Sunday, October 26, 2014

characters and orange juice

So I was watching one of my favorite speakers, Wayne Dyer, on a youtube video and he was speaking about how if you squeeze oranges, orange juice always comes out. That it's made of orange juice and so each time, that's what you'll get, that's its true substance. Makes sense. Then he goes on to say that when people are stressed, they like to blame how they behave or act on other situations or people, but that their true nature is what comes out in those situations. So if they act like a jerk, or angry, or mean, or sweet and happy, that's what they are, that's their true nature. They can blame it on anything they want, but truly, that's their true nature. So it got me thinking that that works for our characters as we're writing them. I've always heard that a true character's nature comes out when put in stressful situations. And it's our job as a writer to create the world to put them in conflict, put them to the test. And what our story will show is our character's true nature. It's nice to think of it that way, knowing it's our job to squeeze that orange juice out. If we're not, we're not telling the story. We're not putting them in enough conflict or stress if we're not doing that. When we're writing our story, we can think of the first 10-20 pages of our story, that we're starting out with a nice, round plump orange that we just picked. That's our character before anything has happened. And then comes the inciting incident. That's when we slowly see that orange juice, or character's true nature, come out. Drip by drip, story beat, by story beat, as the conflict rises, the pressure is put upon them, until we end up with a nice tall glass of a fresh juicy story. A full glass of orange juice. Or, a nice fully fleshed out character and story. Drink up and enjoy!

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Don't judge

So I usually write about screenwriting, but today I felt the need to write about what it's like to be judged as a woman in today's world. The reason I felt like doing this is because of the fallout from Renee Zellweger's new face. Before her new critics, she was in the trades and news for not looking good. People tweeted and commented on how horrible she was looking. Really? People? Why is it that from the safety of every one's homes they feel so nasty and mean about ripping apart a person. She's a person, remember? So then recently she does who knows what to her face. Facelift? Botox? Facials? I don't know and I don't care. So now she's ripped apart for no longer looking like she used to. Luckily it seems like she's not caring and letting it roll off her back. And I hope she really feels that way. Because I can only imagine what it's like to be judged by every Tom, Dick and Mary in the social media world. It's hard enough as a woman in today's day and age to get older, but when you're an actress in Hollywood the standards are even that much tougher. So what's an actress to do? I guess learn to develop a thick skin. Easier said than done I'm sure. Because most actors are insecure as it is. If you're an actor reading this and you don't think you are, I bet, you are. And if you can't get a thick skin, stop reading social media and tabloids. It's sort of like a tree in a forest, if you don't read it, it didn't happen. And for the rest of us writers and other non-actors, stop caring what actresses do or don't do. If you have that much time to criticize what an actor does or doesn't do, you've got too much time on your hands. Which is why, I'm going back to my new outline. Ciao!

Friday, October 10, 2014

As High As The Sky

No, not me. It's the title of a little film that needs to get attention. I happen to know the writer, director, Nikki Braendlin, but hadn't been in touch in years. I saw on her Facebook that she started to film said movie and was excited for her and wondered what kind of movie it would be. Well as luck would have it, she posted this week that it was free on Hulu, with commercials. So I thought, sure, why not! I thought I'd watch it in two days because what writer has time to watch a movie in one sitting. Not me at least because I'm always writing something.

Well, I loved it so darn much I sat and watched the whole thing all the way through. I didn't just love it a little, or love it because I knew her. I looooved it! It was really well written, the characters were done so wonderfully, the story was heart-warming and sweet. From start to finish, Nikki just hit it out of the park. I have since gotten back in touch with her and we're going to catch up, because I was so darn impressed. But now it's your turn. You must watch this great little film. The message was great. I loved the casting. Really could have watched more of these characters even beyond this movie, and that's a rare thing to say. I won't give away any plot points or ending, but I'll just say it really touched me. I had never been more proud to say I know a fellow writer.

Just as I was writing this blog, I opened an email from Sundance touting "4 movies you must watch online right now". Well, I'm going to make it 5. Add As High As The Sky to your list. You'll be happy you did.