strikes and gutters

It's been an interesting couple of weeks, that's for sure. Before I get into that, I just want to thank everyone who posted congratulation notes here, on facebook, sent emails and texts. I knew my family would be over the moon, and I knew my friends would be delighted, but for people I don't know or only know through the industry and cyberworld, to take the time to send a message, that was really special and I was genuinely touched.

So it all started 2 weeks ago... when I cracked a disc in my back. It's called a prolapsed disc and it's when a disc cracks, the jelly oozes out and rubs up against the nerve, causing, well, you can imagine - squeamish? It's the third time I've done it, to the same disc each time, and it's a bloody nightmare. It means I've been pretty laid up since, and did not help me enjoy my Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year. I was depressed, down in the dumps, questioning anything and everything about what I believe, what I've done, and what I'm doing in my life. A few days later I got the news that I won the award.

Does one ever expect these things? No, probably not. But I can safely say this was totally out of the blue. After I was shortlisted for the RPP, I thought here we go, this is it. This will propel me on the career path. And I failed to get onto the next two schemes I applied for. On this occasion, I discovered that I hadn't made the five person shortlist for the 4Talent Award in the dramatic writing section. Good luck to those that did, but you know what my submission was? The Red Planet script and The Storyteller - so pretty solid work I think! Which just goes to show, you pay your money you take your choice.

This is a subjective business. Success or failure is so often dependent on the opinion of a few individuals. But I think what has been reinforced is that, on spec at least, you write for yourself, first and foremost. The job is then to find other people who like it! Trying to do it the other way around is unlikely to work.

I should have also said that in this two week period came Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. We fast for 24 hours and spend most of that time in shul, praying and repenting for all our sins over the last 12 months. It's intense. If you believe in all this stuff, like I do, it's very intense. And I don't think I have the easiest ride so I often wonder what God wants from me. I don't have the hardest either, there are of course many people with more problems than I. But that is no consolation to me (that would be weird, right? I've always had a problem with the 'there are those worse off than you' argument. Well yes, I know. Am I supposed to draw comfort from other people suffering more?) But as my mate, Toby, said last Friday, "I like the fact that when you were talking about having problems with the Big Man last week, a few days later you get this amazing news." I'm not proselytising! Like I said, you pay your money you take your choice.

So what did I learn, or rather, have been reminded of, over these last two weeks. There are always going to be ups and downs, personally and professionally. Bring on the next two weeks. Like my good friend Jeff 'The Dude' Lebowski would say, it's all strikes and gutters.

Competitions

There's just over a week to go until the deadline for the 4Talent Awards. The main restriction is that all entrants must be 30 or under on 31/12/2008, and a resident of the UK. So if that's not you, there's probably not much point reading on.

But if you do qualify, click on the link and get involved with this scheme. There are 20 categories ranging from writing, directing and performance.

I can't stress the importance of entering competitions enough. If you haven't got a track record, or an agent, it's hard to get read. And even if you do get someone to accept and read your script, it's still hard to get a break. But in competitions, all entrants are created equal! You will stand or fall by your submission. So make it a good one.

There are three big competitions coming up in September, Kaos Films, Rise Summer Challenge and Red Planet Prize, and I will be talking about them a bit more soon. But click on the links, find out more, and enter them all if you can!

My submission to the 4Talent Dramatic Writing category went off today. Fingers crossed!

Good luck everyone.