Friday, July 22, 2011

Writing Difficult Scenes

I'm finishing up a short script that is my final project for the screenwriting class I've been taking all summer. I've just hit the most difficult scene in the whole movie - a painful scene - and I wasn't sure how it should be done.

I asked my writer's loop (ACFW) for their help, and several writers responded with beautiful testimonies of how they handled similar situations in real life.

Then I began writing the scene. I got through the hardest part, tears streaming down my face, and then began writing some dialogue for a secondary character. But he seemed to take over and I ended up writing in an idea I'd never heard of, or thought of, to help my character. I know the idea was inspired by God.

How cool is that? Now I'm going to write an article about that topic - maybe the idea will help real people, too.

How do you handle writing difficult scenes?

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Me - a Storyteller?

This past year has been an interesting discovery of myself, my purpose, my calling. In the midst of all the changes, I focused on God - what He wanted me to do, more than what I wanted to do, and was pleasantly surprised that I had matured in my faith enough that I can honestly say that I want what God wants for my life - no more, and no less. Being in that position makes difficult decisions (like closing businesses or opening new ones) much easier. It also lessens the worry - who would open a business in this economy?? Unless He has a purpose. So I trust.

One thing that has become apparent to me in the last six months. God has been molding me and crafting me all these years for a purpose that I'm just beginning to accept, acknowledge, embrace.

Nia Vardalos, screenplay writer of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, said she once thought to herself "Who am I to charge people to hear me speak?" Then she had a revelation, "Why not me?"

We are storytellers. We have stories to tell that no one else can tell the way we tell them. So why not me, too?

Grace Lessons and My Word for 2024

Each December, for many years, the Lord gave me a “word” for the new year. The last couple of years, I sought words, but they never came. Th...