How will my great idea stay great? (I hope.)

I read this article today, written by Gordy Hoffman who runs the Bluecat Screenplay Competition. What he says echoes several of my own thoughts about writing - wanted to share!
Without further ado:

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How will my great idea stay great? (I hope.)
by Gordy Hoffman

It’s always the same. The feeling I get when I think of something and see a movie idea. It’s a wonderful warm pull inside that probably is very similar to prospectors spotting gold in a stream. Sometimes, in an instant, upon momentary review, it collapses, measured against my own quick sense of whether I’m willing to live with it for the lifespan of a feature length screenplay. If I pass that filter, then I grab something and write it down, later transferring the new gem to my running list of jackpot movie ideas.

What stays with me from that list? Why are there ideas I save for years, never to be started? Usually I maintain a belief in their value, their promise, and more than likely they will stay on that list when I die. I have so many ideas now as it is. But I don’t run them off simply because I’m not compelled to start. I have no idea what leads to another, and now that I’ve written for almost two decades, I see old ideas finally coming to life in a beautiful new light in another idea altogether. Keep your ideas, the ones you have a fight for, and you’ll see why.

But what makes for the great idea that will light the way through all the drafts, production, editing and release to audience? For me, film ideas can never be only solid to my practical eye or rational brain. I see this in writers all the time, writing scripts over and over like term papers or Sudoku puzzles. They follow patterns, refine habits and crank many a page, deriving their satisfaction from completing drafts and successfully executing their outlines, beat sheets or treatments.

But is the heart involved? This is the difference between a great idea and a great idea that turns into a motion picture: falling in love. On more than one occasion, I have started off on something with great excitement, knowing I have a very commercial and/or original idea in my hands, and I get going. But there are questions, and the initial pieces of the writing might be boring or borrowed. I have started the marathon and I’m on mile seven.

What has to happen? For me, I have to find myself in the writing. I have to fall in love with my story. I have to share a common emotion with my characters. I become intimate with what I’m trying to say, and my story becomes honest.

My idea has become truly great. I have taken a personal ownership of my story, as it now has started to become a reflection of me.

Now this might sound very arty or independent, but this happens when I’m writing commercial specs of high concept. Why? Because it has to.

It has been said before that we are in the feelings business. So when I invest my own generously, I support and sustain an idea to fruition in a produced movie. Until this emotional ownership of a concept takes place, it might as well stay in a file on my hard drive, as a very interesting list.


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http://robinkellyuk.blogspot.com/2008/07/guest-post-gordy-hoffman-on-ideas.html

I AM Clean!

Here we are: Another month, another book review. I can't believe it's already July!! I was just getting used to June before July had to rear its ugly head and wring all of June's pleasantries from the summer wash cloth. I'm going to pretend that it's still June 15th, and that I'll have a job for the next two months. Much better!

I just flew back to Ohio for the 4th of July weekend (so much for pretending it's still June...), and of course its raining! Still, I'm very much looking forward to relaxing, spending time with the fam, and continuing work on my new script. A little note that pertains to the previous post: My next project isn't going to be the sci-fi story I'd written about. I've put that one on the back burner to officially begin work on a project that's been baking in the womb of my mind for nearly a year like a fetus ready to claw its way to the light. These things just happen. I got side-tracked. While I was putting the finishing touches on WARLAND, I desperately needed to start on something new because I was about to go blood simple and jam the whole thing into a paper shredder. While thankfully that feeling has subsided, the sci-fi project has shifted to numero dos in my script queue. It's on deck. Still alive and baking in the womb.

So, while I'm here at home in the motherland, I also have a bit more time to reflect on some of the books I've read since my last review. I know you've missed it dearly, so I won't keep you waiting any longer. You've been patient. The least I can do is reward you with a heaping helping of Flannery O'Connor.

Flannery O'Connor's WISE BLOOD is a fantastical examination of religion, nearly separating its characters into two categories: Those who need a god and those who claim they don't. Lines are blurred, people not who they seem - everything is askew in O'Connor's universe - but isn't this what you'd want from a summer jaunt through the gothic south? This is the first piece of O'Connor's work I've been lucky enough to sample. While I hear her novels don't hold a candle to her short stories (most notably A GOOD MAN IS HARD TO FIND), WISE BLOOD still manages to make one think about his/her own beliefs.

Hazel Motes, the title character, is a boy en route to a small Southern town following a recent tour of duty for the army. He is determined to prove to everyone that god does not exist. Little does he know, he'll happen upon a blind preacher and his degenerate daughter, who will both mold Haze's destiny. Haze also meets Enoch Emery, a boy a few years his junior, and who in many ways is Hazel's complete religious opposite. I'll keep it brief and won't etch out a super-detailed synopsis, but suffice to say - Flannery is one sneaky writer. The first 150 pages of the book are always interesting, albeit slow-moving, deliberately paced - but what keeps it fresh is her composition - her description is raw and cuts right to the bone. Then, just when you think the story isn't going to really take off or go anywhere, everything gets fucked up. Characters begin to show their true colors, do heinous, morbid things all in the name of religion. Enoch is a very reactive character. While he is driven by an unseen, internal force that wills him to commit crimes, Hazel is more proactive, and believes that he guides his own destiny.

WISE BLOOD is a really intriguing book, and I highly recommend it to anyone who values character studies and seeks novels that inspire thought. You may not LOVE it, but you'll walk away with a full head ready for digestion.
Until next time...