Getting better

I wrote my first line of dialogue for Brass today. It felt a little weird if I'm being honest. Philippa said she always hates putting pen to paper for the first time when writing her screen plays but usually consoles herself with the thought that she can delete everything she writes when the muse begins to flow more effectively!

It's most off-putting to stare at a blank word document wondering how on earth you're going to craft an entire script; far more distressing than it is to sit down in front of a piece of blank manuscript paper. That's exciting. Writing words is terrifying!

It started badly. I typed the musical's title at the top of the page, and realised instantly that I'd written the word Blast, which was my previous musical! I then saved the file with a typo in the file name. It can only improve!

I did my godparent bit by looking after both Deia and Silver all on my own at lunch time today. Only for an hour in Waterlow Park whilst Philippa had an appointment with the dentist, mind. Looking after two children is exhausting! Silver essentially sat in her pram, but as I rushed after Deia on a sort of wooden climbing frame, I kept worrying that someone was going to come along and steel her. What if her pram rolled into the lake whilst I was trying to protect Deia from dive-bombing pigeons? What if I dropped her whilst carrying her on my shoulders like Daddy does? The line from Sex In The City kept going trough my head, "Steve, we all think we're going to kill the baby!" Absolutely terrifying, but hugely rewarding... And I guess, like writing musicals, it gets easier with practice.

Deia was great fun. She started school this year and seems to have rather suddenly become a young lady. I guess the external influence of other children is likely to start to consolidate burgeoning character traits. Deia is wilful, amusing and sardonic and has perfected the art of the hugely convincing withering look!

The heavens suddenly opened as we were making our way back to Highgate Village, and when Philippa eventually caught up with us, the three of us were cowering under a holly tree, and Silver was crying because I'd just shocked her by saying "boo!"

We had tea in Costa and I bought Deia a little pumpkin-shaped biscuit, which she took forever to eat. I'm astonished at the way that little girls seem to be able to make food last an eternity by taking the tiniest little nibbles at great intervals. I'm sure I always used to eat any food that I was given as quickly as possible. At least I do now!