(revised version)

What things, or events, affect your emotions,  and can you use them in your writing?

Ok, let's keep this focused, as my previous effort was a tad rambling.

In many ways what I am asking is what themes you may find in your writing, where do they come from and do you feel a better writer for them?

As now stated below, one of mine is the fear of losing my children, hence why a few scripts of mine operator around this topic.

Just wondered.

Super Bowl refs  :X ;D

Quoted from Reef Dreamer Scripts are full of white and dark, good v evil, yet we all know life is nothing like that, really. Can we get deeper meaning across in a film, without being too preachy? May be that's my issue?

Deeper meaning, theme, moral argument I believe is one of the toughest parts of writing if the writer does not give time to prepare the story's components.  The deeper meaning should be rooted in the structure, so that the conflict of the character's interest unravels it.  Toward the climax of the film, the audience will be rewarded as the theme blossoms into full view.  The tricky part is disguising the seeds in characters, value, dialogue, setting, sequence and props.  If the writer can carefully plan their components and execute, the theme will not be preachy, but a revelation.

Johnny

My biggest challenge is balancing artistic integrity with market viability.

I write the kind of films I would like to see myself and given my tastes, I'm often subject to walking a fine line between the two. I want my work to be seen so I don't want to commit self-sabatoge by writing something overly esoteric or becoming too self-indulgent. At the same time, I think the least a writer should expect from having work produced is that they feel comfortable putting their name on something. I don't think I could do that if I were to conform to every notion imposed by the Blake Snyders of the world about what constitutes good storytelling.

I believe there's an audience for my writing so I do my best to keep that in mind and pick my battles carefully but every script is different and comes with its own set of challenges.

I hope I've interpreted your post correctly, Reef. Let me know if I'm missing something.

What really affects me is success. Not in the way that I'm afraid of success but more that, if someone likes something of mine, it sets an expectation. After that point, you don't want to disappoint them but there's going to come a point where you put every ounce of effort into something and it's going to be a failure in every way imaginable.

I just never want someone to REALLY love something of mine. I want them to find flaws, small things for me to fix so I don't have to rush out and write something that'll topple it.

For now, I'm calling this issue the "Heroin Effect".

What really affects me is when I get an email that says "I really like your writing. I'd like to film the short blah blah" ....messages like this, even though there is no real success or money involved push me to keep writing. They are like a spoon full of GOOD medicine.

Critiques on the other hand are like swallowing a spoon full of bad medicine BUT it's still medicine ....thus it will make me better and better...so I just chase the bad medicine with a White Russian and move on!

Cheers!!! Happy Writing!

The waiting game.

It sucks.
Can take months to hear back from producers that request your work.
And does if you're unknown and they're working in town daily.

But, it's still better than no one calling you all! ;D

E.D.

What really affects me is affirmation for my writing.  But that's also my biggest hindrance, because I need to hear more than "that's good stuff;" otherwise, I don't see how I'll improve as a writer.  So there's this delicate balancing act between wanting to be both praised and corrected.  Pretty much like any child, I would say!

I'm not sure if that's what you're driving at, but that's my own personal thing.  If you're asking what drives our writing itself, boy, that's tough. Maybe it's the same thing.  Maybe I just want some affirmation every now and then.  I love complex, fatally flawed characters and so I'm drawn to writing about them--perhaps because I see myself in that way and this is just a release.  Maybe I should go see a therapist instead, since I don't seem to be getting anywhere with my writing!

Hi folks,

Thanks for the replies.

Alas I don't think I have explained my thoughts well enough - I may revise.

In essence I just wondered what emotions you writers feel, and experiences you have, that you can use in your writing, and whether that helps to help connect with the readers.

An example I have is the fear of losing my children. I notice it crops up in various shorts I have written, whether conscious or not, and whilst not something I wish to see, being aware of my fear and what it could mean, I feel has helped me add depth to a few scripts.

Just wondered.

Bill, are you asking what life experiences we think of when writing?

If so, I think it's key to believability in both characters and action.  Hell, even experiences with actual locations and situations is key to writing about them.

For instance, if one has never SCUBA dived before, my bet is that a script on SCUBA diving is not the way to go.

Now, I'm not saying one has to go out and kill someone to write a believable killer, but...you know.

In a nutshell, for me, it's both life experiences/knowledge and research that's key to writing a believable script.

I party. I've always partied.  My characters all party.  Coincidence?  I think not...

Nearly all of my scripts have suicide. Now, don't get all thinking like that. I just like to put my characters in situations where they feel like there's no way out. Maybe I should write more action-y, fun scripts.

Quoted from Reef Dreamer In essence I just wondered what emotions you writers feel, and experiences you have, that you can use in your writing, and whether that helps to help connect with the readers.

I was once the star in a Porn Movie though had trouble reading the screenplay as all the sounds where difficult to pronounce !!!!!  Hee Hee Just Kidding.

I always write from my heart and I feel that past experiences and dreams do contribute a significant amount into my writing.

People that I know and dont like, usually have the bad characters named after them, and people I do like, become the good characters. It's my way of getting back at the people I don't like !!!! Oops with the exception of one !!!

My feature has an evil character that was named before the co-writer joined me. Had to mention this before Dan reads this post.

Further to what else was mentioned, even if you know nothing about Scuba diving you can write an impressive screenplay on the topic as long as you do your research. Just .....  

Google, Ask, Google, Ask, Google, Ask, Google, Ask, Google, Ask, Google, Ask.

I'm in Australia and I'm currently researching the dialogue and phrases that a US Southener would say... Nothing is beyond any of us.

Just get out there and learn.

Alex

Quoted from Bill An example I have is the fear of losing my children. I notice it crops up in various shorts I have written, whether conscious or not, and whilst not something I wish to see, being aware of my fear and what it could mean, I feel has helped me add depth to a few scripts.

Tell me about it.  My ex-wife and I went through this and I never noticed at first until Janet (Wonkavite) pointed out just how many dead babies end up in my stories.  (Remember when you watched 'Girl(s)'?  That movie wasn't about racism.  (And really, I still don't think it is, but that's the way the director's selling it.)

Another thing that affects my writing are settings.  I love writing stories for exact locations.

Quoted from Pale Yellow What really affects me is when I get an email that says "I really like your writing. I'd like to film the short blah blah" ....messages like this, even though there is no real success or money involved push me to keep writing. They are like a spoon full of GOOD medicine.

Amen. There's nothing that affects me more than seeing others enjoy my writing. It's really the good praise that pushes me further, which is ironic considering I post to these boards to get the NEGATIVE comments. Is that weird?

I like things that have a deeper meaning than just the generic Good overcoming evil plot or "Joe Blogs must face the XYZ Challenge". I prefer stories that, yes, explore these generic story lines but also the ones that take it a step further... Drawing parallels to our society and the way that we live.

As well as that, I'm a sucker for anything historical...