"In The Mood For Love" is one of those classics I can (and have, and will) watch again and again.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Astronomicon 11 - Rochester, NY 11/6-8
This weekend I attended a science fiction convention, which, instead of being based around talks by TV & movie actors, autograph signing sessions, and huge gaming and dealers rooms, was centered on the writers and writing of SF. Some names of note who were on panels and who presented their work: Nancy Kress, Daniel A. Rabuzzi, David DeGraff, and Robert J. Sawyer, best known for writing FlashForward, which is now a hit ABC TV series (he's now working as consultant on the series, and will be penning at least one episode.). A sampling of panel topics included writing for YA (Young Adults), podcasting, writing alternate realities, routes to publication, and "Twitter My Jetpack," about future technologies that didn't come to pass, and ones that have blindsided us.
I wasn't sure what I would get out of a convention aimed at writing and publishing fiction, as opposed to writing the screenplay or teleplay, but the gem for me was meeting and hearing Rob Sawyer speak about his career track (from television to publishing, and back to television). I was a bit embarrassed to say I hadn't yet watched more than 10 minutes of FlashForward, but now that I have a feeling for it, I'm going to give it a shot and dig the groove.
I was very pleased to meet Daniel A. Rabuzzi, author and champion of cross-genre writing (and many other things), as well as David DeGraff, professor of astronomy researching science in science fiction. Both wonderful people, very warm, genuine and completely fascinating.
So what did I get out of this convention? The discussion on writing for YA has helped me think about "Beauty Is..." (1950s coming of age piece), particularly around the darker aspects of the story I'm telling. I kept holding back on different characters and elements of the story, afraid it was getting too edgy and dark. I'm more inclined at this point to throw all caution to the wind, and just write the story that's inside me, that wants to see the light of day. It will be what it will be. I am grateful to all the panels and especially to Dan for helping me get to this point.
Another topic that warmed me to a potential story I want to tell is the concept of alternate histories/realities. In fact, one of my screenwriting students this semester is working on an alternate history piece, and I feel more informed now going into this with him. For my own writing, I've had an idea involving alternative reality-jumping germinating in the mold way down in the cellar of my brain. I think it's time that's brought up to the sun porch as well, to bask in the light and decide what kind of thing it is to become.
I am blown away by the networks of these SF writers, and now that I see how many places and times they have created for intersection (regional cons like this one and Eeriecon in Niagara Falls, and much larger ones such as Worldcon and Readercon), I am going to have to start plugging myself in. Screenwriting is screenwriting - it isn't like writing a short story or a novel - but creating the concepts and characters of SF require a healthy diet of reading, meeting, and writing no matter what the format.
Such is the writing life.
This Wednesday I have a phone meeting with a manager and, as such, I am putting things like grading aside for a few days to get myself ready for that. This con has given me some much-needed insight to get a couple things up to speed for that meeting.
Next order of business, however, will be getting a night of good, solid sleep. I am rather weary at the moment. Weary, but happy, inspired, and extremely motivated.
I wasn't sure what I would get out of a convention aimed at writing and publishing fiction, as opposed to writing the screenplay or teleplay, but the gem for me was meeting and hearing Rob Sawyer speak about his career track (from television to publishing, and back to television). I was a bit embarrassed to say I hadn't yet watched more than 10 minutes of FlashForward, but now that I have a feeling for it, I'm going to give it a shot and dig the groove.
I was very pleased to meet Daniel A. Rabuzzi, author and champion of cross-genre writing (and many other things), as well as David DeGraff, professor of astronomy researching science in science fiction. Both wonderful people, very warm, genuine and completely fascinating.
So what did I get out of this convention? The discussion on writing for YA has helped me think about "Beauty Is..." (1950s coming of age piece), particularly around the darker aspects of the story I'm telling. I kept holding back on different characters and elements of the story, afraid it was getting too edgy and dark. I'm more inclined at this point to throw all caution to the wind, and just write the story that's inside me, that wants to see the light of day. It will be what it will be. I am grateful to all the panels and especially to Dan for helping me get to this point.
Another topic that warmed me to a potential story I want to tell is the concept of alternate histories/realities. In fact, one of my screenwriting students this semester is working on an alternate history piece, and I feel more informed now going into this with him. For my own writing, I've had an idea involving alternative reality-jumping germinating in the mold way down in the cellar of my brain. I think it's time that's brought up to the sun porch as well, to bask in the light and decide what kind of thing it is to become.
