Tuesday, April 22, 2008

preview of coming attractions

I know, I know, a film reference. I just got back from Boston and have so much work to do, my head is about to explode. But, but, please stay tuned because I am going to have something up soon about:
1. this amazing book The Tao of Fertility by Dana Herko
2. I want to sing the praises of this literary doctor (he just finished an amazing thriller) who also has a clinically proven preventative line of vitamins that I use.
3. I want to write about Leora Skolkin-Smith's brilliant new film, based on her novel EDGES, that has gorgeous photos to go along with it
4. And of course I want to obsess about my own work and angst. I'm having problems with this script I am writing. Screenwriting is so different than novel writing that some days I just think about dental school.

5 comments:

Clea Simon said...

This all sounds very exciting! I love your interviews with other authors, Caroline. And, of COURSE, want to hear about your projects! XXX OOO

Clea Simon said...

Tell us the name of the vitamins, please!! I feel like everyone I know has been getting sick constantly.

Cindy said...

I want to hear more about the screenwriting woes. Im about to begin mine.

And remember how brilliant you are, how accomplished! I bet your script is amazing.

Yes tell us the name of the vitamins!
xoxooxox

Jeff Lyons said...

Can I talk about my screenwriting woes... I have woes too!

Yeah... give up the vitamins.

J

Caroline said...

Thanks all for responding.

While writing a novel I can tell if a page works or not, if it's horrible or at least passable, but I cannot, for the life of me, tell with a script. I don't know how to make this script work and it's making me crazy. I don't know when something is heavyhanded or far too subtle because unlike with a novel--there's an extra media involved--that damn silver screen!
In a novel you can have this:
"Because I said so," he said. It works just fine. But if you put that in a script than instantly I think, well, what's he doing when he says it? Is it going to sound stupid and obvious when he is 20 feet large?

I just had a snag when one producer told me that he didn't know what these characters did for a living. So I was whining to this amazing story structure consultant I hired through UCLA and he said, "Oh, well, you have to show a short little scene showing them doing what they are doing." Just like that, problem solved. And he walked me through it so the scene won't lay on the page like a dead flounder.

Time to take more vitamins. This is hard. (By the way, I swear by GNC vitamins for the hair. Makes your hair grow like --I'm too tired for a clever metaphor. It makes your hair grow.