A Step By Step Guide to Growing Very Tall Sunflowers Indeed

Growing Sunflowers is a really fun thing to do – they’re really easy to grow; they grow very fast, which is exciting; they have HUGE flower heads right at the top in summer-y colours of yellow, orange and sometimes red, and you can use the seeds afterwards to feed the birds in winter. So far, so good – HOWEVER, there is a special type of Sunflower that grows very, very tall indeed (we’re talking a Jack and the Beanstalk scenario here) and this is what you have here. (No cow swops required.)

Your mission (if you choose to accept it) is to grow the biggest Sunflower you possibly can by the Autumn Term. All your school friends will be doing the same and there will be Prizes, and possibly a School Feast, at the end of it all.

Sunflowers come from Mexico so you need to create the same conditions in your garden or school grounds for them to do their best here in England. This means finding a spot with lots of sunshine, shelter from the wind (very important) and giving them lots of food and water at intervals while they are growing. (Think Mexican occasional downpour not English daily drizzle.)

Part One – Getting Ready to Plant

Very Important! – Stand back and think things through before you rush into sowing your seeds to give yourself the best chance of success.

1) Finding the Best Place

The very first thing to do is to find the best place for your Sunflower to grow in.

You will need: a notebook; a pencil; a compass; some gardening gloves if you have prickly shrubs. A tape measure (optional).

1. Choose a sunny day, around the end of February onwards, and go out into your garden around midday when the sun is at its highest. Have a really good look round to spot things which will help or hinder your Sunflower from growing tall and strong. Sunflowers have bigger heads in relation to their stalks, which means they can break easily, so they’ll need to be sheltered from the wind. They’ll also need a place where the sun will be directly on them for most, but not all, of the day. (More on this later.)

2. Take out your notebook and mark down the boundaries of your garden (fences, walls, hedges) and draw in any solid buildings (your house, garage, shed as well as those of your neighbours if they’re close to the boundary) as these will cast the strongest shade. Remember that shadows are shorter in summer than they are now (ask your science teacher why) so you may have more choice than you think if your garden is quite small. How much sun is in the garden? Is the garden sheltered from the wind or open to it? Where are the trees, shrubs or big plants in the garden? – they will cast shade too and also compete for food and water if your planting spot is too close to them. Don’t have it close to a pathway or washing line either where people could knock into your growing Sunflower. Mark all these things on your plan.

3. Next step – which way do all these things face? This is where the compass comes in. Hold it in your hand and turn round to find North then mark in the four main compass points at the top of the page in relation to your drawing. This will give you the orientation (look it up) of the garden so you can work out the general direction of the sun and how much of this you are likely to get. Mark in all the compass points of the boundaries, and each side of the buildings, and the shrubs and trees in the flowerbeds. Take measurements and ask your maths teacher about doing this to scale and calculating angles and things if you like to be very accurate. (And lots of people do.) Try and remember from which direction the wind blows most often across the garden and then match this up with your compass points. Winds from the North and East are strong and wintery so your Sunflower will need more protection as it grows; those from the South and West tend to be more gentle and summery.

4. Now then. A fence that runs along the North boundary will look into the garden towards the South so any plants there with their back to the fence will be ‘South-facing’. (The same thing happens with all the other compass points.) A South-facing garden or flower bed will get sun all day. Likewise, a North-facing garden or flowerbed will get very little sun. An East-facing one will get short morning sun and long afternoon shade and a West-facing one will get short morning shade and long afternoon sun. (You get the idea.) Try if possible to find a West-facing spot for your Sunflower – it has very big leaves so it needs some shade for part of the day. (Ask your science teacher to explain ‘transpiration’.

2) Sorting Out the Soil

You will need: a watering can with water in it; a trowel; some of those useful medical gloves.

1. Soil preparation before you start sowing means Really Big sunflowers. Now you’ve found the perfect place you’ll need to find out what sort of soil you’ve got there. Pop on the gloves and then pick up some of the soil and squash it together in your fingers. What does it feel like and how does it crumble? If it feels light and dry and crumbles away easily, you have a thin or poor soil that is going to need a lot of extra compost added to it to feed your Sunflower. If it sticks together very easily and feels cold and heavy this is a clay soil and will need horticultural grit adding to help to drain it. (Not ordinary or builders’ grit, this contains salts which could stop your Sunflower growing tall.) If it feels bulky but lightish, drops in small clumps and smells of growing things, then this is your Goldilocks moment and you have a loamy soil which will be Just Right.

2. To double check your findings, dig a small hole in your chosen spot with a trowel and pour some water in it out of the watering can. If it drains very quickly it’s a poor soil and your Sunflower won’t have time to drink before it’s gone. If the water sits on the top of the hole for quite a while, before reluctantly draining away, it’s a clay soil and your Sunflower doesn’t like to grow in a puddle and will sulk. If it’s a loamy soil then it will drain in quite a natural manner, leaving the soil damp but not waterlogged. This is the sort of thing you’re looking for.

