Blog: Do Something Different

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I went to a talk about storytelling by the marvellous Laurie Hutzler on Wednesday. I saw her last year too and had my MIND BLOWN, so went again just to check she was still AMAZING.

She totally was - she talked about how stories WORK and how to MAKE them work, though at times it felt like she was more talking about LIFE and we were in a PRAYER MEETING or something. I know I found it hard not to keep leaping up and WHOOPING and saying "TESTIFY!" It was ACE.

One of the (many) things that stuck with me was when she talked about how the definition of madness is doing the same thing and expecting different results. Now, I've worked in Mental Health and i'm PRETTY SURE that isn't they definition they use, but still it's good advice, and advice which I have actually TAKEN.

For instance, I used to hope that one day someone would come to one of my gigs, or listen to a record, and say "Hey! I somehow intuit that this guy might be able to write a book or script, and as head of Big Books / Big Telly / Big Films plc ltd, I shall pay him to do so!" After ten years of ROCKING around our great nation and making several ALBUMS I finally had to face the fact that this was unlikely to happen, and so did something different i.e. went on a course about writing screenplays, in the hope that that might work instead.

It hasn't yet, but I've only been at it a year. Ask me again in 2023 and we'll do a comparison.

Another thing I've tried in the past was Waiting For Someone To Come To Me. This is a scheme tried by many people, where you CREATE stuff and then wait around to see if somebody happens to be passing your window, hears you singing/typing/drawing, and pops in for a look. Obviously I am too much of a SHOW OFF to do this for long, preferring always to leap around going "LOOK! LOOK AT WHAT I DID!" and though this hasn't (as yet) made me MILLIONS of pounds (or, indeed, POUNDS) it has been an awful lot of fun.

Which is a very long-winded way of saying that the latest episode of the Total Hero Team podcast is available now! Episode 3 features possibly the BEST songs in the show - It Only Works Because You're Here, Get Over It and I'm So Much Cleverer Than You - as well as some RATHER SPIFFY sound effects. I do think it's rather good!

I've also started work on the VIDEO version of the whole thing, using the photographs I was on about the other day. If all goes to plan we'll be launching the whole series on YouTube AND the complete ALBUM version on Friday 28 February, coinciding with the final episode of the Podcast. After that, I expect Mr Big from Big Radio to come round and offer me a job!

posted 7/2/2014 by MJ Hibbett

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Comments:

So much cleverer - my favourite!
posted 8/2/2014 by Gareth

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