Recommended Reading: Writing Drama by Yves Lavandier

There are many books about writing scripts or plays, but there is one book which should be read by everyone interested in this subject (in my humble opinion, of course). Like every writer, I worked through the 'ususal suspects' like Stein, Field, and the like. So why do I consider this book unique? First, the subtitle a comprehensive guide for playwrights and scriptwriters caught my attention and second, the book started its life in France for a change.

The Idea Behind 'Writing Drama'

The idea behind this book could be described like this: Imagine, that you know someone who

• really knows what he is talking about regarding the subject of script writing,


• who's taking you by the hand and dissects all aspects of the trade,


• supplies you with invaluable insights,


• and points out things you would have probably missed while writing.

Sounds too good? Maybe so, but this is how I feel about this book. There is one thing to be aware of, though. This book is not another 'How to Effortlessly Write a Blockbuster in Two Days' step by step instruction. Its about the art of writing scripts. No more and no less.

The Structure of the Book

Yves Lavandier structured the book into two sections. The first section, 'The Synthetic Model,' talks about dramaturgy and its inherent mechanisms. This might sound very theoretical and dry, but it is actually a very entertaining read and sprinkled with real-life examples citing plays and scripts. This approach makes it easier to understand the underlying concepts, provided your collection of DVDs is on par or that you have access to a well stocked rental place not too far away. By the way, the examples span from 'Waiting for Godot' to 'Blue Velvet' or 'Out of Rosenheim', meaning they span different genres and writing styles to explain how to tell interesting stories.

The second section is called 'Methology.' In it you learn how to make practical use of the different aspects you read about in the first section. There is even a discussion about writing a Treatment, since a good Treatment is a prerequisite guiding your project on its way to completion.

The appendix contains more interesting topics. Among others, how to write for children and how to script documentaries. It also contains 'Workshop Exercises' to either sharpen your newly acquired skills, or to work on those techniques that you learned when starting out in the trade. The appendix alone is worth the price of the book, seriously.

(My) Conclusion

To put it into one sentence: Everyone interested in how to tell intoxicating stories should read this book, period. It's not that easy to get me to rave about a book covering this subject, but this book is always in easy reach, either for inspiration or for research.

Writing Drama is available in English or French at the online-store of Le Clown & l'Enfant and should be available in every well stocked book store (on- or offline). Highly recommended.

'Candy Spelling' turned out to be something else

While taking a look at the current search-terms, I found a lot of searches for "Candy Spelling". Fine, I thought, people want to know how to spell the different sugary things which make life a little sweeter at times.

Little did I know. It's a story about Tori Spelling's mom making money at a casino. Good for her, but not what I was expecting.

Home Inspection Checklist? Yes, Seriously.

No, I'm not out of my mind. I know, the last post happened a while ago, but I had to finish a bookproject and a gazillion of other things. Back to the subject: Why would one—as a writer—need a home inspection checklist?

For starters, it doesn't hurt to have one anyway. For us as writers, this type of list could be a gold mine. Need an idea what might happen to your main character while sneaking into an unfamiliar house? Check the list, or a list of perils confronting home-owners in general; you'll find something useful, I'm sure.

I'm using the term home inspection checklist, but I'm not talking about the short version which usually contains boring stuff like number of rooms and the like. An exhaustive home inspection checklist should contain information like where is the nearest school, where is the police-department, lay of the land, plants close to the house and in the vicinity, you get the idea.

Speaking of plants: Is your hero allergic? If so, what happens while your protagonist lurks in the cellar, waiting for the adversary to do something stupid, next to the open window close to a birch tree, in spring? Next to the window are some termites—unbeknownst to our hero—and he is about to use the wooden stairs leading up into the house…

OK, the last scenario might be too much, or is it?

Home inspection checklists could provide some ideas to increase the suspense, that's for sure. On the other hand, what about a stack of filled out lists to be used to create the surroundings of a story? As I said, it could be a potential gold mine.

A peaceful Thanksgiving…

…and may your turkeys be big and juicy. ;-)

Barbarella? Remake? Seriously?

I know that I'm late for this (working on a book). A friend forwarded me the link to Universal Dumps Rodriguez's Barbarella Remake. My first reaction is worded in the title. Let's be clear about this, the original movie is a work of art. Trying to top it is probably impossible.

Then I took the time to actually read the article. My next thought was: Rose McGowan as Barbarella? Robert Rodriguez as director? This could really work! Again, I'm late to the party and the producers won't care much about my say anyway, but still: It might work.

