I've been discussing, on my writing group's yahoo board, about the feedback I received from my screenwriting teacher. My writing group is saying that I should just stick to my story. Below is my response to a member of my writing group.
"You're right, I just need to stay with what I want my screenplay to be about, and I do want it to be about an adult child dealing with a dying father, a father the child has hated since childhood. That's the essence of my story. The brother sideline story is extra and so is baseball actually. I only made it about baseball players, because I got the idea for the story while wathcing the Oakland A's whack the Yankees in NYC for Game 4 of the 2000 ACLS. Plus baseball seemed the perfect background for exploring the father/child relationship from the male perspective, since I've always wondered if boys are closer to their fathers than daughters just because of the sports thing."
Wednesday, September 18, 2002
Songs that are going through my head right now: Basement Jaxx - Where's Your Head At, and some other song I heard on the dance station I sometimes listen to which goes something like, "I'm going to get through this".
I finally received some feedback from my screenwriting teacher on my screenplay. Here's what Julie O said.
"When I was away this summer I found that my conversation with any 'random' American often 'reversed' into talk/monologue about Baseball. This oldest sport(?) in the country obviously is deep seated in the psyche. And I'm thinking this will be explored in your piece. My lingering thoughts are Biblical though -- The Prodigal Son, Cain and Abel, etc. For me your first draft is a story about two brothers."
Biblical references in my screenplay, hmmm... I never saw this angle before. I knew when I was writing the screenplay, that it was a story about two brothers, and it was a story about a son returning home, but he's not the prodical son. The prodigal son left and returned home broke. My character is relatively wealthy. If I follow the biblical references to their logical extreme, is baseball then the garden of eden?
It's interesting what people read into my stories, especially when I never think about stuff like this when I write. I can't. It's too hard. I struggle to have my story come alive on paper, and the last thing I'm thinking about is what it all means. If I think about what I'm writing, I lose my story and my plot, and story and plot is everything to me.
I finally received some feedback from my screenwriting teacher on my screenplay. Here's what Julie O said.
"When I was away this summer I found that my conversation with any 'random' American often 'reversed' into talk/monologue about Baseball. This oldest sport(?) in the country obviously is deep seated in the psyche. And I'm thinking this will be explored in your piece. My lingering thoughts are Biblical though -- The Prodigal Son, Cain and Abel, etc. For me your first draft is a story about two brothers."
Biblical references in my screenplay, hmmm... I never saw this angle before. I knew when I was writing the screenplay, that it was a story about two brothers, and it was a story about a son returning home, but he's not the prodical son. The prodigal son left and returned home broke. My character is relatively wealthy. If I follow the biblical references to their logical extreme, is baseball then the garden of eden?
It's interesting what people read into my stories, especially when I never think about stuff like this when I write. I can't. It's too hard. I struggle to have my story come alive on paper, and the last thing I'm thinking about is what it all means. If I think about what I'm writing, I lose my story and my plot, and story and plot is everything to me.
Tuesday, September 17, 2002
Musical selection tonight: Itzhak Perlman's Greatest Hits - music to soothe an elf girl's soul. It's amazing what a lack of sleep can due to my mostly happy mood.
There was an accident on 19th Avenue near Judah on the way home tonight. An ambulance and police were at the scene. I try not to look at accidents when I drive past them. They freak me out, especially since I once saw a car on fire with I think people in it on the way to a Dead concert in Sacramento a very long time ago. We were going so fast, we weren't sure what we saw, but a car was definitely on fire. It's way too depressing to look at car accidents. I know many people who've been in car accidents, and it doesn't matter how long ago the accident was, the injuries still affect them and will probably continue to do for the rest of their lives. A car accident injury totally messes with your body for as long as you live. I think of my injured friends every time I pass an accident on the road.
I'm in such a melancholy mood because of my bad boy dreams and lack of sleep. All I want to do is work on my new needlepoint project, listen to my classical music cds, wait for it to get dark and then go to bed. There is something very relaxing about doing needlepoint. I like the repititiveness of it, and the fact that I really have to concentrate on what I'm doing since I'm not a good stitcher. It's almost meditative when I needlepoint because I can't think of anything else.
And afterwards when I look back at my work, I feel such a sense of accomplishment because I see how much progress I'm making on my pillow or on the purse that I'm now working on. Of course, the best needlepoint projects you can buy are found in London at Harrod's or Liberty of London. Needlepoint must be a big hobby there, because the selection of needlepoint projects is unbelievable. The kits you can buy here in the states are so mediocre compared to the kits in London.
My friend Mel is in Italy for a month. I am very jealous. I would love to go to Italy, if I could stop in London either on the way there or on the way home so I can buy new needlepoint projects at either Harrod's or Liberty, purchase new tartan shawls on Portobello Road, pick up a few silk scarves at Liberty of London which are divine but quite pricey, and then stop at Harrod's for tea and to check out their silver and raincoat departments.
If I had oodles of money, I would fly to London for the weekend, like I how used to fly from here to NYC for the weekend, for shopping, West End shows and a proper English tea.
There was an accident on 19th Avenue near Judah on the way home tonight. An ambulance and police were at the scene. I try not to look at accidents when I drive past them. They freak me out, especially since I once saw a car on fire with I think people in it on the way to a Dead concert in Sacramento a very long time ago. We were going so fast, we weren't sure what we saw, but a car was definitely on fire. It's way too depressing to look at car accidents. I know many people who've been in car accidents, and it doesn't matter how long ago the accident was, the injuries still affect them and will probably continue to do for the rest of their lives. A car accident injury totally messes with your body for as long as you live. I think of my injured friends every time I pass an accident on the road.
I'm in such a melancholy mood because of my bad boy dreams and lack of sleep. All I want to do is work on my new needlepoint project, listen to my classical music cds, wait for it to get dark and then go to bed. There is something very relaxing about doing needlepoint. I like the repititiveness of it, and the fact that I really have to concentrate on what I'm doing since I'm not a good stitcher. It's almost meditative when I needlepoint because I can't think of anything else.
And afterwards when I look back at my work, I feel such a sense of accomplishment because I see how much progress I'm making on my pillow or on the purse that I'm now working on. Of course, the best needlepoint projects you can buy are found in London at Harrod's or Liberty of London. Needlepoint must be a big hobby there, because the selection of needlepoint projects is unbelievable. The kits you can buy here in the states are so mediocre compared to the kits in London.
My friend Mel is in Italy for a month. I am very jealous. I would love to go to Italy, if I could stop in London either on the way there or on the way home so I can buy new needlepoint projects at either Harrod's or Liberty, purchase new tartan shawls on Portobello Road, pick up a few silk scarves at Liberty of London which are divine but quite pricey, and then stop at Harrod's for tea and to check out their silver and raincoat departments.
If I had oodles of money, I would fly to London for the weekend, like I how used to fly from here to NYC for the weekend, for shopping, West End shows and a proper English tea.
Hard at work today working on client projects. I didn't sleep well last night. I kept waking up from this recurring dream with me and the hottie guy from screenwriting class. I am so over him, and it bugs me that I dreamt about him. He was way too wild for me. I haven't spoken to him in a month. So why the hell am I dreaming about him? It's like some curse.
And what's worse, I never dreamt about him when I thought I was in serious crush with him. So why am I dreaming about him now? I hate men who disturb my sleep.
And what's worse, I never dreamt about him when I thought I was in serious crush with him. So why am I dreaming about him now? I hate men who disturb my sleep.
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