You don't need to have a happy past to have a happy future. Remember that whenever your past brings you down and you feel like you can't make a better future for yourself. History will not repeat itself.
Here are the list of those that participated in the writerscreed challenge Sleepless nights & starless skies. Take a moment to read over everyone’s lovely entries if you haven’t already. If you participated, but don’t see your name on the list, contact @teaspirationss .
I have always misplaced my belongings
Couldn’t find my medicine with my allergies acting up
Where are my keys when I’m already running late
Earphones - Yeah, I saw them last night but...where?
Forgot my wallet at the checkout yesterday
Only to walk back an entire block to get it
A kind stranger handed my ID in the pub after I lost it and didn’t even notice
I walk around my house searching for a lighter
With a cigarette in my mouth waiting to kill me
It’s a long list of carelessness
I have always misplaced my belongings
Yet they are only misplaced - never truly lost
I have managed to find them sooner or later
They always turn up unexpectedly
In places, I am not looking - when I lose hope
It has been 2 years and 11 months since I lost you
And I have not stopped looking for you ever since
I am beginning to feel a little lost myself
I think it is time for you to be found
Screenwriting 101 — a guide for novice screenwriters
Before you start writing your first script, start by reading screenplays, familiarize yourself with the format. It is also advised that you watch TV-shows and study how scenes/characters are built up and presented.
For when you’re writing your script:
Visualize your scenes
Read your dialogue out loud — what reads good on paper might not translate the same way when spoken
Finish your script before you start questioning techniques or rules. Get your script done — it’s better to learn as you go
A script does not need to be written in chronological order — think of it more as a puzzle in which you piece your scenes together
Screenwriting can be overwhelming when you first start out, which is the precise reason why it’s recommended that you finish your first draft before you start looking further into the rules, otherwise you risk never finishing it
I'm more than serious. Googling screenwriting advice as a beginner is going to confuse you even further. I've been there. I didn't understand anything. I made a conscious decision to disregard the articles, and instead, the way I learned screenwriting was from writing and watching TV-shows. And I turned out fine. So. Watch. And write.
More things to keep in mind:
Enter late, exit early
This is a key aspect to screenwriting, and perhaps the most important mindset to adapt. It’s a technique that forces you to focus on what’s crucial to include in a scene. Below are a few questions you can ask yourself to determine whether or not an action is crucial to the scene or not:
• Does it impact the plot?
• Does it add invaluable insight into a character’s motivations, goals or personality?
• Does it make the scene more memorable?
• Is it a payoff to an earlier scene or set-up for a future one?
• Does the scene simply not work without it?
(See also: mundane scenes are important). (Seriously! Read. There's some amazingly resourceful articles online regarding this mantra, but they all fail to mention the importance of mundane scenes).
Another thing:
If your slugline reads, INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT, there's no reason for you to write ''character enters the kitchen.'' The slug line already tells us our location, ''character enters.'' will suffice.
Say that you have a character entering the therapist's office. There's no need for introductions. Start the scene by having the character sit on the sofa, already deep in conversation with their therapist. Cut out the chit-chat. You need to save your pages.
Screenwriting VS Writing a Novel
Remember, you’re much more limited writing a screenplay than you are writing a novel. Scripts need to be fast-paced:
You develop your characters through action and dialogue, as opposed to description and internal monologues. All and any emotion has to come across in your characters actions, which needs to be shown on screen, which leads us to another important point:
If something isn’t shown on screen, it doesn’t belong in the script. You only write down what is seen, or heard. Nothing else.
This is a common mistake that novice screenwriters do, especially coming from a background of novel writing, so keep this in mind.
Action lines:
Action lines are just what they sound like, it's where you describe what happens in the scene. Again — only what appears on screen!
Meaning — don’t write what your characters are thinking, or feeling. We can’t see their inner thoughts or feelings, leave it to your actors to interpret the scene. You don't need to direct them, they know what they're doing.
