Monday 6 , June 2011

June is bursting out all over

 Welcome all to our  June newsletter.  Tasty morsels  this month include: writing exercises to keep you going over the summer. Ideas of summer reads for playwrights and screenwriters and film watch. News of forthcoming courses and opportunities to develop your creativity.   Enjoy!!

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Inspiring writing - why your project comes out smelling of roses

  Out of the manure of creativity, of drafting and redrafting, and of feeding the soil, your writing, like a rose, can emerge as a thing of beauty and delight. 

Write a letter
Describe why you love the idea for your novel, novella, script. Rave about how wonderful it will be. Go on and on why people will want to read it, or watch it.
Talk about why the writing is so fabulous, why it is unique.
Put the letter away,

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Inspiring writing: Goodies and Baddies

media.photobucket.com/image/bad guy/jingweed/bad_guy.png

Choose one of your favourite novels, or films, and decide who the protagonist it? Make a list of the reasons why the character is likeable or compelling? What is loveable about them?. What makes him or her unique, why do we want to spend time with them? If a character is neither likeable or compelling, and if there is no "I love you" moment for them, then why should an audience or reader care? If our hopes and fears for the character are not engaged, there is no dramatic tension and we will lose interest.  Melvin Udall in As Good As it Gets, is by no means likeable at the start of the film: he's the most obnoxious character, ocd, rude, mean to animals, racist and homophobic. But at the same time, he's a novelist struggling to write about love, and it is this that gives us a hint that there is more to him. 

Think of some antagonists from soaps, films, novels or plays: are they bad boys, sexual villains, wicked witches, bitches? Are they seemingly nice but really double crossers?  What trouble do they bring? does the antagonist want something similar to the main character? Are they in some ways similar in character, or in shared values? Is the antagonist worthy of the protagonist? In a way, the antagonist provides the obstacles that help the character become who they are by the end of the film. 

In Witness, John Book (Harriison Ford) is a policeman who wants to protect an amish boy from killsers. The antagonist is his mentor, the senior policeman Shaeffer. Both characters are cut from the same cloth, both belonged to the same world; both are cunning and smart, and know what game they are playing. Both will do anything to get what they want. But whilst Book wants to protect the boy, Shaeffer wantsd to protect himself and his corrupt offices from being exposed. 

The protagonist in a narrative can face forces antagonism on three different levels: with people, with their inner worlds, and with the environment or society. Melvin Udall's obstacles are mainly with himself.  What are your character's forces of antagonism? Brainstorm 25 or more possible antagonistic forces your protagonist has to meet. this will open up many options, usually the first 10 are predictable but in the effort to come up with more, the brain will come up with more and more surprises. 

Thanks to a great book, " Writing for the Screen" by Zara Waldeback and Craig Batty, Palgrave Macmillan  for the inspiration for the above exercises. Highly recommended. 

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writers international

 On the last week in June Ink Inc ran a writers retreat in Domaine Des Cigalles, an hour from Nice in ancient woodland. Five days writing, talking, swimming, wine drinking, watching films, and visiting local places of interest. If you are interested in future retreats, let me know.  We hope to organise more  value for money retreats in Europe next year.  

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Ink inc film analysis.

www.dailyscript.com/scripts/apartment.html The Apartment Script

www.dailyscript.com/scripts/sunset_bld_3_21_49.html Sunset Boulevard Script

 I just watched Sunset Boulevard and The Apartment, which are two award winning films by writer director Billy Wilder. 

Sunset Boulevard has a brilliant portrayal of a fading silent movie star desperate at all costs to  have success. Her's is a spider and fly story  in which she ensnares the William Holden Character, a wannabee writer, who also craves the trappings of success. Even her hands are spider like.   As we know from the opening scene that he ends up dead in her pool, the question that hooks us in is how does this happen. He has a fatal flaw story, in which he makes a faustian bargain - he sleeps with Norma a 50 year old (how old? !!! - she seems ancient) in order to pursue an image of glamour she represents, even though he is repelled by her  in many ways. So when he truly loves the script editor girl who believes in his writing, he is forced to face the lie he is living. Norma can never do this.  Its about the morality of individuals.  Let me know your thoughts. 

The Apartment is a much later film a rom com of the cyncial 60's with CC Baxter a man who also wants to move up in the world and is prepared to let immoral activity happen in his flat in order to be promoted. But when the girl of his dreams turns out to be his boss's latest triumph, he has to make a choice - to take a stand and lose his job or sacrifice what he really cares about.   Like all Rom coms, its about the pursuit of love.  But also deals with morality. 

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Thats all folks

 Thats all this month except to say, the books I am reading at the moment for screenwritng are:  "Writing for the Screen "by Zara Waldeback and Craig Batty, and "Your Writing Coach" by Jurgen Wolff.  Please share your own inspiring books

Happy writing!

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