Ben Keaton
THE MAKING OF THE STORY
THE NIGHT BEFORE
THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS
Welcome to the making of The Night Before The Night Before Christmas.
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Over the next few months I'm going to create a piece of storytelling theatre. I'll take you through my process. I'll show you the tools I use and you'll have the opportunity to get involved. Like all writers I sprint, stumble, stop, fail and sometimes succeed. Over the years I've written 6 TV series, plays, monologues, corporate blagging and personal blogging. You'll need to subscribe to be kept in the loop. From there you'll see my process - warts and all.
THE START
I have loved the poem The Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore since my father read it to me as a child. I read it to my own children and now they are gone I've been wondering how to keep the story alive for myself and perhaps others.
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That's my starting point. As the idea has been bubbling around in me all those years I've started to test the ground with my own version. Something that references the mood of the original but brings it up to date.
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I realise that I may not be the first person to think of the new title but I am the first Ben Keaton to do it. This is enough at this stage.
THE TOOLS
There are a few tools that I am in the habit of using. The first is Scrivener.
This is a word processor for writers. It can tabulate plays, novels, film and TV scripts. It's terrific for helping you lay out your idea and structure your story. It's also brilliant at gathering your research so it's close at hand. I highly recommend it. And no - I'm not sponsored by them or any other company.
The Hemmingway App.
I can't spell. Mad isn't it! I've been writing all my life but my spelling is not great. Because of this I have to go through a lengthy process to copy edit my work. Hemmingway is a free online app that I love. It's incredibly simple at drawing your attention to spelling and other errors.
Grammarly is similar but lives on your page. It can turn your attention to issues in your writing that might take you to the point of telling it to back off and mind it's own business. It is very useful but don't become it's monkey. Unless you are writing an academic paper of course.
And lastly, I'm going to try out the Fabula Deck. This is a collection of 42 cards divided into 3 sections. Each one prompts you through the 3 act structure. You can take or leave any part of this. They are there to assist rather than dominate. I haven't tried this before so I'm curious as to how they might work.
BECOME A MEMBER TO CONTINUE -
It's COMPLETELY FREE.
I would love to have company on the process. Membership is free and there is no upsell. You can observe the writing as it goes. I'll be posting notes in various forms. As videos, audio and in written form. You can read the script as it develops and offer suggestions if you feel inclined.