I don't really care how much the latest superhero film took at the box office, although I'd probably know if you asked me. When I watch a film the main thing I am looking for is a good story. I like it when I look up at the big screen and can see a part of me staring back at me. More than anything, I am still looking for Jimmy Stewart and Jack Lemmon and Billy Wilder in every film I see.
Monday 10 October 2011
One Storyteller's Process
So it's good to get different perspectives. There is no right way to write -- all that matters is that you get the work done, and you write well. Zoje Stage has written a guest post about her process, which I find very fascinating because it is quite similar to my own. So many 'experts' tell you to get up at 9am and begin writing immediately, in a structured way. Zoje Stage has a different approach, which she eloquently explains in the following guest blog.
A guest post by Zoje Stage.
Whenever I hear a writer discuss their writing process I am intrigued. Intrigued in a similar way as when I see someone with a really interesting tattoo: I recognize the beauty of the tattoo, yet I have never once coveted another's tattoo as my own. Both of these things are singularly personal. Though I'm sure no one out there really covets my writing style (or my tattoos), here's how I work:
I do not write every day. Or even every month. Yet I consider myself to be a fairly prolific writer. I average three or four new screenplays a year, plus rewrites and polishes. I know it is common for writers to have a set schedule, squeezing in writing time before and after work. And many writers outline first, or create a synopsis or treatment to serve as a guide. These methods don't work for me. I need uninterrupted time, and the only instances when I have not finished a script are when I attempted too much initial research or planning. Because, you see, I am a stream-of-consciousness writer.
I have written this way since I wrote my first screenplay twenty-three years ago. My process requires a certain amount of "down time" - which is when the things I've been influenced by settle into my brain and soul. I keep a notebook of story ideas and I jot things down. But what really gets the process going is, no kidding, a moment of inspiration. Sometimes it comes while I am watching a movie or staring into space. Sometimes - again, no kidding - it comes to me in a dream.
For me, the "moment of inspiration" means that something suddenly gels: a couple of characters, a couple of scenes - and the initial story idea. The next step is to look at my calendar and see when I can fit in some extended writing time - preferably where I can write for five or six days in a row, several hours each day. Then, in the days leading up to my designated start time, I let my mind wander around my story and characters. I jot down notes for scene ideas; I pick character names and occupations.
I write a first draft in an average of seven days, writing for as long as I possibly can on each day. As a stream-of-consciousness writer, I need to be in the story - in the moment - to generate the momentum needed to finish a first draft. Writing has always been a magical process for me, because I don't know on Page One exactly where things are going to go, or how we will get there. As I get into the process, I start to see different paths, and I continually jot down scene ideas as part of each writing day.
My goal for a first draft is simply to finish it as quickly as possible. There are certain tricks I employ to make the process easier, such as: I end each day in the middle of a sentence (usually dialogue) right smack in the middle of a scene. The idea is to "set up" the next writing day so the hard part - starting - won't be so daunting. Sometimes I still find myself avoiding the start of the writing day, inspired instead to empty the dishwasher or scrub a spot of toothpaste off of the floor (yes, I wander as I brush my teeth).
On a full writing day I'll write fifteen pages or more. On a half day, I shoot for five to ten. My style requires inertia... keep going! I am a hunt-and-peck typist, but I do it incredibly quickly. My stories are primarily character driven - and I can see that my style might not work as well with plot-driven material. But I have written a fair share of horror, science fiction and even action, though I think it is the depth of character that sets my work apart even then.
After I get the first draft, I usually set the script aside for awhile. My first drafts tend to be pretty good - but clearly subsequent drafts are better. But after the initial flurry of activity, I again require "down time" to gain perspective on the story and generate new ideas. Sometimes it helps to have someone read the script and point out holes, missed opportunities, or confusing moments. But, as most writers know, it's very hard to find the reader who responds to the needs of your story without altering it toward their own sensibilities. As a rule, if one person has criticism (or praise) for a certain element, I ignore it. If two or more people criticize (or praise) the same thing, then I take it seriously.
Screenwriting in particular is an art form where people want to stick their fingers in your pie. I am not here to feed everyone. I consider myself to be a conceptual artist, and as such it is imperative that I defend my work. And it is equally imperative that I understand how my work will function (or not) in the real world. I am always open to suggestions that make my initial idea better. I am rarely open to ideas that spin my story in a totally new direction.
I am somewhat schizophrenic in my writing, as I write both independent films that I want to direct, and also higher concept scripts that I want to sell. But my process is the same. Especially when one is engaged in a precarious occupation that may or may not pay off financially, I think it is vital that the effort feel meaningful and fulfilling. I love what I write. I love the stories that emerge during the writing process; I love my characters; I love how I feel after creating something that didn't exist a week before.
