To Twit, or not to Twit... Um, most likely 'not'

To end the year (well, nearly... I then wrote an Annual Round Up post on Boxing Day while my sister snored and I wondered how to fill up the time from ungodly o'clock to a slightly more reasonable time of the morning - - like noon!*) ... sorry, interrupted myself a bit there. *rolls eyes* I'll start again:

To end the year, I joined Twitter.

Not because I wanted to, but because I had a terror of waking up one day in January, like Phill to discover that I am not me! At least not on Twitter at any rate. So I took preemptive action and opened an account.
Kind of pointless really. ... I already twitter on about this and that in real life, and most people sensibly don't listen. And anyone who meets me for more than a few seconds can rapidly, easily, and accurately arrive at the conclusion that I am a bit of a twit. They're right. I am.
So, you should be aware, that I am extremely unlikely to tweet very much. If at all.

Sorry.

But if you haven't already decided to follow** a mostly unused account, then this is me: Eleanor

*And of course there's this post.... Hmm.

**you mad, flattering (fluttering?) fools!

I guess I'd better go and say, Hello???

...

Okay. Been there. Done that. Now, back to writing! (okay, maybe not quite writing, but I am doing research. Alright, stop pressuring me! The truth is, I'm watching Xena episodes on DVD. What? It might count as research? ... They tell some good stories, and it shows action scenes, er, in action. ... It was a Christmas present to myself, okay?. Move along now, nothing to see.)

End of year update

What happened to me this year, you ask? Except you probably didn't. But you're here, so I'm going to do my best to remember, and tell you anyway.

It's a little difficult, as my memory sucks at the best of times, and my computer committed suicide in late September taking most of the useful links and information I had stored with it. - - Thank goodness for external back up drives! So at least I managed to keep the majority of my writing and important documentation safe. Phew! (Heck, I print out the important stuff as soon as I get it. Well, you have to don't you. That's what filing cabinets and recordable CDs are for.)

The highlights as I remember them were:

January - rewrite, rewrite, rewrite.
February get manipulated / bullied into eventually signing (in March) a contract with Paul Dawson, who then proceeded to try to screw over me and the other three people who were intent on making the film trilogy we were talking about. ... Managed to get a day job which lasted all of 5 days - thanks for that. Cheap labour required. I made the mistake of trying to be helpful, since they had me updating their company letterhead with their new version, of pointing out on my first day that they needed to quote their company number and registered address on it in order to comply with Limited Company status regulations. Next thing you know all my office admin training (specific to them) was over and I spent the next 4 days sweeping the floors and tidying the yard. Crap company all over. Sod 'em.
March - finally twigged what was going on with PDs attempted screw job and spent the next several weeks trying to get him to return full rights to me as he had confirmed he had no intention of making the film, so that myself and the other three could get on with trying to find a producer who actually knows the job and go about raising funding. Had to get the union involved before he eventually caved and finally did the decent thing.
April - all rights eventually returned to me. Thank f**k. ... lesson learned: Never sign anything without a solicitor involved, no matter how tempting, or how pressurised the 'it's only an agreement at this stage' may turn out to be. In my opinion, if he wasn't so blinded by the bright lights of Hollywood, he would make an excellent conman, he already has all the tactics and the gift-of-the-gab skills required for such a nefarious trade. ... Landed another day job working in an excellent garden centre, with excellent people, and plenty of green growing things to look at (which is one of the requirements of my cave-dwelling lifestyle) and learn about while I sell them to the general public. Lovely people.
May - rewrite, research then adjust accordingly and rewrite, speak with director, rewrite,
June - rewrite again, tweak, director's notes, rewrite.
July - Day job contract ends, they tell me to reapply at the end of August for the Christmas contract. Very happy. ... Rewrite, director's notes, rewrite. It's getting there! Hoorah! ... get a day job working in sales - - given lurgy by the boss at the interview near the end of the month. Thanks for that.
August - work through the lurgy, even though all I want to do is curl up and die. Boss then gives all of us another variation on the lurgy-- Which in my case attacks my brain, and -- in the same day that he tells me I'm not aggressive enough for sales, I realise I can't see properly out of one of my eyes, and my balance that has been getting progressively worse over the previous four days sends my foot coordination and spacial awareness to hell in a handcart. So, spent mid August in hospital A&E being poked and prodded and MRI'd, followed by spending the night for observation, knowing that when I get out I have to find a new job as soon as I can function again. Deep joy. On a massive dose of steroids to bring down the brain inflammation so that my own white cells will stop trying to kill me! It worked and stopped the symptoms from getting any worse. Phew! ... Contacted the garden centre, they were very pleased to hear from me and told me to fill in the application form they are posting.
September - Still can't balance properly, still only partial vision in the affected eye. ... Working at the main tills in the garden centre (rather than the plant centre tills which I prefer) as the mad dash to Christmas gradually ramps up, and shoppers start the whole shop-til-you-drop insanity.
October - Manning the tills full-time ... oh, and I've got to get some paperwork ready for the Trilogy plan for the second and third scripts so the director can take them to the American Film Market in November, if he's able to raise enough funding for the trip. - - Eek! Quickly reverse engineer a treatment for the first film, and then spend all my spare time getting the plot, character arcs, new villains and old villains worked out and then written up into treatments for the second and third films. Director seems pleased with the results.
November - Director decides not to go to the AFM after all, but take them to the Berlin festival in February (which will probably be a better fit?) ... So I breath a silent sigh of relief and collapse in a heap and try to recover from this dratted brain malarkey in my spare time away from the day job.
December - still dealing with shop-til-you-drop insanity in the day job, and coming up to Christmas am just about feeling the effects of needing to write or go nuts. Begin to plan my next writing projects - but family and Christmas prevent me from doing anything much beyond mental planning and some research. Realise I haven't been reading the blogs or keeping up to date with what's what since I got the brain thing in mid August. Bum!

