I've been thinking and we talk a bit about what scripts we read that made us laugh, cry, or be afraid.    But what about the scripts we write - what scripts have we written that have made us feel something while writing them?  I don't think we've ever posted about that and I'm fairly sure this happens to people.  

So I'll start off by saying I don't think I've written anything that scared me while I was writing it - though I'm sure some people have.

However, I cried when I wrote the ending of Pretty Flamingo.  It was the first time it ever happened to me but unfortunately no one else seems to find the ending sad.   I also cried when I wrote Rachel's Song for an OWC some time back.   But again, no one really seems that put out by the ending.  I wonder if anyone else sees this with the endings  they've written and cried about.

Laughing, well, I've got a lot that I've laughed through.   I would say the one I was in utter hysterics with while writing was Goldenweenie and the Three Bears.  Second would have to be Star Trek: Children of Men my OWC entry.   Though there's a couple of others I couldn't stop laughing while writing such as: Mangia and Billy's Boogie Ball.  Unlike the crying, I think people have shared my laughter while reading these.

You can find the scripts I mentioned in the Scripts you have posted thread.

http://www.simplyscripts.net/cgi-bin/Blah/Blah.pl?b-knowyou/m-1095531482/s-45/

What's scripts have you written that have made you emotional while writing?  And don't feel limited by the three emotions I stated - add your own emotions.    

I cried like a baby when I wrote Linus (aka:  Dog Run).  I had put dogs down in my life and this script brought back a lot of bad memories.

I also cried when I wrote Pet Names.  I'm not sure why, though....


Phil

Quoted from dogglebe I also cried when I wrote Pet Names.  I'm not sure why, though....

I cried while reading Pet Names too.  So I share your pain.

Cried... Probably not.  I do think there are a handful of scenes in "Coffin Canyon" which will definitely pluck the heart strings if not pull them all together.

Emily and Fletcher's g'bye scene is one, but there are at least 5 other scenes that are highly emotional and gut wrenching when they take place.

A) because they're unexpected and they go against everything you'd have thought was going to happen.

B) because you really grow with the characters throughout the script. You like them, you love them and you hate them... This is the one script I've written where everything makes sense.  The characters have reason and weight and the story has validity for being told.

And yes, Coffin Canyon will be entered into Shriekfest this year in the feature length category... Along with Khold Stare, Flight Of The 444 Phantom and now my latest script, which will remain nameless for the time being, in the short short category.

I started my final rewrite on Coffin Canyon early this month (10 long years in the making this script) and hope to have it zipped up for early entry on march 20th.

I haven't ever been emotional when writing one of my own, but I know some scripts I've written have made people "feel" them.

One time, a person who reviewed a script of mine wrote, "So when you got to that part, I mentally said, screw this."

I've had a few people mention moments of them being sad but no, I haven't felt anything emotionally with any of my own stories. I'm just not a good enough writer, I s'pose.

Quoted from Mr. Blonde I haven't felt anything emotionally with any of my own stories. I'm just not a good enough writer, I s'pose.

I don't think it has anything to do with your writing ability.  It's probably more how attached you become to your own characters.  Not everyone is going to get emotional about it.  

But if I were a good writer, I would be able to convey emotion in my scripts better, wouldn't I?

The scripts are typically kind of cold, though, so maybe not. Just guesstimating.

You might be able to convey them better to a reader, but to yourself, I think that would just depend on your nature.  Some people are going to get caught up in what they are writing, some aren't.   I don't think that's a reflection of their writing, more a reflection of them.

Quoted from Mr. Blonde But if I were a good writer, I would be able to convey emotion in my scripts better, wouldn't I? The scripts are typically kind of cold, though, so maybe not. Just guesstimating.

People handle emotions very differently, man.

It takes a lot for me to get emotional... I just... I'm just not that guy.  I'm cold and bitter and not a very pleasant person to be around at times (except for my daughter, I'm always happy to be with her.  She's my entire world).  I do have a lot of passion/compassion and I write with everything I've got if I believe in it.  But I write as if I'm an invisible entity within the world and characters, soaking up their experiences and then portraying those on paper without bias.

I never get fully vested in one character over the others in my work, and I do that because I don't wanna play favorites unless it's serviceable to the story.

If it resonates with others, awesome... If not, maybe it was never meant to.

When my characters are in distress, so am I.
I can't write what they say without sharing the emotions.
Even during the notes stage when the story plays out visually in my head.
I have an idea what they're going to say.
But caught up in the emotion on the day, the dialogue tends to change.
It happened with West Side Markets, Widow's Walk and Red Sun.
Regret, death, loss, redemption, all stuff that tightens my throat.

Regards,
E.D.

My writing has gotten much more personal over the years and a lot of the material is shaped by my state of mind at a given time. That said, while I have had moments where I've been touched by my own work, they don't happen that often. I wouldn't say it has anything with my skills as a writer, my investment in my own characters or even how emotional I am as a person. I think it boils down to two things. First, I don't think my writing process really facilitates my feeling emotional. It's very analytical, even in regards to emotional beats within the story. I think of it as a means to an end, really. Getting the stuff on paper. Shaping it. Conceiving it is where it gets organic for me (though writing the rough draft is not without touches of excitement).

I also think, personally, my propensity to laugh, be shocked, depressed, touched, whatever, has a lot to do with surprise and since I'm me and I know myself so well, I'm not surprised by myself very often, at least not in my writing; in life, rather.

That said, I don't think writers should judge the quality or emotional potency of their scripts on whether or not they react emotionally to their own writing. You can't honestly expect to react the same way to your own material as anyone else would.

My whole first script CROSSROADS (bad as it was) was written around one scene I had invisioned in my head. The scene where a boy revisits the roadside where he was the lone survivor in a car crash involving his family. Still to this day IMO the most touching thing I have put on paper.

In my comedy I just finished, I personally laughed my a$$ off. But comedy is one to watch out for.

Some of the absolute worst people are those who find their own comedy funny.

Shawn.....><

Quoted from Ledbetter Some of the absolute worst people are those who find their own comedy funny.

Is it just me or is that one of the meanest jabs at Arsenio ever? =)

HA!

I meant me but I truely hate that bastard as well.

Shawn.....><

It's worse when the writer is the only one who thinks it's funny.


Phil

So the pooch said to the crowd...

Take my wife........fleas

Tap, tap...is this thing on?

Shawn.....><

Okay, I admit to crying while writing Ghosts of Christmas Past.  And while re-editing it.

I also cried reading Pet Names, too.  But that seems to be a theme around here, anyway....

What it feels like to be smoke dope and/or drunk.

And I don't use drugs. But I feel like I am.