Another late night again last night - and this time I can't blame it in the trains. I went to bed at a reasonable time but then... The poem that I thought I was going to think about in the morning started seeping into my brain. By the time I'd got quite a bit of it I decided that I better get up again and write it down - I didn't want to forget it while I was asleep.
What crazy things are our brains! Are they under our control at all? I didn't feel at all tired as I worked on the poem and got it to a reasonable first draft. But today, of course, I do. So I've just done some research and some reading and some sleeping.
Now about to go with the boys to get a takeaway and DVD - another weekend is here.
Friday, 20 November 2009
Wednesday, 18 November 2009
Theatre Joys
Well, it's been a full-on couple of theatre days. Monday I went to Soho Theatre's Play Rewriting workshop. 75 tips for rewriting a script. It was full of good advice - now all I've got to do is put them into practice. Then Tuesday was a trip to see Phantom of the Opera. The lead girl, Tabitha Webb, is the sister of my daughters' friend. So, guess what, we got to go to her dressing room after and see all her costumes.
The downside was a horrible journey home. I caught the eleven o'clock train home from Victoria and eventually got to Ramsgate at 2.30am after having spent most of the journey on a bus. So today I've been catching up. I've done quite a bit of writing and editing of prose and poetry whilst I was away and so I've been busily typing that up and moving them on further in my thinking.
Now to think some more about those plays...
The downside was a horrible journey home. I caught the eleven o'clock train home from Victoria and eventually got to Ramsgate at 2.30am after having spent most of the journey on a bus. So today I've been catching up. I've done quite a bit of writing and editing of prose and poetry whilst I was away and so I've been busily typing that up and moving them on further in my thinking.
Now to think some more about those plays...
Tuesday, 10 November 2009
House-hunting
I spent the weekend in London with daughter number one on a house-hunt. She had set up 6 different ones for us to see so we rode round south London on the look for the ideal accommodation for he. Having just got back from a year in Dublin, she needed to find somewhere new to live though fortunately my sister is kindly accommodating her at present.
Well, we had success. Of the 6 we viewed, 5 were possible and the one she really liked was available. So in a couple of weeks she'll be sharing a house in Streatham. It was fun meeting lots of different people, finding out why they were in London. Makes you realise how alive the city is, how full of potential, how many people are investing of themselves into the city from all nationalities.
Is it still a land of opportunity?
Well, we had success. Of the 6 we viewed, 5 were possible and the one she really liked was available. So in a couple of weeks she'll be sharing a house in Streatham. It was fun meeting lots of different people, finding out why they were in London. Makes you realise how alive the city is, how full of potential, how many people are investing of themselves into the city from all nationalities.
Is it still a land of opportunity?
Friday, 6 November 2009
Lenny Henry at my feet
Definitely slipping in my blog writing but just wanted to tell you that I had Lenny Henry laying at my feet yesterday!!
Well, actually, yes it was the real Lenny Henry and yes, it was at my feet but... I went to see Othello at the Trafalgar Studios staring Lenny Henry as Othello. And my seat was actually on the stage. So when Othello kills himself at the end, there he was right by my feet. It was a strange experience being so close to the actors all through the play - and they were fantastic. I thoroughly recommend you going to see it, not just for Lenny Henry but for Conrad Nelson who expertly plays Iago. The whole performance was played with a lot of northern grit and sense of humour which worked well.
This weekend, I'm going flat-hunting with my eldest - here's hoping we'll be successful.
Well, actually, yes it was the real Lenny Henry and yes, it was at my feet but... I went to see Othello at the Trafalgar Studios staring Lenny Henry as Othello. And my seat was actually on the stage. So when Othello kills himself at the end, there he was right by my feet. It was a strange experience being so close to the actors all through the play - and they were fantastic. I thoroughly recommend you going to see it, not just for Lenny Henry but for Conrad Nelson who expertly plays Iago. The whole performance was played with a lot of northern grit and sense of humour which worked well.
This weekend, I'm going flat-hunting with my eldest - here's hoping we'll be successful.
Sunday, 1 November 2009
November's here
A new month and here it is has been raining heavily for most of the day. Despite this, my youngest son's football match is still on and, it's at times like these, I'm very grateful for a husband who will don his waterproofs and go and be a supportive dad. I'm tucked up in the warmth getting myself sorted for a new month.
At the beginning of a month I like to sort things like whose birthdays are coming up, what writing competitions or magazines I might like to enter, what writing I might like to get done in the month etc. I try not to be too rigid or else I just get totally goal-orientated and then lose my creative edge. But I like some focus.
What strategies do you use to help you cope with everyday life and take you beyond just coping?
At the beginning of a month I like to sort things like whose birthdays are coming up, what writing competitions or magazines I might like to enter, what writing I might like to get done in the month etc. I try not to be too rigid or else I just get totally goal-orientated and then lose my creative edge. But I like some focus.
What strategies do you use to help you cope with everyday life and take you beyond just coping?
Tuesday, 27 October 2009
Writing, writing, writing...
I seem to be getting less regular in my blog posting. I think it may be that as I am writing more, I think about the blog less. At the moment I'm engrossed in constructing the lives of two 32year old women who will be in my next play. They went to senior school together and have stayed friends ever since even though one now lives in Sheffield and the other in London. One was an only child who's mother committed suicide when the girl was 15. Her dad is a GP. The other was the third of four girls who lived in a cramped terraced house. So as teenagers they both used to like each other's houses as they were the opposite to their own...
Amazing how quickly you can begin to create whole lives for totally fictional people. At the moment I'm trying to figure out what A-levels they did, university courses and now what are their current jobs. I won't let on as to what is their current crisis - that would give too much away.
So my brain's been busy. I've also been enjoying writing poetry and the beginnings of another play. I get a real sense of satisfaction when I feel like a piece of work has progressed somewhere. So now I'm going to google Sheffield University and look up suitable degrees.
Amazing how quickly you can begin to create whole lives for totally fictional people. At the moment I'm trying to figure out what A-levels they did, university courses and now what are their current jobs. I won't let on as to what is their current crisis - that would give too much away.
So my brain's been busy. I've also been enjoying writing poetry and the beginnings of another play. I get a real sense of satisfaction when I feel like a piece of work has progressed somewhere. So now I'm going to google Sheffield University and look up suitable degrees.
Friday, 23 October 2009
Milestones
Today marks the end of an era - my oldest child has finished her first year in the world of work. At the moment my husband is on a ferry from Holyhead to Dublin to go to pick up all her stuff as she is moving to and starting work in London on Monday. Another milestone - another step forward. We're looking forward to her being nearer home and more available to see - in fact she and I have already booked to go to see Phantom of the Opera in November including a backstage tour to which I'm really looking forward.
Milestones, stepping stones - life as a journey. In some ways that is becoming something of an overused metaphor. What other metaphors would you choose - a book being written, a battle, an epic adventure, a flowing river. Take your pick and then take some time to see where you're at in your picture. Do you need to move to a new place - physically, emotionally, spiritually, intellectually? Now I've given myself food for thought- ah, there's another picture - life as a feast.
Milestones, stepping stones - life as a journey. In some ways that is becoming something of an overused metaphor. What other metaphors would you choose - a book being written, a battle, an epic adventure, a flowing river. Take your pick and then take some time to see where you're at in your picture. Do you need to move to a new place - physically, emotionally, spiritually, intellectually? Now I've given myself food for thought- ah, there's another picture - life as a feast.
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