(If you really want to get technical you can ask your science teacher about doing a soil pH test.)

3) Preparing the Planting Hole

You will need: a spade; a grown up (to start with). Some old washing up gloves; a trowel (later on.)

1. Dig a big hole in the spot you’ve chosen on the next sunny day, to at least twice the depth of the metal part of a spade put in it and the same for the width. This can be quite hard work if you’re not used to digging, especially if you have a clay soil, so I suggest getting a grown up to do it instead. You can stand next to them and watch and offer helpful comments such as ‘You’re doing it all wrong.’ You could also ask another grown up to say ‘You might as well dig it a bit deeper while you’re at it,’ when they wander out to look at the progress of the hole. (You might want to go and look at the flowers in another part of the garden when they do this. Or you could stay and learn some new words.)

2. Leave the earth next to the hole in a big pile and start collecting vegetable peelings when whoever does the cooking prepares a meal. (This will also encourage your grown ups to eat in a more healthy way.) Go out every day and put the vegetable peelings in the bottom of the hole and then use the trowel to scatter a layer of earth from the pile on top of the peelings so they’re just covered. This will trap any smells as they rot down and also keep the garden looking tidy. (Very important to grown ups.) After a few days, put on the washing up gloves and use your hands or the trowel to mix everything up together as if you were making a cake. Do this two or three times a week to help speed up the rotting down process. Put a layer of earth on top afterwards to keep it looking neat and tidy.

4) Getting Hold of Supports

You will need: a grown up or perhaps several. Some money. (Probably quite a lot.)

1. The next thing you need to sort out is THREE very long and sturdy stakes to support your Sunflower and help it grow tall and straight. Chestnut is recommended. Don’t let your grown ups try and fob you off with some bamboo canes from the local garden centre – you are growing GIANT Sunflowers, which are going to grow taller than their new kitchen extension and they are going to need Proper Wooden Stakes at least two metres tall for when the wind gets up. They might have thick stalks but Sunflowers are very top heavy and strong winds will snap their stalks or break off their heads.

Very Important!

Don’t let them forget that this is two metres above ground and they need to allow extra for the depth of the planting hole. (When they’re buying your stakes remind them the deeper the stake in the ground the stronger the support above the ground.) However, the taller the stake is, the more expensive it will be. You might want to offer them some of your pocket money if they start getting sticky about this. (Don’t worry, they probably won’t take it but it looks good and shows a Proper Spirit.) You could also remind them that it would be a waste of that weekend digging the hole if it just snaps in the first strong wind because they haven’t bought the right supports. Mention ships and tar (look this up).

You need to hold out for three for as long as you can. If they’re really sticking on this say you’ll accept two. (This is called Negotiation or Getting Your Own Way While Appearing to Give In.) Stand firm on the need for two though. A triangle is best but one each side will be better than just one. Get another grown-up to weigh in on this if you can and then walk away quietly and leave them to it.

Have this argument with them early on in the proceedings, then they can get something in the sales or get a discount for a bulk order by clubbing together with your friends’ grown ups.

2. You will also need gardening twine to tie your Sunflower to the stakes. Proper gardening twine is sturdy but soft and won’t cut into the stalks which could let diseases in. I recommend Nutscene 3-ply twine which you can get in the original invisible green (Nutscene = not seen) which your grown ups will probably prefer you did or one of the different colours.

Once you’ve got all this organised you’ll be all set to start sowing your Giant Sunflower seeds in the middle of March.

12 Stages of Writing a Script – the one page synopsis

A year ago, now, I had an idea for a screenplay that arrived almost fully formed. I wrote it all down just as it came, without doing any of the usual preliminary work, and, as you’d expect, stalled as soon as I’d run out of inspiration: without a foundation of craft, there was nothing to fall back on once the plot holes started to appear. I’ve written about the 12 stages of writing a script in earlier posts about a script writing workshop I’d attended, so, having begun backwards, I’m now going back to the start. In the hope, as ever, that my mistakes expounded will help you to avoid them yourselves, I’m going to use the screenplay I’m working on, as I’m working on it, as an example of how the scriptwriting process works.

Finding the premise

First steps in structuring your screenplay

Finding your characters

Finding your characters (2)

5. Create a one page synopsis/storyline developing the key moments of the plot with the emphasis on the journey of the main character. Identify the time and place and the timescale in which the journey takes place. Identify the tone; mixing genres is tough and beginners are advised not to do it. Use the 10 Questions to help with this.

The one page synopsis

It’s current day London. Alex is in his late thirties and the singer and frontman of a successful indie band, with close bandmates Mark, Neil and Graham.

