#22 - How’s Your Fire?
Edition #22 of the Lighthouse miniLetter!
You'll always get:
Three examples of great screenwriting
Two quotes about storytelling
One thing to think about
Plus some fun links at the bottom.
Three examples of great screenwriting
Arrival
Written by Eric Heiserrer, Based on the Short Story Story Of Your Life by Ted Chiang
I’m just a sucker for small, private moments like this.
Her hand goes to her heart. It’s not her heart.
Don’t underestimate the power of a simple, human moment (especially if your script is about giant seven-legged time-unbound aliens coming to Earth.)
E.R. (Pilot)
Written by Michael Crichton
Ruthless efficiency here. Lewis instantly draws the connection between their marital status and their profession, as if it’s the natural conclusion. In this world (to Lewis at least) these two are naturally connected and incompatible.
Johnny Be Weird (Pilot)
Written by Gina Gomez & Lisa Gomez
Lots of really good stuff in this passage, which is in the early pages of the pilot, but there’s a “broken rule” that I particularly like.
“He hides a secret.” right in the middle of this description.
What does that look like? What does it mean? It opens up my mind to possibilities, and “tunes” me in to what’s coming in later pages.
It works for me because everything else is so precise and confident imagematically.
Two quotes about screenwriting
“I’m a Hollywood writer, so I put on my sports jacket and take off my brain.”
“I don’t card out my screenplays ever. I just have an idea I just sit down and write I don’t edit.”
One thing to think about
How’s your fire?
I sometimes like to think of my writing habit like a fire.
Some days, it’s blazing.
Some days, I have to gather wood.
Some days, I just throw another log on.
Tending a fire requires balancing a lot of various needs, but the one thing I always remember from my days as a Boy Scout is that it’s far easier to tend a fire that’s already burning than to start a new one.
It’s okay if your fire isn’t roaring right now. Just don’t let it go out.
How’s your fire?
Have a great draft,
David Wappel
PS Don’t Miss
An older article, but The Case Against The Trauma Plot