15th-17th July

I've neglected my blogging a little lately because i've been hard at the prose writing; a seven thousand word first draft in three days. 

The story was originally to be a standard psychological thriller with an unhappy ending but it has taken on several biblical elements and a paranormal spin. I love it when my own writing surprises me. 

Now, to write two more pieces of prose, in preparation for Independent Study next year, then prose for summer writing competitions and then i've to mould a prose piece into a radio script... 

...AND LOTS OF REDRAFTING! 

I'm grateful to the source of my current productivity. 

Magazine Release Day

Hard day at the office today; first I had my opinion column stripped from me because one of the HEAD EDITORS fancied having a dig at it, then I was given it back when she became confused as to when the deadline was and then it was taken off me again because she wrote something last minute. Was not impressed. 

Then, I was asked to write a book review, which, upon submission, I was told it was too long and i'd have to cut it, I did and was then told it was too controversial. Why on earth wasn't I told it was too controversial to begin with? Why send it back and tell me to cut some words out? What a waste of my time.

Still, after a tedious wait for late submissions and a lot of proofreading, the latest edition's finally live. Check out some work from some great up and coming prose writers and poets @ http://writersquibble.blogspot.co.uk/ and have a look at some of the previous editions if you wish to read one of my rants. 

Becoming Versatile.

After many, many hours of research for my rant, one of my editor's decided they would do it instead and I should do a book review. 

I am completely enraged by this, as this is going to be the most popular edition of 'The Writer's Quibble' so far and I'm very fond of my 'rant section'. However, I guess in my writing career I shall have to take some things on the chin, so i've stayed up all night doing a book review instead. 

Be mature. Be calm. Be understanding. 

I just wrote the 'rantiest' book review ever.

Research for Ranting

The theme, for this edition of the Writer's Quibble, is 'The End', so, for my 'Writer's Rant' section, I need to remember a book i've read with a particularly annoying ending; the Hunger Games springs immediately to mind but for the life of me I cannot remember why. Now to read all three books in four days.

The game, Mrs Hudson, is on.

Current Obligations

I do some work, on the editorial team, of a student creative writing magazine called the Writer's Quibble (I voted against the name), as co-short fiction editor and blog admin, so today i've been reading through submissions and proofreading. 

I understand how hard it is, for writers to compromise with publishers about their work, as i'm currently locked in a debate, with one of my fellow editors, about an aspect of a piece i've written. 

I also mean to write a second prose piece and an opinion column before the deadline on the 8th. 

All fun and games at http://writersquibble.blogspot.co.uk/

Radio Project Completion

Well, that's my radio work done, dusted and submitted. Feelings of elation, following it's completion, although i've thoroughly enjoyed the process and will definitely be working on some more scripts in the near future.
Yesterday, was suitibly stressful; making the sound exactly fifteen minutes, editing the the script and rationale accordingly and wrestling with an unruly laptop.
All over now though, even if submitting it wasn't as easy as suggested, so on to the next project; i'm feeling prose.

Coming soon on this blog; my completed Radio drama, THE BENDS, for your listening (dis)pleasure.

Deadline (ii)

Scratch that; I will be doing no radio drama related shopping as it's bank holiday. Doh!

Deadline

Well, 'the-behind-schedule' monster reared it's ugly head yesterday; I had to collect the last of the SFX, download a fair few programs, learn how to use Audacity and cope with 'program not responding, loss of work and unpredictable formatting. However, i'm now all sorted, in regards to compiling the radio drama, although today I need to do some hair-tearing editing, on Audacity and Microsoft Word, to make sure everything comes to fifteen minutes. I'm hoping this will be easy due to unnecessary pauses I can delete...but is anything ever easy?

Because I was up until 8am this morning, restoring my lost work, i've had to sleep into the afternoon and still not had my standard five hours! Weary today, but have to do some radio-drama related shopping (blanks cds, text books, etc).

At least i'll get to see the sun one last time before the descending gloom of tomorrow's deadline.

One more unto the breach...

Progress Report

Yesterday, I locked horns with the ruthless God of Formatting!!! 

I'd already written my script on Microsoft Word and it turned out that Celtx had no import function; you had input each line of individually. 

Maddening, though not as maddening as having to format on Word; which took two and a half hours, due to some troublesome border lines that refused to be deleted.  

(Type three *'s, start a new paragraph then try to delete the horizontal line, it creates.)

All done now, if a bit behind schedule and a long day of sound editing ahead.

Fingers crossed, the sound will be done by tomorrow. 

Onwards! 

Light at the End of the Tunnel.

Well, I finished that soul-destroying rationale at five am this morning and rewarded myself by going to see a play, whose SFX were done by the cracking fellow who'll be doing the ones for my script.

I've just given my script and rationale to a fellow writer for proofreading and i'm about to download audacity, so I can start with the sound editing.

Adrenaline builds as the finish line approaches.