Pondering on ways of writing and the influence of comedy

Rough notes for 'Austin Stapley'.
 I don't mind sharing this as it won't mean much
to you, but it does to me. This is only one
half  anyway.

While uploading the second episode of my online soap I noticed something strange. Before I cut and paste from my Word document, I take one last read through for any errors or wording I want to change. It's like I am looking at it for the first time and I find things (this morning there was a typo), like a word I'd prefer to use. I hope this doesn't mean I should have done further edits, but no I am not worried, particularly, I am excited. I am re-living the whole story and being with my characters again is like coming home. Writing this taught me a lot about planning. On the whole I worked out what was to happen in each episode a few ahead, but not by much because I didn't want a rigid structure. Often I will think things will go one way and then suddenly a character will say I want to go this way. Sometimes I had complete light bulb moments and connections I'd not even realised where there. The only real rules I had was to keep each episode within an approximate word count (1,200 - 1,600) because I don't like reading long stuff online, I'm much more a book person, and how many episodes it would run to. I also tried to keep the tension going by quick-ish scene changes.

When I first began to write it, I mainly wanted it to be fun. The serious stuff came later, and I had to edit earlier episodes to make sure it was a natural progression. My way of writing certainly seems to be an idea first, write the first chapter, or some piece in my head that needs to be set down. After a while I realise I am going nowhere! This is when the planning comes in - notes, timelines, back history, character profiles, research. Once I have enough rough stuff I continue writing. But it never ends there because other things crop up, new characters, something I want to write about which needs researching (if I have no personal knowledge).

At present I am writing a series of short chapters on Scriggler with a working title of The Adventures of Austin Stapley. This is a piece of humorous writing which started as whole scenes in my head one night when I couldn't sleep. I got as far as Chapter 5 and then I left it to concentrate on other things. I came back and couldn't see a way forward. So, yesterday I began my planning. It's a rough outline, subject to change and order. These are mere outline notes. I have only published two chapters on Scriggler so far. I want to keep a few chapters ahead because once on I cannot edit again! Not on there anyway. It is a working draft and far more immediate than the year it took me to write and edit the online soap. There is no way I could have put that up as I did it!

Writing is still a learning curve as discover new or easier ways to work, but I've always been imagination first, the rest later. Maybe that will change in time, who knows. I am not sure that I could ever write something totally serious. Humour is in my blood (I blame my Dad), I see the funny side in most things (which my Dad did). Looking at comedy my favourite TV programmes are the silly but great comedies - Dad's Army, Blackadder, Monty Python, 'Allo 'Allo. I love the humour in Doc Martin (I was beside myself on Monday when I watched) and I love Coronation Street for the same reason. It has serious issues but humour is never far away. I love reading the serious stuff, but I'm not sure if I could write it.

Ashington launched today

Hi everyone. Well, I've done it. I've posted the first episode of Ashington on to my WordPress blog (I feel I have deserted Blogger, and I so love it). I can't get the layout quite right on WordPress, such as indenting for speech (I cut and paste). I believe it can be done through coding, but life is too short, and I spent a long frustrating day putting the site together yesterday. There are niggles (I'd prefer the 'pages' on the top but looking at how to do that through help forums just blew my mind. Also I don't like the order they are in and I couldn't understand how to change it. This is  a newer version of WordPress than I have previously used which also confuse me. All the things I expected were not there or in different places. Still, it's up and running. I seem to have ending up following my own blog (not sure how that happened!)

Please do go over and read Ashington and let me know what you think. I did a last edit of the first episode before I published and felt quite proud to have achieved a finished work. My baby is in the world and all I can do is watch its tentative first steps and hope it grows into a fully fledged piece of writing which will entertain.

New Project launching tomorrow!

ASHINGTON - the online soap.

Oh boy, jittery is not the word for it. Finally, my project is ready and will launch tomorrow. What is it. you ask? It's an online soap called Ashington! I have set up the blog on WordPress (after tearing my hair out trying to learn its language). All that is missing is the first episode. That will be published tomorrow. Please do go and have a look at what's there already (info) and drop by tomorrow to read the first episode. Feedback is important to me. Please do comment.

The link for the site is here