Oh yeah - my car committed suicide in August just after my brain did, and my computer committed suicide in late September. Got it up and limping again by early October. Not properly fixed until mid November - when I finally had time to devote to all the updates, and programs, email etc, that I need on it. Er, and my Neurology Consultant thinks I probably have MS, but more tests are needed. Apparently living in the Wild West and having a Scandinavian Grandmother may both be a risk factors; on the plus side: eye involvement, being female, and being relatively young are all positive factors. But then they don't really know anything about MS. We'll find out more about that next year.

Blinking heck! This has been an overly interesting year. (on the plus side, lots of great experiences and perspectives for story) ... And I haven't even mentioned all the family trauma and bollocks that I've had to work through all year. If it's not one of them giving me problems to solve, it's another. - - But then again, I guess that's what family is for. ;)

Hopefully next year will be a little bit easier to deal with? Although I won't hold my breath. ... With a bit of luck the Trilogy will finally get some funding, and if not, well I am starting my next project (a novel and its accompanying screenplay) - I hope to have both done by mid year (unless the joyful happiness of the Trilogy delays things a bit.) Here's hoping!

Despite everything, I've enjoyed 2011. It's been an eye-opener, to say the least. (sick joke included on purpose) Heck, you only need one that actually works. ;)

"All I Want For Christmas Is You"

HMS Ocean has made a great Christmas video to celebrate their return to home for Christmas! ... Made me giggle.

[Update: I've changed the link - as BBC SPOTLIGHT seems to have watered down the video a bit by editing it. *Grrr*]

All I Want For Christmas

LIFE'S TOO SHORT

I'm enjoying this comedy series.

You might want to take a look too? Mind you, you probably started watching it when it first came out, because you are in touch, in tune, up to date... whereas I've been hiding in my cave for far too long - sorry about that!
... I'm catching up via i-Player


Gosh, ever since that virus attacked my brain in mid August I've turned into a really boring f**ker!

What is it with August and the Universe trying to mangle me? Last year it went after my lungs with a serious asthma attack, this year it went after my brain.

Sigh.

Gotta laugh, though, ... maybe? ;)

The Agony Of Writing - Part II : Rewrite (part 1)

Rewrite.

