Comedies and Tragedies

Hello, I'm funny! Ha ha ha! Well, okay, to just assume I'm funny like that is probably very arrogant. But then I know a lot of people might say I'm an arrogant person - I know in some corners of the internet, I've gained something of a reputation for hating all signs modesty. But, when talking to people, I do take the anti-modesty view to extremes that I don't really believe in. I use the whole super-arrogant thing as a way of making jokes of many things and life in general! So I'm being arrogant to be funny, which makes me arrogant. Okay, got it. Sort of.

So, how is acting like a big-headed buffoon funny? Well, strictly speaking, it's not. But it makes it easier to have a laugh. I mean, you'll find you enjoy yourself more if you take up an "I am so awesome" attitude rather than sitting around, being depressed and moody. Everyone can get depressed or doubtful about things, especially us teenagers. Especially us slightly mad, pretty intelligent, super imaginative teenagers. Especially especially us slightly mad, pretty intelligent, super imaginative, single teenagers.

But, going back to wherever it was this mad rambling rant started, by taking a generally joking/funny viewpoint on these things, it makes it all a lot easier. That's why the 'Forever Alone' meme was created on the internet (I imagine). It will keep you in much higher spirits to make jokes like that about being single rather than getting depressed, worried or stressed about it - and let's be honest, we've all done that at some point. Or some points.

Yes, there is the worry that you can joke too much about these things and may just end up with the reputation as the comedy guy. Which isn't that bad, really, honestly, I would be perfectly happy to have people think I was funny - but you don't want people just to see you as the joker who never really takes anything seriously. And this is where I shall cleverly link this whole rambling post back to the subject this blog is supposed to be about!

So! Writing! Remember that? The thing I seem to spend most of my life doing? If you read this blog often (then thank you, so much!) you will probably be wondering what everything I have been saying has to do with writing. And if you're not, I certainly am, so that's what I'm going to talk about!

It struck me the other day that I've never really written anything particularly funny, other than the odd joke thrown into a more serious piece of writing. I've never touched upon the comedy genre that much, save for one short script I wrote for a BBC competition (didn't win, oh well, always next time). I've thought about it before. I've talked with my friends about doing sketch shows after our Doctor Who fan series and the million other things we were meant to be doing. And like those million other things, the sketch shows sort of got forgotten. But when it comes to planning filming projects, I always think of them in terms of the finished film, I never really view them as writing projects, even though script-writing is one of my favourite parts of the process. So, I have never really considered doing any comical writing. And even then, when this thought struck me, the idea of writing something funny seemed all right, but still didn't make me think "Yes! I must do that!"

I thought about this for a little bit. I usually seize any opportunity to have a laugh or make a joke, even if it's a really pathetic one. Especially if it's a really pathetic one! But the idea of writing something funny just didn't appeal as much as I thought it would. And then, I realised why. Writing, for me, is a very emotionally-inspired process. Hang on... did I just say 'process'? That sounds horribly technical and like something out of the real, grown-up world - let's call it an emotionally-inspired art form. Arty-farty as that may sound, that is honestly how I see writing.

Like I said before, I make jokes about a lot of things because it's easier and nicer to have a laugh rather than get depressed and upset. I'm not saying every time I make a pathetic attempt to be funny or tell a joke, I'm suppressing some dark, depressing secret - if so that would make me a very dark, depressing, secretive person (the sort that would appear in my writing)! But, if we let our real feelings get the better of us all the time - especially us slightly mad, pretty intelligent, super imaginative, single teenagers - it would turn us into wrecks. Writing is the one time I allow myself to do that. I give in to all the depressing things that go on in my head, but also the bright, amazing joyful things that go on in my head. Not to mention the exciting, the scary, the insane and the impossible things. Writing is how I use all those big emotions that go on inside every one of us.

I'm not saying we should keep those emotions secret, just to save them for writing (or whatever your 'emotionally-inspired art form' of choice may be). Sure, we should talk to friends or family about them at times. But there's far too much stuff going on in my head for me to ever really talk about it all with friends, and I would imagine the scenario is the same for anyone who qualifies as a human being! Besides, I struggle to make sense of a lot of it myself, so I don't know what chance anyone else would have!