Writing a Screenplay: Finding Your Characters (2)

Some months back I had an idea for a screenplay that arrived almost fully formed. I wrote it all down just as it came, without doing any of the usual preliminary work, and, as you’d expect, stalled as soon as I’d run out of inspiration: without a foundation of craft, there was nothing to fall back on once the plot holes started to appear. I’ve written about the 12 stages of writing a script in earlier posts about a script writing workshop I’d attended, so, having begun backwards, I’m now going back to the start. In the hope, as ever, that my mistakes expounded will help you to avoid them yourselves, I’m going to use the screenplay I’m working on, as I’m working on it, as an example of how the scriptwriting process works.

Finding Your Characters

Alex – the hero

Mole – the band

(I initially just thought this was a funny, slightly pretentious, indie style name – but then realised that, as a creature that lives underground, the name would hint at the band’s emergence from an obscure indie background. Moles are also traditionally considered blind, which would be a nice Wodehousian ‘easter egg’ type reference to the theme of the film.)

The band is balanced at the point between their indie roots and backlash success. It took quite a while for them to get signed but their first two albums were

Writing a Screenplay: Finding Your Characters

Some months back I had an idea for a screenplay that arrived almost fully formed. I wrote it all down just as it came, without doing any of the usual preliminary work, and, as you’d expect, stalled as soon as I’d run out of inspiration: without a foundation of craft, there was nothing to fall back on once the plot holes started to appear. I’ve written about the 12 stages of writing a script in earlier posts about a script writing workshop I’d attended, so, having begun backwards, I’m now going back to the start. In the hope, as ever, that my mistakes expounded will help you to avoid them yourselves, I’m going to use the screenplay I’m working on, as I’m working on it, as an example of how the scriptwriting process works.

I’ve already written about finding the premise and the move into the formal structuring of your idea that will lead to you producing a proper script; as well as the 10 questions you need to bear in mind, both to help you find your story and as a checklist as you work through the writing stages of your screenplay. The process of starting to work through these stages for my own screenplay has thrown up more information on my characters.

Alex – hero

(I initially wanted to call the hero ‘Johnny’ but he insisted on being called ‘Alex’, a name I didn’t really like for him. Eventually I realised that ‘Johnny’ was, of course, the roadie not the lead singer and let it go. I added ‘Turner’ to Alex, which made me feel a bit better about it, and then discovered that ‘Alex Turner’ was the name of the lead singer of the Arctic Monkeys. This sort of thing will happen to you a lot.)

 

Frontman and lead singer of the band; also plays piano.  Late thirties, tall, slim build, good looking with shortish dark hair with (slightly) floppy fringe,

The 12 Stages of Writing a Script – some examples

Some months back I had an idea for a screenplay that arrived almost fully formed. I wrote it all down just as it came, without doing any of the usual preliminary work, and, as you’d expect, stalled as soon as I’d run out of inspiration: without a foundation of craft, there was nothing to fall back on once the plot holes started to appear. I’ve written about the 12 stages of writing a script in earlier posts about a script writing workshop I’d attended, so, having begun backwards, I’m now going back to the start. In the hope, as ever, that my mistakes expounded will help you to avoid them yourselves, I’m going to use the screenplay I’m working on, as I’m working on it, as an example of how the scriptwriting process works.

The first stage of writing the script is finding and gathering material from the premise; and the second is writing your private log line. This is a few lines meant only for yourself which outlines the story informally. By doing so you check that the idea is feasible and that you like it enough to spend the months and maybe even years working on it.

The third stage is when you move into formal structuring of your idea that will lead to you producing a proper script:

12 Steps to Writing a Screenplay

Writing a Screenplay – 10 Questions to Ask Yourself as You Go Through the Story

When writing a screenplay, either by creating an idea on a blank page using the 10 questions from the previous post or by finding a premise, you need to test your idea and then work out the story through a series of increasingly detailed steps. By following the steps from a scriptwriting workshop below, you will end up with a first draft of your script that is not only easily achievable but based on the solid craft needed to make your story workable.

I’ve used the rom-com I’m working on to give you an idea of how the 10 questions work in an earlier post in this series; and I’ll be using this again for examples of how the 12 steps look and how to pitch your script, later on.

12 Steps to Writing a Screenplay

Writing a Screenplay – 10 Questions to Ask Yourself as You Go Through the Story

 

The Craft of Screenplays – notes from a scriptwriting workshop

In finding a story to tell as a screenwriter you need to take a Socratic approach: the answer to your dilemma lies within you and your work; and you draw out the answers you need by asking yourself the right questions. The difficulty in screenwriting – as so often in life! – is knowing what questions to ask.

The series of questions below are those used by all screenwriters to start a story, although some writers will use additional ones to help create more detail. You can, and should!, also use them as you continue to go through the different stages of writing your screenplay, to check that these necessary questions have been answered in your script and to identify any holes in the plot. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’ll be using a rom-com I’m working on as examples, to help you understand the process and also to go back and fill in gaps I’ve found in my own work.