No offense, but the other choices for the leading role? Are you kidding me? Don't get me wrong here, I admire these actresses as much as any other guy concerned with the business, but BARBARELLA? Seriously? Guys, did you watch the original movie? Thought so, go to a video-store and catch up! Mr. Rodriguez beat you on this one.

To clarify one thing: I'm not part of the "rabid fan-base"[sic] of Rose McGowan, but I care a lot about the legacy of Barbarella.

PS: If I had a wish, I'd like to see Jon Lovitz as Durand Durand. ;-)

Technorati Tags: Barbarella, Rose McGowan, Robert Rodriguez, Barbarella Remake

Podcasts about Writing: Writers on Writing

And on goes the List, the podcast Writers on Writing isn't actually a pure podcast, it's a weekly show on KUCI-FM available as a podcast.

My verdict, always inspiring and always worth listening to. Again, one of the podcasts I always carry with me on my iPod. The host, Barbara DeMarco-Barrett, explains the goals in an interview, so I don't have to word it myself.
;-)

Highly recommended.

Technorati Tags: Podcast, Podcasts about writing, Writers on Writing, Barbara DeMarco-Barret

Word: Awning

That is what happens when I'm running low on caffein (early in the morning), somebody asked me to explain the word "awning" to him. I retorted by asking him if he was talking about the urchin-variety or the "run-of-the-mill"-ones. We were even and looked up "awning" together.

Podcasts about Writing: The Writing Show

I started my rundown of podcasts about writing I would recommend with Grammar Girl, let's call it an essential, grammar is always important.

One of the other podcasts I always carry with me is The Writing Show. The subjects span almost everything concerning writing, be it plot-development, creativity, publishing the finished book, etc. Always interesting to listen to, thus my second recommendation.

Stay tuned, there is more to come.

Technorati Tags: Podcasts about Writing, Podcast, Writing

Podcasts about Writing: Grammar Girl

There are podcasts about writing that I really like, means I don't leave home without them. The first one I'd like to present is called Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing.

If your first reaction to this suggestion is "I don't need grammar-lessons anymore", just remember that knowledge tends to get buried over time. The other thing I found out is, that it really helps to get gentle reminders once in a while. The show concentrates on one topic per episode and it takes you approximately 6 to 8 minutes to listen to it. So it's a little refresher once a week, taking not too much time out of our busy schedules, and in my opinion worth listening to.

If you are using iTunes, then you could use this URL as a shortcut for subscribing to the show.

I'll write about the other podcasts during the next couple of days, so stay tuned.

Technorati Tags: writing, podcast, podcast about writing

Robert Jordan 1948 - 2007

I just found out this morning, Robert Jordan the author of the "Wheel of Time"-Series passed away 16. September.

My deepest condolences to his family and friends. He will always be remembered.

More information is on his Blog.

Stealing back Looks, Style and Ambition?

I just read the post Time to steal back by John August. Interesting, 3 sentences which got me thinking.

What follows implies that stealing back into movie scripts is the meaning of said 3 sentences.

Looks: Looks, like in surroundings, won't provide much leeway. There is a fixed number of locations on this planet, other planets are out of question due to the costs. Granted, some productions travel wide and far to save some money, but an extraterrestrial location will blow the budget. Being confined to this planet means a lot of "been there, done that" locations, that's all. Even alien planets aren't prone to that. Which brings us to style.

Style: Style, as in looks, is still a field which has room for improvement. Provided the test-audience isn't to irritated, that is. Just compare the "Directors Cut" of Blade Runner and the version which has been shown in movie theaters and you get my drift. IMHO: The intended style of the movie was to make the spectators think, the released version released the spectators from thinking (pun intended), and don't get me started about the ending of the theatrical version, seriously.

Ambition: Ambition is an interesting thought, though. The ambition of a TV-Series like "Lost", "Rome", or "E-Ring" is—among other things—change. Gradual change which happens over a "period" of several episodes, something that's hard to achieve in 90 to 120 minutes. Especially since the latter is frowned at by the owners of movie theaters because it kind of ruins the schedule.

