While we don't necessarily agree with Gano, we sure appreciate his efforts to educate writers

What does Goodfellas have to do with the Charles Shultz Peanuts characters?

Find out in my recent blog post, "Parody, Fair Use, Or Copyright Infringement?"

www.lemoineentertainmentlaw.com

Doing the right thing is it's own reward. Really.

It's been a while since I read a book that isn't non-fiction, but I woke up out of a dream and couldn't relax. I usually read something by Truman Capote when I read fiction, so I planned to reread "Breakfast at Tiffany's", but ended up reading a book called, "Crash" by Jerry Spinelli.

It's a Young Adult story about a brutish jock who ends up befriending a nerdy Quaker boy who beats him in a race. The story begins with Crash being a bully, but in the end, he lets the Quaker boy win. I was moved to tears by that moment in the book, but mostly I really loved the voice delivered up by this excellent writer who managed to write from inside the head of this boy.

The message in the book is clear: doing the right thing is it's own reward. I wondered where is the equivalent book for adults? How does a story about values for teens get replaced by some parable about how to cope with being fired or a novel about war, murder, and death? The news is full of the misdeeds and failures of other people, as is most of our so-called entertainment. At what point does learning how to behave ethically get taken off the table and replaced with encouragement to wallow in our own moral excrement?

I have no answers, but since this is a blog, I believe that I am allowed to merely express a 4:00am opinion:

It seems so hypocritical to tell teens how to behave considering the way so many adults act.

What do you think?

A cool screenwriting tip...

In my NYU class last night, I taught how to use the Four Magic Questions of Screenwriting to encourage my students to reach the midway point in the middle of act 2, or the end of Act 2, part 1. The point I was trying to make was that many scripts fall apart at this point, because an escalation is needed. For example, in the film "The Wizard of Oz", Dorothy is told by the Wizard that she must fetch the Wicked Witch of the West's broom if she wants to go home. In some way it must be a disguised repetition of what happens at the end of Act 1. Again, using "The Wizard of Oz", Dorothy "kills" The Wicked Witch of the East - so the repetition is the overcoming of a witch, even if the first one was not a direct challenge. This is a useful technique especially when designing concepts.

For the love of writing

I love my writing system because it helps writers feel like they are in love with the process and can relax when they are writing and enjoy the process. I am sharing the feedback below to encourage any writer who wants to have a better experience to check out my system.

One of my NYU students wrote me this note:

"I just had to tell you that I couldn't help myself today - just utterly yielded to the impulse and 'snuck-wrote' a 4 page scene at work today!  I'm so excited!"

A student in my private Finish Your Script class wrote,

"I'll definitely have pages for a read through on Wednesday evening after finishing what feels like one of the most relaxed writing sessions I've ever had. :)"

Torrential Downpour

Question: How can this endless rain be useful to us writers, aside from encouraging us to stay in and write?

Answer:  You can use any current event to set off your imagination. For example, I was searching for an event for a new project that could be the Act 2 catalyst, with the Tornedo from The Wizard of Oz in mind. I found a great site. Enjoy: http://www.weatherforyou.com/history/