I think obsession is an important quality to have when it comes time to rewrite. But you also have to know when to turn the obsession off and move on.... If you find a script is laughing at you, I tend to throw it in the corner of the room for a while, to laugh silently at me, until I can work out how to fix the darned thing.

Frustration can be a part of the rewrite process too, it usually means I've missed something really basic - like an aspect of character. Which tends to reveal flaws within my own character.... Oh joy! Isn't the writing process fun! Self-discovery: AARGH! ;)

Stamina is another important quality to have, I'm finding out more about mine all the time. Sticktoitivity is my other word for it. ;) Bums on seats. Get typing! Get it done! ... ... I bought a fridge magnet last year: "The lift to success is broken please use the stairs." - a useful reminder that writing is not a 'get rich quick' scheme, no matter how much you want it to be.*

Plenty of other writers, better than I, have covered Rewrite on their blogs and websites. ... And I'm sure I shall write more on the subject in the future, which is why I have called this part 1.

But right now I'm procrastinating when I'm supposed to be writing (amongst other things)... so, as I said in the previous post, I'd better get on with it!

*NB: I don't write because I want to get rich. I write because I NEED to write. If that should happen to lead to a career that actually pays enough money to live on, that would be a spectacular bonus. But it's not my primary driver.

CASE HISTORIES

SUNDAY, BBC1, 9pm - CASE HISTORIES

An engaging P.I. series. I'm enjoying the ongoing mystery, and I think that Jason Isaacs is always worth a look see - nice eye-candy, and an actor who makes you pay attention while he's on screen. :) Good supporting cast too.
Most importantly, good story...

I think the BBC are getting quite good at picking detective type shows.

Currently available on iPlayer, if you missed it.

Yes, I'm procrastinating. ... Back to the writing!

The Agony Of Writing - Part III : The Synopsis

Yeah, I know. What happened to Part II? Well, I'm saving that for a little later. So, what is Part III?

The Synopsis

It is worse than writing the damned story. Harder. How the heck do I do this?!!!
...I'm hoping it gets easier. I suspect it won't. It's like having to do homework: a really tough essay for a subject that you previously loved.

You've been bashing your head into the wall for weeks trying to work out how the F to write one. You've read all the helpful notes other people have put out there on the subject. And it is still impossible. Your eyes are bleeding from the mental strain of trying to wrap your brain around it.

I was reminded of this last night by a panicked phone call from a friend of mine. He has written the most amazing, wonderful (you b*st*rd Clive! I'm envious!*) book and is currently wrestling with The Synopsis in preparation for sending it to an agent. "Help!" he cried. ... There may even have been tears?

He'd written out the plot, beat by beat, as you should. And then hit the wall when he came to shorten it.

What all the helpful suggestions from other writers don't really cover properly, is the fact that you need three documents.

1) The Plot document
2) The Emotion document
3) The Suspense / Surprise document

So you have** to go through your story again, and write all the emotion beats. Then you have to go through your story again and write all the cliffhangers and twists and interesting gripping stuff. ... and then shorten all of these documents into a manageable size - I recommend one at a time, otherwise the whole thing seems far too gargantuan to contemplate. ... And then somehow you need to merge all three documents into one. ... And then shorten that.

One of the good things about screenwriting is the art of "25 words or less". It's easier than the synopsis, by miles, but it teaches you a bit about being concise and boiling your story down to something bite-size ... which is the whole art of The Synopsis.

He says I helped. He now has a plan. I hope I did. And maybe this can help you too?

Any additional suggestions from others on The Art*** Of The Synopsis would be very welcome!

By-the-by, I think my eventual "Eureka!" moment was triggered by a post on Jane Espenson's blog (see the side bar for a link) which gave a 'how to' on incorporating emotion into the dusty synopsis process, in order to grip producers by the brains/balls and not let go!


