Sorry, this post is coming a little late this week. Been busy getting ready for my big Europe trip!
Magical Announcements first!
* The winner for the Do The Work giveaway iiiiiiiiiiiisssssssssssssssss.............Miss Paulina Logan!!! Congrats Paulina and thank you. Yay! Your very own copy of one of the best books ever. AND it's signed by Steven Pressfield himself! Email me alexandra@alexandrachoi.com and I'll get it to you asap. :)
* My roommate and friend Ashley Fondrevay is back at it with her blog! It takes balls to be blogger and be consistent with it, so let's show her some support. Congrats Ash and wishing you a magical journey.
* Week 17 folks, and I had my FIRST Guest-Star audition! It was for the show The Glades. See post below.
* I met Mastin Kipp, founder of The Daily Love! I went to the Tadasana Festival this past weekend. You all know how much TDL has added value to my life. I've been reading it on the daily, no joke for 2 years. TDL has taught me how to really LOVE. Myself, others, and life. A HUGE core shift. So, thank you Mastin and the TDL community. Dang, he's tall!
* A movie I'm in is coming out!!!! Whaaaaat. Remember 'Scary or Die' peeps? Well, now you can see it! Whoop Whoopppppyyyyy! It premieres On Demand, May 1st. Then dvd distribution. I'll keep you posted on that. I'm so excited!
Scary or Die is a collection of scary short stories. We got clowns, zombies, vampires....I play a vampire...I make a good vampire. ;) Corbin Bleu (High School Musical) also stars in the this fantastic horror film. If you liked Tales From The Crypt growing up...you're gonna love this. My sister and I used to stay up until midnight to watch The Twilight Zone and Tales From The Crypt. Hahaha. She was probably 8 and I was 10!
Remember these pics from the shoot?
Ladies of the Night.
Anna Moon and me.
And here's the trailer if you want a little sneak peek.
And here's the poster for the video on demand.
Let Go Of Expectations
How letting go of expectations actually got me what I wanted.
I got my first Guest-Star audition this week. We all know what it takes to get one of these...you gotta either have guest-star(s), a few co-star(s) credits, and your agent has to pitch you. I have one co-star.
My friend Rahi notified me about the breakdown and said I'd be good for it. I emailed my agent right away. She said she had already submitted me for it the day before. Oh, great! Thank you. That's all I wanted.
Then she asked, how she could pitch me? Word?? She was willing to pitch me?! Hell yes! I emailed her back about 'Scary or Die' coming out, how I'm a bad ass blogger, and I have my own youtube channel. I was hoping that despite my limited credits, the casting director will see I'm a do-er and call me in at the very least. Wouldn't hurt.
Some hours later, I'm informed I have an audition. OMG. It worked! I was so grateful to my agent for even suggesting that she would pitch me. I would not have gotten the audition without her pitching me...but also, if I didn't reach out to ask for what I wanted, then she wouldn't have thought to pitch me. Team work!
Do you know how many actors in town that are represented will say, "I don't like my agent. He doesn't get me out enough." A lot. I hear you but, do you realize that there is always something YOU can do too? Let go of the expectation that just because you have an agent, your work ends there. Truth is, that's where it starts.
You're building a team of professionals to help you get to where you want to go. But, don't expect them to do the work for you. They are not your product, they are not your brand, YOU are. Expecting your agent, manager, publicist, and lawyer to move mountains for you, well that's plain frustrating. They know their roles, know yours. All you have to do is be concerned with your part in the equation. Leave all the rest to God/The Universe.
So, let's say you have representation and you're not getting out as much. What to do?
Reach out! First thing's first. Communicate with your agent. Let them know you're in the game. You're here. You're ready. If your agent is like all other agents in town, they probably have more than enough clients they can handle. You'll get lost in the bunch if you don't speak up. Call or email them and ask if there's anything you can do on your end. Remember it's about team work. They'll most likely tell you, "Actually, yes, we're gonna need this and this and this." Why didn't he say anything before?! Well, he's busy. He honestly doesn't have the time. He does his job of submitting you and fingers crossed. You want him to go the extra mile for you? Give him a reason to and then ask for it.
