Gloucestershire Arts Perspectives - Effie M Roberts and Skylines Project, Theatre Centre, London.

Hi everyone,

This is just a very quick post, as I have been absent for so long. Firstly to say that Cheltenham Arts Perspectives has posted a file online, with the introduction I wrote for the books by Effie M Roberts, my grandmother. I don't think I can attach a pdf file to this but the link, for anyone who is interested is:

http://www.freewebs.com/glassman2004/effierobertspoet.htm

They haven't mentioned that the poems are still in copyright, but they are. (I'm going to have to get them to amend that!

Otherwise I've been working on lots of small projects to bring in the cash, and communicating with people about ideas and problems on a larger scale. Discussions with the Skylines project, resulting from a feedback form I filled in, have been particularly productive, and I really can't praise them enough.

As usual I'm rushing for a bus and have to go, but I'll see you all again soon. :)

Skylines Children's Theatre Writing Feedback. Blog by Pippa Roberts, Cheltenham Everyman Writers' Lab

Hi everyone,

Good news about the extract from Miz Margenon's Jungle. The feedback from the children was resoundingly positive, and they were asking all the questions I wanted them to be asking. Just as well, because I've already gone on and written the rest. :D

For anyone who's missed previous posts this is the link to the Skylines project.



I've emailed Marigold at the Theatre Centre, as she's in charge of schools' productions. I'm hoping she'll be prepared to read it. (Fingers tight crossed!)

In the meanwhile I've been applying for big writing jobs, and small ones, to keep the wolf from the door. I've just written a blog for this outlet:

http://www.personalisedgiftsshop.co.uk/occasions/personalised-christmas-gifts.html

It''s a UK company and they do lots of personalised gifts. I'm quite tempted to start shopping there now... That's the trouble with me, I'm so good at spending my earnings! :D

I'm waiting to hear about one or two big jobs, writing stories for a number of projects, and, of course, still doing my science degree. I'm finding genetics fascinating, and I know that stories will definitely come out of these studies one day. :)

See you all again soon.

Pippa x

Skylines Children's Theatre Performance: Blog by Pippa Roberts, Cheltenham Everyman Writers' Lab.

Hello again,

Just a few quick lines to say that I am reliably informed that the short extract from my play, Miz Margenon's Jungle went down well with the children in the Studio Theatre, as did the contributions from all of Cheltenham Everyman's Writers' Lab. :) http://www.theatre-centre.co.uk/skylines/member-profiles/f686db278ac9593e310afd5881e1101f/

I have been through the whole script of Miz Margenon's Jungle now, and am astonished to find that it is not the complete rubbish I thought. I wrote it before I knew the first thing about structuring plays, but with some very minor changes it should be okay, and I was astonished at the raw power in it. (I'm always convinced that everything I've done is rubbish... self confidence not being my strong point.) My worry has always been that it is a play for girls, as it is a modern fairy tale about domestic violence, and there are no male role models. I'm trying to tweak it slightly, without destroying its original force.

Our poor little victims in the Skylines project now have to write down their thoughts about what they have seen, and we writers will be provided with copies. I'm really glad of that, as I was ill and had to go home. I'll let you know what feedback I get. :)

See you all soon,

Pippa x

PIPPA ROBERTS - INVESTIGATION:HAUNTED HOUSE, AND A LOT OF ADMIN WORK


Hi everyone,

Time for some more news from me. I am actually doing slightly dull stuff at present and I was ill for most of last week... perhaps a result of too much admin work and not enough writing! It's funny, the only thing I seem to thrive on is writing.

You probably don't want to hear a lot about Fractal here, or you'd be in the Fractal blog, but I'll just say that I have been working with Emma to organise a lot of our past correspondence, and put out advertisements about our books, and adverts about my talks, readings, etc. I'm finally getting the nack of making better blogs (watch this space, it can only get better. :D) Here are the results of that work:

Stacey at The Works did the actual design, and very well too!

I have also been working on my final final final revision of Investigation: Haunted House (novel). I have spent so long on it it's unbelievable, but the problem is that the structure is really not applicable to the content... or do I mean that the content is not really applicable to the form... yes, the second, I think. :D I am still not satisfied, and I should just let it go, as I know I never will be.

The moral of this for me is that I must never think something's a bad idea but I can just run it off quickly to make some money. I'm like a dog with a bone. If there is a way of making it work I will 'sure as hell find it', but if there isn't I'm capable of spending a lifetime trying to achieve the impossible. This does NOT apply to the play of Investigation: Haunted House, by the way. I'm 'pretty damn pleased' with that. (How interesting, my creative daemon seems to be speaking with a cowboy accent, or something, tonight. Perhaps we should be writing about the Wild West? :D)

Oh dear, we writers are so darn wacky. I now have to go and prepare Miz Margenon's Jungle, so that a short extract can be put on on Thursday week in Cheltenham Studio theatre (and by short I mean very short! Three minutes or so.) Being me I'd like to finish the whole thing before then. :D

See you all soon,

Pippa

THEATRE WRITING FOR KEY STAGE 2: A MODERN FAIRY TALE


Hi everyone,

I promised to post a piece of something I'm working on, so here it is. This is a script based on a children's book, 'Miz Margenon's Jungle', that I had published as an ebook many years ago. It's a modern fairy tale. Something rather terrible has happened to all the men who live on this estate, but I won't spoil it by telling you too much... (Please excuse the lineation and lack of italics. It's the software).

