst, I’ll be working towards making it the go-to source for creative and cultural news and events across the Kent area.

In order to concentrate on funding for the LitFest, this year will look a little different in that there are currently no plans for a standalone festival in October. Instead, we’ll be running events across a month or so in May/June, covering the Dickens Festival and the Battle of Medway, as well as another Discworld inspired Turtle Moves day, honouring Sir Terry Pratchett.

We’ll also be in attendance at the Creative Care Expo in Maidstone on 26/1 and looking forward to working with more people on our Memory Box project this year. A smaller version, mixed with the Turtle Moves activities will take place at the Rochester Dementia Memory Cafe on April 28 – Sir Terry Pratchett’s birthday, appropriately.

There are a lot of exciting things to look forward to this year; I’ll try to share all of them with you.

Have a great 2017 🙂

The Easy Way To Curate Content

March 17, 2016April 6, 2016Leave a comment

I found a new tool to play with, one that makes curating content even easier than sharing direct from emails, or re-tweeting.

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Sunday Slackers

May 31, 2015June 16, 2015Leave a comment

Aaaaaaand relax …

Art: The incredibly inspiring story behind some incredible art

Photography: Poignant pictures from the past

Humanity: Are night owls more intelligent?

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How do I stay sane?

May 8, 2015May 11, 20155 Comments

I’m often asked how I’m able to do all the things that I do, to which I usually reply: “?”

Having given it more thought, I’ve come up with a list of the apps and hacks that work for me (after much research and frustration).

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18 tips to extend your Facebook reach

April 11, 2015April 12, 2015Leave a comment

With Facebook throttling the organic reach of posts so that very few (approx. 15%) of those who’ve liked a page will actually see them, are paid ads the only way to go?

There are certain benefits:

they practically guarantee many more visits and likes
they allow you to target your audience more thoroughly
the comparative cost of a Facebook ad is much lower than traditional methods

You do need to spend money to be widely discovered – but then you need to bear in mind that the more ‘likes’ your page has (50k plus) the more FB will throttle, bizarrely.

So promote to a specific and targeted audience, define your goals and approach, and remember, quality not quantity, always. (And don’t forget to end the campaign – Facebook will continue to collect payment!)

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Is your small business on-line yet? If not, why not?

March 19, 2015March 21, 2015Leave a comment

SMEs, charities and community groups today require a digital mindset if not to be left behind by the competition.

Everyone is on the internet nowadays, aren’t they? Open 24/7, 365 days a year, it’s hard to avoid.

But you’ve been putting off creating your own on-line presence. Why? Time? Money? You don’t see the point of social media – why would you want to know what other people had for breakfast? Trust me, it’s so much more than that!

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