Tag Archives: sue healy

12 Little Screenwriters

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I’ve been X-Factored. Or, at least, I’ve been chosen as one of twelve screenwriters selected from the East of England region for a script development scheme which will feature mentoring and round eliminations, a structure reminiscent of X-Factor (albeit sans Cowell).

Write2screen’s “Script HotHouse” is supported by Creative East and the National Writers’ Centre. And in late September, we, the  selected dozen of writers, were given an initial intensive day-long workshop by Michael Lensfield and Christabelle Dilks, both highly experienced film industry professionals. In fact, many of us have been previously tutored by Michael at UEA where he lectures in screen adaptation. What Michael taught me about plot and story back then has influenced all areas of my writing – so if I don’t get any further than that one day workshop we had in September, just having another opportunity to attend a class led by Michael was worth it. Seriously.

We now have to submit a revised synopsis and the first thirty pages of script by Oct. 25th. Thereafter, only six will be selected to be ‘hot-housed’ to completion of the script. And from this half dozen, only three scripts will be chosen to have their work presented to industry professionals and film-makers.  I’ve already written a draft of this script so I’m currently revising the first act in accordance to what we gleaned from Michael and Christabelle’s workshop.

So, here’s hoping my ‘act’ makes it through to the next round. I’m certainly giving it my best shot. Action!


A Novel Approach

 

Writers’ Centre Norwich, who oversee the Escalator Scheme of which I am part this year, have uploaded to their website an excerpt from my recently completed novel, ‘The Hole in the Moon’. To access it, please click HERE

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Synopsis: Dan P. Power is a self-loathing Irish dwarf who, as a child, fell from a tree and flattened his younger brother. With a life so luckless, no one should blame Dan P. for snubbing society, employment or for whiling his time away in Dublin’s pubs – least of all his dwarf girlfriend Stella, his parents or his therapists. They should leave him alone. He’ll stop drinking when he meets ‘the one’, everyone does.

And he meets her, Dora, a beautiful Hungarian masseuse who concocts strange herbal brews. Dan P. is so enraptured that he makes a pilgrimage to a mysterious ‘sheila-na-gig’ carving on land his father has acquired on Trafadden Island, to seek help with the conquest of Dora. Dan P. soon learns that Dora has abruptly returned to Hungary, however. Undeterred, he elects to go in pursuit of her, leaving Stella heartbroken. 

Dan P. doesn’t like abroad. It’s too hot, all wrong and Stella isn’t anywhere to help; she won’t even answer her phone. Aid eventually comes via three old eccentric sisters: a flower seller, a beggar and a bee-keeper. The trio lead him to a castle where Dora is being held by the enigmatic guru, Wolfgang Attila, the leader of a strange cult. Thus, gathering all his courage and honing his circus skills, Dan P. sets about rescuing Dora, with a number of unexpected outcomes…

‘The Hole in the Moon’ is a humorous Magic Realist tale which weaves redemption plot and love story.


Clap Happy

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Some have asked if a ‘catch up’ version of ‘Cow’ will be available on the KCLR96fm website. Apparently, yes. KCLR are currently constructing a ‘listening room’ for documentaries and dramas and I’ll let you all know once its up and running – in the meantime, the stations forwarded some lovely feedback this morning – so, I’ve just gotta boast, I mean share…:

“thank you so much for this sensitive, witty, biting and ultimately balanced dialogue between the sexes… Sue Healy’s ‘Cow’ and the women and men bringing into being over the ether were wonderful…especially the wife who paused to say …’calving..’ [given her own delicate situation vis a vis ivf..] when her lovely lump of a man wriggles out of the Wednesday salmon-fest supper to ease him into the bedroom..[lovely touch that] by saying that the heifer is tail up and the wife mumbles the dread-laden word…’calving’…which of course she is not…oh how painful and sweet…i cried …oh God yes i did big tear drops onto my white plate of toast…beautifully realised…this is a play of magnitude, significance, humanity and…redemption… you lucky lucky people…what a fantastic flower you planted, tended, nurtured and ultimately stood backand admired…”

Doesn’t get better than that!


Me Time

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I’ve got a younger colleague who is rather plugged in to all things techie and ITish – and thanks to his urging, I’m now not only twittering, but also looking at doing some links to pdfs of my stories and perhaps a kindle collection down the line (thanks again, Dan!). In the meantime, if any of you are interested, here are some stories of mine already published online.

The Last of the Shower – A quirky and nostalgic punk looks to wake his dead bandmate: HISSAC Highlands and Islands Short Story Association Competition has ‘The Last of the Shower” on their site (which won the2011 Award).

Grapefruit – An over-privileged youth is accused of a sexual misdemeanour. Winner of the Meridian Award.

Ha-Ha A blackly comic story, with a twist. A runner up in the Limnisa/Bluethumbnail Competition:

The Pretender – A tale with a twist and intrigue, which was ‘highly commended’ in the Twisted Stringybark competition. ‘The Pretender’ can be downloaded as part of an anthology:

Thanks for the interest!


The Temptations of Tea…

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Sit at computer, bring up blank page, make a cup of tea. Sit at computer, look at blank page, do the washing up. Duration: 1 hour. Word count: 0

If this sounds like your typical writing pattern, you’ve got plenty of company. The sudden urge to do housework, rearrange books, check your bank statement- when you really ought to be writing is known as ‘Displacement activity’.

 

Displacement activity is the bane of a writer’s life. It’s the phrase writers have for all the stuff you do that is not the stuff you are SUPPOSED to be doing. Avoidance is probably a more readily understood term, but doesn’t sound half as writerly. What happens is a little ‘displacement monkey’ in your mind distracts you from the task at hand, by urging you to ‘make another cup of tea/check the TV guide/your bank account/ebay/post on this blog : ) rather than crack on with that difficult piece of dialogue you’re trying to get down.

 

I don’t believe displacement activities are wholly bad. I feel they sometimes happen for a reason. Perhaps what you’re working on needs time to settle, or percolate in your mind and after you’ve bought those gloves on ebay, it will all come together. However, I admit, I think I’d get a lot more writing done if I didn’t have an Internet connection in my office… I know a few writers who keep their displacement activity on hand – as another creative hobby such as painting, and they believe one such activity complements and feeds the other. So, they may start painting and then half way through THAT activity they’ll turn back to their writing as a displacement activity for their painting and so on…

 

As with everything in writing, if you find your displacement activity works for you, then go knock yourself out with it. If it is a hindrance, then find a way to stop it distracting you such as getting a room with no internet connection…