I know reaching out can be a little scary. "Oh, he's probably busy, I don't want to bother him. What if he says he's been submitting me but, I'm just not getting called in? What if he wants to drop me because I'm not getting work?" This all Ego peeps. It's coming from the "I'm not good enough" place. Of course you're good enough. But, you gotta believe that first if you want others to believe that too. When you believe that first, you WILL take actions on your dream's behalf. When you start treating yourself like a Pro, so will others.
Ok, you've done that and you're still not getting out. Then what? Casting director workshops my friends. Casting director workshops. They work, trust me. Plus, you're getting practice 'auditioning'. And you CAN book jobs without representation because of workshops. But, if you have representation, the better. Communicate with your agent and let them know who you've been meeting. I always keep my agent updated with the list of casting directors I have met. This way, I'm helping her help me.
And whatever issue you have around casting director workshops, see if you can be open to it. So what you're paying to get in front of casting directors? It has nothing to do with selling yourself short as an artist. Thinking you are is also Ego. Keeping you safe and comfortable. It's not easy putting yourself out there to be seen, heard, and felt. But, it's time to get uncomfortable and stop using excuses. What do you want? You want to book jobs and make money, yes? I don't know about you but, 'the broke artist' doesn't feel good to me. Which tells me, I deserve abundance. Abundance in every possible way. Money being one. Holler!
As far as the audition goes, I let it go already. All I know is I'm in alignment. Whether I'm meant to experience booking the job or not, I learned my lessons. Thank you God/The Universe for showing me that I'm exactly where I'm suppose to be.
So, is there something YOU can do to help your representations? I'm sure there is. Focus on that. Focus on only what you can do and do it. That's it. Your job is done. Now, just wait and allow for God/The Universe to handle everything else.
* I saw some of my wonderful friends that I hadn't seen in months, this past week. I'd like to dedicate this post to you guys. You are beautiful, talented, and magnificent. I see us walking the red carpet and high-fiving each another one day. I can't wait. :*)
* I'm giving one more week for 'Do The Work' giveaway. Click here for the post to catch you up.
Hello my dark side, I love you.
As you know, I'm writing more now. Not just blogging but, I'm writing my own scripts. And the ideas that are asking for a voice...they're kind of scary. I hold back because I don't feel prepared to let people see who I really am.
The irony in becoming more authentic.....the artist in me wants to let some stuff out, but I'm afraid. I'm afraid of what the world will think of me. I'm afraid of what my family will think of me.
I've put this quote up before, "Where there is much light, the shadow is deep" by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe.
And I learned in Robert McKee's seminar, when you're exploring your protagonist and you feel stuck....take a look at your antagonists. They're the ones who drive the protagonist. Don't underestimate the role of your antagonists.
I believe in dualities. Everything in this world has its opposing nature....everything. Love/Hate, Yin/Yang, Day/Night, Peace/War, Up/Down, Left/Right, etc..... It's actually unnatural and unbalanced to have anything one-sided.
So, if you can accept that dualities are just a part of life, can you accept that dualities actually exist in you too? Because they do.
The more light I want to shine on the world, the more dark shows itself. I have lives in me that are unlived. I have words in me that are unspoken. I have stories in me that are untold. It's quite painful. It's painful to live when you feel incomplete, unfulfilled, dissatisfied. It feels like I'm living quietly when I'm meant to roar.
But, the trouble with this kind of pain is, you can't see it...like a cut or bruise, but, it's more real. The out of sight, out of mind thing isn't going to work here....ever. It's one of those nagging feelings....and you keep telling yourself, "I know, I'll get to it"....and your Soul won't let you off the hook. You think I'm lying? What's your sleep pattern like? When I was deep in my first dark night of the soul (not depression), I couldn't end the day until the Sun came up the next...this was my Soul telling me that my job for the day wasn't done. So, I had to find ways to force sleep on to myself. I felt like I was fighting with the day...then with night. Hell. I sleep earlier, I wake up earlier now but, I still feel it everyday, in moments when I'm not being authentic. I may not see blood but, I might as well, because my heart and Soul bleeds.
I have secrets....as do you. Secrets that I've nurtured unconsciously over the years...and they've gotten so big that I was afraid they would take over me, take over my life.
And they did. And I allowed it. But, in hindsight, I see that, that was the only way. The only way to become who I AM today. Love, Compassion, and Acceptance. For myself. From myself. This brings me to my knees. God, thank you.
