I've just finished the first draft of my feature. After a few days of avid research, emails and phone calls - I was bursting with the need to write up the burning pile of notes in front of my computer. The word limit of 500 quickly ran to 700. I could have written double that, and found it difficult to hold my focus.
I found some interesting sources, including a man who moved to Helston to run a B&B after living the high life as a manager at Disney in California. That lifestyle change could have been used as a feature in itself, but there was so much more I wanted to explore. The final section centres on the Cornish Film industry, and how Hollywood has been using Cornish locations recently, bringing a lot of money into the county. Again, I'd like to write a feature taking a closer look at the effects of major film production in Cornwall.
Everyone I spoke to was extremely helpful - I found quite quickly that it's better to say you're a freelance journalist than a student, they tend to take you more seriously. We'll be churning out a feature every week, which sounded daunting last week, but having got my first draft done today, I'm fairly confident that I'll be able to keep up with the work load. It's the research that takes time, the writing part is liberating and free-flowing.
Screenwriting starts next week - I've got to watch Legally Blonde tonight, (I'm guessing it's on the list becuase it has a good structure?) I'm just over half way through one of the Resnick books, and I'm going to try and do some of the exercises in my 'Writing TV Scripts' work book. I've got a list of six possible script ideas - one of which I'll be using for my dissertation. The radio plan may have to change, I don't think it's going to be possible to record it at Tremough - so, I'll have to make a backup plan.
I had an idea for a story earlier - it's a sit-com set up, charting the trials and tribulations of a group of 'extra sensed' sufferers. By 'extra sensed', I mean they have one extra sense, they hear and see things beyond the scope of normal people. One man hears every one of his bodily functions, another sees the blood and other fluids that flow behind his eyes. I think it would be fun because the camera could get inside their bodies, adding an extra dimension to the comedy.
