Jonas David's Blog, page 65

Do more than one thing

As some of you may know, my other hobby besides writing is playing Go, or Baduk, and there are several sayings or ‘proverbs’ that players hear when learning the game. One of them is something like ‘a move that only does one thing is a bad move’.

I had an epiphany one day, when having extra trouble with a certain scene–this saying can be applied to writing, too!

My scene, which involved several characters introducing themselves, felt empty, hollow, like filler, and I didn’t know why. Then I realized that it could be because it was only doing one thing: getting the characters to meet each other. There, it’s done, check the box, move on. That’s no way to write! So I wen’t back over it and added another layer to it, another reason for what was happening. It still got the characters introduced, but it also showed the reader something about the protagonist, and her way of perceiving the world. Suddenly, it seemed less empty.

Now I try to use each scene to do multiple things whenever I can. It makes my writing feel more thick, and solid. At least in my own eyes, which is the most important thing at this stage!

Try it yourself!

 

Passengers: tell me why I should bother

There are probably only two people awake on that ship because they used 95% of the budget to pay Lawrence and Pratt.

From where I’m sitting, this looks like a blockbuster written by executives that is masquerading as some kind of cerebral thriller. I find it hard to believe that anything this big and expensive would be allowed to be any good.

It’s a pretty bad state when a sci fi movie that isn’t based on a book or comic or cartoon or brand name and isn’t a remake or reboot–something that appears to be an original story–has me rolling my eyes and sighing. I’ve been cheated so many times by cool trailers with ‘bwaaa’ sounds, that I now have severe trust issues. And the chance of being cheated seems to rise as the cost of the movie rises.

Is this movie going to say anything new or try anything different? Somehow I think not. And no, new things exploding in different places don’t count.

Hope I’m wrong, but not counting on it.

Westworld: best show on TV in years

Watch it. That’s all I have to say about it. The acting, the story, the writing, the cinematography, the music, the ideas, the effects, the moral questions, the characters, the cast–all of them are top notch. And each of them magnifies the quality of the others.

Just watch it! Get HBO Now, the streaming service, for 15$ a month, and watch it then cancel if you must. Just do it. You won’t regret it.

Arrival: good drama, unconventional sci fi

If you go to this movie expecting to see laser fights and explosions and space battles, you will be disappointed. If you want creepy aliens and jump-scares you will also be disappointed. But if you’re after a movie that puts a lot of thought into the story, the science and the characters, then you will have a good time.

It was terribly refreshing to not roll my eyes or groan at anything in this movie. As Mike at redlettermedia said, it’s like a long Star Trek episode. There are aliens, we don’t know what they want, and we have to figure out how to communicate with them, using logic and science.

And that’s the movie. No one is trying to figure out how to blow them up, or defend against their giant blue laser. It’s a movie about communication, about words, not weapons. And I really didn’t realize how much I’ve missed that kind of thoughtful way of looking at things until seeing it here.

The revelation at the end of the movie is clever, and done well, but it’s seamless with the rest of the story. It’s not the entire point of the story, but a part of it as a whole. I love this, as too many movies get obsessed with having a twist at all costs, and making it as big and unpredictable as possible. My wife predicted the ‘twist’ and I’m sure many other people did too, but that doesn’t matter, because it’s not the reason the story was being told.

There is a lot of buildup, a lot of talking, a lot of emotions. There are no slow-motion gunfights or cities being exploded, and the climax of the movie is a phone call. If that sounds like your kind of thing, I think you’ll really enjoy it.

 

The joy of writing

I have watched my fair share of Bob Ross, and one thing he repeats often is ‘it’s your world, you can do whatever you want in your world.’ Well, you can write whatever you want in your world, too.

Many stories I’ve read–published or otherwise–feel like the author is holding back, restraining or censoring themselves. Writing what they think people want to read, rather than what they really want to write. I think that kind of writing is apparent to the reader, even if you think you’re being clever about it.

The kind of stories that stick in my head, the stories that are one-of-a-kind, aren’t the ones that try to please everyone, but the ones where the author follows their vision, has something to say, or is just having so much fun they don’t stop to consider what anyone reading it will think.

As the karaoke DJ at my local bar always says ‘we don’t care what you sing, as long as you sing it with heart.’ That’s how I feel about writing. Even if I dislike your character and think your world is bizarre and your plot confusing, if you are passionate about it, and put your all into it, and don’t hold back any of your crazy ideas, I bet it will be more entertaining than a story tailored to fit the perceived desires of some hypothetical reader.

 

Think about it all the time

My writing output has been increasing lately because of this. When I’m not writing, I try to think about what I’ll write next. Simple right? But it’s so easy to get distracted, and busy, and lose sight of what you were doing. Especially if you don’t have much time to write, you’ve got to make the times that you can, count.

What is your next scene about? What will happen? What does the setting look like? How will this affect things down the road? How can you make it scarier/funnier/more romantic/more thrilling etc? All these thoughts can be running through your head while you wash the dishes or walk the dog.

Then, when you finally have a few minutes to write, you’ll know what you have to do and can get the words out as quick as possible.

Like anything you want to be good at, it has to be a focus in your life. Most of us don’t have a lot of free time, but thankfully a lot of the work of writing can be done right in your head! Get started!

Err on the side of confusion

A bit of advice to writers of TV, movies and books alike: I’d rather be confused than treated like an idiot.

People generally aren’t as slow as you seem to think, dear writers of the stuff I read and watch. You don’t have to make that hint so painfully obvious, or explain this concept or piece of technology in such eye-rolling detail to me. It makes you and your character seem uncomfortably stupid.

I know you’re not that dumb, so don’t assume I am.

Thanks in advance,

A reader.

Finish it, you hand-wringing sloth

Whenever I need a boost in confidence I go to the bargain section in the supermarket and pick up one of those thrillers where the cover is the silhouette of a guy running down a dark alley.

Yeah, I can write better than that. You know why that guy has a novel sitting on bookshelves in stores and I don’t? Cause he finished the god damn thing instead of fretting about how good or bad it was.

Time to do that.

Fossils, not waves

People often think of their words and actions as waves, rolling across the surface, visible but impermanent, ephemeral, inconsequential. But each word you say, each smile you give, each helping hand you extend can fossilize in the memory of someone, to stick with them for the rest of their lives.

Think back to a fond memory you have. It could be a kind comment from a friend, an unexpected word from a stranger, a wisdom received from someone respected. Now ask yourself if anyone else who was there remembers it themselves? Despite the perceived unimportance of these things to those who give them, you remember them, they stick with you, they are a part of your mythology of self.

You are not a soon-vanished ripple, you are not a gentle wind. Pieces of you will remain lodged inside the minds of those you pass by, long after you yourself have forgotten them.

The girl who girled a girl

What is with all these books? I mean, I haven’t read any of them, though I did watch the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series (the original Swedish ones, not the confusing American remakes released like, the very next year [what the hell is the point of remaking the exact movie a year later with a new cast?? Well that’s another subject..]).

Are these titles supposed to be hinting at a specific genre of thrillers? What is it? Or are they just latching onto coat tails of popular books with similar titles? It’s worth noting that the referenced ‘girl’ is rarely a girl at all. Are there no ‘the woman who’ books? Are there any ‘the boy who’ book, and are they all about grown men?