I might sound a lot more grumpy than I really am, but think about the fact, that "doing" a movie involves a lot of people these days, and some of them aren't willing to experiment, are they? Most writers know about the differences of the final cut and what happened to be in the script. Don't get me wrong here, though. The ones with the final say have to protect themselves from failures, but the result of this behavior is visible at a theater near you. ;-)

Technorati Tags: scriptwriting, movie, movie theater

Writing: Organizing Ideas

I recently discussed the various ways of organizing Ideas with a fellow writer. He told me, that he sticks to the legal pad to index card to storage paradigm. I changed my approach to Notebook only a couple of years ago. The discussion got me thinking (pondering?) about the merits of the different ways one stores ideas.

The index card to storage worked for me, at least in the past. After I switched to notebook, I never looked back, though. Sure, index cards neatly stored in some kind of cabinet are easy to search, don't get lost that easy (usually), and are to be found in one place. Especially the latter cannot be said about notebooks, that one's for sure. So why do I like the notebook-approach so much?

Context. I don't know about you, but as ideas age they tend to become somewhat cryptic. Did you ever try to make sense of a short note you scribbled years ago? A quick glance at the card usually refreshes our memory and we remember, but (you saw this one coming, didn't you?) sometimes the note either does not sound that interesting or does not make sense at all. Why? Because it is read out of context. This means, it lacks the surroundings that sparked the idea in the first place. There are two ways to overcome this situation:

1. Create some system to put the idea into context again. Say, number all cards and put the relevant numbers on every card to establish the context later.


2. Rely on your memory to put the idea into the original context.

Option 1 is a little demanding because it either interrupts your workflow or requires time to be set aside for adding all the context-related numbers. Option 2 didn't work for me, if it works for you, congratulations.

Enter my notebook-system, everything is in context provided I did not rip out pages for whatever reason. The notebooks are archived, means they are marked with the timespan I used them and put into a shelf in my office. Context-related information? It is already there, I just have to flip through the pages and thus be able to put every single word or seemingly cryptic scribbling into context again. It works for me, your mileage may vary.

How do you deal with idea-storage?

Writing: Looking for Ideas? Try Google

A quick pointer if you are looking for an idea, a plot for a short-story, or just some amusement. Use the technique outlined in Writer's Home Gym and input the words into Google's searchbox. Believe me, you will find wondrous things, and maybe an idea.

Give it a try. After inputting "scrap," "noodle," and "plant," I found out, that there is actually a noodle-plant (as in factory manufacturing noodles) for sale. Looking for some idea what your protagonist or antagonist might be doing the next couple of pages? Here you go. ;-)

Technorati Tags: Writers Home Gym, Writing, Getting ideas

Agency Contracts

No, I didn't become an agent overnight, nor do I claim I have the foggiest regarding this subject. But there is a series of posts on Pub Rant explaining the details. The first post is called Anatomy Of An Agency Agreement—Part One, there are three more at the time of this writing. Have a look. ;-)

Books: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

I finished "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" a couple of days ago and have to say: J.K. Rowlings best book, yet. (You're supposed to speak the "period" as well.)

Since I loathe spoilers, the following comes in two parts. When I indicate, that you shouldn't read any further and don't want to have the experience reading the book spoiled, stop reading!

The book has an incredible pace, the—often abused—word "page-turner" gets a real meaning here. I simply couldn't stop reading. This book is proof, that writing is indeed a form of art. J.K. Rowling shows how it's done. Everyone with an interest in the subject should read this book.

Assuming that this is a book written for children only is a mistake. I actually know of some 11 to 14 year olds, which didn't like HP V + VI anyway, and they won't like HP VII as well. There might be exceptions, but few. The marketeers in the respective publishing houses will cringe by my saying so, but this book has to be marketed to the proverbial "young adult and above" demographic.

I paused reading another book to read "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the former is marketed as "thriller", when I continued reading said book, it felt too slow for my taste. I'm inclined to say, that HP VII did set a new standard regarding the pace of a book. It should be used as an example in the education of aspiring writers.

And here comes the section that might spoil it for all who didn't read the book yet. You've been warned.




One thing crossed my mind while pondering about possible subjects that might end up in yet another HP book. The author killed all protagonists worth writing another book about. Seriously, Moody, Remus, Tonks, one of the Weasly twins, Dumbledore, Snape, all gone. I might be wrong here, but I don't think this is coincidence. IMHO, of course.

There you have it, didn't read the book, did you? I warned you before, you should have listened.

