Intro:
Apologies for not releasing this until there’s only ten days left of the month! Turns out January and February were full on in more ways than one!

First, the good bits: recorded the episodes of The Legend of Aramelle and am currently editing them for release from 8th March. Am also keeping track of the budget for the show so I can see how much money I have to make back before I would be able to do a second series.

Also found two new writing competitions that Troy script would qualify for – Roadmap and Oxford 42 – and received new notes on the pilot from my writing course, that I hope to work through before submitting the script.

Finally, I have had to stay at my mum’s since the middle of January, as I badly burnt my legs – note to everyone, check your hot water bottles, please – and after initially thinking the burns were extensive, but not too deep and that I’d be back in work after a week, I actually ended up having a 5 day stay in hospital and am still having to walk with crutches after a skin graft operation!

Unable to get into work (warehouses aren’t built for crutches), it should be the perfect time for me to write. However, it turns out growing skin is hard work. Doctors regularly tell me to make sure I’ve upped my calorie intake (I’m bad at eating at the best of times) and I’m still having to have around three naps a day, but the healing is happening!

So on to the update!

Scripts Update:
The Legend of Aramelle podcast is recorded and apart from some sound effects that still need adding, the first episode is ready for release!

Troy script is being worked on ahead of two competition entries and time travel script will be one entered into Scribe Lounge Elevate this year.

Other scripts have fallen behind a little as I recover, but am not too worried as don’t have any set competitions to enter them in before at least July, so would rather focus on the ones that do have set competitions while my body heals!

Things Learnt:
Editing practice is going well, and am also learning to edit audio on Garageband for the podcast.
Have made a finance tracker for the podcast. Have found it very useful to track unexpected costs – such as having to get scripts printed for the cast on the day of recording and extra travel costs to reimburse after cancelled trains.

Have also recorded some – though not all – of the needed sound effects for the show and realising the best ways to record things like people falling over has been fun. The answer is, to avoid hurting your cast, to make them go near to the floor and bascially sit down hard on the floor, while saying “oof” or some such. Played back in context, it sounds pretty realistic!