Lesson's not over though. Our Souls are meant to expand and evolve. My Soul's asking me to take another leap...towards my life's purpose. How do I know? I want to but I'm scared and I'm feeling Resistance.
Things are brewing, stirring, boiling in me...but, I'm keeping a lid on it. They want to come out in some way, shape, or form but, I'm containing them because I'm afraid of how I will be perceived, and what it would do to my family. Even when I'm writing my blog, I know it reads more like my stream of consciousness but, I edit like a motherf*cker.
So, now, I'm at another crossroads. What is my responsibility as an artist when I'm also an actress, a blogger, a daughter, a neice, etc...?? How authentic can I really be?
What if I'm not the 'put together' girl anymore? Will it affect my credibility? What if people think I'm disgusting? What if people pity me? What if it destroys my career?
OR worse. How will my my family find out? What if they hear from a friend or acquaintance first? What if it shames my family? I can't do that to them. They'll never understand. They'll never forgive me. How mad will they be with me? Will they be disgusted with me too? How will they treat me?
All these questions really asked one thing.......Will they still love me?
Of course they will Alex. My responsibility as an artist isn't to seek love...it's to BE love. And to BE love in this moment, it's to share and express what's in me that wants to come out, without shame, without guilt. It's to honor that.
I really don't care what the world will think of me....because I know that as long as I follow my heart, that's the path I'm meant to be on. I just worry about my family. I'm culturally and societally bound to some dynamics. It is what it is. Curious. As I write this, I'm realizing that I'm becoming more detached to this too. I'm feeling a deep sense of trust that God/The Universe will work out the how as long as I commit to the what. Instead of assuming that the my family will never understand, give them a chance first. What am I so afraid of? Why am I already feeling guilty for something I haven't even done? Aha. Resistance. Hahaha. We'll talk ourselves out of anything.
I've seen miracles happen with my family before. The fact that I moved out here for acting was kept a secret from the family for 6 1/2 years...I've been out here for 8. (Come to think of it, things began to change when I started blogging) My mother and sister were the only ones who knew...and my two cousins (because they're like brothers). No one else. It was stressful going back home to visit because everyone would ask me about my life and I wouldn't know what to say. I hated lying or dodging questions. We're a tight family. Then when all the cousins had graduations and promotions happening, I was the only one who had nothing to celebrate or talk about. I couldn't. I felt bad for my parents that they didn't have anything to be proud of. I felt more alone and more ashamed.
You see, everyone in my family are pretty much brainiacs. Both mom and dad's side. Everyone graduated from top schools, getting top jobs...very left brain. Then there's me. I was a truant. I cut school everyday. It's amazing that I even graduated high school on time...of course I had to go to two semesters of summer school and night school....for GYM! I used to run from cops, hide away at pool halls and diners. I got suspended in junior high from smoking pot, I used to throw chairs out the window (for no good reason...only to show how cool I was), I used to torture freshmen students on Freshmen Fridays. My dark side appeared early in life.
Now, imagine what my mother thought when I said, 'Thank you for paying for my college tuition but, I think I'm going to move to Hollywood and become a movie star instead.' It broke her heart. My family thought I was running away and avoiding life...when I was really trying to find it. My mother tried so hard for me to fit in to the family's bubble of 'success'. And there was a part of me that wanted to too. But, there was a bigger part of me that didn't. That bigger part of me felt angry that I couldn't be allowed to do what I wanted to do...I couldn't be accepted for who I was. And so I fought back, I rebelled. This was my way of getting some attention...through my dark. I was now known for being the black sheep of the family. It's like if you can't be famous, get infamous.
But here's the gift in all that....I thought I was being spiteful....but, no. I realize now that my genius, my talent lies somewhere else...somewhere my family isn't used to, somewhere I'm not used to. My genius, even when I was too young to understand, wouldn't let me fit into something I wasn't meant to fit into. It knew better than me. It knew better for me. It just didn't know how to express it. And it's having awareness around that. I don't have what the norm and my family calls 'security'. I don't have a paycheck coming in every two weeks, I don't own a home, I don't have a husband, yada yada yada....and yes, it can get unsettling at times....but, it's ok. This is where I belong because this is where I am. All I can do is find comfort in moments. Moment to moment, I know in my heart that my life is opening up to me and I to it. I don't have to fit perfectly into anything....I don't want to. I AM perfect by myself. And my perfection comes from my imperfections. It just choosing to see it that way.
