The World of Mancunia

I had a go on the stringsta thing. Very cool. I'll try and get some audio made up with Audacity or something.

Mickey Finn? Old man gag...

I found Michael Symmons Roberts’ rhymes and dramatisation stunning. Thank you!

Really inspiring project. Can't find the script in the archive though .... has there been a problem?

Sorted. Play script is up now. Thanks.

Still not managed to find the script. Still, checked out the site, extremely poor from an intuitive, user friendly perspective. Many 'entries', but all standalone, no collaborations are far as I could see just lots of people in separate rooms firing blanks at lead walls. The site would benefit immensely from feedback from the BBC producers who have read the contributions even if it is just "some strong ideas but need developing i.e. (a named string) needs (some useful advice) but not something like "incredible range of talent and imagination with a fantastic diversity that truly reflects our multi-cultural society and its values". All in all? I think absolutely nothing will come of it.

I think you’re a bit heavy handed on the whole Mancunia thing there Mrs. Maloprop. It was more of a mixed bag.

You couldn’t chat with other people without writing on their work area, which made collaboration difficult. It also meant that you couldn’t organise people to collaborate, or see who was online and available. I also think that the BBC shot themselves in the foot by indicating they would read entries, as this probably encouraged people to treat it as a competition rather that a sort of innovative multi-media fan-fiction site.

Time was also a factor. I don’t think I took best advantage of the collaborative potential both because of the above technical issues and because what with a full time job, a business trip, some professional exams and a triathlon in that month, by the time I’d figured out who I’d find it interesting to work with, the project was over. That been said, I did get some really intelligent advice, edits and redrafts from the user Chippie that made me think about how I write.

I also found it genuinely fun to knock around with ideas and to read some other people’s work. I thought ZHGreyson in particular really took me to school on character, and while I didn’t rate Limey’s narrative, I was infinitely envious of the audio file Limey posted. There was also a very slickly written noir narrative string by an author whose name eludes me, that was very well done, but that was a bit out of place in that it seemed to be set in America.

If you expected the Mancunia project to discover the next big thing in writing with only a month to contribute, then I think you were bound to be disappointed. If you thought it would be an enjoyable way to kill a few hours and hang out with some people with an interest in writing, then you might have enjoyed it as I did.

Oh, and I found the script by clicking on a link in one of the two Mancunia blog posts.

Fair comment. Collaboration is the key word here together with the opportunity to learn from others and grow from that - I'd like to see more of that. The single biggest obstacle I encounter all the time is feedback. I'd like to get some feedback on the work that I put forward, not patronising but clinical. The BBC is not the place for this, that much I do understand. Maybe my frustration was borne out of a misplaced expectation, still, we live and learn.

I revisited the website and had a look at ZHGreyson and Limey and also Hisashikarazu and I'm already seeing things in a different light - could you let me know who the author of the noir narrative string is please?

I didn’t know you could still view the site. I’m glad that I’m well into my next project or I’d probably depress myself by going over all my mistakes now I know you can look at it. The first thing I did with my new project was card all the scenes listing how I was getting in, what the function of the scene was, what the conflict was, and how it would generate or foreshadow the next point in the narrative. Trying to leave things open and at the same time write scenes was like trying to sit between two fat people on the tube. The noir string was Blanche Noir by Frank. I’m amusing now wondering who you could have been. I’m going to take a guess at GW as you seem task orientated.

And it’s worth saying as publicity for the original play the whole project must surely be a resounding success.

Interesting. I invented 'PRINCE' Projects In a Controlled Environment for the UK government (with others) and perfected SSADM, a structured approach to analysis and design, so 'tasks' is in the right ball park though I tend to think in pictures and outcomes more nowadays. I use mind maps to draw my big pictures of what the play is all about - you can quickly see if/how it holds together then like you I use post it pads to capture the essence of each scene i.e. character POV, goal, conflict/crisis, essential dialogue elements and how this scene will move the story on. I'll go back and read Blanch Noir (should have spotted it really). I wrote a short scene called Jah (by Fireisland - it's an island off long island new york, a little bohemian, a little bizarre) - the script is completely out of place but I found it amusing to write! Here's something that makes me laugh when the going gets tough "Writing is something that writers find much more difficult than other people."

Worth mentioning that the reason I didn't know you could revisit the site is because you can't get past the first screen unless you are running the latest version of Adobe flash player and there isn't a notice explaining this when the site fails to display.

@ Maloprop - read your Jah string. It's a bit short to fairly judge and you'd be an idiot to regard my opinion of it because I'm neither qualified to give an opinion nor in a position where my opinion matters one iota. These facts notwithstanding, I thought that the scene was clearly written (for TV?) with a beginning, a conflict in the middle and a twist at the end. But it lacked emotional impact. It reminded me a bit of 1970’s Bond movie ‘super-villain kills rival’ scene and I think/hope viewers are too familiar with the trope to accept it without some extra finesse.

I shall now go and annoy people in a coffee shop by loudly dispensing my well informed and vitally important opinions on brain surgery, geo-politics, string theory and Bach.

@Hisashikarazu. It's a coffee shop I have often visited. Thanks for the comments though; quite enlightening and yes, it was for TV. My idea was to delver a scene that demonstrated the coldness, life is cheap, it's just a game reality of gangland with a hint of corruption thrown in at the end for good measure. Still, a good topic for coffee shops at the moment is "I think Jordan should be on X-Factor after all, she has had hit songs and she can write books as well - course she's more famous for erm?