Welcome to An American Bookworm in London!
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Eileen
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Wanderlust
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| Denali National Park |
I've always wanted to travel. When I was a kid we took an annual trip to Florida (yes, where I currently live) and the occasional trip to see relatives in Ohio. Other than that, we stayed in Maine most of the time. I guess that's because most of my family lived in Maine, too. In college, I had neither the money nor time to really go anywhere, although I took a few school-funded trips to Washington, D.C. that I really enjoyed (aside from the conferences, which were what we were ostensibly there to attend).
After college, my imagination ran wild. I lived in Alaska, an experience in itself, but I never went anywhere else. I daydreamed about all of the places I wanted to visit, although they seemed improbable.
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| Central Park, New York City |
Now I'm staring down a move to England. I mean, if I just stay there for 2 years, I'll be fulfilling about a quarter of all my travel lusts. But just knowing I'll be there, so close to the rest of Europe, I have to take full advantage of proximity and cheap transport.
I've gone a little crazy on my Travel Pinterest board recently. It's helped with waiting, although 2 weeks into a 9-month wait is hardly the definition of stir-crazy. The hardest part isn't just waiting, it's waiting with nothing to do. So I've given myself something to do: plan my trips.
Feel free to take a look at my board and give me suggestions! I want to know about cool, little-known places to go and great ways to meet locals.
Eileen
Monday, December 8, 2014
It's Legit!
It's official. I've paid the deposit to secure my spot with the school. It looks like I have to go now.
Just kidding! I'm ridiculously excited! I'm basically the Target Lady of London.
Just kidding! I'm ridiculously excited! I'm basically the Target Lady of London.
Monday, December 1, 2014
An Admission (of Awesomeness!)
The Application
Though I didn't realize it at the time, City University has one of the least grueling applications for screenwriting out of the many programs in London. A lot of the other programs required a long and short writing sample, synopsis for several other screenplays, and the soul of my firstborn child. Wait, maybe I'm thinking of something else...
Anyway, the hardest part for me was squeezing my original 600-word personal statement into 200 words. This took me hours of hair-pulling and six different iterations. I wanted to explain everything in my life that led me to pursue screenwriting, but I kept it to the things that best suited me for the program and why I chose that particular program. In the end, it was mostly just a test in brevity. Some people are good at being brief. Writers are not.
The other part of my application, aside from the actual form with my name and such, was my writing sample, which had a word or page limit, depending on the program. Since I was applying for script writing mine had a page limit. I had to submit a 20-page sample, which was a piece of cake once I cut one of my pieces down to the right length and had a couple people edit it.
Okay, I SAY it was a piece of cake, but as someone who has only taken a couple of screenwriting classes and rarely lets anyone read my screenplays, it wasn't easy. First I edited it - about three times. Then I finally sucked it up and had my parents and a friend read it. Their notes were so minor that I felt sure I was missing something (call it creative writing workshop paranoia). Nevertheless, I read it over a couple more times, felt satisfied, and submitted it.
The Interview
I only waited about three weeks for a response. I got an e-mail from the director of the program offering me a phone interview. I had a few days to prepare and spent hours looking up what kind of questions are asked in postgraduate interviews. I'm forgetful on a good day and a space cadet when I'm nervous, so I made a list of notes about key things. In the end, I probably over prepared a little bit. I expected them to ask questions about my strengths and weaknesses as a student, an experience where I worked as part of a team, or why I wanted to move to London.
My interview was held the day before Thanksgiving. I talked about the writing sample I had submitted, as well as my favorite playwrights and screenwriters (the notes came in handy here). Without specifically giving away other things I was asked, I think the ultimate purpose of the interview just to make sure I'm serious about screenwriting and didn't just wake up one morning and decide I wanted to write movies.
