3 Reasons Why You're Not Writing That Script Right Now

So, last week I finished reading Caitlin Moran's newest novel, How To Build a Girl, and decided for once to carry on reading into the acknowledgements at the end - the book was that good. In typical humorous style, the author decided to open her acknowledgements by explaining how it felt to write a book - which according to her, was basically worse than giving birth, in hell. Then dying, being brought back and having to have to give birth again -  and so the description goes on. 

It was very funny, but also a rather comforting truth, to be reminded that even for a professional writer, writing can be hard, very hard. As anyone who's written a script or a book knows, there are all sorts of reasons you can end up not writing at all - which is a huge problem. If you're not writing, you're not really not being a writer - and that's when you have to sit and down and think, okay, why I am not writing? And what I can do about it? 

Well today I'm here to help with this list of reasons/excuses that prevent people from writing - drawn from own experience, as an often not writing-writer myself, and from  a variety of articles, posts, books and videos on writing. 

1] Procrastination

This is one of the biggies. How often have you heard the old anecdote about the scriptwriter discovering they suddenly had a wonderfully clean house and a very blank page? 

Procrastination is a real killer, not only because can you get caught up in just thinking about doing something, sometimes you can caught up in stages of actually doing it - for example, when you become stuck researching a topic for a script. Good thorough research is worthwhile and should be done, especially if a script is historical, but it is a finite stage - at some point you have to start writing the script. 

2] You Think Have No Time

I recently started watching a vlog presented by one of favourite actors David Hewlett - its worth checking out here. Anyway, one his videos dealt with writing hints and tips, where he basically said - if you say you don't have time to write you're lying, because you always find time for what you love.

I think is probably true too. Obviously if you're just breaking into scriptwriting or any writing career, who will have a day job to pay the bills - and maybe not just one either. Nonetheless, if you can find time shop online, to watch a film, to go to the pub - then you  have time to write. Remember you don't need a whole day, or even an hour, just five or ten minutes a day helps - and technology has made it easier write anywhere. You can find Celtx and other scriptwriting apps for your phone. All need is a little WiFi and you could be making writing during your coffee break or on the train.

So if you're find yourself thinking, I don't have time, ask yourself - do you really have not time, or are you giving yourself an excuse to procrastinate and avoid writing? 

3] You're Distracted By Too Many Ideas

Again whilst watching Hewlett's video, there was made mention of having too many ideas and becoming distracted - and I immediately realised this was a problem I had. I kept having new ideas, and getting excited and engaged in one, getting as far as developing a storyline in my head, perhaps even write a few pages, and then - I'd have a new idea or go back to an old one, leaving the last idea unfinished in the gutter.  How much completed work did I get done? Answer - zero.

Ideas need to be developed, and if you feel you are ready to plunge researched and turned into draft scripts. If they are not ready, they should be put in a drawer - or at least most of them. Because another I have learnt, from a script feedback session, is that you need to have several scripts, pitches and treatments to hand to show producers and other people. 

This has led me to think that you should have a few projects on the go, preferable at different stages. Edit one script, whilst writing a treatment for another and perhaps developing a pitch for another sort of thing. This would also give some variety, so you don't get bogged down in just one story world and set of characters, and means if you're stuck on one story you can take time out and work on another. 


So that's my list. There are lots more reasons of course, and I intend to look into those throughout the next few weeks and months, along with hints and tips. If you have any suggestions or advice on how to get writing then please comment below!

Five of My Favourite: Male Nerds and Geeks from TV

Well, here's my extra post, I'm doing a review this weekend. I thought I'd continue with another fun post, and since I've done the my top five female geeks and nerds, I thought I'd do my five of my favourite guys too. 

Please note as usual, that the list is in no particular order.

1] Sheldon Cooper - The Big Bang Theory

A theoretical physicist, a science-fiction geek and a gamer to boot, Sheldon is probably one of the most famous nerds on television at the moment. 

