A Dramatist's Tale with Sally J. Walker

A DRAMATIST’S TALE: To Write or Not to Write by Sally J. Walker

Ever heard the phrase “The hurrier I go, the behinder I get.” I think

The definition of “faith” is believing in what is not tangible. I’m addressing the imbalance of desire versus the validation of identifiable reward. Most pragmatic people do ot understand the artist persisting without sufficient financial income to provide a living. “The Starving Artist” has gotten a bad rap. Despite the driving desire to create, many a soul-deep artist will aim their education at professions more likely to put a roof overhead and food on the table. Any art classes are slipped in among their electives. Their pragmatic, money-conscious family and friends applaud their more realistic concentration. The soul of the artist screams in frustration.

What comes after “I optioned my first screenplay” ? One word: Waiting.

Remember, O Writer, that you merely created the word-blueprint that someone found intriguing enough to want to spend time and money to develop into a film. Now, you wait for the slow gears to mesh and the process to unfold, sometimes in jerky spurts and sometimes grinding to a halt. Don’t obsess about it. Go on about writing something else . Why? You-the-Writer have zero control . . . unless you have money and industry wherewithal and contacts to grease the development process. If you do not participate in the development process as an Associate Producer, your sane alternative is to ignore the ups, downs and sideways mechanics of getting a film into production. “My JOB is to write.” That should become your mantra

However, let me explain the barebones of a few things, if only to satisfy your curiosity.

I just groaned through a poorly realized made-for-TV movie on the Hallmark Channel. For the most part, the acting was adequate. The “look” of the western story was appropriate. The motivation of the characters had been set up . . . but the scenes repeatedly missed the “pay-off” mark. They didn’t carry through to satisfying closure. They had not been carefully wrapped for the audience to savor the unwrapping of subtext and character meaning. The scenes perpetually played out within a hair’s breath but took the simplistic, almost too “happy-people-of-the-happy-village” shortcut. The audience had to repeatedly accept by implication what happened in the story and at its conclusion.

Some critics would call my reaction “Armchair Quarterback” criticism. However, my point here is to urge You-the-Writer to identify the edginess your script needs and NOT be satisfied with simple and implication. You have to have the guts to pay-off your characterizations right through to their much-needed conclusion. Pay attention to each character’s beginning-middle-ending. Give them depth and give them closure!

According to my unabridged dictionary, a cynic is “a person who believes that only selfishness motivates human actions and who disbelieves in or minimizes selfless acts or disinterested points of view.” I have been the recipient of too many acts of altruistic verbal and active assistance to be a cynic. Some people simply enjoy helping others. It is an inherent part of their humanity. They do not expect thanks, respect or kick-back. They simply reach out then move on with their own lives. At the other end of the spectrum, I have encountered suspicious people who distrust advice or actual help. I have concluded these are the insecure and dissatisfied people of the world. A few incidents of disappointment or corrupted trust have created a person who views others with a jaundiced eye.

I am not out to change everything negative in the world because I feel negatives motivate me to think about how to adapt and cope with what I cannot change. I can only change my own beliefs and actions. I am not responsible for how the cynic perceives what I do and why.

What is the difference in storytelling between boring, so-so and enthralling? I believe it relies on the element of Character Intensity. The common, ordinary person living a microscopically dull and predictable life is NOT interesting because 99.9% of the population lives that life. However, putting an ordinary person in jeopardy and FORCING a change creates an atmosphere the audience can relate to and care about. Why? Because they want variety and challenge in their lives and want to see how someone else deals with all that in theirs. They WANT make-believe. The writer has to be willing to go to extremes to create Character Intensity the audience wants to live vicariously.

START ORDINARY

Act One of any story sets up the ordinary world the main character is dealing with. The audience is introduced to the character’s “ordinary” . . . but also has to wiggle a bit with the angst and frustrations of the main character coping with this present world. The PURPOSE of the entire set-up is to show the audience who the character is, the underlying mindset and value system, the potential waiting to burst forth and this character’s most common coping mechanisms at work.