The cat's out of the bag now. Everybody knows and they couldn't be more proud. My family even gathered to watch my Criminal Minds episode. My sister said my grandmother was the first to recognize me on screen. When I heard that, it got me choked up.
You know...the change just happened. There was no catalyst for it, there was no one defining moment of reveal. It just organically happened. And my grandmother apologized to me. She said it's not easy what I'm trying to accomplish and she wished she could have been more supportive. One of my uncles called and said he was so proud of me and that he believes in me. He told me to never give up. My mother recently told me that when people introduce her now and they always add "her daughter's an actress in Hollywood", she says she feels like a 'big shot'...her words. My father apparently brags about me to his friends. My tears are making it difficult to see and type now....there's more healing taking place now.
So, I have nothing to be afraid of. I don't want to use my family as an excuse to hold back who I AM anymore. I have a family who loves me unconditionally and we're a strong bunch. Who knows, by my being more authentic, maybe that will benefit my family in some way? I know me...I'm not one to obnoxiously reveal things for shock value nor am I the 'I don't give a f*ck" type of gal....I do give a f*ck. But, I do believe in what I have to say. I believe that I have a reason for being here. So, I will...with tact, with grace, with respect, and with love. I don't know how that will pan out...but, again, I'm trusting God/The Universe to show me how.
I'm ready to let my dark side come out and play. Are you? Remember, we're lucky. We're artists and we have so many outlets of expression. This is the healthiest way. Get creative and create. Whether you begin a journal, a blog, write a short/feature, make videos, etc. Let it out. Or it will live in you and not let you live. Your dark side doesn't own you...it's just there to teach you and give you more ammo as an artist. Invite it, welcome it, learn from it, and work with it.
Here's a video that very much resonated with me. I LOVE Russell Simmons.
And I listened to this song on repeat as I wrote this post. I LOVE Nicki Minaj.
* Yaaay! Thank you! The Diary of The THRIVING Actress officially has over 10,000 views!! Insane. Thank you so much. So, as promised, I'm giving away Steven Pressfield's book, Do The Work. It's autographed by him too. I will be drawing a name from my subscribers. In order to participate, subscribe by email...you should see the box to your left. I will draw this weekend and announce the winner next week!
* I'm mentioned in a blog and I thought it was so cool and so sweet. I'm sharing it. Here's my friend's blog! Enjoy. :) Amy's Blog
I made a VLOG for this week's post! I did not have a very good experience with this particular audition and wanted to share with you what happened. Who knows...maybe you can relate? I hope you like!
Like there are different people inside you that want to come out? Like there are many stories inside of you that want to be told? Does it pain you everyday to not let them out? Not tell the stories? Does it haunt you? Does it nag at you? Do you get mad at 'Hollywood' for not writing the perfect roles for you, or mis-casting because it's not you? I think it's time to write your own stuff.
Four days. 9am-7pm everyday. Bonus lesson, punctuality...Mr. McKee does not play when it comes to this. Pro.
The seminar isn't just for writers...it's for ALL storytellers. Whether you're a writer, director, actor, editor...this will help you immensely to know HOW TO tell stories.
I was afraid I wouldn't be smart enough for his class. I expected a clinical-like 4 days of learning the boring technical stuff. Nope. It was fun. He's a comic. It was a one-man show with no props except his Power Point slides...and even that was to a minimum. He's got a magnetic personality....he can hold your attention from 9am-7pm with his words. No joke. But, now I also understand that it's not just his words but his love and respect for life and humanity. You're witnessing a man bringing forth his talent into the world...serving in the best way he can....how can that not be magnetic?
And I was so grateful to Mr. McKee for his appreciation for actors. He was an actor too once upon a time. He said actors and agents really hold the power in town. You give a good actor bad writing, a couple things can happen.....a) he won't do it, or b) he'll change it. He said that good writing is change-proof and it gives freedom to all other collaborators. You (writer) bring that element, and allow for the director, actor, editor, music, etc...to bring theirs. The story will take on a life of its own and do its thing in the world.