I am blown away by the networks of these SF writers, and now that I see how many places and times they have created for intersection (regional cons like this one and Eeriecon in Niagara Falls, and much larger ones such as Worldcon and Readercon), I am going to have to start plugging myself in. Screenwriting is screenwriting - it isn't like writing a short story or a novel - but creating the concepts and characters of SF require a healthy diet of reading, meeting, and writing no matter what the format.
Such is the writing life.
This Wednesday I have a phone meeting with a manager and, as such, I am putting things like grading aside for a few days to get myself ready for that. This con has given me some much-needed insight to get a couple things up to speed for that meeting.
Next order of business, however, will be getting a night of good, solid sleep. I am rather weary at the moment. Weary, but happy, inspired, and extremely motivated.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
More thoughts on the Rod Serling Conference, 2009
Mired in mid-semester grading, and after a jam-packed weekend in Cleveland with my in-laws, I'm finally getting to finishing my thoughts and reactions to the Serling Conference.
1. Meeting Andrew Smith was absolutely an unexpected bonus to the weekend. Drew was a presenter at the conference, and was also collecting interviews to edit a piece for BBC Radio back in his home town of Gateshead, U.K. My husband, Don, and I made sure he didn't lack for eats and things to do after the conference. Now we've started a jar to save up our nickels and dimes for a visit to Drew's neck of the woods across the pond. You can check out more of his conference adventures and audio interviews with George Clayton Johnson here: Illegible Me.
2. Meeting Carol Serling after she watched my presentation at the mini-course. Such an honor and what a lovely woman. She seemed to think my ideas were interesting, which was gracious of her to say. The students didn't fall asleep, and it was after 7:00, so she may have been telling the truth there.
3. Realizing what a huge impact Rod Serling has actually had on my imagination, the way I think, the kind of stories I tell, and the way I tell them. While putting my presentation together (which I had the presence of mind to videotape, and yes, I will get a clip up as soon as I can manage), I came to see how the images and ideas from The Twilight Zone had entered my fertile, bizarr-o imagination as a tiny youngster, were blended and harvested into nightmares, and later became fodder for so many of the stories I write. Examining some of those images, like this one:
was like decoding my own story telling; both exciting and humbling. It was like finding a long-lost compass and having the inspired realization that the needle always points to... The Twilight Zone.
1. Meeting Andrew Smith was absolutely an unexpected bonus to the weekend. Drew was a presenter at the conference, and was also collecting interviews to edit a piece for BBC Radio back in his home town of Gateshead, U.K. My husband, Don, and I made sure he didn't lack for eats and things to do after the conference. Now we've started a jar to save up our nickels and dimes for a visit to Drew's neck of the woods across the pond. You can check out more of his conference adventures and audio interviews with George Clayton Johnson here: Illegible Me.
2. Meeting Carol Serling after she watched my presentation at the mini-course. Such an honor and what a lovely woman. She seemed to think my ideas were interesting, which was gracious of her to say. The students didn't fall asleep, and it was after 7:00, so she may have been telling the truth there.
3. Realizing what a huge impact Rod Serling has actually had on my imagination, the way I think, the kind of stories I tell, and the way I tell them. While putting my presentation together (which I had the presence of mind to videotape, and yes, I will get a clip up as soon as I can manage), I came to see how the images and ideas from The Twilight Zone had entered my fertile, bizarr-o imagination as a tiny youngster, were blended and harvested into nightmares, and later became fodder for so many of the stories I write. Examining some of those images, like this one:
was like decoding my own story telling; both exciting and humbling. It was like finding a long-lost compass and having the inspired realization that the needle always points to... The Twilight Zone.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Sunday, October 4, 2009
A close friend of mine, Myron Rumsey, has started this venture: The Blog of OA. Give him a shout, especially if you're into comics!
A weekend in the Twilight Zone
I'm just coming off of a contact high. I spent time this weekend with George Clayton Johnson, TV and film writing veteran, as well as other notables at The Rod Serling Conference at Ithaca College. This week marked the 50th anniversary of The Twilight Zone, and to celebrate, Serling's hometown of Binghamton and his chosen home of Ithaca both put on a spectacular weekend of events.
