April 21, 2013
Yesterday, I went to see a local amateur dramatic company's production of Up Pompeii by Miles Tredinnick, which was directed by a friend. The cast rose to the challenge incredibly well. Not only did they have to contend with the notoriously difficult timing of exits and entrances on which such farce-type comedies rely, but there were risqué costumes and saucy clinches that might be embarrassing when they meet their co-stars at the next parents' evening. Added to this was the challenge of performing in a show that everyone thinks they know from the television series. They really went for it, particularly the actor playing Lurcio, the character made memorable by Frankie Howerd.
What's an actor to do in a situation like that–imitate Mr. Howerd, or try to put their own stamp on the role? It was written in such a way that it demanded at least some of Frankie Howerd's mannerisms and verbal style. How to play the role was indicated by the skill of the playwright. However, without Frankie Howerd's example how would Miles Tredennick have written it? Is limiting the options of the cast, directors et al a good thing? Of course, you have to write roles in a way that suggests or reveals character, but how far should you go?
William Shakespeare created some of the world's greatest plays and memorable characters, but one of the main reasons his work has survived is that it can be reinterpreted not only by each generation, but each production. Unless you're adapting an iconic television series, perhaps it's better to allow the actors room to act.
Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Reviews
April 14, 2013
I intended this blog to be about cohesion and coherence, but what I wrote didn't have much of either. Then I tried to make it about writing about subjects that don't interest you (again) and, frankly, it was boring. While searching for a solution, I found myself doing the linguistic equivalent of doodling, and coming up with alternative definitions for linguistic terms. 'Oxymoron' could be 'stupid air', if that wouldn't be a contradiction in terms. 'Tautology' might be what a science teacher ...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Linguistics
April 7, 2013
Today the sun is out and for once the wind isn't trying to saw people in half. It's enough even to tempt a fireside cat into the great outdoors to listen to the sparrows squabbling. Now the snow has finally gone, I can see just how much the garden needs tidying and for once, getting on with it instead of writing, won't be procrastinating. If anyone else has detected springlike signs in the air, get outside and breathe it in. You can sit in front of your computer tomorrow, by which time the sk...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Inspiration
April 1, 2013
I'm celebrating. Not my birthday, not even Dr. Who's birthday, but two of my stories going public. 'The Enchantress's Pets' appears in the April 2013 issue of
Writing Tomorrow. There's a short article giving the background to how and why it was written too. You can also listen to 'Salvage' on the
Beam Me Up Podcast, episode 359. I love the characters' voices and the way listening to the story has made it totally fresh. Thanks go to Paul Cole, the man behind Beam Me Up, for his hard work.
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : FantasyFiction
March 31, 2013
Pif! Paf! Which is the elephant and which is the mouse? There's no real link between the sound of most words and what they mean (with the exception of onomatopoeias such as 'buzz'), but that doesn't prevent people from making sound associations. Writers can use this tendency to advantage, especially in poetry. You can use sound association to create a mood, or to subvert it. If you've used 'm' to create associations with 'mother', 'milk' and 'mild', subsequently using 'murder', 'mayhem' or 'm...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Linguistics
March 24, 2013
How hard it must be for Olympic athletes to get all the way to the final only to be pipped at the post by less than a nose! There are no prizes for coming fourth, so all the training, self-discipline and (possibly) neglect of loved ones have been for nothing. On another day, they might have left the blocks a fraction faster or felt fresher, their competitors might not have been as focussed or have eaten one too many Shredded Wheat. Another day they might have won–they were so close. It can ...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Competitions
March 18, 2013
Do you grind your teeth when you hear someone say they were 'sat' or they were 'stood' somewhere? Me too! I always want to ask who sat or stood them there, or did they really mean they were sitting or standing? The increasing tendency to use a passive instead of the past imperfect or a gerund is the result of dialect creep. I have no objection to dialects being used instead of standard English when appropriate, but this construction is not only replacing standard English, it's taking over oth...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Linguistics
March 11, 2013
Writers are usually advised to target their work at a particular market. Up to a point this makes sense. If a magazine only accepts certain genres or lengths, or has a dislike of present tense narrative, it's usually wasting your time and theirs sending them things that don't fit. Most competitions have strict rules and often have a theme, but are more flexible with regard to style. How far should you go in adapting what you write to fit the requirements of editors and competition organisers/...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley.
March 3, 2013
Yesterday, I received the latest issue of Salopeot, which was a great treat and not only because it has one of my poems in it. The magazine is packed with more than 60 poems, so I'll be able to spend today reading some thought-provoking and beautiful work. Isn't that what Sundays are for–taking time to think about what really matters?
I'm not going to review any particular poems, and some people might query why, as I review films in this blog which they might consider have less to do with...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Reviews
February 24, 2013
Flight is one of those films that I felt I ought to see rather than one I felt particularly attracted to. I knew little about it other than that it featured the somewhat miraculous landing of a damaged aeroplane by the pilot, who is later accused of being under the influence of drink and drugs. Denzel Washington plays the pilot and has been nominated for an academy award. That doesn't surprise me, as it's the stature of his performance that makes the film worth watching.
It's a strange fil...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Reviews