Here are some of my notes from class and excerpts from his book that I'm benefiting from already. I'm starting anew. They are in no particular order...they have just been swirling around in my head guiding me as I write. Scroll down and take a gander. If you're serious about the craft in general, get his book, Story. Click here to purchase.
My Notes
*The writer is the character's first actor.
It starts with you. Collect all you know about the human experience and ask your Higher Powers to assist you in collecting everything else you don't know. Use personal experience and go as far as your imagination will take you.
* All great stories, strip away the text, there is a Universal form at the heart of this.
Eternal, Universal - FORM
There is no FORMula for creating a story. But, there is FORM.
Start with FORM and then go wild with your creativity. It's not about following someone else's recipe, it's about finding your own with the same ingredients. Form is learning what the core ingredients are.
* What does the audience want? Emotional Satisfaction. Who determines how the audience will be satisfied? The writer.
* Stories are metaphors for life. NOT life. BETTER than life. They express life. So, your characters are going to be larger than life as well. They'll go through things that are larger than life, in shorter time. It's a dense dense world.
* "Stereotypical stories stay at home, archetypal stories travel."
"The archetypal story unearths a universally human experience, then wraps itself inside a unique, culture-specific expression. A stereotypical story reverses this pattern: It suffers a poverty of both content and form. It confines itself to a narrow, culture-specific experience and dresses in stale, nonspecific generalities."
For more information on archetypes...read up on Carl Jung's works and for myths, read up on Joseph Campbell's.
* FACT is neutral. Not truth. FACT is what happens. TRUTH is why and how it happens. FACT is just the FACT. FACTS have no meaning until interpreted.
* You want to create a small, noble, world. And due your due diligence. Know everything there is to know about that world. A great writer can answer ANY questions. Give FULL life to your world and characters. Get specific and elaborate.
* Good Standard - 1000 words/day.
That's like 10 pages a day.
90% of what we write/do is mediocre. Not our best work. If you're good, then 10% may be good but, you gotta produce 100% to get the precious 10%.
* Artists are able to take two separate ideas, marry them, and create a third unique hybrid. Use that talent to birth into the world wonderful, powerful stories and ideas. Stories and ideas only YOU can tell, in your own special way.
* Genres
Position the audience to the genre.
Starts with title.
They arrive with the appetite to understand the genre instead of spending first 30min to find out.
Audience is smarter than you are. They know what works, what doesn't. They know if they're satisfied or not.
Identify and research genre(s).
You can mix genres.
* Research. Have respect for the audience, for the work, for the craft. Just because it happened to you doesn't mean you know it. Write it down.
* What is the social responsibility of a writer?
One responsibility - TRUTH
Do I believe this? If yes, then do anything and everything to get that into the world.
* Trivial Told Brilliantly vs. Profound told Poorly.
We want Profound told Brilliantly.
* 40-60 events in a feature.
* Event - change. Something undergoes change to make it meaningful. It changes someone. Happened to somebody. Expressed by you, experienced by the audience. Changing term of value.
"If the streets outside your window are dry, but after a nap you see they're wet, you assume an event has taken place, called rain. The world's changed from dry to wet. You cannot, however, build a film out of nothing but changes in weather-although there are those who have tried. Story Events are meaningful, not trivial. To make change meaningful it must, to begin with, happen to a character. If you see someone drenched in a downpour, this has somewhat more meaning than a damp street.
A STORY EVENT creates meaningful change in the life situation of a character that is expressed and experienced in terms of a VALUE....and ACHIEVED THROUGH CONFLICT."
* Value - "By values I don't mean virutes or the narrow, moralizing 'family values' use of the word. Rather, Story Values refers to the broadest sense of the idea. Values are the soul of storytelling. Ultimately ours is the art of expressing to the world a perception of values.
STORY VALUES are the universal qualities of human experience that may shift from positive to negative, or negative to positive, from one moment to the next.
*Beat
Change not in value charge but human behavior.
"A BEAT is an exchange of behavior in action/reaction. Beat by Beat these changing behaviors shape the turning of a scene."
*Scene
Action to conflict in more a less continuous time and place that turns the values of characters. (climax here is minor)
"Beats build scenes. ......Every true scene turns the value-charged condition of the character's life, but from event to event the degree of change can differ greatly. Scenes cause relatively minor yet significant change."
