the joy of writing “finis”
August 6, 2008
If all goes as planned, Sunday at midnight I will be BOLDING and CENTERING and SAVING and SINGING that word into the canyon. I was away for a month - placing myself under house arrest. AND I FINISHED!!! Congratulations to all of you who are soon writing THE END as well. Classes start in less than a few weeks at USC. We have a new director of the MPW program - Brighde Mullins - and I really look forward to working with her. So…… Summer to Fall. Make a list of what you notice this week that signifies a change of season - the leaves aren’t the be all - and yes LA does too have seasons - just keep your eyes open and your ears tuned - next week I’ll post an exercise that has to do with this list and feel free to share your list.xtheprof
yea! your back! so glad you were working on something new. looking forward to more…
ps.
while you were “gone,” i started reading the script reader’s blog. if you haven’t heard of the insanity check out her comment section under her ” tucker diss” - over 300 comments. she’s very funny, but again glad you are back. i meant to ask you what your “formula” for writing is; what works for you?
So glad you are back -I’ve missed your blog and the exercises. Please keep them coming! Oh and I too would love to know what you think about The Script Reader’s blog and the responses -as well as The Cinema Studies Major’s responses.
I second Amanda’s interest in your formula. I have to admit that I don’t strictly follow the three act structure - sure, all of my screenplays have beginnings, middles and ends, but I feel STRONGLY that one of the reason’s Hollywood is faltering is that writers are constantly being told to write in three act structure - which makes every movie seemingly identical to every other - regardless of structure - because they all have the same “inciting incidents” and whatnot. That was a long sentence.
I’ve published four books, my readers want my stories to get produced (I’ve written five screenplays) but I have to wonder if there’s something deeper going on…. or is it just that Hollywood has run out of ideas and money and those on the peripheral suffer the most.
Pete “Chooch” Conrad
glad i started some discussion. “chooch” i didn’t actually mean her “script formula” but interesting question. i agree that there are basics that all scripts must address but i too write more organically. i would be curious to know coleman’s thoughts on script development, based on the final product ( i have seen both of the soderberg films) i think she is a very adventurous writer.
coleman, i was more specifically interested in your writing grind - getting the thing on paper. i think you answered some of the question by saying you took off the time to write recently. do you always sequester or hunker down or do you have a daily time you take? i am trying to find that balance with life and writing. it is difficult.
amanda