The Conference included scholarly presentations from around the world on Serling's work, and also presented more personal, intimate sketches of the man's life from his friends and colleagues. The special guest of the conference was, of course, George Clayton Johnson, who wrote four episodes of TZ as well as numerous other teleplays including Star Trek's "The Man Trap." Clayton was a joy to watch and listen to; at 80 he is exuberant if not eccentric, and tells it like it is, as far as he's concerned.
I was honored to present the panel session with the top three winners of the Serling Scriptwriting Competition, for which I was also a judge: First place winner Chris DellaCarpini, for "Dumbed Down," Second place winner Federico Jimenez, for "Simon," and Third place winner Lance Gilmer, for "The Guest." All three writers are gifted and it was a pleasure to meet them and introduce them to the attendees.
I am still processing the Conference as a whole, and I will write more when I have my more personal thoughts organized.
For now - kudos to all who worked so hard to make it a success, including Mrs. Serling and her family, who make it possible for us to celebrate Mr. Serling's work in such grand style.
The Conference included scholarly presentations from around the world on Serling's work, and also presented more personal, intimate sketches of the man's life from his friends and colleagues. The special guest of the conference was, of course, George Clayton Johnson, who wrote four episodes of TZ as well as numerous other teleplays including Star Trek's "The Man Trap." Clayton was a joy to watch and listen to; at 80 he is exuberant if not eccentric, and tells it like it is, as far as he's concerned.
I was honored to present the panel session with the top three winners of the Serling Scriptwriting Competition, for which I was also a judge: First place winner Chris DellaCarpini, for "Dumbed Down," Second place winner Federico Jimenez, for "Simon," and Third place winner Lance Gilmer, for "The Guest." All three writers are gifted and it was a pleasure to meet them and introduce them to the attendees.
I am still processing the Conference as a whole, and I will write more when I have my more personal thoughts organized.
For now - kudos to all who worked so hard to make it a success, including Mrs. Serling and her family, who make it possible for us to celebrate Mr. Serling's work in such grand style.
Monday, September 21, 2009
But wait, there's more!
PRI interviewed Diablo Cody, mastermind of "Jennifer's Body," and I would just like to poke some gaping, bleeding holes in her b.s.
From the transcript:
Two hours of my life I'll never get back. Gone for good. That's the real horror story.
*BTW, how did breaking the locket have any effect on the demon-possessed Jennifer at that point? Based on the mythology used in the screenplay, it shouldn't have!
From the transcript:
The theme of 'Jennifer's Body,' said Cody, is about the horror of being a teenager, "A person who is under the influence of hormones, and jealousy and society, is by nature combustible and scary and unpredictable, and I think anybody who's ever lived with a teenager knows this to be true.But aren't most teen-horror movies about these same themes? How is this any different from any other teen-horror flick?
The dynamics of friendship between teenage girls, which was explored in the humorously dark 1980s movie "Heathers," is at the core of "Jennifer's Body."and
"Heathers" had a big impact on Cody -- she called it life-changing, "It influences my entire life and my entire career path, and everything that I do -- it's like gospel."Heathers" did it right; it was genius, it was superlative. So stop trying to do what's already been done! And stop trying to convince me that because it has some kind of manufactured post-feminist tinge to it, it's worth my time!
Said Cody about her own film, "The germ of the plot ... is about the two girls and the relationship between them, and the fact that they had this friendship that went all the way back to childhood, but had now turned toxic."Okay, fine... but I didn't care a whit about either character. There was so much exposition, and so much attention paid to being ironic (a hallmark of today's hipsters), that the characters were flat and unexciting. Yawn. It became a standard, totally predictable horror movie with empty characters and little to care about. The expository flashes behind the end credits were an enormous let-down. If you're going to put us through all this agonizing, first-person voice-over so that we can try to give a crap about the main character, and then you insist on dragging us through the inevitable battle in Act III*, at least let us see her final act of contrition, the culmination of her story.
Two hours of my life I'll never get back. Gone for good. That's the real horror story.
*BTW, how did breaking the locket have any effect on the demon-possessed Jennifer at that point? Based on the mythology used in the screenplay, it shouldn't have!
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