SAME THING WITH CAMERA DIRECTIONS. NO CAMERA DIRECTIONS IN YOUR SCRIPT. NONE. LEAVE THEM OUT.
More on action lines:
Every paragraph of action lines should be between 1—4 lines long
Screenplays are written in present tense. It’s “she arrives at the house” as opposed to “she came to the house.”
Synonyms are important to use for an interesting read — and generally you should avoid generic words (like walk, for example) but less is still more. Make sure not to go completely overboard with synonyms in each sentence you write)
Parentheticals are used to communicate emotion, action or delivery within a script's dialogue:
Parentheticals can also be used to indicate a pause (beat) or (then) in a character's dialogue, but keep in mind that they should be used sparingly.
You only imply tone when it can be misinterpreted (say if the atmosphere of the scene is flirty, but the actor should be snarky delivering the line).
What should be capitalized in a script:
Things that should ALWAYS be capitalized:
Character names above dialogue
Scene headings and slug lines
Transitions
Character extensions, such as V.O (voice-over) and O.S (off-screen)
Headlines and inserts
Always (and only) capitalize a character’s name when they are first introduced on screen/in the script (in your action lines)
Sounds are capitalized, as is anything important that you want to draw attention to, such as certain objects and visual effects.
Use sparingly, though! If something reads better without caps, don’t cap it. Your script should be easy to read more than anything.
More things to keep in mind:
It's said that 1 page in a script translates to about 1 minute of screentime, and while it's a good rule for beginners trying to keep track of their projects, it is not very accurate and the runtime of your movie cannot be determined by the pages of your script.
There's a debate going on regarding whether to bold your sluglines or not. This is completely irrelevant and not something that in any way going is to affect your story.
Writing a TV-show
Start by deciding what type of show it is that you’re writing. Is it a sitcom or a 1-hour drama? Episodic or serialized?
Serialized TV-show: in which each episode builds off previous episodes (examples: Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Buffy The Vampire Slayer).
Episodic TV-show: same setting, but a different plot for each new episode (examples: Friends, The Simpsons, Law and Order).
If you’re choosing to write a serialized show, I would suggest that you start by writing down all major events that will occur throughout the season:
What are you working towards? What scenes do you have written? What will happen in the season finale? What needs to occur in the remaining episodes to make that happen?
Character development is also a factor. What about your character arcs?
Where will your characters end up? Come the season finale — what will they have experienced? How will those experiences change or affect them? How will that affect the plot? Think about your characters’ journey and destination — What obstacles do they have to face to reach that point?
Of course, all these things can come to change later down the line, but you need to have a general idea of where you want to go.
Essential elements of a TV pilot (know your starting point)
So you’ve got the general gist of how your season is going to play out, but what about your pilot episode? This is where you establish:
PLOT — establish what your show is about. What themes are you touching upon? What type of genre are you going for? What are your characters going to be dealing with?
When you’re making a TV-show, it’s more than likely you’ll be working with more than one storyline. Start by identifying how many you’re dealing with, and introduce them accordingly.
It's important to come up with a one or two-sentence long line that sums up the entire premise of your show (the logline), but some writers also like to come up with a question that should be answered by the end of each episode.
CHARACTERS — introduce your characters, set up character relationships as well as their wants and needs (but keep in mind: there is no reason to dump a character’s entire life story into one episode. Backstories can unfold throughout the season).
When you’ve got all of that written down, start by asking yourself — how do I most effectively introduce my audience to this new world, as well as its plot and characters? How do I hook my audience, making them want more? THIS IS WHERE WATCHING TV-SHOWS COME IN HAND. STUDY THEM. STUDY HOW THEY'RE BUILT. STUDY HOW EACH SCENE IS STRUCTURED.
Okay… I know what my pilot needs, but then what?
To tie this all up, when you're writing a TV-show, I really wouldn't recommend that you start by separating all your scenes into specific episodes, especially not if you haven't even started scripting your pilot episode yet.