I have believed since I was a teenager that everyone is given a talent, and that it behooves us to recognize our talent and try to make the most of it. Some might look at my twenty-three years of effort as an exercise in masochistic tendencies: a constant cycle of victorious out-put tempered by nearly non-stop rejection. But, in the immortal words of Popeye, "I am what I am." I can't be another kind of writer or another kind of person. I could wish that more people see the magic that I try to produce, but I have no illusions about the reality of marketing or the nature of competition.
Your style of writing probably won't change for having read this; you may even feel more validated that your writing style is right for you. (And it is.) We are each the accumulation of our own experiences and unique imagination. My stories have been set in motion by being a highly sensitive person living with an imperfect body, influenced by the strange and sometimes dark permutations of human behavior. I think I am a stream-of-consciousness writer because I process the world physically - and I have to spew all that I've absorbed back out into a more coherent form. Being a storyteller lets me breathe - in, out, in, out...
For whatever it's worth, this is my process.
Sunday 9 October 2011
When Did RYAN GOSLING Become THE MAN?
Saturday 8 October 2011
The Kid Meets ALVY SINGER - Kid In The Front Row Film Character Dialogues - A Blogathon
ALVY
I-I-I'm totally fine, y'know, I just didn't expect to resurface in your imagination.
KID
What have you been up to?
ALVY
Not much. I had all these plans and places to go but then the movie ended.
KID
Annie Hall?
ALVY
Exactly.
KID
Do you still speak to Annie?
ALVY
She won't talk to me. And it's killing me.
ANNIE HALL
This is just like Alvy, he thinks the whole world is against him. He could always text me if he wanted to, he just likes to blame other people.
ALVY
Great, Kid; you say you want to talk to me and now you bring Annie here.
KID
Is that a problem?
ALVY
Well, I, I mean, y'know, jeez, she's my ex-girlfriend. And not only that but, she's fictional.
ANNIE HALL
Here you go again Alvy, calling me fictional, and you wonder why you have trouble with women.
ALVY
Trouble with women? It's the exact opposite, in fact. I can get a date any time I want and, y'know, on occasion, we even make it through dinner.
KID
I can't believe you're still single after all these years.
ALVY
Hey, I'm only in my mid-seventies. When I reach my sexual peak, it'll be perfect.
KID
Are you still writing?
ALVY
I am but, y'know, they think I'm being pretentious because I insist on spelling words correctly.
KID
What do you think of film and television these days?
ANNIE HALL
He hates both, he thinks they're all submental.
ALVY
Jeez, would you let me get a word in? I think television is fascinating, really; the way they line everyone up and the judges pick who goes through, I mean, as a Jew, I can really relate.
KID
Right, yeah. Well it's been nice catching up.
Thursday 6 October 2011
CRAZY, STUPID, LOVE --and-- WHAT'S YOUR NUMBER?
Wednesday 5 October 2011
Your INNER CRITIC - Change The Conversation!
The people we meet, companies we work for and institutions we come into contact with; they all play their part in rejecting us and judging us.
But most of it is done on an inner level by ourselves.
It happens when you write a genius script for a month until you wake up one morning convinced it sucks. Or when you're driving to an audition for a role you were born to play when you suddenly realise you're a pathetic actor.
Ever notice how much authority you give your inner critic? It's an all knowing God!
Except that it's not. The critic is your biggest fears multiplied by 500. Makes you think of the time you messed up on stage when you were 7, or when your school teacher said your writing was 'too basic'.
That was then and this is now. The crap you got from the world became internalised and now you're your own worst enemy.
The thing to realise about the inner critic is that it's not fact. Your inner critic isn't Spielberg or Meryl Streep, it's just a vulnerable part of you desperate not to be stranded, naked, and pointed at.
Hear what your critic says, but realise it's just one viewpoint. It's not a fact.
Your critic will say: "you suck! You have no talent, you're ugly, and you've lost something over the years".
You wouldn't let me say that to you. If your friends or family said it you'd be deeply offended -- so why say it to yourself? Why believe it? How can you be creative when you put yourself down so much?
You can't. There needs to be love. You've achieved lots. You've decided to be an artist in a world that only cares about city bankers and reality show contestants. You're brave. You have talent and you know it, so don't ever let your inner critic sabotage you. You're too good, too talented.
Perfection is impossible. Your critic only wants you to write when you have a masterpiece. That's impossible. You can't ever make a masterpiece on purpose.
A masterpiece is when a project, by hard work and luck, has less mistakes than all the others.
But you have to be willing to make mistakes.
You're not perfect. Artists aren't meant to be. We just step out the front door and create, do some hard work and have fun.
Stop stopping yourself. Your critic is not an expert. It's just scared. Tell your critic to take a break, or to give you constructive thoughts rather then condemnation.
Make art!