Visiting old friends
Published by on May 20th, 2007
I went on a little trip back in time this afternoon, to visit some old friends, friends I created. No, they’re not imaginary friends as such, but they are the product of my imagination.
A few years ago I spent many hours developing a series of stories that I planned to write into a TV series. I wrote (and re-wrote, and re-wrote, and…) the first episode as a complete screenplay, created treatments for the following two episodes, and developed overview contepts for a further three. Each episode would have its core plotline independent of the others, but there would also be a continuing thread of a plot throughout all six - and plausibly beyond.
Just like so many wannabe TV writers, I had a wall covered in the slew of rejection slips, and learned a great deal on the journey, both about writing and about the industry. The final nail in the coffin at the time was the appearance of a couple of similarly themed serial dramas on both BBC and ITV - and I knew the climb had just gotten much steeper. Having spent a couple of years working part time in developing the idea and, most significantly, the characters, I decided to put the project on hold with the aim of re-visiting at some point in the future. I’m hoping that perhaps that point is now.
The aim now is not a TV drama, but a series of books. Some of those light reading, coffee table story books, approachable, fun, and hopefully just a little spooky here and there (somewhat necessary for the story premise!). I decided to spend a couple of hours today starting the writing process - that means nothing more complicated than actually getting some words down - scribbling in my moleskine. It was like spending the time with some of my dear, old friends again. Each character seemed as alive today as they had been during the peak of the story development, and they quickly lit up my imagination as they had many times before. It was so much fun I think I may scrub my planned schedule this evening and spend more time writing. Who knows, in six months, I just might have something resembling a book!
One Response to “Visiting old friends”
October 9th, 2007 at 9:30 pm
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