As you’ve probably noticed, I like different landscapes as writing prompts because of the variety of ideas that can spring forth. I was going to find something different for today, but then I saw the following image. I had a random idea, so I will accept this Writing Prompt Challenge. Who will join me?
Happy Writing! And I look forward to reading your creations!
I didn’t receive any Writing Prompt submissions this week, and I was playing around with an idea last night, but didn’t actually write anything. I know. Besides, my mind was complete rubbish by the time I wanted to write and I was misspelling words or leaving them out altogether. I decided it best to just write down a few notes about the idea so I wouldn’t lose it by morning. So for today, I thought I would talk about movies. I am a screenwriter, and I don’t think I really have as yet…
A friend and I were recently discussing movies, and how different our taste in film is. If she likes a movie, it’s a guarantee I won’t, so I usually don’t bother once she’s told me she really liked something, and vice versa. We met in film school, so the basis of our friendship is clearly not founded on our mutual love of the same films. The funny thing is, she likes my screenwriting, so what does that say?
It got me started thinking about film in general, and those that I like, and have been inspired by. I once tried to make a top ten list of my favorite films, and ended up with a list of seventeen and that was lumping Disney and Pixar films into two. I was heavily influenced by Disney princess films, still am. 🙂 And I think the people at Pixar are brilliant, and I sometimes muse at how impressed they are with themselves when I see the most amazing effects in their films; like Sully’s hair blowing in the breeze, or a puff of dust being stirred on one of Andy’s shelves. Amazing.
The following is a list of a few movies that changed my perception, my writing, or me in no particular order, except maybe when I watched them.
The Dark Crystal – Most children I know personally could never watch this film. I’m not even sure how I was able to. It’s dark (pun intended) and a little scary, but the cast is entirely made up of puppets. Most 80s kids are Jim Henson fans, but most of my friends preferred Labyrinth to the Crystal. Not me. This is still on my top ten list because of its impact on me when I was a kid. The idea of a magical world torn apart, the story of an unlikely hero, and the themes of good vs evil, immortality, and sacrifice were all highly effective on my young mind.
The Princess Bride – I don’t know anyone who does not like this movie. It’s wonderful. I would later grow to admire its writer, William Goldman, who also wrote Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid, the screenplay for Misery, among many others. He has a great sense of humor and is one of my favorite writers. The Princess Bride impacted me in the sense of combining fantasy and reality, or the reality we create. It is clever, funny, romantic, and full of adventure and swashbuckling, and it is one of the films that would change my storytelling.
Braveheart – I saw Braveheart shortly after my first visit to England. This was the film that got me interested in Medieval times. The film was gritty and brutal, but it was also romantic, and highlighted the values of honor and loyalty. As I had already discovered I was an Anglophile, this just further developed my passion for learning its history, but also, that writers have the opportunity to sway perspective. As writers, we create empathy for our characters. Unlikeable characters can be given a reason for their traits, and become likeable in the eyes of the viewer depending on how the story is told. Current example: Malificent. *I’m not saying she’s unlikeable per say, as she has always been one of my favorite villains.
Sense and Sensibility – This film was my introduction to Jane Austen. Again, shortly after my first visit to England. I was immediately obsessed. I started watching all the film variants of Austen’s work, long before I decided to actually read any of them. Maybe that’s the difference in being a screenwriter vs an author…? I have watched this and Pride & Prejudice so many times, that if we are ever trapped on an island, or whatever, I could recite or reenact this for you. It was this film along with Braveheart that encouraged me to include facets of the time periods into my work.
Elizabeth – My continuing fascination with English history led me to Elizabeth, and my subsequent adoration of Cate Blanchett, one of my favorite actresses. I have become completely fascinated with the Tudors and their times because of this film. The country was torn apart by war, political, and religious issues, so maybe not the best of times, but Elizabeth, a woman (*gasp), became one of the country’s greatest monarchs. She should never have become queen, but it was her destiny, and even this influenced my writing. (I could write a great deal about Queen Elizabeth I.) It was while writing my screenplay entitled, 217, that I discovered my fascination with certain time periods were all separated by roughly 200 years…revelation. *You can read about it in the Excerpts section.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon – I have long enjoyed foreign films and this is still one of the best I’ve ever watched. It combines so many elements I enjoy; unrequited love, history (I’m a sucker for a period piece – can you tell by the list?), fantasy, and women who are not relegated to side/nondescript characters. It also has beautifully choreographed fight sequences. All of this further influenced my writing in regards to combining different elements, which is probably why I enjoy writing “fantasy”. I was driven to watch any and all films that were even remotely related to this style, and I did find Hero with Jet Li, Tony Leung, and Maggie Cheung. They utilized a wonderful technique of telling the same story from different points of view and changing the color of their clothes and surroundings to highlight the difference. Lovely.
