Interesting month so far, to say the least.

Updates coming, I promise.

April.

So where’d the first quarter of 2010 go?

Oh well, what’s past is past. Time to get on with the present and plan for the future.

I’m feeling so much better these days. I seem to be on the right level of medication to counteract the effects of my bipolar disorder and am thus able to concentrate and do things with my days.

And best of all, I am able to enjoy my life and write.

So here goes.

I have entered ScriptFrenzy – an annual scriptwriting event encouraging all those wannabe scriptwriters to get of their arses and do something about it. And all with the support of thousands of other people doing exactly the same thing. (Just over 17,500 this year.)

ScriptFrenzy lasts for one month – April – and the goal for everybody is to write 100 pages of script (not necessarily in one actual story). The script can either be for tv, film, stage, radio, comic book etc.

Ths idea stems from National Novel Writing Month (Nanowrimo) which has been running across the world every November for a number of years now, with the objective of writing a 175-page (50,000-word) novel. (120,000 people took part in 2008 and 20,000 completed the goal.)

Of course, with all of this, the objective is to write, write, write a first draft. Nothing else. If you complete the page/word goal then you win!

And after you have won, then that is the time to take that hastily written 3 pages a day script, or 6 pages a day novel an do something with it, like editing, writing more drafts, and hopefully on to submitting the finished work somewhere for performance/publication.

So wish me luck.

And boy do I need it.

I only decided to do this when I came across the site a couple of days ago. And it’s not as if I haven’t got anything else to do.

This month I have also planned to finish and submit my full length Nuffield Writers Group graduation piece, which is nearly completed, (and overdue) as well as get most of the way through a novella I’m writing for a good friend to read to his three year old child; Hi Josh, it’s on its way – Chapter 5 today!

So, as well as working in Coventry, and all the other stuff one has to do, I’m going to be very busy this April. No time to suffer from depression!

And I’ll keep up my blog too, letting you know my progress every few days if I have the time!

Oh well, that’s my first 450 words written today – there’s a counter at the bottom of my input box – but it doesn’t count towards anything, so I had better get on with some scripting!

Cheers!

So I haven’t blogged in like a month.

I know.

Been busy.

Up and down, you know how it goes.

Anyway, things are looking like they’ll be relatively normal for a while now, so I’m just adjusting to it all, lol. (Fingers crossed.)

Might even get around to posting the half a dozen or so draft posts I never quite got round to finishing.

More words on their way very soon.

I promise!

Hello my fellow Tweeter,

I’m using the awesome power of Twitter to solve a problem of calculating some odds.

I’m a playwright and need twelp with this since one of my characters knows the answer.

If I choose two numbers at random from 1 to 7,000,000,000 and roll a theoretical die twice, what are the odds of me rolling both random numbers in any order?

If you can work out the answer then please reply on Twitter to @PAFoster

If not, then I’d be most grateful if you could ReTweet, and hopefully one of your followers will be able to help me.

Many, many thanks,

Paul

Firstly, some news, finally, from the Bush Theatre.

I sent them Spaceboy back in August, and was beginning to wonder what happened, thinking I had somehow missed the ‘no thanks’ email months ago.

It appears the reason it took so long was because it went further; the Bush readers found it a “really interesting piece” and passed it on to their ‘creative associates’ for “a second look”.

Sadly, they felt they couldn’t develop it as a production at the Bush, but suggested a couple of other theatres to send it to, which indeed I shall.

And secondly, I also received news today that Room 20 will be performed twice on Saturday 24th April at Southampton University as part of their ‘Nuffield Writers Showcase’.

A group of student directors and actors are producing seven of the ten minute plays written by members of the 4th Nuffield Theatre Writers Group as one of our assignments.

I’m looking forward to meeting my play’s directorJonny Baynham next week.

I just downloaded some demo invoicing software from Apple so I can do invoices on my lovely Mac.

Sadly, the software, although brilliant, isn’t quite right for me since I need to bill by the day when invoicing my hospitality management work, and not by the hour.

I emailed the developer on the other side of the world via the contact form on their website to say why I couldn’t make use the software – having mastered it in just a couple of minutes because it is well written and designed with excellent video tutorials on how to use it.

I had an email back less than 5 minutes later thanking me for my comments and saying my requests had been added to the to-do list.

Definitely going to be buying that piece of software when it’s upgraded!