Writing helps me get these feelings out, helps me understand them, helps me make use of them, rather than bottling them up and letting them drive me insane. I can save the joking around for when I'm with friends or family. And any times when I am honest with them about how I really feel, they can simply consider as teasers for my writing. If they really want to know the truth, they'll have to read the stuff I make up.

Life, the Universe and Writing...

Hello once again, dear readers and internet-dwellers! Long time no posts, sorry about that. I've been really rather distracted of late.

So, where do I begin? GCSEs done and dusted, still awaiting results. Work Experience starts tomorrow at some arty-centre place and I have been reading and writing like mad! Four scripts are now nice and neatly written up for Doctor Who, the fourth of which is the first part of a two part episode. Still being very ambitious with the plans for this series, with lots of plans to film in city centres and up in the woods and lots of other all-over-the-place places too! Hmm, what's that? The stories? Oh, don't you worry... the stories are brilliant! I think. I hope...

Anyway, moving on from the frankly rather exhausting world of script writing, there is the novel, "Changing", which I keep banging on about on here. All goes well(ish) on that front too! Up to the fourth chapter of the book (four chapters of the book, four episodes of Doctor Who - coincidence? I think... yes). Of course I could go into more detail and stupidly give away the plot so far, but I don't want to spoil it for whenever I manage to get this thing finished and published!

Now then, in other news, I recently turned sixteen! Aaagh, scary, I know! The "under-age" excuse is no longer available, you can get a lottery ticket, you can leave home, but you can't drink. Yes, we live in a nation where you can *ahem* with someone, but not have alcohol. Wrong way round? Possibly. Anyway, sixteenth birthday, amongst many other amazing items and a nice wad of cash, I got a creative writing study kit. Which, as you readers will know, is the sort of thing that's quite handy for me. Once I've told myself to listen to its advice and not ignore it going "No! Ridiculous! Wrong!" as though I know best! And I have to say, it has come in very helpful with my writing!

And then there's the reading I've been getting done. I believe I am currently reading three or four books at the same time! See, with my lovely birthday money, I chose to ignore the fact I was already reading The Hunger Games (very good book so far, being turned into a film) and Apollo 23 (a Doctor Who novel I got for my birthday), and went out and bought four lovely new books! One of which is a Sherlock Holmes book. I did limit myself, I said only one Sherlock Holmes book... that one just happened to be every Sherlock Holmes story ever written! So I've got about sixty of those to get through. Then there is Neil Gaiman's (who is amazing) Fragile Things - a collection of poems and short stories written by the great man; Hunger, the sequel to Gone, one of my all-time favourite books; and The End Of Eternity by Isaac Asimov, a sci-fi timey wimey novel, which I am yet to start reading.

So! Yes! Been busy reading and writing my life away. No real reason behind this post, other than the recurring thought "I should update the blog". So here it is, updated. Admire its updatedness... if you like. You can tell I'm tired... see you all soon, when I actually have something to blog about!

I'm still here!

Yes, hello! I've not written anything up here in a while, so I thought I should just confirm I do still exist. Or at least I did the last time I checked.

So, the big wide world of writing! It's all still there, buzzing away in my head and in a million different Word documents! And now, a bit of it's on paper for once. I did something horribly frightening that I would never normally do, the other day - I wrote a plan for my novel! A plan? Someone as spontaneous and mad as me, PLANNING something? Has the world gone mad? Well, yes, but that happened a while ago and is completely unrelated to me writing a plan.

The reason I decided to grab a pen and notebook and do some old fashioned note-making, was because I was slowly starting to realise that the story I was writing may not be a story at all. I had certain scenes and elements all forming themselves and ready in my head, but I didn't know how I was going to get from one scene to another and I didn't know where this whole story was going. And so, lo and behold, three and a half pages of bullet points, to guide me through my writing! I'll admit, writing out a massive list of bullet points and then realising you're only on the second one is a tad daunting, but at least I know where I'm going with this story now. I have a rough beginning, middle and end, I have big dramatic scenes in the right places, and hopefully it will all work out wonderfully!

