Since when did all (okay not quite all) of the letters to the editors in writing magazines become commercials? It seems no one is writing in to comment on the articles themselves but to get a little free press. Their writing in to sell or get promotion on something they've wrote ("This article helped me get through writers block while writing my new novel Insert Title Here (Penguin 2009)..." or "After reading the article on freelancing in multiple markets I suddenly realized the potential for my "man about town column" I write for the local paper could have...." I hope the mags are charging advertising rates.
I just thought I'd point that out.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Quoting movies I haven't seen
Don't you hate going to the movies and having someone in the audience quoting the dialogue along with the actors? Or even worse yet is someone saying the lines before the actors do right in the middle of a dramatic moment of the movie? Well what if you're "quoting" dialogue for a movie you haven't seen?
I did that. Yesterday my mother and I went to see 27 Dresses. I knew my dad would never go see the movie and that my mom wanted to. Me? Well it's not exactly my cup of tea but I had the day off so why not. There were several times during the movie when I was quoting the dialogue along with the actors. And one important scene where I was saying the dialogue a line or two before the actors. And I haven't seen the movie before. So what does that mean?
Does that mean 1) I'm such a good writer that those would be the words I would have written, or 2) I've seen this all before and I'm tired of the cliches in the story/dialogue/action. My money is on number 2.
Think about it. There's a weddings (or multiple ones in this case). A male reporter comes to investigate a female wedding participant. They eventually fall in love. They get married. Sound familiar? Runaway Bride ring a bell? And that "trying on all the dresses scene" has been done before. Pretty Woman. Sleeping with the Enemy. And probably every other Julia Roberts romantic comedy movies she's ever done. And she's not the only actress to do that either. What is it about having a women change into all kinds of outfits that must be in a romantic comedy? Or the "girl finally kissing the one she's got a crush on only to find out there's no sparks and she's actually in love with the guy who's annoying her" cliche?
Maybe all these cliches (and more of them) are the reason I don't like watching romantic comedies. They're too formulaic. Without even watching the movie I know what's going to happen next. The only romantic comedy that I like is While you Were Sleeping and even then I still saw some of the well worn cliches used in the genre in that film. Could I write anything better? I don't know.
I've thought about writing a movie script. I've even got a couple of ideas floating around in my head for some. And you can count on the fact that they're not romantic comedies. Writing scripts has really appealed to me for some time. When I get an idea for a story I usually get it as images that flash in my mind. I see the story in pictures instead of words. So why don't I try to write a script?
Maybe because I have the same old excuses I have for not writing a novel. It's too overwhelming. I don't know how to structure it. I don't know how to pace it. What if I get halfway and I realize it's all crap and I've wasted my time? And there's a myriad of other excuses I could list but that would be too depressing. So I won't do that. But sitting through 2 hours of a movie I've never seen before but knew everything that was going to happen is just as depressing. Not to mention a waste of time.
I did that. Yesterday my mother and I went to see 27 Dresses. I knew my dad would never go see the movie and that my mom wanted to. Me? Well it's not exactly my cup of tea but I had the day off so why not. There were several times during the movie when I was quoting the dialogue along with the actors. And one important scene where I was saying the dialogue a line or two before the actors. And I haven't seen the movie before. So what does that mean?
Does that mean 1) I'm such a good writer that those would be the words I would have written, or 2) I've seen this all before and I'm tired of the cliches in the story/dialogue/action. My money is on number 2.
Think about it. There's a weddings (or multiple ones in this case). A male reporter comes to investigate a female wedding participant. They eventually fall in love. They get married. Sound familiar? Runaway Bride ring a bell? And that "trying on all the dresses scene" has been done before. Pretty Woman. Sleeping with the Enemy. And probably every other Julia Roberts romantic comedy movies she's ever done. And she's not the only actress to do that either. What is it about having a women change into all kinds of outfits that must be in a romantic comedy? Or the "girl finally kissing the one she's got a crush on only to find out there's no sparks and she's actually in love with the guy who's annoying her" cliche?
Maybe all these cliches (and more of them) are the reason I don't like watching romantic comedies. They're too formulaic. Without even watching the movie I know what's going to happen next. The only romantic comedy that I like is While you Were Sleeping and even then I still saw some of the well worn cliches used in the genre in that film. Could I write anything better? I don't know.
I've thought about writing a movie script. I've even got a couple of ideas floating around in my head for some. And you can count on the fact that they're not romantic comedies. Writing scripts has really appealed to me for some time. When I get an idea for a story I usually get it as images that flash in my mind. I see the story in pictures instead of words. So why don't I try to write a script?
Maybe because I have the same old excuses I have for not writing a novel. It's too overwhelming. I don't know how to structure it. I don't know how to pace it. What if I get halfway and I realize it's all crap and I've wasted my time? And there's a myriad of other excuses I could list but that would be too depressing. So I won't do that. But sitting through 2 hours of a movie I've never seen before but knew everything that was going to happen is just as depressing. Not to mention a waste of time.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Same blog . . . new title
Okay I think I've finally come up with a more original title for this blog than "Life of a Writer Girl". In order to be a "writer gril" I would have to be writing, which unfortunately, I'm not. So the new title (until I possibly come up with an even better one) is "Writing Excuses". Why?
Because I've found recently that I spend more time coming up with excuses of why I'm NOT writing than I do actual writing. And coming up with excuses for not writing and then writing those down doesn't actually count as real writing, in my opinion. I must admit that I didn't come up with this flash of brilliance all on my own. I was reading Brandon Sanderson's blog and he mentioned that him and some writer friends are starting a podcast called Writing Excuses. And I thought "What a brilliant name".
So there you have it. Until further notice (or until another strok of creative genius by me or sparked by someone else) the new title will be Writing Exceses. If Brandon has any problems with that I'll change it back. I just thought I should have a title more suited to whatever writing habits I have.
Because I've found recently that I spend more time coming up with excuses of why I'm NOT writing than I do actual writing. And coming up with excuses for not writing and then writing those down doesn't actually count as real writing, in my opinion. I must admit that I didn't come up with this flash of brilliance all on my own. I was reading Brandon Sanderson's blog and he mentioned that him and some writer friends are starting a podcast called Writing Excuses. And I thought "What a brilliant name".
So there you have it. Until further notice (or until another strok of creative genius by me or sparked by someone else) the new title will be Writing Exceses. If Brandon has any problems with that I'll change it back. I just thought I should have a title more suited to whatever writing habits I have.
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