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Go figure. Here I was under the impression that the BBC International Playwriting Competition was on hold or cancelled altogether. Much to my surprise, read on Facebook to stand by since they are about to announce the details of this year's competition.

While this is great news and under the assumption that the competition was cancelled, I've been re-thinking entering "Old Soldiers" as my entry.

"After all that waiting - you're going to abandon us?" Joe would probably ask. The issue is whether or not 'soldiers would be radio-friendly due to the necessity of sound effects.

A while back, I wrote a short play entitled, "The Lemon" focusing on the trials and tribulatiion of a female owning and trying to unload her car, which as the title infers, is a "lemon." A comedy, it's a fun story line and the characters would lend themselves to radio. At present it would run about 20-30 minutes but it wouldn't be difficult to add to the story.

This week I'm going to re-examine The Lemon with a critical eye to see if and how the story can be expanded. Meanwhile, I'm waiting for the announcement of the new deadline. Progress reports to come.

Turns out that GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE DINOSAURS has been awarded the Sid Fleischman Award for Humor by SCBWI! What a great thing for there to even be an award for humor and what a greater thing that it be named after humorist Sid Fleischman and what an even greater thing that, somehow, Goldilocks managed to be recognized. Some past winners have been pal's books, all have been funny,

I'm back from a great trip, digging out (literally & email-i-ally) from the avalance of stuff that I need to attend to. So, quickly: Thanks to everyone who came out to MoMA, SCBWI, The Grove in LA, & Sketchfest in SF.  Every appearance was great fun and very different, Here's an image of the DON'T LET THE COMEDIANS DO STORYTIME! class picture.  As you can see Patton was upset he didn't get to

I'm off for a quick visit to NYC, LA, & SF. I hope you'll drop by one of the events if you're in the neighborhood!  And don't forget to Tune into West Coast Live on Saturday Feb. 9th (or come by the show in San Francisco and see it live).  I'll be talking about the comedy show and mo'. Pal, Dave Barry will also be doing his thing.  It should be fun. (Note the San Francisco Sketchfest show,

Over at the WFMU site, you can hear the broadcast of last week's Seven Second Delay show.  And even though for part of the show I was interviewed by children, this is not a show for children. (Mo' pictures here) If that's not enough interview-y-ness, then pop on over to my FAQ site,  where I've posted my favorite interviews/features over the last 10 years or so.   Perfect if you're

Carla McClafferty on C-Span 2/Book TV

“The Many Faces of George Washington”
Author Carla McClafferty talks at a Comcast/C-SPAN welcoming event in Little Rock about her book – which follows the process Mt. Vernon used to create life models of George Washington as a young man, commander of American forces in the revolution, and as our nation’s first President.

Airtimes: in central Arkansas–Central Standard Time:

• Saturday, March 31st 11am
• Saturday, March 31st 8:15pm
• Sunday, April 1st 10:15pm

Darcy Pattison on Color Your Life Happy BlogTalk Radio Show

Why Revision is Critical to Your Success.
Writers have two challenges. First, they must resist the tremendous urge to edit while creating the rough draft. Second, they must develop the patience to edit, revise, and polish the rough draft once it’s finished.

Upon recognizing the important role of revision, James Michener said, “I’m not a very good writer, but I’m an excellent rewriter.”

Join host Flora Brown and guest, Darcy Pattison, author and writing teacher, when she reveals why revision of your book is a critical part of your writing success. She will share how revision allows for distance, reflection and vital feedback and eventually the discovery of your voice and the story you were meant to tell.

Monday, April 2, 2012 at 1 pm CDST.
(There’s a nifty reminder that you can set up at the site, by clicking the clock by the time.)
Call in to speak with the host at (347) 539-5700

Nook Kindle PDF Look for it in the iBook store.

BBC  RADIO COMPETITION IS BECKONING ME - AGAIN

"Two new pieces in your playwriting blog in one day! Must be something really important, Eleanor!"

Yes it is...could be...maybe...one hopes

Anybody who drops by this blog is familiar with my continuous effort and accompanying angst to write a radio play for the BBC International Playwriting Competition. This year my idea and hope was to turn my "Old Soldiers" story into a radio play and enter it in the competition. However - I abhor that word - my intent wasn't realized in producing dialogue and once again what I thought was the deadline for entries, passed. My problem was coming up with sound effects that would carry the story line. Perhaps, in retrospect, I just wasn't committed enough to make it work. It's always the could-have, would-have and should-have that get you in the end.

