Rock Metal Vibration

WotH Writers Writing

by Paul Davey

As the band swept into the middle eight the pounding riff shook the air around the audience. Like a single frenzied organism it pulsed with every rock heartbeat.

Having whipped up the crowd Jeff held his pose at the mic stand and caught his breath.  His larynx still shrieked, in a silent echo of his high pitched vocals.  He gazed out at the seething blend of hair, leather and denim.

At the next chord change he turned away and strode to the Jack Daniels bottle that stood between the two bass drums. Necking on full view it he gulped down mouthfuls of Evian before striding back to centre stage for the last verse.

This gig at Cambourne Miners Club and this song were special, a tribute to the lineage that had had inspired it and set them on their path.  He gave it his soul, not only a public performance but a personal pilgrimage as well.  Three hundred heads nodded in unison as Jeff’s voice cut through the hall.

Your hands, on mine, so weak, but so fine. Hard sweat, down mine,

Metal ore to refine, Tin man, granite drill, hard work, high skill

On cue the lead guitar dropped away leaving only the overdriven bass guitar and stuttering snare drum buzzing its high speed staccato as he followed the vein of emotion home.

Ten years of litigation – not a sign of compensation – damaged hands – drills vibration

But even while lawyers linger, miners suffer white finger      

© Paul Davey

You’ve Got Mail

WotH Writers Writing

by Jenna Wimshurst

Are you sad, lonely and desperate? Sucks to be you! But that’s beside the point… I’m writing to tell you that you need to go online dating! You know that film You’ve got mail? Well, online dating is a lot like that, but also it’s nothing like that, so I’m going to give you a bit of advice on how to do it:

We need to start with your profile. Let’s be honest, the picture is the most important part, you might be hilarious and bloody great in the sack but if you look like a moose then I’m swiping left.

Ensure that your profile picture is just of you and doesn’t feature any sort of weird stuff that you have. For example, if you’re really into traffic cones maybe save that until you’ve met instead of having your entire collection in the picture.

Do:

  • Be light-hearted and fun, unless you’re not light-hearted and fun, in which case just be yourself,
  • Write what you want and not want you think other people want to read. If you’re a crackhead with bad breath then put that, be your true self child.

Don’t:

  • Write too little,
  • Write too much,
  • Be a dick (in life really, not just on dating websites),

When you compose a message have a think about what message you’d like to receive. Because “Hi” doesn’t get any conversation started, neither does “how are you?” But don’t write huge dissertation revealing everything that’s interesting about you before you’ve even met; because then you leave zero things to talk about when you do meet. For example, if you’ve got three legs and a fourth eye then keep that for the first date.

DING!

Oh look, you’ve got mail.

© Jenna Wimshurst

Just Desserts

WotH Writers Writing

by Robert Sanders

Oh Victoria, let me beclair. Donut be croissant, you are the creme de la creme.
I roux the day I met you and  I am not worthy to kiss your choux. I am so fond, ant I would walk a mille feux you. I know I am a pain, aux raisin to despair. I am not so vanilla, cus tardy as I am in my half baked approach I am no creme puff. I will not crumble,  I am genoaine, homogenous,  i will place your sweet heart in a vienese whirl. i will not trifle. God knows you are no french tart , but sundae my angel you will see my cream horn rise to the occasion. Torte. Whipped up into a frenzy for a moment and icecream, and then scone!


© Robert Sanders

Robert is a Life Coach and Therapist who blogs on mental health and motivational issues on his website at www.robertsanders.me.uk. He also writes regularly for the UK Naturist Magazine – H&E Naturist – available in W H Smiths and by subscription at www.henaturist.net. He has a range of books available on Amazon.



Changing Tac

WotH Writers Writing

by Sally-Claire Fadelle

Blu Tac solves problems over and above what it professes to do on the pack!  Why I had always thought it merely held my Roger Dean posters firmly in place without leaving a trace on either wall or poster.

