How intrinsic is the computer to your lifestyle? Very! I write on a computer, having struggled with an electric typewriter for years. Much of film and TV writing is, in fact, rewriting, so computers have revolutionised the whole process. It is much easier to be brutal or bolder with cuts and changes when it is a quick copy- and-paste job, rather than hours of painful retyping. Sending your work via email is so much easier, very handy when you are up against deadlines. I always keep a hard copy of everything, having learned the hard way!
Are any of your books available as e-books? None of my books, OK, neither of my two books, are e-books as far as I know. Buying them is much cheaper than downloading six hundred pages at a time. Who could be arsed anyway? Real books are sensual objects, the smell of them and the thrill of opening the first page and snuggling down for a few hours. I can't equate the experience of reading a book with sitting in a hard-backed chair in front of a screen. Mind you, they used to say that about porn mags!
What computer do you use? I have always written on an Apple and have an iMac ( www.apple.com/imac and a Power Book, handy for those long hours sitting around on set. It can be annoying that lots of CD-Roms are tailored to the PC market but that is getting slightly better now. Besides, iMacs come in such pretty colours!
Any plans for your own homepage?
Actually, a relative bought my domain name for me as a present. Unfortunately he hasn't handed it over yet, so if you type in meerasyal.com you will be directed to a site advertising forklift trucks. Well, if the acting doesn't work out_
Is the net a good medium for comedy? If we can get away from those round-robin clubs that keep sending sub-Jim Davidson jokes that clog up your email, then yes, possibly. Certainly there are some really good animation sites. The Seinfeld site - when it was running - was a delight, and I would love to be able to read past scripts of classic series. The only problem with exposing or sharing new ideas on the net is the writer's nightmare that someone else will nick yours and get it made!
Should there be tighter regulation of the net? I have set parental controls on my daughter's computer, which will work until she learns how to remove them, which will probably be soon! The paedophilic network needs stamping on, but it has also become a way for the authorities to trace and track perpetrators. There are complex issues to address and the net has grown so huge so quickly that a regulation debate is long overdue.
Favourite sites? www.friendsreunited.co.uk, www.discovery.com com and www.britannica.com. As I spend so much of the time on screen writing, surfing is an occasional pleasure. I still prefer to read a good book.
Visit: www.bbc.co.uk/asianlife/tv/whatson/meera_sanjeev.shtml