*Sequence
Series of scenes that when composed in certain order, brings more impact on character. (climax here is moderate)
"A SEQUENCE is a series of scenes-generally two to five-that culminates with greater impact than any previous scene."
* Act
Series of sequences. (climax here is major)
"An ACT is a series of sequences that peaks in a climactic scene which causes a major reversal of values, more powerful in its impact than any previous sequence or scene."
"Scenes turn in minor but significant ways; a series of scenes builds a sequence that turns in a moderate, more impactful way; a series of sequences builds the next largest structure, the Act, a movement that turns on a major reversal in the value-charged condition of the character's life. The difference between a basic scene, a scene that climaxes a sequence, and a scene that climaxes an act is the degree of change, or, more precisely, the degree of impact that change has, for better or worse, on the character-on the character's inner life, personal relationships, fortunes in the world, or some combination of all these."
*Story
Series of acts. (climax here is absolute, irreversible change)
"A series of acts builds the largest structure of all: the Story. A story is simply one huge master event. When you look at the value-charged situation in the life of the character at the beginning of the story, then compare it to the value-charge at the end of the story, you should see the arc of the film, the great sweep of change that takes life from one condition at the opening to a changed condition at the end. This final condition, this end change, must be absolute and irreversible."
* Dialogue is the LEAST important. Many writers start with dialogue and scene(s). They fall in love with the words too early...and can't let them go even if they don't serve the story as a whole. No wonder many writers 'work' on scripts for years. He highly recommends writing this way...he says it's the most creative and fastest. If you're diligent and committed...it will take you anywhere between 6 months - a year, minimum to bang out a good first draft.
Step outline ---> Treatment ---> Screenplay
*Step Outline?
One sentence per event, per scene. Have only 3 sheets of paper on hand. One for each Act.
"A step-outline is a story told in steps. Using one- or two-sentence statements, the writer simply and clearly descrbes what happens in each scene, how it builds and turns. For example: 'He enters expecting to find her at home, but instead discovers her note saying she's left for good.'"
Let's say you now have a story...and you're ready for some feedback. Don't show your step outline. The same goes for your final critique...reading of your script. Don't pass it around to your friends....first of all, it's a commitment to really read a script and provide feedback, and second, not many people have enough knowledge about breaking down a script. Do yourself a favor and again, just 'pitch' it to your friends.
"The writer never shows his step-outline to people because it's a tool, too cryptic for anyone but the writer to follow. Instead, at this critical stage, he wants to tell or pitch his story so he can see it unfold in time, watch it play on the thoughts and feelings of another human being. He wants to look in that person's eyes and see the story happen there. ........Any story pitched from its step-outline to an intelligent, sensitive person must be able to grab attention, hold interest for ten minutes, and pay it off by moving him to a meaningful, emotional experience- ........Regardless of genre, if a story can't work in ten minutes, how will it work in 110 minutes? It won't get better when it gets bigger. Everything that's wrong with it in a ten-minute pitch is ten times worse onscreen."
*Treatment? "To 'treat' the step-outline, the writer expands each scene from its one or two sentences to a paragraph or more of double-spaced, present-tense, moment by moment description.
In treatment the writer indicates what characters talk about-"he wants her to do this, but she refuses," for example - but never writes dialogue. Instead, he creates the subtext - the true thoughts and feelings underneath what is said and done. We may think we know what our characters are thinking and feeling, but we don't know we know until we write it down."
*Screenplay? "We now convert treatment description to screen description and add dialogue. And dialogue written at this point is invariably the finest dialogue we've ever written. Our characters have had tape over their mouths for so long, they can't wait to talk, and unlike so many films in which all characters speak with the same vocabulary and style, dialogue written after in-depth preparation creates character-specific voices. They don't all sound like one another and they don't all sound like the writer."
"If you shortcut the process and rush straight to screenplay from outline, the truth is that your first draft is not a screenplay, it's a surrogate treatment-a narrow, unexplored, unimprovised, tissue-thin treatment. Event choice and story design must be given free rein to consume your imagination and knowledge. Turning Points must be imagined, discarded, and reimagined, then played out in text and subtext."
