I know, I know. Strike, unsure, pissing contests, blahblah. The whole thing is enough to get a writer--the real ones who actually write and are fighting for more than a good table at whatever restaurant is trendy this month--depressed. And general life suckitude on top of it doesn't help. It's so easy to think, 'What's the point? They won't be reading it anyway, and when I can finally send out my work again, there will be such a surge I'll be lost and there's no use, my dreams are dead and--'
Stop right there. It's at the lowest times we need to write the most. Easy to say, hard to do. It's one of those writing lessons we forget no matter how many times we learn it, then we have to learn it all over again. So I say, eff it all. Let the real writers ban together and support each other by encouraging oh I don't know...writing. Yeah, sounds good.
I'm aiming for 5 days of inspirational exercises for all us writers to get us writing, or in the mood, or at the very least, recognizing a sense of community. Plus, I'm meme-ing your asses. Yeah, memes are annoying and give you yet another thing to do and plus the word 'meme' is beyond stupid I mean what does it even MEAN and generally I avoid them but to paraphrase a rather witty post by BooM, some days you just feel like doing something bitchy. Mwa-haha!
So, more and more I find myself turning to music to get me into the writing mood. The songs have to have a catchy melody and all that, but the lyrics are crucial for inspiration. I have to look at the lyrics while listening to the song for the inspiration thing to kick in. Whatever, it's just a thing I have. So here is your assignment for today, dear readers. Find a song that inspires you to write something, whether it gives you an idea for a script or just puts you into a better frame of mind. AND/OR (don't you love choices) peek into the lyrics and find a stanza that sums up the theme of whatever script you're working on. It's quite uncanny how the two circumstances go together.
If possible, post a video of the song to really get people into the mood. (Yep, I'm aware of the irony of using Internet clips during the pissing contest. I like irony as much as bitchiness.)
Then, send the assignment (by e-mail or posting to one of their blog entries) to 5 other writers to do. Inspire the world! Or just some random people from your blogroll, like me. Then pass it on like a gonorrhea outbreak on a Degrassi episode. Woohoo, TV rules!
Okay, so my song choice is "Don't Stop Believin' " by the fabu Journey. (On a side note, Journey may be the only band to sound as good live as they do on their recordings. I like Journey. Scratch that. I LOVE Journey. How could you not? I don't care how cool you claim your musical tastes to be; if you say you don't like dem shaggy-haired boys then you're either lying or you have no soul. Freak.
After enjoying this video, I came to this important conclusion: for true musical genius to emerge, the band must wear pants tight enough to clearly show the outline of their weenies. That's why every song after the 80s has sucked. I have figured out The Mystery. )
The video will be posted at the end of the entry. Please note the visible weenies. And here is a stanza from the song that EXACTLY sums up the theme of the spec pilot I'm working on:
Strangers waiting
Up and down the boulevard
Their shadows searching
In the night
Streetlights, people
Livin' just to find emotion
Hidin', somewhere in the night
Okay, your turn!
(My first 5 victims are Amanda, Emily, Shawna, BooM, and Maggie.) Pass it on!
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Don't Stop Believin'! Also, The Revenge of the Meme.
posted by Rhys at 2:55 PM
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12 Comments:
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At 11/3/07, 8:32 PM,
~Macarena~While many writers listen to music while working, Cameron Crowe's obsession with music not only informs his best work but shines throughout it. Kickass: Say Anything; Quicksand: Elizabethtown. In the latter, it seems tacked on at the end, as though he suppressed his personality for the rest of the movie.
Dude, would it kill you to let me see the full post in Google Reader? -
At 11/3/07, 9:24 PM,
Rhys -
At 11/3/07, 9:27 PM,
RhysMacarena, YOU ARE SO RIGHT. And the examples you chose are perfect. Man, you are SO RIGHT. What did you think of Almost Famous? Even Fast Times At Ridegemont High had a great soundtrack, though Crowe wrote and Heckerling directed.
Oh man....I bawl just thinking about Say Anything....and THAT song...sigh.
Yay, I'm glad you're over here! That means I can annoy you with my memes too! Woo hoo! :)
Hmmm...I'm not sure..would it kill me to show the full post? One can never be sure in this uncertain world. Is that something I set up through Blogger or FeedBurner? I'll find out... -
At 11/5/07, 6:54 PM,
Rhys -
At 11/5/07, 9:52 PM,
~Macarena~I think it's Blogger Settings that has an option like "Allow full post in feed."
Those movies and Vanilla Sky were the only Crowe work I could recall offhand. I used to confuse his name with "Chris Cameron." I didn't embrace Almost Famous all the way round. Maybe it's because I didn't think Billy Crudup was sufficiently appealing, and I way adored Kate Hudson, Michael Angarano and the other guy, and Zooey Deschanel, who's too good to disappear so soon. In fact, if she were the rock star and Crudup were the sibling...Ahhh. I think I only saw it once, so I don't remember much, but I know I was delighted. And I LOVE bits of it, like when they sing "Tiny Dancer" and when the sister gives him her vinyl stash.
I think music, more than advice or anything else, is the best gift, and the truest show of love. The music that thrills our souls says more about us, joins us more closely and divides us more severely, than any other mark of character. If you assume a new identity, you'd better firs teach your body not to rock out to your favorite tunes, not even in the smallest way.
Damn you. Fortunately, I'm wise to your game, and will respond in kind momentarily. There are precious few weenies in my chosen song and lyrics, but inspiration a-plenty for my current spec.
You are an evil vixen. Or are you just a small town girl, livin in a lonely world?