My brain is dribbling out through my ears.

I’m going on an advanced novelist’s course in the summer and I have to do some work in advance.

I have to have a novel in, at least, the first draft stage – no problem. Got plenty of those

I have to send a list of brief character biogs – no problem. I can do that.

But then I have to write a scene-by-scene outline, one line per scene. BIG problem. It’s like taking a tapestry, unpicking all the threads, laying them down in a row – and wondering why it doesn’t look so pretty any more.

Has anyone else tried this? It’s doing my head in!

Dee

Sounds intense, Dee. I'm jealous. Take me with you!

OK. Can you be in Wales at the end of July?

Shoot, I'll be in Naples, Florida at the end of July.

Think yourself lucky. Animators have to draw every scene!



But if anyone can do it, you can.

BTW, thanks for the help with the synopsis for "Get Even..." I got a request for the full script this morning.

Colin M

Hey, Colin, that's excellent news!

So how many scenes have you done so far?

Is it major scenes, or every little detail? Major scenes alone would take time, but every little detail...

hope you've got a lot of paper.

So far, I’ve reduced 32,000 words to 42 lines. That’s about a third of the novel, as it stands now. Don’t know how many scenes it is. I’m putting it onto an excel spreadsheet to stop myself from rewriting the entire novel. It’s slow and painful and I can’t recommend it as a hobby!

Dee

I recommend you take a 'frog' break. Then come back to it all refreshed.

Brian.

Sounds really interesting Dee.

Along those lines, for those of us unable to ‘get away’ to places like Wales, has anybody tried any of the internet courses? Like this for instance, http://www.alllearn.org/writing_catalog.jsp?d=200
Sounds interesting and reputable.

Adam, is that vacation or are you moving?

Brian.

Interesting link, Brian. I’ve not done an online course but I have done one via email. It was very useful at the time.

The things about this event in Wales that I’m most looking forward to are spending time just concentrating on my work without any distractions, and meeting other writers. I went to a weekend writers conference last summer and it was wonderful to spend time with other people who are just as serious about writing as I am. I’m hoping this one will be the same.

What’s a ‘frog break’?

Dee

Refers to a message you posted a while back about how you met your friend and as he reached over amourously there was something about a frog.

You'll have to fill me in as to what you did with it. Not a Canadian romantic thing. We keep them outdoors, and they are definitely not involved in romance.

Brian.

Crikey, Brian! That was a long time ago. We put it outside in the garden and it hopped off. It was years before my partner told me he’d never touched a frog in his life before then… and as many years before he stopped looking for them under the cushions…

Dee

Never touched a frog before?! Wow. He should spend a day with me I'll take his hand places where no hand has been before!

Just last night I picked up three of the dumb things off the road (not an easy task with just 2 hands)where they were sitting soaking up the warmth of the pavement until a car would splatter them. I took them home and released them in our pond but could not convince my wife to help by grabbing a few.

Now I think we are way off topic so I'll go now!

Brian.

Incidentally, love 'crikey'. Do you guys still use that in regular speach or are you just using it here to be funny?

Am adding it to my growing list of interesting expressions I have picked up here on WW. They are wonderful. I have a story about an English couple and a cat in heat that has been simmering in the back of my mind and I think a few of these expressions will show up in it.

Brian.