Take it episode by episode. Look over your outline, work through your scenes, decide which scenes work best for the episode you’re currently writing.
If you happen to know that you’ve already got some scenes centered around establishing your world, plot or introducing characters, see if you can work them into your pilot script. Then simply repeat the process for upcoming episodes depending on what is necessary to tell, reveal and develop in the specific episode you're writing.
It is OK to divide scenes into episodes straight away, but it’s better to keep it open and instead have a general idea of if something is going to occur in the first couple of episodes, the middle or towards the end, simply because there is so much material when it comes to writing a show, it’s really not something that can be packed up and compressed like in a movie. Whether something is going to occur in episode 1x04, 1x05 or 1x16 is irrelevant — it doesn’t matter until the episode is being written.
By the way — the more scripts you write, the easier it will be to puzzle your scenes together. You'll learn to see a connection, but you gotta start small.
When I crossed the threshold of your home, I left a few things of mine, a cardigan I no longer wanted, wrapped in your fragrance. A pair of earrings, silver with floral danglings, you said they made me look brighter. A book with my favourite book mark, in hope you would open to read it, and the scribbles on the margins might light up your humourless days. I left a few of my pieces, in your kitchen cabinet, beside the expired peanut butter you refuse to dispose. I cleared the bedroom, especially the nightstand on my side (former ofcourse), erasing the marks of our ardour. Forgetful, as some might say, after long I realised I left my sunshine in your apartment. I hope you bask in it, as it seeps gently into the vacuum, my words moulded..................
Why do people write? Why do people draw and paint? Why do people write songs, produce music, make movies?
And why for the love of god why do they show it to other people? For fame? For praise? For it to be trampled on by those that didn't consider it their cup of tea. Banished it as unworthy of their time.
Yes. All of these reasons and one more.
Legacy
This is their legacy. No matter what happens to them or their life, their art is out there in the world. It's not only tangible but a very part of the universe. The words they wrote are etched into the minds of readers. The songs they sang are memories for moments in time. No one can take it away. This is their legacy. This legacy is immortal.
Shakespeare said it in his sonnet 55,
"Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn
The living record of your memory.
’Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity"
Their art may be manipulated, interpreted, torn apart or cherished, but it is there. It has their stamp and a piece of them in it.
Who doesn't want to leave a piece of them behind before they die? Who doesn't want to leave a mark, no matter how minuscule, in this gigantic universe?
I do. Maybe you do too.
So do it.
Write that poem. Write that book. Publish it. Sing that song and put it out. Paint that self-portrait and etch your name proudly on it. Choreograph those moves. Create your art. It is important because it is yours and it is unlike anyone else's. It is important because you don't know who it could touch or comfort. Let your art fly out in the world. It'll land in places you never imagined. Leave a legacy behind, and others will carry it and leave theirs.
#romance#listen i know that Courtly Love ™ is a much analyzed thing that has Layers and such#but i just gotta look at the YEARNING AND LOVE IT SOMETIMES#because what i love about this picture#is how it looks like both parties desperately want to be properly embracing#face to face arms really AROUND each other so they can kiss#but for some reason that we can’t see in the painting htis is impossible#neither the knight or the lady have turned their bodies physically away from their intended staircase paths#the knight isn’t craning his head any more to the right to see her face#and the lady is turning her face to the wall#and all they can snatch together is this brief desprate and infinitely tender moment LIKE I YEARN MY HOES I YEARN#you can imagine that they arranged it so carefully between themselves at some previous date#that they would pass each other on the stairs just for this brief moment#so the lady could hold her hand out and the knight could kiss it#the lady turning her face away for deniability#and the knight easily able to let her go and pretend it was just a chance brush#DARN STAR-CROSSED LOVE I’M WEAK Y'ALL ( @takiki16 )
For those (like me before finding out) who are wondering which painting is presented here : It’s The Meeting on the Turret Stairs by Frederick William Burton ! I adore it.