So, with my trusty plan and my story now into its second chapter, I think I can give you all a good plot summary! This is the sort of thing I would write in a blurb for the book (and will probably have to write when I come to doing a blurb) and should hopefully give you all a better understanding into the twisted ways of my mind...

On the night that Drake Strider wakes up, screaming, from a nightmare, he doesn't know that across town all of his friends have experienced the exact same dream. Nor does he know that his life is about to change forever.

Drake and his friends quickly start to discover that they are developing supernatural abilities. Powers to move, control and destroy objects within the world around them. Powers that prove to be a danger both to themselves and to others. Powers that have attracted the interest of a sinister organisation.

Soon, Drake and the others find themselves victims, on the run from people who would happily see them all dead if it meant they could harness the abilities the teenagers have gained. In a desperate struggle for survival, the teens must face both the threat from their pursuers and their ever-changing, conflicting feelings for each other. Life isn't easy when everything's changing.

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

Okay, sorry, couldn't resist that title! As you may know, if you are one of the very few people that pays attention to my ramblings over here, I've recently started working on a novel entitled "Changing". Yes, I have stuck with that title - it fits rather nicely, in more ways than one! And, as you won't know even if you have been mad enough to pay attention to the blog, I recently completely restarted it! Shock! Horror! Well, not really shock and horror, considering I was still in the early stages of writing it. But now, on draft 2, I've got a version I'm much happier with and is going, I feel, really rather well!

So what inspired my radical, insane moment of changing Changing (see what I did there)? Well, to be honest, it was another book. Wait! Don't sharpen your pitchforks just yet! I'm not copying or stealing ideas - I've just been given a bit of a wake-up slap! The book responsible is "Gone" by Michael Grant. The book begins with a teacher disappearing in the second sentence. It starts right at the moment everything goes wibbly! And so, I decided, I needed to do the same, because the book I was writing was just too boring before. It started with the main character having just cut his hand open, which is a little out of the ordinary, yes, but then it just felt too slow, too childish. It needed to start at the very point where normality says "Well, this is my stop!". So that's what I've done!

Before I delve any further into my writing, now that I've mentioned Michael Grant's Gone I'll have to talk about it briefly. It's about what happens when everyone in a Californian town over the age of 14 disappears. The town is cut off from the outside world by a barrier and some of the kids left behind start to develop strange, mutant powers. It is brilliantly, beautifully, perfectly written - there is some horrifically dark stuff in there and you can really empathise with the characters. But I'm not saying any more - go out, buy it, read it! It's an excellent book; especially if you're a teenager!

Now then, back to my stuff. I've been saying for a while now that I would post a preview of it, and to delay any longer might make me feel slightly a little bit bad. So, here is the opening to Changing, Chapter One:

An anguished yell burst from Drake Strider’s mouth as he woke, sitting bolt upright. Cold beads of sweat were trickling across his forehead and down his back. His breath had broken into heavy, trembling gasps and his heartbeat was fiercely evident against his ribs. Staring around the darkened room, he tried to find his clock, though his vision was blurred and desperately struggling to adjust to the darkness.

Pushing the tangled mess of bed sheets aside, Drake got to his feet, a little unsteadily. He brushed over his bleary eyes with the tips of his fingers and stumbled slightly, as he stepped towards the squat cupboard that sat in his room. An old analogue clock was stood on top of it and the teenager picked it up, squinting to make out the time. Three in the morning. With a slight groan, he placed the clock back where it had been standing and went to the window, pulling the curtain aside and peering out.

The sky was a vast, rolling ocean of darkness, a few stars just visible through the thick tides of clouds. A drizzle of rain obscured the street below, so that all that could be seen was the gentle glow of streetlamps. Drake stood still, watching, his thoughts starting to wonder in all sorts of directions as his gaze passed over the abandoned street. At least, he had thought it was abandoned.

