Doctor Who Writer in the House

Exciting stuff, I'm going to be able to ask writer Paul Cornell some questions for a "Ten Minutes With..." section for one of the magazines I write for. Paul wrote one of my fave Dr Who eps ever, so I'll be thinking of some qs for him over the next few days.

Been having a bit of a Clea DuVall marathon the past few days - the Faculty, Girl, Interrupted, But I'm a Cheerleader, Sleeping Beauties, her Buffy ep (season 1 ep 11, Out of Sight, Out of Mind). I am inspired. Not in an up yer own arse arty way, but... yeh, okay, maybe a little.

I have actually had some ideas flowing for a play. Following on from the scene I wrote for the Valentine's themed show, I've seen where the ideas in it could lead. Maybe that scene could be part of a bigger play. I mean, I don't know for sure. All I do know is that the big idea I wanted to work on as part of my mentoring scheme isn't really getting anywhere, so I might as well see where this takes me. I do worry that because it's coming easily that somehow means it's not as good as, say, something which was a very hard process to write. But I'm beginning to reason that maybe something comes easily because it's meant to be, the story is telling itself because you need to tell it, even if it's for cathartic purposes for yourself and noone else ever sees it, or because its a story with a shared theme that is relateable that ends up getting seen by others.

If you have a talent for something or an idea flowing, then you should go with it, right? We'll see what my mentor says. If it turns out my Valentine's full play idea is indeed rubbish, I will quickly retract, or indeed renege, on all that I just said, lol.

Hell yeh - sing me a love song - UH HUH HER

I'm almost inexplicably chuffed that Uh Huh Her, the band, have answered my questions in an interview. Yes, they're a cool band, but getting the answers in my inbox was pretty joyful. Yay! :D

Camila Grey answered the qs, as bandmate Leisha Hailey was unavailable due to work commitments. This is a shame as I'd love to hear her thoughts, however Camila did a great job. I love her use of language, some of it's very... colourful (and I don't mean expletively, rather in terms of... expressiveness), and vivid. It's just a different way of seeing things. That's where I get the thrill. Seeing the words of a creative person and the way in which they communicate. Especially when it's written in such a way that you go "oh cool" when you read it.

Anyway, this is intended for Scotcampus, but should make it in for the February edition. Which is great because that means there's something in between now and Rachel Shelley in March.

I would play on the ferrero roche ad about 'you are spoiling us', but I worked hard on those interviews in terms of thinking of appropriate questions, and on the communicating front and pursuing the final products. The Shelley piece especially is a mammoth undertaking and probably the first of its kind I've done. Of course I've written articles around interviews, with all manner of people from the man down the street to actors and musicians, but never in such detail.

So another insight - the Rachel Shelley article will be a feature in which I write around the interview, and the UH HUH HER piece will be in q+a form. Probably not that interesting of a fact to know... but hey, it's all part of the process. Making these decisions, how am I going to tell this story.

I've been writing my preface to the UH HUH HER interview, and I sing their praises. No secret. Their music's good, it's fresh and funky. Me likee. Here's their myspace... www.myspace.com/uhhuhhermusic

You might have to wait a bit longer...

As the article I'm writing around my interview with Rachel is fairly lengthy, it's been decided it's worth more than being squeezed in amongst everything else in the paper in the February issue. So, even though you'll have to wait till March, it'll be worth it because the story will make the cover!

I appreciate this might be more of a deal for me than for you, the reader. Wherever it is in the paper, you'll still get to read it. Given Scotcampus is the biggest free paper in Scotland however, it's great for Rachel, and for me.

I've been working on the article quite a lot the past few days, and have overhauled it slightly. It's been quite a lot to take on, more than I expected! It's reading much better now though, has a more cohesive story, journey.

In slightly related news, since December I've been in touch with a US based band regarding an interview. Their producer passed on the questions, and despite all enquiring emails I've heard nothing back since... It isn't odd for the gatekeepers to fob you off or just ignore you completely, but these guys had been open to it and said they would ensure the questions arrived. This is where the mystery creeps in. Who knows what might have happened to throw a spanner in the works. I don't.

New Interview

The aforementioned British actress making it in LA as hinted at in the previous blog I can reveal is one Rachel Shelley. Her career is so LA in fact that despite being a native Brit, she is much better known across the pond.

The interview came about as the show on which Rachel stars - The L Word - is coming to an end, with its final sixth season about to transmit. That'll happen in the US on the 18 January on Showtime, and on the 24 March on LivingTV 2 in the UK.

Given the L Word is the longest running show on their US network ever, it's a bit of a deal that it's ending! So I chatted to Rachel the other day for an article which will feature in Scotcampus newspaper. Scotampus is FREE and can be found in HMV, Fopp, Borders. It will be out early February, exact dates nearer the time. You'll have to be quick, copies go really fast. If you fail to procure one, the paper does go out online, so can have a link nearer the time too!

The Interview

Method of interview: Interrogation. No :P It happened via phone call.
Best bit: Formal interview out the way, a wee chit chat sharing student journo stories
Any gaffes?: Right at the start, a real 'D'oh' moment. I didn't have this recorded, but it went roughly like so...

RS: Where are you?
E: I'm on my bed... in my room.
RS: No, I mean, where are you in the country?

Oops. Embarrassment.

Any Exclusive snippets?: Oh, go on then, just 'cause this is new and I want to reel people in. On shooting outside Vancouver on the season 3 finale of the L Word:

"That was a beautiful time we had there. We all stayed in this amazing hotel, we were shooting but we also had time off, and we had skiing lessons. It was near Christmas, we would have drinks round the fire. It was just a really wonderful time shooting that..."

In conclusion: Rachel was a great interview. Forthcoming, full of energy and comprehensive, interesting, answers. Even let me squeeze in an extra question when it was time for "last question please". Well chuffed. Eeee :D

In other news, I'm currently working on a short scene for a collection of Valentine's Day themed work, and I'm thinking very hard about my potential play for the Playwrights' Studio. Thinking so hard I think I'm putting too much pressure on myself and getting too caught up in the fact that in the world of writing and creativity in which I inhabit this is a BIG DEAL. If I don't... let go, the ideas won't come.

First Hello!

This is the first, and hopefully won't be the last. Let's see how we get on here!

I have always written, for pleasure, as a hobby, and now as work. Aside from when I'm stuck on a particular bit, or hammering out the initial idea, it doesn't feel like the work I've been told I should get used to (filing paper and so forth, I'd rather write my own ideas on it instead).

At University I was Editor of the student magazine, and through that process learnt an awful lot. I went to the NUS Media Conference, joined the NUJ and wrote so many stories, suggested so many more, and allowed proof reading to take over so much of my life, that once I finished I swore - never again.

Since graduating I'm now a freelancer, regularly contributing to the magazines Primary Life and Source, and also the student nation-wide paper ScotCampus.

I'm also involved in playwriting, having written a few short plays one of which has been performed. I'm just embarking upon a mentoring scheme with the Playwrights' Studio, which hopefully will see me produce a play at the end of it. The various trials and tribulations therein might find themselves recounted here.

I hope that on this blog I can post exclusives from upcoming articles and interviews, share the bits that didn't go in, and provide links to my work where possible.

There's some exciting interview related news on the agenda regarding a British actress making it in LA, so stayed tuned for the next blog, following shortly...