Time moves so quickly these days, and the Thanksgiving Holiday is upon us!
On Tuesday of this past week, I had the pleasure of giving a talk on Using Loglines to Correct Story Structure for a wonderful group of New York based female directors, Cinefemme. It’s such a pleasure to work with talented, ambitious and highly functional women!
In another life, I was a cook and prepared many Thanksgiving dinners for many families and witnessed the intense family dynamics which can emerge under the pressure to be thankful and happy. As writers, we must always remain detached and take notes.
Holidays are also fertile ground for character development. One of the techniques I use when developing new characters is to imagine what their Thanksgiving celebration would be, or if they even have one. I’ll set a timer and write for 10 minutes using the “5”W’s” (who, where, what, when and why) to guide a mini-essay or scene.
Try it. Here’s a template:
When ___________ (main character) celebrates Thanksgiving, he/she goes _____________(Where) to be with ______________(who) because__________(why) and they do ____________(what)?
And at the celebration, what happens is: (write one or two sentences).
I repeat this formula for the villain/obstacle and get good insights. Try it and see.
I also love to watch holiday movies on the holiday and here are five of my favorites:
On a serious note, I want to mark the passing of the great William Goldman, and will watch a retrospective of his movies in his honor. He was a great mentor to me.
I’ll be away over the holiday, so our newsletter will resume on Friday, November 30, 2018.
Here’s to your successful writing,
Professor Marilyn Horowitz