Suddenly, something caught his eye. It was a figure, stood on the pavement below – a man, by the looks of it, and he was powerfully built. Drake stood, staring. The figure was remaining perfectly still, perched on the street corner, facing Drake’s house. A thought suddenly crossed the teenager’s mind. Is he looking at me?

"You have a careers appointment booked"...

Why is it, most of the time, whenever people ask me what I want to do as a career, I say I don't know? I know perfectly well what I want to do as a career, and that is to write scripts and novels. But, nevertheless, I probably have many distant relatives, whom I have met at obscure family dos, that think I am clueless about the future!
So, the title of this post - I suppose I should explain it. Earlier this week I had a "careers appointment" at school. What's that? It's a large building where people under sixteen go to learn and earn qualifications, but that's not important right now.
Oh, what's a careers appointment? Basically, anyone in year ten/eleven in my school can have them (or it might just be year elevens) and you go to this meeting with the school's careers teacher/advisor (I'd better not use names, just in case!) and discuss career options. At some point in our school lives, students in my year had to fill out a form giving four career options we would consider, so that was used as a starting point in the meeting. Of course, on mine were author and script writer.
And so, I finally had a serious conversation with someone I don't know particularly well about what I want to do as a career. And yes, we looked at the negatives. The fact that screenwriting is very competitive and many writers only do it as a part time job, but we did look at how it would suit me and what it was like, covering positives and negatives. And, strangely, despite all the negatives, I feel far more confident about going into screenwriting than I did before. Maybe it's because for one of the first times, I've actually looked at it as a serious career, rather than just something I want to do. The negatives almost make it seem more possible!
So I think the meeting went well. I got some good script-related websites out of it as well, which I'm in the process of looking through. Found out that the standard script format is called "mastershot" format, which won't realy help, as I already knew what the format was, but at least I know another name for it now (I'd previously heard it referred to as just "the standard script format"). And, out of all this, as you can probably guess, I'm now in a writing mood!
I know I should work on my book more, because that is something I can publish and earn money from. And I can do that regardless of age. But all I can think about are the fan film scripts for me and my friends' Doctor Who series! Which is annoying, because I want to start episode 3, because I know how it's going to start, but I don't know what happens after the first scene! I'll have to think on it...
Also, in Who news, I've got the script for episode 2 down to 35 pages, which is a massive decrease! How did I do it? I... brought the font size down... no great editing feat there then!
Keep watching the blog for updates! If I ever get round to working on my novel again, then I will hopefully explain more about it on here.
Take care people!

Oh, typical...

As soon as I start a blog about writing, I find it impossible to actually write something other than blog posts that only work when I've been writing! Or do they? I suppose I can talk about writing without having just done it. Actually, this raises one rather important point about writing anything: never do it when you don't feel like it! Some writers will think "I have to finish this by tonight" or whenever their deadline is and force themselves into writing. I find this usually creates a decline in the quality of my work. I have to really want to write and be in the right mood for it, otherwise I cannot produce as good a quality of writing as I usually would. You have to really want it and feel like doing it.

Sorry, that probably sounds really "arty-farty" (which should be a real word)!

Introduction to the blog

Hello there! Welcome to my world!

This is that really awkward and slightly cheesy post where I have to explain who I am without sounding too childish. Hopefully you're all familiar with this sort of introduction, so bear with me!

My name is Andrew Gladman, I'm 15 years old and starting my final year of secondary school. I'm also a keen writer. I spend most of my writing time on scripts for short films, but I'm also currently working on a novel for publication, which I can't give too much away about! Sorry! Occasionally I also write stories just for fun of it; however, I don't tend to do this because the other forms of writing I do are also for fun, even if they have the secondary purpose of being published or used for an amateur film.

In this blog, which has been inspired by Russel T. Davies' and Benjamin Cook's book "The Writer's Tale" I want to talk about the process and joy of writing. I doubt I'm the first to do a blog like this and hopefully I won't be the last!

One final thing: I'm not a chav and this is not a chavvy blog: if I make any spelling mistakes please correct me! If you can comment on Blogger blog posts. I haven't used this much before...