*He's one of those annoying sods who can just sit down and it pours out, in order, without much need to plan, or go back and redo half the darned thing. Where as I have stories that sit in the corner of the room laughing at me for years, over a decade in one case - because I read them through and something isn't quite working. And then you realize you have to go back and fix THIS! which changes half the darned plot and you've got to rewrite half the b*gger from start to finish. And if only you'd planned it all out first! And ... I've become an advocate of 'The Plan'. My first screenplay, my very first screenplay wrote itself; and it was good. And it took me a lot of heartache through repeated 'it's not bl**dy working!' to finally realise the truth. 'The Plan' is a good idea. *Copious swearing*

**The word HAVE is a little strong, - like the French devoir - You don't HAVE to do any of this. It's just my opinion, and you should take it with a very large pinch of salt much like all my other witterings. It's just my humble suggestion, but the ego in me says YOU MUST!, which then comes out in my writing. Sorry. It's just my opinion, feel free to ignore it and make your own minds up. Do what works for you, that's the important thing with writing.

***It's a CRAFT! Just like writing... Daniel Martin Eckhart has a great post about the craft of writing. He and Philip Morton really speak to me. If you are searching for screenwriting inspiration / information, I recommend a look-see at both.

The Agony Of Writing - Part I : Self Doubt

Self Doubt.

We all have it. (And if you don't maybe you should hang up your pencil and go experience some LIFE instead?)

It comes on many levels, but I'm only going into the one that I'm being currently reminded of ... I'm nearing the end of the current rewrite, and shortly I will have to put pen back to paper to embark upon/complete a new story.

You've finally written something you really like (and rewritten it to death. ARGH!*). But now you have to come up with a new story. It can't possibly be as good as the last one. You can't write, heck, you've forgotten how to spell the word "and" - you know it's short and it's got three letters, and there's an 'n' in it somewhere; but can you remember how to spell it? No.** For that matter "it" is a little perplexing too.***

There is no way you can come up with something that is anywhere near as good. You've read the first story back, and you don't have a clue how you came up with it. There are words in it that you didn't even know you knew. It's far too good to have possibly been written by you. But you remember doing it. You remember the joyous little victories of coming up with the perfect word, that sentence structure that was so crucial to making the story flow perfectly, the weird dreams that you woke up with in the morning that allowed you to crack this or that character / plot problem, which you then feverishly wrote ASAP before breakfast. AND THERE IS NO WAY THAT YOU WILL EVER BE ABLE TO DO IT AGAIN!

It's so depressing, you should give up now!

Except you can't. Because then you'd go properly insane, rather than just be the weirdo nutter that you are now. And you know how twisted your innermost thoughts are. Releasing those upon the world in any form other than fiction ... well a gibbering drooling wreck in the corner of a padded cell is possibly a preferable option.

So you have no choice.

You have to keep writing.

It's who you are.

[One day I have to read Stephen King's book on the subject. Yeah, I know, I should have bought it when it first came out ... but it seemed that little bit too close to home for comfort. And I'm still preparing myself for that journey. - - It's probably no where near as bad as I imagine. But, what if it's worse? ARGH!]

So you write, because that's who you are, but you don't know how, and that not knowing is terror! It calls into question your very reason for living, for being. And, what if one day, today? you find you can't plumb that well? Except you force yourself to sit down. Bum on seat. And have at it! "Once more into the breach..." and all of that. You have to.

And that's just one form (among many) of The Agony Of Writing.



*I suspect rewrite will be Part II of The Agony Of Writing)

**The Ancient Greeks had a part of grammar called the optative. I wish we had it in the English language. I'd use it all the time. ... It allows you to write a question and an exclamation at the same time without having to faff about punctuation. I suspect it would also allow you to write a rhetorical question without any of the confusion of misconstrued punctuation, as well. Okay, I suck at grammar - and at Ancient Greek - but this is such a useful little writing knick-knack, we really should have adopted it. Like 'Zero' is such a useful little knick-knack for maths.

***This really happened to me, shortly after I'd completed my English Language 'O' Level, during a class assignment. I froze, stared at the page, eventually thought "B*gger it!* left a three letter space and wrote the rest of the paragraph figuring I'd remember how sooner or later. Sure enough, three paragraphs later (or it may have been one?) the 'spelling' inflicted itself upon my maladjusted brain. You try writing three paragraphs without using the word "and"....

The Doctor's Wife

I love Neil Gaiman's brain.

'nuff said.

