Putting Pen To Paper

New year, new me! Well, that’s the classic saying at least; how much I agree with it is a whole different matter. I think we have all spent this time of year making promises to ourselves about how we’ll eat better, exercise more, and get up early. It’s easy to do, but I think we all know how easily we can forget our goals and how hard it is to change your habits. That’s partly why I’m deciding this year to set myself more manageable goals to strive for, rather than concrete resolutions, which only lead to self-judgement and a feeling of failure.

In terms of my writing, this means that instead of a dedicated writing schedule or daily word count, I’m setting myself the goal of being more playful in my writing. This can be in terms of the structure, dialogue or content of what I’m writing, but also a broader mindset when I’m writing and thinking creatively. I’ve joined the Young Playwrights Programme as a creative outlet, and I think focussing on this element will help me over the final few months of the programme to hone in on what I love about writing – being playful and expressing myself creatively.

I also think this is an appropriate goal for me at this stage of the writing process. I’ve written a full first draft of my final piece and am looking for how to improve and elevate it. Now that I have a good sense of who my characters are, what the story is and how it plays out, I think it’s time for me to bring that sense of play to my work. I want to experiment and see what I can change or improve about my piece. Now that I have a foundation to build on, I have an opportunity to challenge myself to see what reflects my intentions and creative voice the best.

I’m enjoying working on my play, although twenty minutes is much longer than you think it is! At the moment I’m working out how I want to develop my script further, and I think that the pacing needs some work, as I feel it drags in some sections, which could be injected with a little more dynamic tension. Along with my thoughts, I value feedback and I’m looking forward to hearing Nigel and Rosanna’s thoughts on my script so far, and their ideas for how to develop it. It will be so useful to have an outside perspective as I feel I’ve had a lot of time with my play just swimming around in my head, especially when we were away over Christmas. And, of course, I can’t wait for Ali’s return to the programme after her maternity leave! I’m sure we’re all excited to have her back, and our first gathering with her is sure to be great!

Livia Nicholson

Livia is part of the Bunbury Banter Young Playwrights Programme 2020-2021