I’ve got nothing today. See you all in 2017.

Wait, it’s Christmas time already?! How did that happen?! This year was an extra short year, it seems. That’s probably for the best. This time last year we had David Bowie and now we don’t. And that was really just the start.

It has actually been a great year for us at Mooshku and there are lots of fun things happening that will be revealed in 2017. Lots of writing too, of course. I’m now three feature films in, which has been a wonderful experience and it’s fantastic to see them brought to life by amazing teams. I should have two new premieres in early 2017 so that’s really exciting. Adding feature scripts to all that television work I’ve done has had me thinking about the craft of story in very different ways. Story is fun. It’s tricky, elusive, never exact, never quite the same but always fun.

It has been a year of story.

And now it is a time to remind ourselves to be good to one another. To appreciate each other, not to fear each other. To be generous and warm-hearted to all. We can remind others of that through our own actions but also through story. So as this year draws to a close, let’s make a plan to tell some really great stories next year. And if you make stories for kids, how about making them smile and laugh? Brighten up a day.

This year, the Fluffy Gardens Christmas Special will be airing again on RTE 2 – that’s 10 years running! If you’re in Ireland, set it to record (it’s on EARLY!). If you’re not in Ireland, this year I bring good news! Depending on your region, it may well be available digitally for the first time! Check the links below.

Fluffy Gardens Christmas on iTunes!

On Google Play UK!

Amazon UK

Amazon US!

If you watch it, I do hope you enjoy it. Have a fantastic Christmas or whichever holiday you choose to celebrate. I wish you all well! And thanks as always for stopping by my little blog.

There are lots of ways to entertain, lots of ways to engage. Making stuff for kids, we tend to go the positive route. I like that. Sure, we can challenge children and present them with new ideas and get them thinking and I think that’s exactly what we should be doing. But when we do this right, we tend to wrap all that up in fun, laughter and a strong dose of heart.

But when we’re coming up with stories, it can be hard to know how to focus ourselves to achieve that or how to really pin down just what it is we’re doing. When we talk about story, we often split it into two completely different categories. One is a very structured, recipe-like approach, which is helpful but, if that’s all you’ve got, you’ll be leaving your audience cold. The other is where we get into flowery language and often what feels like very intangible stuff. Make it more dynamic. Capture the soul of the character. This is good but can you make it more reflective with a hint of longing and yet all wrapped up in joy?

What is it we really want?!

Well, here is one simple aim that I think can totally change how you think about your story: make your audience feel good. Make them feel good about themselves. Make them feel good about being part of the experience you’re giving them. Leave them feeling better than they did before they experienced your story.

It’s such a simple thing and it can lead to many different solutions and, really, you have probably been aiming for it anyway but actually exploring your story with this goal clearly in mind can have you looking at it in a whole different way. Does it make them feel good? Does it make them feel good about themselves? This is important for adults because it’s part of why we recommend shows or music or whatever. We feel good about being part of it. It’s much more than “you might like this”. It’s “I’m awesome because I found this for you and I’m now part of it”.

For kids, young kids, they don’t share the same way adults do but the same feeling applies in different ways. It can be “this made me feel good and I want more of it”. And really, that’s a very basic thing in entertainment and it’s odd how we don’t always think of aiming for that. We get so wrapped up in telling stories that we forget to think about what it’s like to hear them, to experience them. That’s audience awareness.

So when you’re having a hard time pinning down the intangible stuff, ask yourself this: what can I do in my story that will make my audience feel good?

Writing is rewriting. So they say. And they are right, whoever they are. Right in the sense that your first ideas will hopefully be full of soul and early passion but they will also be raw, messy and loose and often simply not explored enough. Your first ideas are not always the best. They are just first.

The real magic comes in pushing and exploring and then tightening and streamlining and merging and cutting. Most of all, it can come in finding the surprises. Your first attempt is not likely to be the one that surprises because it is the very first thing you thought of.

So exploration is essential.

But it is important to note that rewriting alone does not get you that. In fact I find that the actual physical process of writing, typing stuff out, is engaging different parts of my brain to those that do the exploration. It’s possible that actual rewriting might get you little more than an edit.

You need to truly explore. Push the scenes, let them play out differently. Try things. But that process of taking your first ideas and pushing, testing and streamlining? It doesn’t have to be written. It certainly doesn’t have to be in a full draft or manuscript that you’ll ever show anyone. You don’t need a first draft. It can be scribbled notes. Recorded memos. Scenes built with Lego (this might be time-consuming). You don’t have to start your first draft of anything until you are ready. In fact, if you can afford the time, you might be best avoiding that for as long as possible. Why? Because sometimes it can be much easier to shape a story when it is not laid out in the way you lay out the final product – we get too attached to words that way. I know I do.

For me, I’m relying more on notes and outlines now to work out my stories. Often very rough at the start. I take think time and I work on them, get notes and amend. I don’t start a real draft until I know every beat and it is never the first draft of the actual story. Because a first draft has a unique energy, that soul and early passion, if I can effectively do rewriting in advance I can get that script working really well and keep that first draft energy. Sure, it will still need work. You can be certain of that. But the better shape the story is in when you deliver that first draft, the easier it will be to get to your final draft and the better it will be when you get there.

I think I like this approach because it is how we tackle animation production. In animation, we effectively go through the editing process before producing the actual animation. It means you know your story is working beforehand and, from there, you can focus on the life and the fun and the energy.

So yes, writing might well be rewriting. But just keep in mind that you can do a lot of the rewriting up front. What might be labelled ‘first draft’ on one script means a whole different thing on another. We all have different working methods but my advice is to make your first draft script so much more than a first draft story.