Disconnect

Blogging is fun. I love reading blog posts. I love writing them too. And I love the comments people leave on blog posts. Yes, the blogosphere is a nice place to be, and certainly I don't mind spending a while here.

But sometimes there are more important things to do than blog. Sometimes you just have to disconnect from the blogosphere and spend time doing something else.

That's what I've been doing for the past week. With Easter preparations, masses and family time, blogging had to give way. With so much going on, there simply wasn't time to think about blogging.

And to tell the truth, it was good to be away for a while. Once things quietened down I found that instead of blog surfing, I read, and wrote and drew. Instead of thinking up new blog posts to write, I thought about ideas for my script, twists for my novel and subjects for new doodles. I rediscovered things that got pushed to the background thanks to blogging and life.

I'm glad to be back in the blogosphere, catching up on missed blog posts. I missed writing on my blogs. But, thanks to disconnecting for a while, I found that blogging wasn't the only thing worth doing in the world. Sometimes you just have to disconnect for a while and rejoin the rest of the world. If nothing else, it helps to grow an appreciation of the blogging world when you get back.

Have you ever found it useful to disconnect from the blogosphere for a while?

Celtx

When you're spending the month writing a script, it really helps to have a proper scripting program. While looking around the Script Frenzy site we came across Celtx, a free, web based scripting program.

Well, the first thing that caught the eye was the word 'free'. As long as it formatted our scripts in anything like the right way, it'd be ok. We created out free accounts, downloaded the free desktop version and started writing.

One day in and I was in love with Celtx. You could make a title page, take notes on the scenes, plan out new scenes on virtual notecards, make notes about your characters and it formatted everything for you. Writing a script with Celtx was a breeze.

It wasn't long before I found another great feature of Celtx. It has templates for so many other kinds of writing. It'll format your screenplay, graphic novel and radio play. And, most importantly, it has a template for a novel. Well!

Celtix is now my favourite writing program. My current novel is transferred, with chapter breaks, title page and notecards. My script Magic and Minstrels sits waiting for me with the easy formatting. Yes, I love Celtx, and I can't wait to try out the other templates.

Have your ever used Celtx? What writing programs do you use?

Magic and Minstrels

I've never written a script in my life. Yes, I've read massive amounts of Shakespeare and a fair few Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, but I had never actually thought about writing one. Certainly not writing one in a month.

But it's April, and the start of Script Frenzy, the month of script writing, and of course we're involved. How could a family of writers pass this opportunity up?

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Charlotte and I are team writing a musical. Not that we know what we're doing, or know where we're going. But ten pages in, we've got characters and a problem, plus lots of songs. Who knew song writing was so easy?

With four minstrels constantly arguing which love story is the greatest, a prince with a hot air balloon and a taste for adventure, a captive star princess, an evil magician and a sphinx, this musical looks set to go. Welcome to Magic and Minstrels.

It's all fingers flying as we pound our way towards the distant goal of 100 pages.

Anyone else writing a script this month?

What Makes a Good Blog Post?

When I look at a new blog, ultimately it's the blog posts that are going to draw me in. It makes sense after all, as that's what we go to a blog to read. And I know that I've found a blog to come back to when I really enjoy reading the posts.

What makes a good blog post in my eyes is a post that tells you something about the writer. Whether it's a post on the craft of writing, or a post on the person's life, having that connection is like a magic link, drawing me in.

Obviously I am selective about subject too. There's no point my reading a blog on photography or poetry, as neither of those are things I'm particularly interested in.

And then there's formatting. Paragraphs are essential in my eyes. You can write the best post in the world, but if it's densely packed with no spaces, I'm probably not going to read it, simply because reading block text is so tiring. And good spelling and grammar doesn't hurt either.

Of course, these are only my personal guidelines for good blog posts. Everyone has their own preferences. But to me, this is what makes a good blog post that'll have me coming back again and again.

What makes a good blog post in your opinion? What do you enjoy reading about?

Script Frenzy Art

Last year, for NaNoWriMo, I drew some special, themed pictures. With Script Frenzy starting this coming Sunday, I decided I might do the same thing.

The first idea that popped into my mind was that of the traditional red curtains of a theatre. They seem to sun up everything I imagine when I think of stage plays, which is what I'm writing. That and the neon billboard style writing with the lights round the edge.

My other picture is supposed to look a bit like an old program with gold edging and fancy writing. I was quite pleased with the way the paper turned out, all faded and blotchy looking (or maybe it's just I couldn't make it smooth). Plenty of gel pen went into the creation of this picture.

Now I'm wondering, what other pictures could I draw for Script Frenzy? Maybe something away from the stage theme? Hmm.

Which picture do you like best? What do you imagine when you think of stage plays?

Paper Roses

Since my last post on doodling, I've been drawing various doodles on the theme of roses. There's something about those flowers that make for the perfect doodling. Maybe it's the spiralling petals, or million and one places to put glitter gel pen. At any rate, I've doodled a lovely collection of these roses.

The doodle at the post of the post is the first rose doodle I drew, which started me off on the whole rose doodle idea. I couldn't think of enough places to put the glittery gel pen.

I moved on from the traditional pink roses, and tried a yellow and orange rose, which is my favourite kind. As usual glitter pen provided the orange, and that extra little sparkle

In this doodle I attempted something different from the circular doodle pattern, and ended up with roses sprawling everywhere. Lots of glitter pen, pinks and green later, and this was what I came up with.

This doodle is the last rose doodle I've drawn so far. Surprisingly, I didn't use gel pens on it, but left it very plain and simple. It's not in the traditional rose shape neither, but has the big petals and few layers that you sometimes see on some white roses.

So, these are my latest doodles. Now, what to draw next?

Which rose doodle is your favourite? What colour roses do you like?

April Frenzy

Script Frenzy

I've always thought of myself as a novel writer. Somehow, I never got the hang of short stories. Poetry, while fun to read, never appealed to me as a writer. No, I was a novel writer. Didn't I complete NaNoWriMo last year?

Well, that was before the discovery of another month long writing challenge. Script Frenzy. Run by the same people as NaNoWriMo, Script Frenzy's challenge is to write a 100 page script in one month. It can be any kind of script, from TV series to stage play.

The inner writer in the Elvis girls rose. How could we pass up on a challenge like this one? No, we simply had to sign up. Of course, none of us had ever even considered writing a script before, but that simply wasn't relevant.

That same afternoon, we had decided on what kinds of scripts we were going to write. All of us decided to write scripts for stage plays. But the genres were highly varied.

Charlotte and I chose to team write a musical. We have high visions of it turning out to be a work of art, something to rival Gilbert and Sullivan's famous operettas. Not that we had even the slightest idea of how one worked, or even if we'd ever manage to write music for it.

Sophie decided on a romance, a surprising choice. She struggled to choose whether to have a death or two in it, or not.

Gemma-Rose is adamant she is going to write a tragedy 'like Shakespeare.' Everyone has to die according to her, even though we try to persuade her you need one character left to say the epilogue. She wanders around, notebook in hand, collecting interesting ways to die.

Three totally different genres, and we haven't even worked out what our plays are going to be about. Something humorous for the musical I think. Maybe some mistaken identities, and paradoxes. We've got a big book of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas to gather inspiration from.

Come April the first we'll be sitting down at our computers, new documents open, ready to start on out newest challenge.

Is anyone else doing Script Frenzy this year? Has anyone done it in the past? Got any good advice for four novices?