So how about you? Which films influenced you?
I like quotes, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. Some people just say the right thing and why not share their words of wisdom? So here is this week’s quote, something as writers we probably all need to keep in mind…because we all have those days. 🙂
Patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting. – Joyce Meyer
And not to leave it at that, I thought I’d share this article from the wonderful people at The Write Life, 3 Ways to Train Your Brain to be More Creative, which is designed to help freelancers in particular, but from which we could all benefit.
One trick is to get into a routine. And we all love that. I write my screenplays primarily at night when the house is quiet, the courtyard of my building is quiet, it’s dark and I can’t see how lovely it is outside, and when my phone won’t ding. I’ve always been this way. I switched to writing my blog and doing “homework” during the daylight hours though, so I feel there’s a separation in my work.
One of the other tricks is to do something fun beforehand in order to warm up your brain. The author references Pavlov. On my old laptop I used to play a few hands of solitaire, now I play a little Tetris on my computer, because my original Nintendo system is old. Yes, I still have it. I don’t need to do this all the time, not anymore, I’ve trained myself. But when I get stuck on some facet in my writing, I will play a little Tetris, which doesn’t take any thought process, my hands just keep working, and I can usually work out the problem. I think it has to do with not trying to force the solution. I allow my brain to work it out without concentrating solely on it; it keeps working even though I feel like I shut it off.
I hope you find this helpful.
Have a wonderful and productive week!
In a recent post, I mentioned the brain dead side effect of rewriting. I am happy to relay that I have at least kept up the momentum, for a whole three days now. My goal is 15 pgs. a day and I have made it to page 50 in my script, but I am nearing the corner towards that dastardly Act III, so the ambitious page count may falter in the coming days. And of course, I’ve had another idea for the third act. Maybe I should write a novel, then I could use all the story ideas I’ve had and propose them as “if you turned left instead of right, this could’ve happened” story lines.
I went to film school, but many of the tools I have learned for screenwriting have come from my own research and interest in bettering my writing; books, articles, and teleconferences. If you’ve read some of my other posts in regards to the differences between screenwriting and novel writing, you’ll understand what a different mindset screenwriting requires, but I’m not going to go into those details here. This one is meant for rewriting.
I thought I’d share a few tips, some good ones, or those that I think are good because I found they made the biggest direct impact. These tips are more inclined for screenwriters, but some of them should be helpful to writers of all forms. Most of us know about cutting scenes that don’t move story, creating subtext in dialogue, and making sure there’s conflict, etc. but here are a few others I’ve been keeping in mind during this final (please let this be my final) rewrite. Also, thanks to irscriptwriter who encouraged me to stick with my two spaces after a period rule because it was causing aneurysms. 🙂
1. Wordsmithing – more meaning with fewer words. For screenwriters this is key as a page count limits us. It also means to take generic words like “walks” and replace it with saunters, struts, or lumbers which immediately gives the reader a visual and negates further description.
2. Imagine the location or setting and try to describe it in three vivid and evocative terms. Do the same with your characters. As with wordsmithing, the right word can have multiple meanings, and immediately stir the reader’s imagination.
3. Make the script fun to read. Screenplays have a specific format, but you can build momentum and action by the style on the page. We create the story and how the reader will follow it, so in that we have freedom. There’s also an unspoken rule of making blocks of action only four lines a piece so the reader doesn’t skip through larger blocks of text, just FYI.
4. Make it a silent film. Read only the action. Would a reader still understand what’s happening? This helps solve the “talking head” problem where exposition is given via dialogue.
I have pages upon pages of rewriting tips, so if anyone is interested in more, I will share them in another post.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Last night, I painstakingly rewrote 16 pages; broke out the thesaurus, cut scenes, changed two spaces after periods to one (because that’s evidently the new standard, *ugh), rewrote dialogue and description, and today I’m brain dead.
I was immediately drawn to this image; the contrast of color, the vibrancy, the imagination runs wild…
Happy Writing! And I look forward to your creations!
As writers, we like our routine. I’m starting to fall into one with my blog, which I like. So, it’s Tuesday, which means a review of Writing Prompt submissions.
