tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1048006265600046573.post8045494697175958155..comments2020-06-23T18:44:02.034-07:00Comments on Captain America! Redefining Modern Myth: Emails #46: Ways To Mangle A FIlmBen Alpihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02349155228789121570noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1048006265600046573.post-51756626089031256352011-05-24T09:30:56.742-07:002011-05-24T09:30:56.742-07:00Edward/Imaginings -
The writing process is indeed...Edward/Imaginings -<br /><br />The writing process is indeed a curious beast. No doubt about it. Aside from the joy I get while drawing, nothing beats the exhilaration of writing a good passage. It is unfortunate that this comes only infrequently. Rarely will I edit something into being great but more times I have accidently flattened something with an edit. Still, in this modern age, the ability to edit has indeed made it easier to write but not necessarily easier to obtain good results. <br /><br />Curiously problems that I see in my own writing tend to eventually find their way back to character. In comics, the interplay between words and pictures can convey a lot of information but it's visual nature lends itself toward location, prop, action, close-up, etc. and it is weak in showing emotion, inner thought, tension and nuance. Building a character should be more than putting a figure in a costume and giving it "powers."<br /><br />In novel writing, the amount of words or expressions you can use to describe an action or character are limited only by imagination. The ease of writing subtle, dramatic or emotional content in this format is amazing. For film, less imagination is required of the viewer than with someone reading a novel. It is very physical. Subtlety is determined by the skill of the actors and the crew.<br /><br />I have been guilty in the past of putting a design over a mannequin and calling it a character. Part of the lesson learned by the Captain America experience is not how to do research, take notes or blend fact and fiction but rather what to look for. What is the key to the character? Every premise you make about a character needs to be tested and evaluated.<br /><br />Thank you for your thoughts. Feel free to share more with us. The blog is scheduled to run through June or July with three posts a week. There is indeed more to come. Thanks again.<br /><br />RICKRICK Arthur, Founderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16925622575714675074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1048006265600046573.post-13513888112099509212011-05-24T08:17:48.352-07:002011-05-24T08:17:48.352-07:00Rick,
I'm always interested to read how other...Rick,<br /><br />I'm always interested to read how other writers work. For what I do, mostly essays and short stories, I rarely outline in any formal way. I start with an idea, usually a character and situation, often fully formed in my mind, then research details to bring it all to life. I write out short descriptions, lines and snippets of dialog as they come to me then move them around almost as an outline. I don't tend to do massive rewrites, though I will pause for sometimes long periods while my mind goes into problem solving mode. Then I go back and reinforce themes as necessary. Not particularly efficient either.<br /><br />With novels, I do more outlining and take more notes on scenes because I can't hold all the details in my head. Though even there, I know when I can move forward because I can see a scene in my head. <br /><br />As an old gamer, I see film-making much like table-top role-playing. It takes the combined vision of everyone involved to bring a creative vision to life. Ok, maybe more like role-playing in Vegas now because of the corporate interests and monetary stakes involved. I'm not sure I'll ever be a screenwriter. When Ben reads something I've written, he always has very astute questions with an eye toward what would be necessary to introduce it to an audience visually and make them understand. A very different medium from what I do. <br /><br />Thanks again for sharing your vision(s) with the rest of us. Fascinating.<br /><br />EdwardNoddfa Imaginingshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14182325682409922681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1048006265600046573.post-55864668394910444252011-05-23T09:16:09.691-07:002011-05-23T09:16:09.691-07:00Imaginings -
Thank you for for your comments. Th...Imaginings -<br /><br />Thank you for for your comments. They are appreciated. Every writer needs to find the techniques that work best for them. What is thorny about what Ben and I have amassed is that we never intended to write anything. Our conversations by email which encompass the Cap material spanned over three years. My personal style is to make endless notes and write and rewrite until I get something. Once I have achieved that I sometimes have to start all over again. Very efficient. On the other hand, I have been blessed with knowing, on occasion a story whole clothe before starting. Using outlines and structure to tame my thinking has been a lifelong process of which I am not always successful.<br /><br />I first time I had to write a long form comic book story was a 40 pager for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I was confident I knew what to do and that just made my resulting struggle that much more painful. I had to create a method of writing and notation that worked for both dialogue and art and do it from scratch trying many unsuccessful combinations before figuring it out. In the end, the material came out pretty good but I was left with a writing/notation method which I still use today to write comics.<br /><br />For novel writing (a few tucked away never to be seen), I often know the overall story but not the details. This enables me to write chapter by chapter. For some reason I usually focus on one or a small number of characters per chapter which each section having it's own cliff hanger. I can move chapters around or write them without rewriting the whole book. Thankfully the computer is handy for editing and I find myself striking a lot of description and unneeded dialogue.<br /><br />I haven't spent enough time with screenplays yet. I am not afraid of the form and actually do most of my thinking in sequences of pictures anyway. I am reading more scripts to get a feel for cadence. Ben, also, has sent me scripts to look at for years. Every once in a while I will actually make a helpful comment. I am not sure screenwriting is for me. Like other forms of writing, it is harder than it looks, takes long hours of thought and writing and only results in a map that studios, directors, producers and increasingly actors will trample on the way to making a film. <br /><br />On that happy note... Cheers. Thanks again. RICKRICK Arthur, Founderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16925622575714675074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1048006265600046573.post-11376259978532179992011-05-23T07:49:09.483-07:002011-05-23T07:49:09.483-07:00Nice piece about writing (as many others have been...Nice piece about writing (as many others have been). Thanks for posting these. <br /><br />I think the best outlining tips I've come across were in a book called The Weekend Novelist by Robert J. Ray. He uses Aristotle's Incline for plotting. It's a 3-act play structure which focuses on 5 key scenes (opening, plot point 1, midpoint, plot point 2, cathartic scene and wrap-up). Those are written out of order and the rest filled in from there. Though before that, you get a feel for your characters through various exercises. I've found the method resonates with how I write better than others I've run across.Noddfa Imaginingshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14182325682409922681noreply@blogger.com