Technorati Tags: Harry Potter, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling, Books

Books: Harry Potter V & VI read them again, seriously

I'll refer to both books here, since they are out in the wild for some time and I read both again—in preparation for the 21st of July, obviously.
Just to make sure, the titles are:

• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix


• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

There is nothing I could say about the content, at least, nothing new. But there is something I noticed during this second reading of these books—when I read them for the first time, I "ploughed" through the books—it is the style of the writing. These (childrens-)books have an amazing flow in the story, worded almost flawlessly, especially if I dared to compare them to some acclaimed books targeted at adults. It took this second time for me to understand why some younger children had problems reading these books, J.K. Rowling said so herself: They are written for an older audience. The books "grow up" with the readers. I have to admit, I was impressed.

My recommendation: Read the books again. The experience is a more relaxed one the second time around. Book 7 "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" needs "ploughing" again. Its a matter of self-defense against too chatty people in the media or the Internet, I'm afraid. But I won't wait that long to read the book again—to really enjoy it.

IMHO: What is wrong with the media or other people trying to spoil the experince for the shallow fame of being the first to ruin the reading of a book reporting the conclusion? I don't have an answer for that, but may they be punished accordingly.

Technorati Tags: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling, Books, Reading

Stellar Fireworks for Independence Day

It's the 4th of July again, time to celebrate. And for all of you not being able to light their own fireworks, take a look at Stellar fireworks through Hubble’s eyes, it doesn't get any bigger, promised.
;-)

Have a nice and peaceful day.

Writing: Blogs that make you smile

First of all, sorry for the low posting-frequency, I'm working on a book.

I just found a blog called Daily Writing Tips. Sounds like a source of information every writer could use, doesn't it? Then I glanced at the article Advertising May Be Harmful to Your Spelling and it made me smile. A very good combination IMHO. Let's hope the quality stays like that.

On a related note: Have a look at AP Stylebook ask the Editor, another website which made it to my morning-list.

Features vs. Getting the Job Done?

The post "Is a featureless product in your future?" should be read by software-developers and writers alike. Yes, software-developers and writers alike! A software-developer will find an interesting insight in the "Features vs. a tool to get the job done"-area, a writer might think about Scrivener first, but this theory works for the writing itself, as well.

My gut-feeling is, that writers—not unlike software-engineers—are sometimes a victim of feature-creep. Means, adding story-lines or characters to please a certain demographic. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that this is bad; the buyer of an application is a customer to the developer of said application, just as the reader is our customer. They expect certain things, and it's their right to do so. The similarities do not end here: Software-development and writing is an art-form and a craft, as well.

"So what has this to do with anything?", you might ask. Let's enter screen-writing (I might review this topic in regard to books at another time). There are two shows on TV which came to my mind while reading the above mentioned post: "Close to Home" and "The Closer." The latter is (IMHO, of course) a perfect example of how a show should be written; everything furthers the story, sometimes spread over a couple of shows, but that is something I don't mind, I'm all for it, actually. The former, well, this "She's also a mother, a working mother, that is!" does not seem to add to the story; granted, it allows to create obstacles along the way, but, based on what I've seen so far, it's just that, the women is a mother, as well. I might be wrong here, but it feels like this "mother-thing" was added to raise interest of a certain demographic for the show. I'm not saying this is wrong, but—for the moment—I don't see the point (yet?).

I'll keep watching, maybe there is something I missed. ;-)

Technorati Tags: Close to Home, The Closer, writing, script-writing

OS X: Another Way to Reset the Spotlight-Indicies

Spotlight is a feature in OS X which allows me to be much more productive in my writing-endeavors. I use a folder on my Mac to store all thoughts, ideas, possible openings for books, etc. The folder does contain a certain structure of sub-folders, but most of the time—when in need for inspiration—I simply use Spotlight to wade through the material. So far, so good.

I recently discovered, that Spotlight couldn't find a certain file I was sure I had created a couple of days ago. The obvious choice would be the command

sudo mdutil -E /

to reset the indices, but not everyone feels like using the Terminal-program (and I did not want to wait for Spotlight to re-index all my harddisks) so I tried something different. I opened the Spotlight-Preferences and switched to the "Privacy"-Tab



If you drag a folder, or even a hard-disk-icon into this list, Spotlight excludes the object(s) in this list from indexing and searching. You might ask, "and this is useful because … ?" It's not the excluding, it's the removal from the exclusion-list. If you remove an object from the list, Spotlight re-indexes the object in question.

So there you have it, selective rebuilding of Spotlights indices, give it a try.

Technorati Tags: OS X, Spotlight, Spotlight Index, Spotlight index rebuild