People who drop by this blog are aware of the problems encountered with writing and more importantly, completing the "Old Soldiers" play. In the way of a quick backgrounder, the play had its origin as a short fiction piece - one of my all-time favorites - that I decided to try and convert into a radio play for submission to the BBC International Radio Competition. Thing is, I've never written a play specifically for radio, which is a challenge in itself.
Did regular check-ins on the BBC competition site for information and updates, hints, etc. but somehow omitted reading the section covering how to lay out a play for radio.
Big omission.
Up until this point, I've been using a playwriting format and adding regular '"SFX" or sound effects where and when necessary. So I'm up to the 43 pages point, nearing the end and during one of my regular check-ins discover to my angst that it ain't gonna work. If I would have checked still further (hind-sight is so easy), there is a section devoted to laying out a play for radio, which I for whatever reason overlooked. As I neared the end, there was this gut feeling something was missing or awry. According to the "how-to" section, there are definite guide-lines including line spacing, etc. to which one must adhere. Going by the BBC requirements, my unfinished play as it now stands would be somewhere in the neighborhood of 80-odd pages. The finished product can't be more than 54 pages.
The reality that my version didn't meet their i.e. BBC strict guidelines was followed by a quick R&R - rant&rave - around the house yelling, "Noooooo" accompanied by "why me?" and the inevitable, "Joe and the boys will never get their story told."
"That's it!" I told myself along with "I've had it!" resulting in walking away from the computer for a few hours.
"So where are you at now, Eleanor?" you're probably asking yourself.
After reflecting on the turn of events and the time invested in working on the project - we're talking years here - I decided to once again (how many more times one asks oneself) attempt to re-write the play with the given guidelines. It will require eliminating some scenes and adjusting the story line, which I've already started to do. The problem is that some of the new scenes that will have to go are really relevant and are dialogue rich. Oh well. Nobody said it was going to be easy.
Sorry Joe and the guys. You're gonna have to wait a bit longer.
MONDAY MORNING UPDATE:
Good news! It appears that after re-formatting the layout of the play as per the BBC requirements, it appears that everything just may fit perfectly. However, there are some modifications that will have to be made to the story line for flow purposes. It all depends on whether or not the ending will fit in with the current trend of the story line. The good thing is that there is still time to make the changes.
Will update here as we near the end...one hopes.
Showing posts with label writing for radio. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writing for radio. Show all posts
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
BBC International Playwriting Competition for 2013???
A short blog entry (where have you read that before?).
As shared here ad nauseum, I've been making a concerted effort to finish my "Old Soldiers" play that I started three years ago. It was and still is my hope to enter it in the BBC International Radio Playwriting Competition this year. However - it's always the 'howevers' in life that get in the way - can't find any link to a 2013 version being held.
Thing is...I'm almost finished the play at last and if the competition isn't being held this year, it will be a real downer. I mean, the play could always be submitted somewhere else but this competition has always been a personal challenge for me having never written for radio. There is still the concern that there's a lack of sufficient sound effects but I was (and am still, hopefully) going to go for broke and enter.
Just came back from the competition site in the hope of seeing the new deadline listed but to no avail. This does not bode well since the deadline is usually early Spring. Oh well... I'm still determined to finish it after which I'll 'put it to bed' for a while followed by a period of tweaking and finally hitting the 'submit' key.
Meanwhile, time is marching on. Joe and his friends would understand.
As shared here ad nauseum, I've been making a concerted effort to finish my "Old Soldiers" play that I started three years ago. It was and still is my hope to enter it in the BBC International Radio Playwriting Competition this year. However - it's always the 'howevers' in life that get in the way - can't find any link to a 2013 version being held.
Thing is...I'm almost finished the play at last and if the competition isn't being held this year, it will be a real downer. I mean, the play could always be submitted somewhere else but this competition has always been a personal challenge for me having never written for radio. There is still the concern that there's a lack of sufficient sound effects but I was (and am still, hopefully) going to go for broke and enter.
Just came back from the competition site in the hope of seeing the new deadline listed but to no avail. This does not bode well since the deadline is usually early Spring. Oh well... I'm still determined to finish it after which I'll 'put it to bed' for a while followed by a period of tweaking and finally hitting the 'submit' key.
Meanwhile, time is marching on. Joe and his friends would understand.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Playwright makes some progress
It's becoming somewhat of an obsession but one in which Joe McKenna and his friends would most likely approve.
Added some more dialogue to "Old Soldiers" play today, although the ending is still up in the air. Wondering if it will ever have any solid substance.
"Really, Eleanor - we deserve better than this," Joe would comment upon my somewhat limited progress. "How much longer do we have to wait. It's been almost four years, now."
It's not for lack of trying. During sleepless nights, Joe and his friends plus the other characters pop in to say hello. Too bad that can't offer advice.
I'm fortunate to be a visual writer and see my words actually come to life and play out in the various scenes. Problems arise when I re-read the existing story line and the realization that something is awry. For example, my dilemma today was whether or not it's logical for a young character to be a great grandson and how old should he be? Then there is the issue of which war Joe and his friends were in.
This is followed by the dreaded 2-R's - Re-write and a Re-thinking - after which ennui sets in accompanied by self-doubt as to whether it will ever be finished. The problem is that I can't let it go for whatever reason. In writing my two other full plays that took approximately a year and-a-half to two years to complete, they seemed to write themselves. The two are so familiar to me that I can quote lines and passages from both.
One of my biggest concerns as expressed on numerous occasions that may be a contributing factor to the delay, is using the format for radio. The issue of having sufficient sound effects is always there. The dialogue is strong and if it was performed on stage would offer an interesting piece of theatre. However, my main objective is, as it always has been, to finish the play once and for all. And therein lays the problem.
Added some more dialogue to "Old Soldiers" play today, although the ending is still up in the air. Wondering if it will ever have any solid substance.
"Really, Eleanor - we deserve better than this," Joe would comment upon my somewhat limited progress. "How much longer do we have to wait. It's been almost four years, now."
It's not for lack of trying. During sleepless nights, Joe and his friends plus the other characters pop in to say hello. Too bad that can't offer advice.
I'm fortunate to be a visual writer and see my words actually come to life and play out in the various scenes. Problems arise when I re-read the existing story line and the realization that something is awry. For example, my dilemma today was whether or not it's logical for a young character to be a great grandson and how old should he be? Then there is the issue of which war Joe and his friends were in.
This is followed by the dreaded 2-R's - Re-write and a Re-thinking - after which ennui sets in accompanied by self-doubt as to whether it will ever be finished. The problem is that I can't let it go for whatever reason. In writing my two other full plays that took approximately a year and-a-half to two years to complete, they seemed to write themselves. The two are so familiar to me that I can quote lines and passages from both.
One of my biggest concerns as expressed on numerous occasions that may be a contributing factor to the delay, is using the format for radio. The issue of having sufficient sound effects is always there. The dialogue is strong and if it was performed on stage would offer an interesting piece of theatre. However, my main objective is, as it always has been, to finish the play once and for all. And therein lays the problem.
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