I have just completed episode seven of my television series. Originally this was called the Tank. Although the first half of this episode is about our car when we lived in England the rest of it is about how Ned has a chance meeting with Lord Atherton-Hall’s daughter, while eating burgers at Dennis Baskins pub.
As I write this series about two parts of my life, I am struck how when you write something that is semi autobiographical, you change things. Not all happened in these stories and if I was to completely write these stories as they were, then they wouldn’t be as strong. Some would have a hollowness to them and seem incomplete, or seem too short. What I had to do was make the short stories longer and create some stuff that didn’t happen to create something that seemed believable.
Another interesting thing about writing Ned(Who is me or based on me.) is I have played a what if game with him. What if this had happened to me(Ned), rather than the way it happened. What occurs out of some of those situations is a more realistic portrayal of how and adolescent handles himself in a different country. How does he react to English girls as opposed to American girls. How do his parents react to English customs as opposed to American. It’s interesting to play around with the idea of how the English relate to the Livingston’s. The language is a big part of this series for me. American slang is always brought up in front of the English and there is always some sort of translation that goes along with it. The same is true with the English language that must be understood by the American characters.
As usual if you have read the first six episodes I will leave links up so you can read them. If you are new to my series, this will give you a chance to read the series from the beginning. Stay tuned to Episode Eight, season 1 called First Day jitters. This is Ned’s first day in the English school system. I’ve got all kinds of whacky ideas for this.
Hi, my name is Peter Murray. I am a scriptwriter and I started this blog as a way of promoting my own writing, which is mostly plays, screenplays and television scripts. bMy background is unique. My father is a retired theater Professor and both my parents acted at The Barnstormers Summer Stock Theatre in Tamworth New Hampshire, which was founded by my Godfather, Francis G. Cleveland, who was the son of President Grover Cleveland. Having all that history within my family and a Godfather who started a theatre, it was natural that I became interested in theater. I attended Johnson State College in Vermont with the specific purpose of becoming an actor. However, scriptwriting took over. I have been writing plays since I was about twelve. I would see a Barnstormer production and say, I can do that. Yes I could do that, but in those early years, not so well. As time went on I became much more proficient with a good ear for dialogue, plot and character development. I have written a few plays. Two were produced in Vermont, a one act for First Night in Burlington called "KIng Stud," and another titled Crossing The Bridge. The latter was also taken to the Barnstormers and done at the professional level with my Dad directing. My other writing includes a few movie scripts. One is a trilogy I am working on called Derby Double. It's an action adventure sports series dealing with Soccer. Another script is called the Third Eye about a metaphysical detective(Currently trying to work that into a television series.) And currently I am working on a television series about my childhood, both here in New Hampshire and England, where I lived for five years. I call this series, "Letters from England." I have five episodes in the can and you can read them here.
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The Script is the thing 