My husband, however, managed to fit our entire kitchen using Blu Tac oh and the curtain rail in the lounge!  But his best use of Blu Tac by far was on our eldest’s tricycle wheels which were fixed, er firmly, to the axle with Blu Tac!    Did he not love our son I had mused at the time. 

A stroke of genius by a rival company called to me, 

“UHU …..you can now get White Tac.” 

I suggested to my husband that he try it on plugs and in fact anything electrical in the house especially the cooker that needed looking at.  I justified this on the basis as it was White Tac it would not show and also that it would give the fool something to do whilst the children and I were away at my Mother’s.  Predicting how he would of course test the cooker afterwards I felt this was a fine example of  a woman’s intuition.

…..  Blu Tac and White Tac mark both posters and walls;  the packet lies but after the house fire I had to get new Roger Dean posters anyway and this time I framed them;  yet another problem solved!

© Sally-Claire Fadelle

Lessons from UCLA Film School

Admin User Tools & Tips

We had one of our best sessions with Gary Sutton, a graduate of the School of Theater, Film and Television at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Following his graduation, he forged a career in Hollywood acquiring film, video and TV rights for the territory of South Korea before returning to mid-Sussex and taking up copywriting. So what, for him, makes a good film script?

  • You have essentially 120 pages to mix dialogue and description in three acts. (There are plenty of exceptions to this rule of thumb, however).
  • Each page equates to approximately one minute of screen time.
  • The first act runs to roughly 30 pages and should end on a major reversal that affects the hero / protagonist.
  • The first act contains the Inciting Incident / Call to Adventure – an event that fundamentally alters the world of the hero / protagonist.
  • The Inciting Incident / Call to Adventure can often be found on p.17 / at 17 minutes into the script / movie.
  • The first act also establishes the world of the story, and introduces the villain / antagonist / forces of antagonism as well as the hero / protagonist.
  • Act Two usually runs to page 70 / 90, making for a 30-minute third act. But there are no hard and fast rules.
  • The midpoint takes place approximately one hour / 60 pages into the script. At that point the hero takes control of his or her destiny. The 60 minute guideline applies regardless of the overall script / movie length.
  • When watching a movie we gather most of what we learn from what we see, so as appropriate, dialogue needs to be used sparingly and should make full use of subtext: avoid chit-chat, make every line count. Characters rarely say what they really mean.
  • Tell the story in as visual a way as possible. Screenwriting looks simple, comprising just dialogue and concise description but it’s not.
  • Only include those details that advance the plot. Don’t be specific regarding things that are outside your control as a writer: the director and other creative will all have their ideas and will probably ignore your kind suggestions for costumes, music, art direction and so on. Be precisely vague with any suggestions in these and other areas.
  • Whose story is it? Who changes? Which of your characters undergoes the greatest or most significant transformation? Whose character arc is greater from a human point of view?

Building a New World

WotH Writers Writing

by Tom Harper

From the ashes of nuclear fire, our civilisation was born, the greatest and only hope for humanity.  We are the sky, we are the Earth, we are Tiandi, the Celestial Empire. Surrounded by the hostile wastes and the threats from the galaxy, the Son of Heaven, the Celestial Emperor, guides the human race to its destiny to destroy the barbarian hordes from without and those who would deviate from within.  His eyes and ears dot the empire, whether it be in a busy noodle stand in the bustling heart of the Northern Capital or a far- flung hamlet in the Eurasian wastes. Soaring into the skies, humanity now resides in pagoda complexes, their pointed tips seemingly stabbing into the eyes of the celestials above them.  

In our society, there is only one law: follow the Dao.  The Dao is the way, the Dao is life. After all, you do not want to deviate from it, for deviants will always be subject to its desires, whether they try to free themselves or not, for the Dao is also fate.  Our armies of billions march under the banner of the Yellow Dragon, taking back what previous civilisations had foolishly lost eons ago. This course has been determined by the Dao and we are fated to succeed.  Anyone or anything who dares to obstruct this will be crushed not only by our arms but by fate itself.