STORMHOUSE

Check out the teaster trailer for Jason Arnopp's awesomeness....
(er, well, it sounded good in my head)

New horror film, that I plan to see/own.

In 2002, the military captured and imprisoned a supernatural entity:


So when's it out on DVD/Blueray Jason? Huh? Huh? Hurry up!

PSYCHOVILLE

Thursday - BBC2, 10pm.

Psychoville (series 2) - If you like surreal, dark/black humour it is well worth a look see.

Also currently available on iPlayer, if you missed it.

Now that series 1 has already set up most of the characters and their flaws, - I enjoyed series 1 a lot. - series 2 promises to be truly outstanding! - - Mind you, this is just a guess (from half way through the first episode via iPlayer). But I'm extremely impressed. :) And had to blog about it!

EXILE

Exile - BBC1, 9pm.

It's running for three consecutive nights. If you missed the first one you can catch it on iPlayer, I expect.

I enjoyed it ... if that means anything at all to you.

It's advertised as a Thriller by the promoters ... certainly the drama is very good, with plenty of questions to ask yourself and encourage you to keep watching to find out the answers. :)
Great acting too - it's worth watching for that alone! But it has sooo much more. :)

Working towards validation

You find encouragement in the strangest places! ;)

"congratulations: You’re a writer, and the reason you’re good at it is because your life kinda sucks." Daniel Thomsen c/o John August

Of course, whether I am any good at it* is a matter for history to deliver a verdict upon. ... So far the signs are encouraging though.
Then again, I could be hallucinating again. :)

The whole post is worth reading (if you haven't already?), whether you are interested in writing for TV or film, so I recommend following the link and giving your eyeballs some quotable treats.

*writing - you gutter minds

CAMPUS

Tuesdays, C4, 10pm.

It's great! Go watch it!

:)

Oops, I dropped the phone! - A.K.A. Living dangerously

There's a story I read online a few years back - presumably on a screenwriter's or producer's blog IF YOU KNOW WHERE IT IS SO I CAN LINK TO IT, PLEASE POINT ME TO IT? - The story is roughly along the lines of a cautionary tale:

Basically, a producer [I'm going to say HE, but it could just as easily be SHE] was asked how he dealt with a writer (specifically writers new to the business?) who asked for more money, perks, etc than he wanted to give them. The producer responded, that's easy, I hang up noisily, then ring them back and apologise for the unexpected hang up, tell them I dropped the phone, and then instantly launch in to: well that figure that we agreed of X (X being LOWER/WORSE than the amount the writer was talking about) ... and bulldozes through the rest of the conversation from there. Summing up his anecdote with: This tactic is great! It works every time!

For any writer who encounters this, I would suggest that the correct response is to either tell them what for, or if you are in too much shock to know how to respond, just hang up on the Producer.

I know you don't want to, he believes in you, he's talking about making your film!
But hang up on him anyway. And then go for a walk, while you figure out how you feel about this champion who turned out to be more concerned about his own cut than your welfare: your ability to pay for essentials like food and rent, your career. ... He's "A PRODUCER", why are you surprised? - - It's not nice behaviour, it's certainly not professional behaviour on their part, but it happens.

And in a business that is built on trust, it is a BAD IDEA.

He/she will ring back. (Probably.)
Your screenplay attracted them enough that they want to nail you to a deal - - from your point of view a crappy deal. They will ring back. And you need to be prepared to handle them when they do ... or get an intermediary to do it for you. (It's only one of the many reasons why the elusive AGENT, or ENTERTAINMENT ATTORNEY/SOLICITOR is a sought after commodity)

Any producers reading this who think, "Hey, that's a good wheeze! I'll try it!" I would recommend that you don't. YOU WILL LOSE THE WRITER'S TRUST (also their goodwill). YOU WILL BE STABBING YOURSELF IN THE FOOT! As suggested above: The film industry is one that is built on trust, why throw your reputation away for short term greed?

Especially if you are planning a three picture deal with that writer. ... Pure lunacy.

I know this actually happens. It happened to me, once upon a time.

Never again.

If someone tries to feed you crap, and tells you bullshit is edible, you have to be prepared to walk away.

