If it's not broke...break it.

It's weird how all the screenwriting books and magazines and podcasts are the worst kind of procrastination tools for writers. Man, if we're trying to avoid writing there's nothing better.

The irony is they may serve you best when you're actually working on something.

An example: I'm working on a rewrite of a feature and like a good boy I've been trying to avoid buying and reading the latest issues of the usual magazines. Trying to stay away from the usual websites. Keep away from my iPod.

I need to be strict with myself. Why? Things like: I once took a whole week off work because I convinced myself I had to watch the first three seasons of Buffy-- all at once. I mean, it made my dialogue very Weldonesque for a while but really.

The thing is when I'm actually working on something-- maybe that's the best time to be getting ideas from other writers. Today I had to take a longish drive out of town so I decided to take my iPod and listen to an old Creative Screenwriting Podcast with James Mangold talking about I Walk The Line.

Mangold was sharing a story about the trouble with shooting the musical numbers-- about needing to have a problem in every musical number. To make it not just be about the music. To have drama in the scene.

Insert awakening metaphor here.

It was just the reminder I needed. I find sometimes I wraps things up too early. I resolve problems between characters too soon. Maybe it's because I'm a middle child and have a natural tendency to play the peacemaker... But having the couple make up, or the bully get his comeuppance, or Indy find the Ark of the Convenant, before they absolutely have to is a mistake.

The reason the story goes on is because something isn't right, or unresolved, or broke. And once it's fixed whether you have 2 pages left or twenty-- your story is done.

So resist your natural and wholesome urge to fix things. Indulge your unnatural and evil urge to prolong the suffering of your characters until the last possible moment.

And save all those magazines, books and podcasts until you're actually working on something.

Dave's Yes/No Movie Review: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

Yes.

The God Who May Be

I don't know how many of you are radio fans, and of you radio fans, how many are CBC fans, and of you CBC fans how many are Ideas fans, and of you Ideas fan how many of you heard the third part of the program "The God Who May Be" last night. But it was very interesting. I can't encapsule all the issues touched on but here's the blurb from the CBC website:

It was a modern axiom that philosophy and religion should be strangers, the one relying on reason the other on revelation. But, as the limits of both reason and revelation have become clearer, a new conversation has begun, and Irish philosopher Richard Kearney has been one of its leaders. In a three-part conversation with David Cayley, he talks about his philosophy of the imagination and his book, The God Who May Be.

Of particular interest to writers was Kearney's journey from the roots of Irish literature to reality television to the monsters of imagination in Post 9/11 world culture. Some of which came, I believe, from another of his book: Strangers, Gods and Monsters

I can only hope that the program eventually comes up on the Ideas podcast... if not I'll just have to get the books.

Overheard in Charlottetown

How come nobody ever told me about this awesome blog? The thing I like best: it delivers what it promises. A bunch of expressions, snatches of conversations, bits of dialogue overheard. But, to be fair, there's some from out of town too.

Dave's Yes/No Movie Review: The Descent.

Yes. If you've already seen the film, I recommend reading Jim Emerson's thoughtful review as well as his thoughts on non-cinematic inspiration for and from the film.

Sci-fi Fans... stay tuned.

Great Idea. From the Futon Critic, comes news of a new "Masters of..." series. First there was a "Masters of Horror" shot in Vancouver. Now, from the same producers, I believe, a "Masters of Science Fiction" series is in the works. From the site:

Acclaimed physicist Professor Stephen Hawking will introduce each episode. Award-winning director Mark Rydell (On Golden Pond, The River, The Rose) and writer/director Michael Tolkin (The Player, The Rapture, The Burning Season) directed the first two episodes. Directors for the subsequent four episodes include Harold Becker (Sea of Love, Malice, Mercury Rising), Darnell Martin (Their Eyes Were Watching God, I Like It Like That), Michael Petroni (Til Human Voices Wake Us, Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys) and Jonathan Frakes (Star Trek: Insurrection, Star Trek: Voyager, Roswell).

Among the other "masters": works by or based on the venerable Harlan Ellison, and Robert Heinlein.