I have heard that some people in the nerd/geek community do not like the Big Bang Theory because it essential mocks nerds, and though I love the show, I can see what they mean sometimes. The other male characters can seem a little embarrassed about nerdiness, especially with their girlfriends, except for Sheldon. He doesn't apologise for being nerd - or anything really, but that's beside the point. In fact he is often surprised, and pitiful, that more people don't know or care about sci-fi and science - and I personally think that's one of the things that makes him so cool. 


2] Kowalski - The Penguins of Madagascar

You've probably all seen or heard of the four penguins from the Madagascar films who act like they're a special forces unit. Well the characters were so popular they got their own spin-off series - and it is fantastic. 

Kowalski is the genius inventor, scientist and general Q of the team - and probably my favourite character. Known for inventing incredible contraptions, he has a touch of the mad scientist about him. It should also be noted that despite understanding physics and once owning a Higgs Boson - he can't actually read. However, he is a penguin and unlike some other television scientists he can fight and is always involved in missions. 

3] Pete Lattimer - Warehouse 13

Pete Latimer is the goofy, often childish partner of Myka at the Warehouse. He is also a comic-book geek and has collected almost every issue of The Iron Shadow, who his favourite superhero - we even see him wear a Iron Shadow T-shirt. 

4] Dr Rodney McKay - Stargate Atlantis

A physicist and  engineer who has worked with stargates, he is the Head Scientist on Atlantis. He's also the guy who normally ends up solving the team's big problem, whether that's fixing a machine or finding a way to escape a volcano in a spaceship. Hints throughout the series suggest he is also Star Trek and Batman fan. 

5] The Doctor - Doctor Who

I have to admit I was unsure about putting the Doctor on this list, unlike the others who are sort of just ordinary but very intelligent or passionate people, he is an alien. His people are more science based and inherently smarter than us. Then again this list includes a penguin so, I say no criteria applies. 

The Doctor of course has a vast knowledge of science, from astrology to engineering to physics and a myriad of other subjects. I guess he also seems to embody other traits I associate with geeks and nerds - passion for technical stuff, the fact his superpower is his intelligence, the fact he can often be goofy or speak in a load jargon. The Doctor is almost all knowing but also all round brilliant.

Review: State of Syn (Ep. 1-3)

This review is about State of Syn, a multiplatform sci-fi webseries that was released along with an App. It stars David Hewlett - of whom I am a fan, check out my review of another his films Nothing, and hence how I found it - along with his Stargate Atlantis co-stars Jewel Staite, Rainbow Francks and Torri Higgson, who does the opening voice-over. Currently there are only three episodes available in the UK, but it hopefully it should be made internationally available.

Unlike other series, State of Syn is not life action per se, but an animated graphic novel with the story told in panels and shots, with some animated movement - such as hands, expressions, walking etc. The effect was created by photographing the actors in front of green screens and then adding backgrounds.

I must admit, I wasn't so keen on the style at first - some of the movements look a little odd, especially character's running feet - but a second viewing has made me appreciate the 'comic that come to life' look, and the series truly does feel like some dark, science fiction graphic novel come to life. The settings have an atmoshperic contrast of darkness and neon colours, and the environments look sleek, whilst being detailed - it just looks great. And let's not forget the cast, who pull off their character's emotions and personalities brilliantly, in the snap shots and through their voice performances. 

Meanwhile, from a production point of view, I think the comic and green screen photography concept is brilliant. It opens up so many possibilities for webseries creators, as you can literally put your actors in any setting you want - as long as you have the time to create it. You could even re-use the same shots, but just change the settings and order to create a new story. 

Anyway, now I should probably explain the story. Basically, its your typical futuristic dystopia, with a giant gap between the rich and poor, and corporate companies now in charge. A new type of drug - or rather techno drug, it looks like a pair of ear buds - called Vibe is being released. It's developer is the father of our hero Annika, and when he dies she begins to uncover secrets surrounding Vibe and her dad. 

This is solid sci-fi stuff, but its not particularly new, in fact its rather typical. The really interesting concept, for me, is what Annika and the drug can do. Annika has synesthesia, a neurological condition where if one sense is stimulated, another sense also kicks in - for example, people with synesthesia see specific colours along with specific numbers, so when they look at 4 it always looks green. I think this is fascinating, and I love it when sci-fi shows use real science concepts.