"The wise writer puts off the writing of dialogue for as long as possible becausethe premature writing of dialogue chokes creativity."
"Writing from the outside in-writing dialogue in search of scenes, writing scenes in search of story-is the least creative method. Screenwriters habitually overvalue dialogue because they're the only words we write that actually reach the audience. All else is assumed by the film's images. If we type out dialogue before we knowwhat happens, we inevitably fall in love with our words; we're loath to play with and explore events, to discover how fascinating our characters might become, because it would mean cutting our priceless dialogue. All improvisation ceases and our so-called rewriting is tinkering with speeches.
What's more, the premature writing of dialogue is the slowest way to work. It may send you in circles for years before you finally realize that not all your children are going to walk and talk their way to screen; not every idea is worth being a motion picture. When do you want to find that out? Two years from now or two months from now? If you write dialogue first, you'll be blind to this truth and wander forever. If you write from the inside out, you'll realize in the outline stage that you can't get the story to work. Nobody likes it when pitched. In truth, you don't like it. So you toss it in the drawer. Maybe years from now you'll pick it up and solve it, but for now go on to your next idea.
..........For the inside-out method is a way of working that's both disciplined and free, designed to encourage your finest work."
A writer must learn to 'kill his babies'.
"Film writers cut and cut again, ruthless in their desire to express the absolute maximum in the fewest possible words."
I quoted much from his book because I want to emphasize 'The Work'. It takes love, patience, perseverance, discipline, commitment, and faith. I'm a double Sagittarius, Aquarius moon,...AND a New Yorker...I want things done Now Now NOW but, I know better. I'm already itching to give words to my characters but, I will wait. It's not time yet. Trust that when you do the work, time is on your side.
And for my actor friends, know that you always have options when choosing a project. You don't have to take every script that comes your way. Wherever you are in your career, it's always the perfect time to begin honoring the artist in you. Choose projects that will help you, teach you, heal you first....the world will follow.
* Don't tell. SHOW. In film, we want to SEE. Not hear. And when writing, ALWAYS remember that it's DO-ing NOT BE-ing. Show by writing actions. In present tense. Do Do Do.
* For those who love Drama.....Suffering is NOT DRAMA. It's just static. Drama moves. Also, for actors, constant state of mood is static too. Drama does not equal moody. We don't want to watch someone who has given up...we want to watch someone who's fighting for his life, or for something or someone.
* The Law of Diminishing Returns
More often you experience something, the less effect it has.
ex. 3 scenes in a row, tragic, you can't expect the audience to feel the same throughout.
This absolutely goes for acting as well. If you thrive off emotional, intense material, use it only when necessary...it will hold more meaning. Showcasing it too much is like showing off...it's for the actor, not the story. Your job is to serve the story.
*The 3 Grand Principles in Ordering Scenes
1. We can't build little more, little more, and little more because we will exhaust the audience. A great writer knows how to pace the audience. Don't insert unnecessary scenes for the sake of giving a break for your character but, allow for your character to reflect and realize something.
2. Unity - Unified
Sense of inevitability from climax. The path we took to the climax was the only path that could have been taken from early on. It seems like free will but looking back, it was inevitable.
3. Rhythm and Tempo
40-60 scenes in feature (on average)
2-3 min each scene (on average)
a) In 2-3 min, the camera has got everything visually of the place.
b) When principal characters enter and exit, the dynamic changes so much that a new scene takes place.
c) Literary scenes - character describes his life, scenes, word pictures
Tempo - level of activity or energy in scene.
As your story moves toward climax, faster the R&T. Scenes get shorter. Climax is the slowest and longest. It's the turning point. Take time.
Put emphasis on what's going to happen next. Pause. Focus your attention on what's going to happen to next.
* Characters
~ Protagonists - single character (generally).
~ However, duo (Thelma and Louise), trio (Witches of Eastwick).
~ Two or more - Plural Protagonists. Under 2 conditions: "First, all individuals in the group share the same desire. Second, in the struggle to achieve this desire, they mutually suffer and benefit. If one has a success, all benefit. If one has a setback, all suffer. Within a Plural Protagonist motivation, action, and consequence are communal."
~ Multiprotagonist - "Unlike the Plural Protagonist, characters pursue separate and individual desires, suffering and benefitting independently: Pulp Fiction, Hannah And Her Sisters, The Breakfast Club."
