Ah, the sweltering heat, the long sunny days, the lapping of the waves on the nearby beach, all such an incentive to sit inside, slaving over a keyboard, working towards a string of disappointments and rejections. I am not sure if I want to do my list today but here goes. I shall start off with a stinker:

 

Rejections:

 

Hollyoaks!!!!! Oh the shame. I thought that one was in the bag, too, especially after all the good feedback I had received from them. I presume soaps are so hard to get into because of the vast sums of money paid and console myself with that thought and remind myself that I never set out to write for soaps and only wrote a trial script after being invited to, and I have a vast overdraft not a vast wage packet and why change the habit of a lifetime? Oh well, at least I can stop watching it now. The rejection gave me a kick up the backside about what I really wanted to do. As writing two trial scripts took so much time and energy (unpaid), I have decided to think really hard about the projects I take on and try and concentrate on what motivates and interests me, which leads me nicely to:

 

BBC scheme  - this was a writers academy for writing soaps so after deciding that wasn’t what I should be concentrating on I felt a lot better about not even getting an interview. Just to give you an idea, they had around 700 applicants and you needed to have had a script professionally produced before you applied. Yep, it’s a tough business.

 

Hope:

 

Had a good meeting in London with a lovely script executive about my recycled children’s series idea. Waiting to see how that progresses. Also had interest from another company on the same idea. BUT - bad news is that the company I had the interview with announced later the same week that they are closing/selling off all their children's departments! Oh Lord, why do you smite me?

 

Still waiting on BBC idea - may hear this decade. 

 

Still waiting on Coronation Street – see above.

 

Still waiting on children’s play – see above. How long do people need to say yes or no? It's been over six months since it was sent out!

 

Granada drama series is now with a new producer at the same company so not all hope has gone! Not the right time for it to go forward this time.

 

Sniff of a job at a production company if a big commission gets off the ground – we are all in the waiting game!

 

Recycle:

 

Another radio producer has asked to see my ideas from the last round, which were not rejected as I had thought but not circulated.

 

Sent off previous radio series idea via agent as a TV idea.

 

News:

Beside my endless loop of writing in solitary confinement, I had a good meeting with all the other Orange Young Writers' Festival tutors. Some new faces as well as familiar. There will be a different structure this year which looks interesting as well as some new venues. Will miss the Newcastle lot though!

 

Ah well, back to the drawing board. I’m trying to outline a film idea; before, I used to just sit and write but I realised that outlining is a necessary evil. Once you’ve struggled through it you can really enjoy the writing process. Yes, enjoy writing – now there’s a thought! All I now need to do is get a real kick about being rejected.