There are other producers out there.

You're a writer. You have stories. A producer needs stories in order to stay in business. If you behave nicely and play well, then you will always have the upper hand - no matter how much of a social or emotional cripple you are! THEY NEED YOU.

There are more producers swimming in the pond.

Go "Wave your wooden leg!"

...

Right, you've been warned. I'm off back to the cave to write. :)

Trying to find the time....

The day job that I landed at the beginning of the month, is nice - which makes a change from many others I've had in the past. But - -

But, it's not writing.

Finally my financial negative stress is beginning to get under control, and with it the constant f**king headache is evaporated much of the time.

But, right now, I need TIME. TIME for the rewrite. And the day job is getting in the way something horrible. It has replaced financial stress as the main personal creativity-prevention nightmare.

I am managing a few hours every day, but I know I should be spending much more than 'a few'.
(I want to say, sleep can happen to someone else?...?)

So I'd better go get on with that! Writing, that is.

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Doesn't matter how many eggs you've got - without a chicken to sit on 'em, you're unlikely to get anymore chickens ...

...

Unless you get one of those heat lamp type nest box thingies? And you've a got a manual to tell you what temperature won't turn them into meringues.


...

I may be suffering some insanity at the moment? ... Mind you, that's normal for me.

RIGHT! BACK TO WRITING!

The problem with being ill...

Back at the end of January I caught flu from a very kind person who was doing their best to spread viruses and bacteria to all and sundry.

After 5 days of feeling dead, I finally managed to shake off the temperature, and my brain began working again ... kinda.

But after 3 more weeks of a near constant headache, sinus discomfort, and a very mild temperature - more on than off, ... I've finally had to admit that I am, in actual fact, still not recovered.

BLEURGH!

I've made an appointment to see the doc next week. I don't want to, I can already imagine what he'll say, I feel as though I am totally wasting my time even considering going. But this constant f*cking headache is really grinding me down.

And the problem with feeling like crap is that it tends to lead me to commit rant.
Very unhealthy.

Just because I feel crappy, I shouldn't be taking it out on innocent bystanders [Specially not when they are people I like, and respect, and want to work with.]

I just wish I could get my head properly clear and lose this darned headache!

And yes, this is another rant. *rolls eyes*

The catarrh pastilles have run out. And alcohol is failing to solve the problem (there's a surprise)
I'm off to buy more. Of the anti catarrh pastille thingies.
*reads blurb on old packet* "If symptoms do not go away, talk to your doctor." - - I AM! NEXT WEEK!

D'ARGH!


EDIT: 2nd March 2011
The doctor lived down to my expectations.

KILLING CREATIVITY

There are many ways to kill creativity. But one of the most effective I've found so far is negative stress, especially when it is brought on by financial issues.

If your brain is consumed by worries about how you'll pay the electric (so the computer keeps working), never mind the cost of food, it tends to provide real distraction from the essentials: e.g. working out the new shape of the story you're rewriting.

*sigh*

"Suck it up! It's part of the screenwriting journey you wuss!"

Thanks for the pep-talk brain! It really helped. ...


*gnashes teeth* *grumbles* *bashes head into wall repeatedly* *gnashes teeth again*

The Fall....

Notes.

Fun, huh? Specially when they conflict and you are getting different takes from different corners of the globe. *rolls eyes*

Now in a screenplay, conflict is a good thing, desirable. Keeps the audience on their toes and glued to the seat. :) Good stuff.

Conflicting story notes, ... keeps the screenwriter on their toes and glued to the seat. ;) *bangs head against wall*


Apparently the immortal (or near as damnit) has to become mortal. Which, generally, you'd think would be easy enough to change? It's one of those dead simple notes ... that CHANGES THE ENTIRE DARNED SCREENPLAY!

Imagine you have a ghost in your story, but the producer doesn't like ghosts (and presumably wants the killer to be easier for the audience to relate to?) and wants it changed to not be a ghost. So your supernatural horror has just become a serial killer horror.
You still have the word horror in there! What on earth is the problem? Hurry up already-o! Chop-chop! New script NOW please!