The Craft of Screenplays – notes from a scriptwriting workshop

A screenplay is not a film; a screenplay is the template for a film

More than any other form of creative writing, writing a screenplay is about craft. It’s about 80% of what you’ll need to produce a script that will read true as a story, appeal to audiences and, most importantly, demonstrate to film-makers that you understand what they’re looking for and can deliver. In an earlier post I wrote about how I’d had an idea for a screenplay and began from the wrong way round, pouring my ideas into scenes and dialogue without any of the preparatory work. Once the creative ideas ran out the plot began to stumble and eventually got held up in the third act by my lack of solid craft.

The whole idea and craft of scriptwriting, and what makes it a craft, is that the screenwriter puts in intensive preparatory work before writing a single scene. The reason behind all this work is to unleash the power of the Story, so that your screenplay then almost writes itself – although often in ways you might not have intended or even like. (Pratchett makes this the theme of Wyrd Sisters.) The makers of Frozen spent months wondering why their constantly revised screenplay wasn’t working – before realising the ‘love angle’ the story wanted was the two sisters. And I found this out myself when a comedy I was writing about Second World War pensioners took an unexpected turn I certainly hadn’t intended – the story insisting on going where it wanted to. It gave the screenplay a ballast it had lacked before but I wasn’t sure how happy I was with this hybrid comedy/drama genre it had become.

Remembering my script – it was called Poppy Day and I became rather fond of all the characters as I went on – also reminded me that I’d taken it to a one day workshop run by Screen Yorkshire, somewhere between 2007 and 2009; and by great good luck I was able to unearth my notes from this after only a little searching.

There are plenty of excellent books out there on writing screenplays – the workshop tutor recommended Sequences: the hidden structure of successful screenplays which I haven’t read and Story which I found very good indeed – but I thought you might find my notes useful as an overview. I’m nothing like as up on all this as I used to be, so some things may have moved on since then, but the general tenets are bound to be the same. I’ve fleshed out the bare bones of the tutor’s advice with some thoughts of my own, backed up by examples of films.

Writing a Screenplay – getting the idea

Real people and events can provide the starting point for your screenplay, generating a rich source of material for your fictional ideas.

 

One of the main things that musicians get asked about in interviews is the process of song writing, particularly ‘where do you get your ideas from?’ And their answers are, pretty much the same place I get my screen writing ideas from: little incidents or quirks noticed in the people or world around them that, to them, say song (or in my case, story).

I outlined an idea I’d had based on existing material, in a previous post, where a couple of scenes from the BBC Jeeves and Wooster television series and a Sweeran (welcome to the world of online shippers) YouTube clip had provided a modern take on the stories of P. G. Wodehouse. What you also might find interesting is how an idea gets worked out from scratch, where there’s no existing structure underlying it and everything has to be created by the writer.

I mentioned an idea I’d had over the summer, for a rom-com set in the music industry, in an earlier post. The starting point for this came from two YouTube clips,

Premise for a Screenplay – Jeeves and Wooster updated

Sometimes the hardest part for screen writers is finding the premise – here’s an idea for a Jeeves and Wooster update you might like to have.

 

As readers, dedicated and accidental, of this blog will know, most of my creative output takes the form of writing screenplays. I am never sure how worthwhile it really is to try and pursue this as a writing career as, lets face it, you can’t throw a stirrer in any Los Angeles coffee shop without hitting a screenwriter of some sort.

 

The competition is pretty stiff. And let’s hurriedly gloss over the fact that, even if you were to get your screenplay accepted and paid for, the chances are it will spend years in development before it actually gets made.  If it gets made at all.

The problem is I’m good at it: coming up with plot ideas, scenarios, dialogue and characters is pretty effortless. (I do struggle with getting all these into a coherent structure but this is the craft part that just needs to be worked at. Or I could find a writing partner and dump it all on them.) Out of all the creative writing genres I’ve tried over the years – and I’ve tried novel writing for many years – screen writing is the one I’ve found has the most comfortable fit with my abilities.

I mentioned my latest idea, a few weeks ago, in reply to a comment by Zanyzigzag – a sort of update for millennials of Wodehouse’s Jeeves and Wooster stories. I spent some time, one evening, spinning it out into a more detailed premise and it does feel like it could be a lot of fun. The difficulty is that the amount of background research required would be huge. This isn’t just a matter of in depth time on the internet, because the people the Jeeves character is based on rarely get interviewed and end up on YouTube. (Though it’s worth a look.) It means going out and interviewing these people, on the ground, and probably even spending time shadowing them, if possible, which is something I don’t have the time or resources for at this stage.

It seems a pity to waste the idea, though, so I was wondering if someone out there might like it?