~ Protagonist doesn't even have to be a human being. Could be animal, cartoon, inanimate object. "Anything that can be given a free will and the capacity to desire, take action, and suffer the consequences can be a protagonist."
~ Protagonist in particular must be a willful character. Protagonist will take the story to the end of the line. To the limit of human experience. Not stop short. Takes story to closure.
~"The PROTAGONIST has a conscious desire. A need or goal, an object of desire, and knows it."
~"The PROTAGONIST may also have a self-contradictory unconscious desire. Although these complex protagonists are unaware of their subconscious need, the audience senses it, perceiving in them an inner contradiction. The conscious and unconscious desires of a multidimensional protagonist contradict each other. What he believes he wants is the antithesis of what he actually but unwittingly wants."
~ Protagonist MUST be Empathetic (Like me). May or may not be Sympathetic (likeable). SO, the audience is really rooting for themselves.
~ Protagonist is the emotional door.
~ What would my character do? In every situation, every scene, ALWAYS take the minimal action from that character's point of view. Because human nature is an aspect of Mother Nature. Conservation of Energy of Life. Don't do what you don't have to do. Preserve your genes. Never take risks you don't have to. MINIMAL. CONSERVATIVE. SUFFICIENT.
~ 99% of the time, what you expect happens....this is how we get through the day. "Oh, if I call this person, he'll totally say this..", "If I go here, then I'll get this..." BUT NEVER IN STORY.
Cut out all banality. Concentrate on moments where character uses probability but world reacts differently, more powerfully. They discover necessity. Truth of Life.
ex. Maybe for comedy, you think you're going to the mall to pick up something but, you run into someone and run into bunch of obstacles first. For thriller, you get to the mall but, it becomes quarantined because of some unknown virus. For drama, you catch your husband shopping with another woman.
~ The more valuable object of desire, higher the risk.
~ And to create the best protagonist....you MUST understand The Principle of Antagonism. The Principle of Antagonism says, "A protagonist and his story can only be as intellectually fascinating and emotionally compelling as the forces of antagonism make them."
"The Secret of Life is on the negative side of Life."
If forces of antagonism are weak, how can the protagonist be wonderful? Focus on the forces of antagonism.
~ Always create mystery around your characters.
~ Secrets come out when people are under enormous pressure. Put your characters under pressure. How they decide, what they decide will prove to you their true characters.
~Texts and Subtexts. When you finally get to the dialogue part of writing, keep in mind that there are texts (what the characters are saying) and subtexts (what they're REALLY saying).
* Inciting Incident
"The INCITING INCIDENT radically upsets the balance of forces in the protagonist's life.........Therefore, the Inciting Incident first throws the protagonist's life out of balance, then arouses in him the desire to restore that balance. Out of this need-often quickly, occasionally with deliberation-the protagonist next conceives of an Object of Desire: something physical or situational or attitudinal that he feels he lacks or needs to put the ship of life on an even keel. Lastly, the Inciting Incident propels the protagonist into an active pursuit of this object or goal.......But for those protagonists we tend to admire the most, the Inciting Incident arouses not only a conscious desire, but an unconscious one as well. These complex characters suffer intense inner battles because these two desires are in direct conflict with each other. No matter what the character consciously thinks he wants, the audience senses or realizes that deep inside he unconsciously wants the very opposite."
* Phew, I think I'm gonna make this the last one. Get his book seriously! Now, for the last note...DON'T MINDF*CK US.
Mind Fuck - surprise without insight. Gimmicky.
For example, The Sixth Sense. He's dead. That's it. It was a just hidden fact that the audience are suppose to buy. Great writing ties things together, creates meaning, it's all intricately working together to hide one another, expose one another. And not dropping a bomb and saying, "Cuz, I said so" with no good reason. Emotional satisfaction of your audience is the goal of every writer. It's not about tricking your audience so that you come look clever. It says in the book, "We do not wish to escape life but to find life, to use our minds in fresh, experimental ways, to flex our emotions, to enjoy, to learn, to add depth to our days." This is what your audience wants....do that.
Thank you to Robert McKee, Mia, and Steven Pressfield. I'll make you proud! :)
And I made a lil tag video to end all my blog posts with from now on. :)
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