The other thing I enjoyed about State of Syn was following and getting involved with the series through social media - and I must say, the show engages with its audience really well. They respond to tweets, they've run competitions, they've asked for what people want to see on merchandise, and even got David Hewlett to do an Ask Me Anything interview on Reddit that anyone could participate in. 

Obviously this benefits the webseries, but its also really fun for fans too, so basically everyone wins. I recommend you check them out if you're intending to start your own webseries, as they have come up with some nifty ideas to get people involved - meme competition? Genius!

In summary: State of Syn is a stylish, sleek sci-fi webseries with an excellent cast, a fascinating real life science idea at its core and an engaging online presence. Definitely one for Stargate Atlantis fans (and Firefly fans) to check out - and lets hope the next five episodes reach the UK soon. 

Scene 46: Review, Nothing

I've been managed to watch quite a few films this last weekend, and out of all of them, I decided to review this one, Nothing (2003), because it is the weirdest film I have ever seen. Directed by Vincenzo Natali, who also directed the cult film Cube (1997) and Splice (2009), and starring two of his friends from school, Andrew Miller and David Hewlett. 

Nothing is a film about two guys who are having the worst day of their lives. Both are in trouble with the police, their home is about to be knocked down and a huge crowd are baying for their blood. However, just when it looks like they're doomed to be dragged away by the cops or killed in the demolition of their house - having hidden inside -  suddenly  all the noise and commotion outside stops. They go out and look to see what's happened and find...nothing. Just a big empty, white void. 

I thought the film felt slightly familiar as I watched it, to a certain type of film that seems to have developed in the recent decade, which involves slack-eqsue, nerdy, socially awkward protagonists who encounter something extraordinary. It particularly felt akin to Simon Pegg and Nick Frost movies. In those films too, you have two geeky friends who have to cope with a load of weirdest – in particular the scenes of Dave and Andrew playing computer games reminded me of Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Spaced, and the samurai sword that Dave welds also reminded me of Paul. 

However, the relationship dynamic between Andrew and Dave is quite different, and is allowed to be more deeply explored. The film has room to do this, because unlike in the Pegg/Frost films, once we reach nothing in Nothing, we only have Andrew and Dave. There are no extra characters that require having attention and development - no girlfriends to win over, no family to impress, no outside antagonists.

The other big different is that both Paul and Shaun of the Dead played on genres and cliches. Whilst the concept behind Nothing is just really, really original. I've noticed that Vincenzo Natali has a good knack of keeping his audiences intrigued - Cube is a brilliant idea and Splice, though less original, still pulled me and kept me watching and wanting to know - and Nothing is the same, you just want to know what's going on and how its going to end. 

The film isn't perfect of course, some of the jokes are hit and miss and there's a running sequence in the void that goes on for far too long. 

The production values on though are good. The interior of the house is a particular triumph. Covered in great swathes of paper and clutter, to the point of being almost surreally messy, it absolutely filled with details and I personally think the team who had to stick all those posters and pieces of paper onto the set should be given a worthy mention – it must have taken ages.

The white nothingness outside does feel a little enclosed rather than vast, but that's probably due to the fact that's been obviously shot in a studio, and that the actors voices echo. However I did like the idea that floor was bouncy, and though it looks white, is shown to be actually transparent. The CGI is acceptable, though not incredibly realistic compared to the type of CGI we can achieve now. Whether that is due to the fact the film was shot in 2003, or because of the film's budget, I don't know. Nonetheless, the 'pooling' or 'stripping' away affect of bits and pieces throughout the film, is rather good.

The film also uses some fancy editing, in a sequence where Andrew and Dave go exploring and in a scene where they dual on a boxing computer game. Both sequences work well, especially the fast pacing, whirling affect of the editing during the computer game boxing match, which made the scene funnier and more exciting than a more conventional, slower cut would have. 

In summary, like a good sci-fi story Nothing gives you a fascinating concept, plays with it for a while, and then ends in a strange way, that is satisfactory but still open enough to leave you wondering.