Frump to Fab 2022 - The Big One

helensbiggestfan

Well done Wednesday.  Good  to hear you are now happily esconced in your new home. Hope you will be very happy there.  

Well hold onto your hats, I may have a buyer for my house. 😱😂🤣. Its not actually on the market but I have been asked if I would consider selling.  She seems very keen. 😁.  I explained I wasn't quite ready but she could have first refusal in early June if she is still interested. We've exchanged contact details. 

Watch This Space.....lol

sugarbaby125

Helen,

You are so eloquent on both of these threads, that your intelligence always shines through your words.    I like you am a lifelong learner. 

Sometimes you just have to stay silent and allow people who are so sure they are right to wallow in their own importance. 

Writing usually does not come with rules, especially when like now the Neighbourhood Voices group is doing timed free writing exercises or answering specific questions. Some of the professional writers seem to think that I will have nothing worthwhile to add to the conversations or will not do written work of worth, so they look startled and surprised when I can write completely off the cuff in a way that brings me praise from our tutor for the Saturday monthly sessions, who is a dramaturg of renown with The National Theatre. 

We all had to write our 1st premise today and the person in the group I was paired with is a talented professional writer. She was surprised at how fast I wrote my premise for Romeo and Juliet as she struggled to write hers. Then, when we read our premises aloud to each other, she basically tried to imply that mine was rubbish, but I chose not to argue the point with her. When the whole group came back together and we each read our premise to the tutor, he tried to find something positive to say to everyone, even those who seemed to not get the point of writing a premise, but when it came to mine he actually was delighted and praised what I had written. So once again I had proven my own writing skills. 

I am the only one in the group who after our 1st Saturday session with this tutor felt it was necessary to buy myself a copy of the book The Playwright's Process by Buzz McLaughlin whose work our tutor has made numerous references to and how much he admired this author and this book. The tutor was surprised and delighted again that I had bought myself a copy of the book but I just replied 'I have invested in myself and I am so worth it!' which made my tutor laugh out loud. 

Wednesday2000

I have to say it was a weird feeling taking my Oyster card out of my handbag and putting it in a drawer as I won't need it that much at all anymore. I don't know if I will miss London all that much. I was supposed to have a concert tonight at Olympia in London, but because I knew I would be tired from moving house I gave my ticket to someone else. I think that long journey there and back would be too much at the moment.

I slept so much better the past couple of nights than I have done in years. I had almost 8 hours both nights which is unheard of for me. My cats seem to be sleeping downstairs now so they haven't been disturbing me during the night. I have noticed that the living room is the warmest room in the house so the cats found it straight away, lol.

Right, I need to catch up on forums, make breakfast, have a shower and hair wash and go and buy a few things from a supermarket. I am getting a heated airer delivered today as I have noticed my laundry is not drying as quickly at all in the new house. All the unpacking is done now but I still need to rewrite my to-do list out again.

Chanie - I do like the way they have decorated apart from one room which we will definitely redo. I think it will need a touch up with paint, but I will pay someone to do it for us. All the floors and carpets look almost new so luckily we don't need to replace them. 

LL - I cannot believe you may have found a buyer so quickly. I think we were just very unlucky with this move as it was the start of July to the end of April. That is fab news.:)

Sugarbaby - This does sound very interesting! I would ignore the patronising comments, they are probably secretly worried that you will upstage them.

chanie

@sugarbaby125 you have such a positive outlook to your writing and can rise above the pettiness of others.  You sound like the exact type of person who actually should be on the group, as it shouldn’t just be full of stereotypical writers.

@Wednesday2000 I agree with the sentiment about ‘hanging up the oyster card’.  After 15+ years of working in Central London, I don’t need to use my Oyster card anymore, as I work locally now.  I went into Central London a few weeks ago for the first time since November and it felt strange.  

sugarbaby125

Hello Ladies, 

For the group's homework for Neighbourhood Voices we all have to write our 1st story outline for this premise:

'The only way to overcome terror and hate is to engulf it with love and beauty'

My central character is Darren. He is 28 years old and he is a died in the wool racist and a fully paid up member of the Far Right extremist group National Action.

One dark night in May 2018 Darren has been on a criminal rampage with some of his Nation Action friends in his city. Darren is running full pelt having splintered away from his friends, when he literally runs into Shantel.

Shantel is a 29 year old petite beautiful black woman. Darren’s 1st instinct is to push Shantel violently out of his path. But then Darren looks up into Shantel’s face and the hateful expression on Darren’s face slides off his features. Darren reaches out both of his hands and takes hold of Shantels arms in a loose grip and steadies her on her feet.

Shantel smiles at Darren and says ‘thank you’. Darren looks as if he is in a stupor. Shantel’s voice is like music in his ears and her smile has dazzled his eyes so much that Darren is forced to look away.

The turning point for Darren comes 3 month’s into his intense love affair with Shantel. Darren is invited to Sunday lunch at Shantel’s parents home. Darren is welcomed as Shantel’s partner. Darren is enveloped in love and consideration by all of the generations of Shantel’s family throughout his visit and the prolonged meal. It is as if Darren while present is also standing outside of his body observing his own actions and he marvels at how ‘at home’ he feels in the midst of Shantel’s black family. Darren luxuriates in Shantel looking at him with such love and adoration, reveling in her intense love for him.

The issues Darren will have to deal with:

How is Darren going to hold onto his Far Right beliefs that he has imbued since he was sucking milk from his baby bottle in his Mother’s arms?

How can Darren accept that love at first sight not only exists but he has been stricken with this phenomenon himself?

How can Darren have fallen in love with a Black woman?

How can Darren accept that Shantel loves him as flawed as he is, when Darren does not love himself?

How is Darren going to leave National Action when his membership is lifelong? Death is usually the only way out.

Darren is happy to lose his family for the sake of his love for Shantel, but is his family going to be willing to let him go in peace?

Ladies give me your honest opinions on my 1st ever storyline. I would value your critique of my written work. 

chanie

@sugarbaby125 I’m really interested to hear about what happens to Darren and Shantel.  I find well rounded characters to be more fascinating, than a straight forward racist=bad type character.  Could there be more to Darren eg could he have a job that is at odds with his extreme views? Eg a medical professional or work with injured animals.  Shantel could have her own prejudices as well, to show that there are many shades of grey.

sugarbaby125

Chanie, thank you for taking the time to read my 1st story outline. I really like your opinions. 

I woke up Sunday morning with the whole play in my head, with more than one possible ending, but I have just written the story outline for now, as I may never write the full play, as I may come up with an even better idea later in the programme. There is so much scope to make the 2 central characters Darren and Shantel have lots of layers to their personalities so that they are far more complex characters than they seem to be at first until the play has really got underway. I also know the characters that will make up Shantel's multi generational family and why I wanted Darren to meet them on masse and face up to some of the harsh realities of what his life was like before he met Shantel and what he wants out of life now that he has met the love of his life. 

maman

I read it too @sugarbaby125 and it's an excellent storyline. I agree with @chanie that there are many shades of grey. It's possible that some of her family have prejudices of their own? Another thing that you might have touched on by accident is that it's possible to have two endings. I don't know if you've ever read John Fowles book The French Lieutenant's Woman, it's a device he used. I've often wished that Thomas Hardy could have done the same with Tess of the Durbevilles. ☹️

I'm looking forward to future developments. 😊

MrsPorridge

Sugarbaby, what a great start.  I like the idea Maman of two different endings.

sheilavw

Love the outline Sugarbaby, it takes some talent to write