scriptwriting

by gailaldwin

It’s that time of year again, when The Scripts the Thing put out a call for submissions as part of the annual festival held in Dorchester. It’s a celebration of all types of scripts for performance and gives the opportunity to test the water with new work. In previous years Maria Pruden, Sarah Scally and I (collectively known as 3-She) have written and acted in our short plays. This year we’re working on a piece based on confusion that is caused when technical language is used. I don’t want to give too much away as the script is still in development. We need to get the whole draft polished by the deadline on 6 July.

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Travel and other distractions

by gailaldwin

It’s been weeks since my last blog post and my only excuse is that I’ve been travelling again. I was fortunate to deliver input at the Mani Lit Fest in Greece where the wonderful historical fiction author Carol McGrath was my host. Don’t miss out on her latest title The Stolen Crown, a fascinating story from medieval history featuring the Empress Matilda – and only 99p for a kindle at the moment. Below is a photo of me preparing to deliver a workshop about writing a successful pitch for entry into online pitch parties and in this way attract the interest of agents and publishers. I also delivered a talk about research relating to The Secret Life of Carolyn Russell. Thanks to everyone who has read the novel and a big bonus thank you to everyone who has rated and/or reviewed the book.

David and I had a splendid time in the Mani. For me, the highlights included taking part in a yoga session by the sea (with fabulous author Deborah Swift for company) and an amazing sunset along the coast.

We returned to one of my favourite places called Gerolimenas (you can read about my first visit here) and managed a couple of walks – one involved scaling a mountain and the other was a cliff top walk. Here’s a photo of the beautiful harbour of Gerolimenas which was a thriving place in the 1870s when it supplied over 7000 quails a month to diners in Paris.

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Tips for writing and working collaboratively

by gailaldwin

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I’m in the author spotlight on Jaffareadstoo today. Instead of focusing on Paisley Shirt, I share tips and strategies for writing and working collaboratively. Click here to pop over and have a read.

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What a weekend!

by gailaldwin

L-R Michelle Donkin, Sarah Scally, Gail Aldwin, Andrew Allen

On Saturday I was delighted to be in the audience for Cast Iron X a short play night by Cast Iron Theatre in Brighton. The programme included Killer Ladybugs a ten-minute comedy written by Sarah Scally, Maria Pruden and I. The photo shows Sarah and I with the founders of Cast Iron, Michelle Donkin and Andrew Allen. We were fortunate to have Michelle direct the play and act in a small part. The production was excellent: great performances and splendid use of lighting. Many thanks to Michelle and the actors Esme Bird and Andrew Allen.

It was fascinating to watch the other plays, too. Quite remarkable to see how minimal props , effective lighting and clever writing can support such a range of creative work. I particularly enjoyed the play written and directed by Sam Chittenden. The Two of Us was performed by Annie Packman and Kerri Frost with an interesting section of dual speeches delivered simultaneously.

A bonus of travelling to Brighton meant that we were able to stay with Regina Keith who now lives in Peacehaven. Regina is doing a wonderful job continuing her commitment to global health by teaching on the post-graduate programmes Global Public Health Nutrition and International Public Health Nutrition at the University of Westminster. Well done, Regina – keep up the excellent work!

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