The Acceptance
At the end of the interview I was told I should hear back from them in a week. I settled in and tried not to dwell on it too much. I even told my dad that it was going to be the longest week of my life. Not even twenty-four hours later, as I was preparing Thanksgiving dinner, I receiving an e-mail offering me a place in the program. Of course, once the stress of getting accepted has abated, you start realizing all of the other things you have to do: visa, financing, housing...
Eileen
Though I didn't realize it at the time, City University has one of the least grueling applications for screenwriting out of the many programs in London. A lot of the other programs required a long and short writing sample, synopsis for several other screenplays, and the soul of my firstborn child. Wait, maybe I'm thinking of something else...
Anyway, the hardest part for me was squeezing my original 600-word personal statement into 200 words. This took me hours of hair-pulling and six different iterations. I wanted to explain everything in my life that led me to pursue screenwriting, but I kept it to the things that best suited me for the program and why I chose that particular program. In the end, it was mostly just a test in brevity. Some people are good at being brief. Writers are not.
The other part of my application, aside from the actual form with my name and such, was my writing sample, which had a word or page limit, depending on the program. Since I was applying for script writing mine had a page limit. I had to submit a 20-page sample, which was a piece of cake once I cut one of my pieces down to the right length and had a couple people edit it.
Okay, I SAY it was a piece of cake, but as someone who has only taken a couple of screenwriting classes and rarely lets anyone read my screenplays, it wasn't easy. First I edited it - about three times. Then I finally sucked it up and had my parents and a friend read it. Their notes were so minor that I felt sure I was missing something (call it creative writing workshop paranoia). Nevertheless, I read it over a couple more times, felt satisfied, and submitted it.
The Interview
I only waited about three weeks for a response. I got an e-mail from the director of the program offering me a phone interview. I had a few days to prepare and spent hours looking up what kind of questions are asked in postgraduate interviews. I'm forgetful on a good day and a space cadet when I'm nervous, so I made a list of notes about key things. In the end, I probably over prepared a little bit. I expected them to ask questions about my strengths and weaknesses as a student, an experience where I worked as part of a team, or why I wanted to move to London.
 |
| Zee notes |
My interview was held the day before Thanksgiving. I talked about the writing sample I had submitted, as well as my favorite playwrights and screenwriters (the notes came in handy here). Without specifically giving away other things I was asked, I think the ultimate purpose of the interview just to make sure I'm serious about screenwriting and didn't just wake up one morning and decide I wanted to write movies.
The Acceptance
At the end of the interview I was told I should hear back from them in a week. I settled in and tried not to dwell on it too much. I even told my dad that it was going to be the longest week of my life. Not even twenty-four hours later, as I was preparing Thanksgiving dinner, I receiving an e-mail offering me a place in the program. Of course, once the stress of getting accepted has abated, you start realizing all of the other things you have to do: visa, financing, housing...
Eileen
Friday, November 28, 2014
An American Bookworm in... London?
Erm, not quite. Not yet, anyway.
The good news? I've been accepted into a graduate-level screenwriting program in London!
The bad news? I'm still in Orlando, Florida.
I just found out I was accepted, actually. Yesterday. And the application process was the easy part, apparently, because now I have months ahead of me of waiting, getting student loan approvals, waiting, applying for my visa, and waiting. Oh, did I mention waiting?
So I might as well do something productive with that time. Or something that, on the surface, looks productive and a bit informative, when really it's just a way to kill time.
So... just 10 more months to go! (where's the sarcasm emoticon?)
The good news? I've been accepted into a graduate-level screenwriting program in London!
The bad news? I'm still in Orlando, Florida.
I just found out I was accepted, actually. Yesterday. And the application process was the easy part, apparently, because now I have months ahead of me of waiting, getting student loan approvals, waiting, applying for my visa, and waiting. Oh, did I mention waiting?
So I might as well do something productive with that time. Or something that, on the surface, looks productive and a bit informative, when really it's just a way to kill time.
So... just 10 more months to go! (where's the sarcasm emoticon?)
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