This is how it starts:

MIZ MARGENON'S JUNGLE


(A one-act play)


Scene 1

Two children, Theresa and Daniel (aged 9 and 6 respectively) are playing in the street. They are shabbily dressed, and have a broken bicycle. A woman (Miz Margenon) is standing in the shadows. As we watch she begins to move towards them.

NARRATOR: Two children play when in she strides
With flashing shoes and snake-like slides.

THERESA: Daniel, look!

DANIEL: Who's that?

THERESA: I've seen her before. I think she's a witch.

DANIEL: I don't believe in witches. Anyway they have black hair and black hats.

THERESA: Shhh! She's coming this way. Look out! (Both children shrink back as

Miz Margenon strides over to them.)

MIZ MARGENON: Ah! Theresa! Daniel! How are you?

DANIEL: (to Theresa) How does she know our names?

THERESA: Shhh! (They look at Miz Margenon in silence)

MIZ MARGENON: What's the matter? Don't you know me?

(She twirls around and her cloak sparkles and her shoes flash in

the light.)

THERESA: (quietly to Daniel) I don't think she's the kind of person we'd

forget, do you?

DANIEL: (Loudly) No, she's really cool! (Shouts to Miz Margenon) What's your

name?

MIZ MARGENON: I'm Miz Margenon. Do I frighten you?

DANIEL: Of course not! I'm not scared of anything!

MIZ MARGENON: (laughs) I think your sister is.

THERESA: I'm not.

MIZ MARGENON: Good. I was going to ask you both if you'd like to come and play in

my garden. There's not much to do here, is there?

DANIEL: Do you have bikes?

MIZ MARGENON: Do you like bikes?

DANIEL: Yes. Mine's broken.

MIZ MARGENON: I can find a bike for you. (Turns to Theresa). Do you want a bike too?

THERESA: No… I mean… we're not allowed to talk to strangers.

MIZ MARGENON: Oh, I'm no stranger. Your mother knows me well. You wouldn't believe

the things we've done together.



Sorry about that formatting. I hope you managed to read it. I'm taking part in the Skylines course with the Royal Exchange Theatre and Theatre centre, London, which is a great learning experience for me. The play I wrote for Hull University, 'Investigation: Haunted House', was for 9-12 year olds and we writers at Cheltenham Writers' Lab will be putting together a play for the same age group. (Not this one. Miz Margenon is my own, but it seemed a good time to revive it. :))

See you all again soon,

Pippa :)

PIPPA ROBERTS: WRITING AND TECHNOLOGY

PIPPA ROBERTS: WRITING AND TECHNOLOGY



Hi everyone,

I seem to be going through a long period of putting my life (and my house) in order! I've finished sorting all the paper in the house, and put many things onto the computer, but now I'm messing around with my technology. I was having small problems with Internet Explorer and I decided to download Google Chrome. This evening I've been playing around with that, and have connected all sorts of things to it. I invariably come onto the computer to do one thing and end up doing another! I hope I'm going to be more technologically efficient, as a result of all this. :D

I still haven't managed to get my Google + groups going properly, which is a pity because I love the idea of having groups for specific subjects. (Most of mine relate to my research interests, and I'd like to make a lot more.) I hope that Google Chrome will ease my way with that. :/ (?)

My printer cartridge is empty again. I ordered a new one last week but it hasn't got here yet. I've been trying to print things today, without success. I travelled miles to a library to print an invoice... only to find that their printer wasn't working either. :( I hope it'll arrive on Monday and then I can print my whole children's book and give it a final edit.

You see folks, this is the day to day reality of my exotic career! I've been giving you all the downside lately, so next time I will post something I've been writing. Watch this space!

Pippa :)x

Pippa Roberts, Cheltenham EFFICIENCY, TIDINESS AND WRITING: Working Fast

Hi everyone,

Another quick update... I've had a wonderful holiday on the Gower. I stayed in Port Eynon and did some of the coastal walk, and tried to swim in the sea. The waves were huge and I was pretty exhausted, so I didn't stay in for too long, but it was really lovely. My mother came to the rescue, lending me money for food. It's rather horrible at my age to have to borrow from my mum, but maybe someone will pay me sometime soon. :/ (Incidentally I noticed that Fractal Publishing's website linked to this, and I should make it quite clear that I own Fractal and none of the problems I've described relate to them! It is confusing for people but there are two strands to my work. I write for other people, publish other people, and never publish my own work.)

I've come back to the end of my spring clean. Every admin paper in my house is being filed on my computer, or the Internet (Google, goodreads etc). It's a lot of hassle, but it will make me more efficient, and that'll make me even faster. I don't believe the myth about creative genius being chaotic. I am extremely organised, although I have to admit that things usually get out of control when I'm working on a big project! :D

People often ask me how I can work so fast, and the answer is very simple. Firstly I spend a huge amount of time reading and thinking before I begin anything. Secondly I (more or less) know where to lay my hands on any research I need.

This system is far from infallible as I have a shocking memory, but, I try...

I'm actually falling asleep on my feet, so I'd better say goodnight to you all. I'm hoping to go to sleep and dream about beautiful sunlit bays, and lovely people who, if they were not friends before, are likely to become friends now! (Thanks to all of you for sharing a brilliant holiday, if you are reading this.)

I think I'll sleep well.

Pippa :)xx