In any case, just did a routine check on my Facebook page and something exciting jumped up at me:

"Exciting news! The 2012 International Playwriting Competition will open on May 1st. Plays can be on any topic but must be 53 minutes long. Details of how to enter and more information will soon be available at www.bbcworldservice.com/radioplay It’s time to get writing!"

This is really thrilling news because this means that there is yet another opportunity to submit. Perhaps a good idea would be to write something new from scratch. As the blurb advises - "it's time to get writing!"

Yup it is. As in the past, will be providing progerss reports - hopefully.

"So do you think you"ll have the carry-through to enter this time, Eleanor?" my muse just asked me.

Hope springs eternal. Right?

Maybe you heard it on your drive to work as I sat down with Morning Edition's Renee Montange to talk about my work.  If not, you can hear it (& read the article) here. Another bit of our conversation ran yesterday at the tail of a piece about what makes a picture book a picture book with Martin Salisbury. You can hear that here. It's great to chat with the folks at NPR.  There is time to

I recently joined a group of "celebrity" judges (including pals & neighbors Tony DiTerlizzi and Jarret Kroscoczka) to look at a slew of awesome stories written by kids from across the country for PBS KIDS. It was fun to read what kids come up with, although pretty tough to choose (which is the point and drawback of 'judging'). PBS KIDS has announced the national winners.  You can see the

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Well, this is certainly one of the most British things I’ve ever heard. Please whistle the theme tune to The Archers while you read this article.

Yesterday Neil Gaiman announced on his blog that BBC Radio 4 have gathered a stunning collection of actors to record a radio adaptation of his story Neverwhere, which was first seen on television in the 1990s. Co-written by Lenny Henry, the story was sort-of simultaneously adapted into a novel by Gaiman, which was subsequently rewritten and adapted into radio plays and, well, all sorts of stuff happened with it, really.

This adaptation for radio, however, has managed to gather an incredible line-up of actors – several of whom sent this message across to Gaiman, which he shared earlier:

Which sight excites you most? Manly David Harewood? Game of Throne’s Natalie Dormer? James McAvoy? Giles from Buffy? Benedict Crumpetpatch? Hold on tight, because this photo only skims the surface of an utterly incredible cast.

Also appearing will be Andrew Sachs, Sophie Okonedo, Christopher Lee, Don Gilet, Johnny Vegas, Bernard Cribbins, Lucy Cohu and Romola Garai. And that’s still not all! Gaiman also teases that there will be a few other secret cameos and appearances tucked in amongst everything else. Zoinks.

Scheduled for release as a 6-episode series in 2013, Neverwhere will be produced by Dirk Maggs. Okay, you can stop whistling now.

A few months ago - seems like longer - I vowed to finish my "Old Soldiers" play, with the intention of entering it (again) in the BBC International Radio Playwriting Competition. The play, based on a short story written a while back, has a magical effect on my psyche and although procrastination has set in, the "gang" is there, calling me.

"So when are you finally going to give us some type of resolution?" one of the characters asks me regularly, just before falling asleep at night."We've been in limbo for years now."

Don't I know it!

The dilemma is deciding upon a plethora of endings and possibilities, and which one would be best suitable for dramatic impact. The characters themselves are well defined and no tinkering is necessary in this area. Then there is the issue of writing for radio.

Radio requires sound effects to propel the story along and although my dialogue is strong (IMHO), not sure whether there is sufficient sound or action. When writing the dialogue, I hear the characters speak and envision their movements but the challenge is how to translate this into audible action.

In any case and for no other reason than to force myself to make a decision, I've decided to choose the ending, good or bad. Since the next deadline would be next April (2013), there is time to work out the details.

The angst of indecision!

Will provide regular updates as to my progress. Where have you read that before?

Thanks, Resonance FM and its Panel Borders host Alex Fitch for featuring a panel of us talking about our fabulous collaborative 252-page comic book, NELSON, published by Blank Slate Books.



If you missed hearing it on the radio last night, never fear! You can listen to the podcast here. I think my favourite bit is around the 30-minute mark, when one of our co-editors, Rob Davis, is talking about what he did when he had disagreements with the other editor, Woodrow Phoenix. "It's like a marriage, isn't it..."



You can follow Alex on Twitter at @panelborders.