I had another favorite moment in the Telluride Film Festival Q&A after the screening of Michael Hoffman’s “The Last Station,” about the last year of Leo Tolstoy’s life. The movie stars Christopher Plummer as Tolstoy, Helen Mirren as his wife, James McAvoy, Paul Giamatti and Kerry Condon. Ken Burns moderated a discussion with Helen Mirren […]
Archive | Process
Helen Mirren on Gerard Depardieu and What’s on the Page
Today’s the last day of the 36th annual Telluride Film Festival. There were a couple of highlights, but my favorite was the Q&A after the screening of Michael Hoffman’s “The Last Station,” about the last year of Leo Tolstoy’s life. The movie stars Christopher Plummer as Tolstoy, Helen Mirren as his wife, James McAvoy, Paul […]
Writing Down the Page
“Writing down the page” is an expression that basically means the thrust of the story moves down the page with action, description, dialogue and carefully chosen sparse elements, so the reader’s eye is continually pulled down the page and then to the next page. You should aim not to get the reader’s eye stuck in […]
Subject Matter: Be Fresh
Let’s take a fresh look at writing “fresh” subject matter. Subject matter is key, because there is a tremendous amount of material out there that doesn’t bring something that feels new or unique to the table. There is no fresh take on the material. Hollywood doesn’t really want something totally new. This is for a […]
Playing With Ideas: Part II
This next information might seem completely basic to you, but take note. Some of my best ideas come in just a fragment of a thought. It might not even be a complete thought. It might just be one small thing, that later connects to another small thing, and then once the connections start, something evolves. […]
Playing With Ideas: Part I
I guess lately I’m in the zone, because I feel like every time I talk with someone I end up giggling like an idiot and saying, “Hey, that would make a great starting concept for a movie.” Of course, I don’t generally point this out to other writers. Well, sometimes. But, non-writers usually tilt their […]
Our Universal Theme
It’s said that every writer has a universal theme. We write about what we’re working on emotionally in our lives. It is our own personal fatal flaw, that one issue that we’re unable to move past. Likely the thing from our developmental years that torments us. Real or imagined, it doesn’t matter. It’s that thing […]
Don’t Sit on Your Ideas
I have a lot if ideas. I find an idea in everything. Sometimes I can come up with an idea years before I actually sit down to write it. They sort of kick around in my head while they gel, but then once the characters start nagging me, I know it’s time for them to […]
We Write to our Weaknesses
I’m still in the stage wherein every time I embark upon a new project, I’m teaching myself something about the technical process of writing and also about the human experience. I think the greatest gift a writer can give is in illuminating the human experience in a fresh or unique way, and in the experience […]
The Importance of a Writers’ Group
I am a huge advocate of the peer writers’ group. Finding a supportive and encouraging peer writers’ group is really important. This is critical to growing as an artist. I can’t recommend having a group enough. I was in a bad way last night and had a pep talk with a friend from my writers’ […]
Don’t Wait for the Muse: Create Your Own Inspiration
When inspiration strikes, it can feel like lightning from heaven. We all know that feeling of being so passionate about something that we just need to get it on the page – and we don’t stop until it’s written. That can be an amazing feeling. However, we can also have droughts when there’s not a […]
You Don’t Need To Be on the Page
By Monica on August 13, 2009 in Character, Logical World, Process, Story, Subject Matter, Theme, Tone, Uncategorized
I was having a conversation this morning with another writer friend, and we had a little bit of a laugh (but not in a malicious way) about another writer who fancies himself a director and this is evident in his writing because he, meaning his personality, is everywhere on the page. When you read his […]
Be Smart About When You Write What
This is intended as a follow up post to Write What You Love. I went to AFI for film school where, I imagine distinct from USC and UCLA, we didn’t really learn much, if anything, about the entertainment business. I learned a ton about writing and the writing process – but as far as the […]
Write the Movies You Really Want To See
This is intended as a follow up post to Write What You Love. Okay. This might sound ridiculous, but bear with me. Say a magic genie appeared tonight before you fell asleep, Shazam!, and gave you a magic ticket to the best movie ever the following day, what movie would you want to see? If […]
Write What You Love
By Monica on July 30, 2009 in Character, Genre, Location, Logical World, Process, Story, Subject Matter, Theme, Uncategorized
My friend had a rough writing day the other day. She had a moment of disappointment that she wasn’t writing projects that are more high-concept and commercial. I reminded her that we can only write what we love. That’s the best we can do. Sometimes we just have to write what we love just because […]