It's a bit like being asked to turn a vampire story into a werewolf story ... different rules, you see. Different emphasis applies throughout.
Actually vampires and werewolves is not a good example of what I'm on about. One is slinky and hypnotic and rips your throat out, while the other is slinky and hungry and rips your throat out. ... Well, ... nevermind. They are different types of story, you get the gist.
Think aliens verses chuppacapras; one is science fiction, the other is cryptozoology. Different world rules apply in each. (well, they should, if you want the story to be any good)

*sigh*

Maybe I'm overthinking this?

But internally I need to understand the world I'm writing about. It needs to make sense to me - if no one else.

...

The lifecycle of the fruitfly.

Maybe I should research that instead?

(Is lifecycle one word or two? What about fruitfly?)


*goes back to bashing head against wall*

Ban the License Fee? No way, sirrah!

I seriously dislike most television adverts.

I remember the halcyon days when they were limited to the time slot after one program and before the next, and maybe one in the middle - or two, perhaps three, if it was a long film.
Those days are sadly gone.

Hence the rise of the DVD in my watching schedule. - The local video rental shops are happy about this too! :)

I've just been invited to join a campaign on facebook to destroy the TV License.

At first glance, most of the people who have joined this petition so far, appear to be fans of the SKY viewing experience - and object to having to pay for channels they claim not to watch, on top of the exorbitant cost of the SKY subscription.
Fair play, I understand where they are coming from.
But some of us can't afford the luxury of SKY.

And some of us, namely me, gnash our teeth at any interruption to the programme on offer. GRR! FREEVIEW ADVERTS! GRR!
Yeah, okay I'm a fossil.

So, I'm sorry 'lets get the uk tv licence abolished', I'm afraid I'm not joining your cause at this time, although I totally understand where your supporters are coming from.

(As I've mentioned before, my particular bugbear is adverts on TV, especially if they are in the middle of a story that you are trying to watch.)

Instead of this petition, why not start a petition to get SKY to offer a License Fee Free channel option?
- a) this would have more chance of success,
- b) it would mean those of us who dislike adverts interrupting our viewing could still do that without having to resort to the expense of buying DVDs of the series we want to watch. (Specially since the BBC charge a veritable fortune for them, in my fossilised opinion.)

I spent several years not paying my license, because I was unable to watch terrestrial (or other) TV in my location.
I used the local DVD/Video rental shops instead.

Channels like Sky are too expensive for many of us to consider as an option.

Having a TV doesn't automatically mean you have to pay for the license fee.

I think if Sky and the other subscription providers offered a service like this, I think they'd be surprised by the popularity. :)

Just a thought, 'lets get the uk tv licence abolished', that you might want to consider?

Eleanor

I think I may have hit bottom and bounced...

You know how sometimes things seem like total sh*t, and just keep getting worse? I've been on that downhill slope since November.
What fun.
[No, it's not fun, not at all, not even a little bit! Can't you detect irony when you read it? Huh?! Huh?! *rolls eyes*]


But suddenly the snow has gone (thank F**K), and it's just about warm enough outside that I am no longer freezing my bits off. The sun has come out after what seems like months of grey (although it's probably only been a few weeks??? Well, since just before Christmas whenever that was.) and the blue sky is finally visible again. :) Hoorah!

And, and... I've just had an email which suggests that 2011 promises to be an interesting year.

I've stopped holding my breath, because that just leads to blue skin and unconsciousness, plus I seem to have been blue-tinged for most of the last month anyway (but that was due to semi-arctic conditions). LOL.

I'd better shut up now, before I accidentally wake up Fate - reminding it that I exist.

Yes, this is one of those intensely annoying writer's posts that hints, but says nothing.
Because it's way to early to even allow hope to consider jumping up and down on the bedsprings. Hope and terror combined. What a joyful combination.
[Did you spot that there irony this time? Yeah, yeah, yeah, shut up! you are going to wake up Fate.]

I'm off to hide.

Before it all goes horribly wrong.

Before 'interesting' decides it prefers the other Wild West and abandons me to its Chinese twin.

Hey ho.
Oh, and Happy New Year!