This week, redgypsophila of Adventures in Writing decided to try something different; writing six pieces from different perspectives to convey a variety of moods. So far she’s posted two, and I can’t wait to read what else she has in store for us. Take a look at this creative idea!
And don’t be shy. If you’d like to participate, find an image I’ve posted, write/create something, and share it! C’mon, you know you want to. 🙂
As for me, this week I didn’t accomplish much writing. I started the framework for a tv pilot that will most likely become an enormous endeavor because it requires creating worlds, races, and all the other ingredients of a space odyssey. Yep, too much Star Wars, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Firefly, Farscape, and Doctor Who. Luckily I have my partner in crime, my sister the Star Wars expert, to help. It should be fun, and I’m excited about the story. I’ll share more once I’ve developed it a bit more.
In the meantime, here’s a little more of my Dragon Age fan fiction. Continuing on…
I could barely think clearly as pain shot through every inch of my being. The prison had this side effect of lifting its victim mid-air while it inflicted its pain, my feet dangled pathetically just above the ground. I would remain helpless for a short time, unable to offer support to my companions, defend myself, or even be released unless the casting mage was incapacitated mid-spell. The pain was too intense to do anything beyond riding the waves as they ebbed and flowed. I could barely see beyond the glimmer of the surrounding bubble of magic, so I could not tell how many enemies were present or how my companions were faring. Surprisingly, I could just make out the form of Morrigan standing in front of me as my guardian.
Morrigan, the apostate, a powerful shape-shifting mage, hardened and mistrustful from years of the solitary existence she shared with only her mother as her companion, had become an unlikely ally. She was honest, brutally so, and had lived a life so different from my own, that she sometimes pitied me, and I her, but we had shared a common bond, magic, and a respect for one another’s gifts, and thus the beginnings of a friendship had been born. She was quick to react, both physically and verbally, and she was powerful, a useful instrument in a fight. I felt her reach into the prison, trying to diffuse it, but pulling back quickly from the searing pain. I appreciated her effort nonetheless.
The sounds of swords striking were distorted, as was Keiko’s low warning growl, and the commanding shouts of Sten and Alistair as they ordered everyone into position for defense. There were strange sounds filling the cavern, and I could tell everyone had joined forces to fight off multiple enemies. I felt the prison’s effect waning, the spell was nearly at an end. I would have to react the moment it released me, having been weakened dramatically from the spell, and thus opening myself up for further attack.
Freedom. The moment my feet touched the ground, I sent out a shock wave to stun the surrounding enemies; it lasted just long enough for me to get my bearings and for us all to regroup. It took a great deal out of me and I fell to the ground exhausted, but I was able to see what had decided to infiltrate our group. Spiders. Enormous, horrifying spiders.
At the rear of the cavern, where it led beyond, stood a being distorted by the forest itself, a mage, perhaps once, but now a vessel for the magic of the forest. Vines and branches entwined its legs and torso. The skin had turned green, mostly, with hair that stood on end, twisted into a bizarre mass caked with mud and flora. It held no staff, but called forth energy from all the life forms surrounding it. This is what might lie in store for me here, if I dared to give into the wild, unharnessed side of my nature. I involuntarily shivered at the prospect.
Have a great week everyone!
Hi all!
I am calling on my fellow bloggers – Who or what blogs do you recommend? Offer up to me some of your favorite writing, screenwriting, geek culture, sci-fi/fantasy, history, something for an Anglophile, or anything that piques your interest blogs…I am open to suggestion.
Feel free to promote yourself! 😉
Thanks!
xx, Rach
“Tell me a little bit about yourself.” A statement we’ve heard time and time again during interviews, but who knew the importance of that question when you’re trying to sell a screenplay? Thankfully I came across this article, The Deal Closer: Your Personal Narrative by screenwriting career coach Lee Jessup, because as screenwriters we needed one more thing to worry about. 😉 To sum up the article, the basic idea is that our writing can be wonderful, but so must we. Selling our work the first time out is rare, but in order to work – staff writing positions, contract work – we must be able to sell ourselves as well. Let me add this to my Professional To Do List: #19. *I exhale a heavy sigh at the revelation of one more element to master.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Goodness…30 images. Let’s celebrate! Here’s something a little more reality based, but could go either way. 🙂 I look forward to reading what you create!
Happy Writing!
I came across this list, and as I’m trying to use Twitter mainly for business, I thought I’d share.
Top 25 Accounts All Screenwriters Should Follow On Twitter | ScreenCraft.
Happy Friday!
A Writer's Discrepant Memoirs and Other Tales 