Tonight I read a chapter of Syd Field's Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting. I've really been enjoying this book. Field has express so far how the basic outline of a script is written. The chapter I read tonight has been most interesting and it's been all about character. Character is something I struggle with. Sure I have the name, the background, the family, the history but even with all of these things, I struggle to know what the character will do in certain situations. I think what I struggle with is that I try and relate to the character, "If I were in that guy's situation," or "If I had that kid's childhood," "If I had those people for family," etc. But what I really want to accomplish is not what I would want to do, but what would the character do. Sure I can move forward in my story no problem, but I still feel I'm relating to the character too much. A little is okay, but too much and you have the same story people have been writing for hundreds of years. Some will come a long and say "Oh, I have seen that character before!" because humans can only do so many things before it get's predictable. The goal is erase predictability and create spontaneity. Experimenting with characters is what I plan to do in my future posts. I need to create a character with a deep history and an intense future.
Oh, how I love writing. There is anything much more exciting then pulling out my laptop and typing away the chapters to my book or putting a pen to my journal and recording down the many idea's I have for short stories. Oh how I lack the discipline to actually complete any of them. I've been working on that... discipline. Maybe by the time I have my own family I'll finally have some.
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