Craft

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.

Deep down inside, we all have that burning question to ask other writers. Whether you are a best seller, self-published, newly published, almost published or a brand spanking new writer, we invite you to come to the Write This Way to the Q&A chat. During our time together you will be able to ask questions to a varied panel of writers including; bestselling author Kelley Armstrong, self-published/newly published author Marybeth Smith and almost there but not quite published author Mindy Crump. This is a fantastic opportunity to learn from many levels of the writing world!

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.