HAMISH BLAIR
Week One Think of creative writing as fiction, we are going to collaborate and make a fictional place with characters etc. Gather the characters and locations together and then develop a narrative with all of the descriptions intertwined. Character comes first vast majority of time in stories. Wont get too theoretical. My Character: Mr Collins: Two watchful and burly men stand at each side of Mr Collins, they carry a simple message; stay away. Mr Collins stumpy short legs stroll along the wet pavement, his black leather shoes reflecting the dull grey skies. As he moves forward his sharp eyes remain fixed ahead, pointing straight. His small hand clutching a black umbrella, not even rain is allowed near Mr Collins. There are three chunky gold rings stretched around his fingers, his tailored suit also clutching around him like an adhesive. The effortless power of this careless man is apparent by his overly formal appearance, unhesitantly he proceeds forward. ---------------Homework: Find a description of a place from a book. I chose J.R.R. Tolkiens description of Mirkwood in the book The Hobbit They walked in single file. The entrance to the path was like a sort of arch leading into a gloomy tunnel made by two great trees that leant together, too old and strangled with ivy and hung with lichen to bear more than a few blackened leaves. The path itself was narrow and wound in and out among the trunks. Soon the light at the gate was like a little bright hole far behind, and the quiet was so deep that their feet seemed to thump along while all the trees leaned over them and listened. As theft eyes became used to the dimness they could see a little way to either side in a sort of darkened green glimmer. Occasionally a slender beam of sun that had the luck to slip in through some opening in the leaves far above, and still more luck in not being caught in the tangled boughs and matted twigs beneath, stabbed down thin and bright before them. But this was seldom, and it soon ceased altogether. There were black squirrels in the wood.
Week Two For the first exercise we were read descriptions of places from books and we gave feedback on the descriptions, here are my notes on the location description by George Orwell in the book Down and Out in London and Paris: Relevant language, rich descriptions, picking up on many cultural things. Lots of details about night etc, describing shops. Gave way the social standing of the place, referenced potential events to create a picture. ---------------------------Exercise: choose any object that you can see, look at it and then describe it: Un-illuminated, almost forgotten but cherished when needed. Its angular and retro shape sitting isolated on the wall. The simple illustration of a man, an arrow and a door, this is the exit: Providing a simple message for those who do not understand doors. This signage is not unique, when you see this green sign, you probably wont notice it, it blends in like brick work, and its purpose is comparatively as strong. When the sign is eventually urgently needed it will probably be the for the last time, for its purpose is to prevent someones downfall, but when the ship sinks, it will go down with it. ---------------------------Description of a place. Bookies. The half broken sign of the bookies flickers on a damp shady street, barely noticeable in the orange urban twilight. As you walk inside you immediately notice the grubby magnolia walls, crying for a new lick of paint. Out-dated pixely televisions consistently spread across the length of the room. Dull eyed onlookers spectate over the screens, awaiting their unlikely gold rush. The whole place reeks of expired hope and imminent despair. Two men stand near the counter at the back, clutching onto betting cards and trembling slightly. The ceiling is crumbling and unattended, leaving you to wonder exactly where the lost money that runs through this place actually ends up. The whole room smells musty and damp, towards the end of the room there is a white door clearly labelled Private. A curious allure draws you towards it, but sense would keep you away.
Week Three We were set the homework to bring in a favourited opening passage of a book, I chose Mark Haddons The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night time: 2. It was 7 minutes after midnight. The dog was lying on the grass in the middle of the lawn in front of Mrs. Shearss house. Its eyes were closed. It looked as if it was running on its side, the way dogs run when they think they are chasing a cat in a dream. But the dog was not running or asleep. The dog was dead. There was a garden fork sticking out of the dog. The points of the fork must have gone all the way through the dog and into the ground because the fork had not fallen over. I decided that the dog was probably killed with the fork because I could not see any other wounds in the dog and I do not think you would stick a garden fork into a dog after it had died for some other reason, like cancer, for example, or a road accident. But I could not be certain about this. I went through Mrs. Shearss gate, closing it behind me. I walked onto her lawn and knelt beside the dog. I put my hand on the muzzle of the dog. It was still warm. The dog was called Wellington. It belonged to Mrs. Shears, who was our friend. She lived on the opposite side of the road, two houses to the left. Wellington was a poodle. Not one of the small poodles that have hairstyles but a big poodle. It had curly black fur, but when you got close you could see that the skin underneath the fur was a very pale yellow, like chicken. I stroked Wellington and wondered who had killed him, and why. In the session we were set the task to create back stories for our characters, here is what I came up with for Mr. Collins: My character Mr. Collins back-story is also related to the location that I described. Mr. Collins in fact owns the bookies. I would describe that Mr. Collins is a bad man who is driven by his own corruption and unforgiving love of money. Like him, his father was well known locally for being someone you didnt want to get on the wrong side of. Mr. Collins is impatient, he will by no means be seen waiting around for anyone; people wait around for him. You could say that in some sense Mr. Collins would appear to be upper class in terms of finances, but realistically he would be more of a lower class. Hes lived in the same place since he was a kid, went to school here, started working for his dad when he finished school as age 16. His dad was killed by a rival when Mr. Collins was 20, shortly after Mr. Collins coerced the vengeance and death of his fathers murderer, its what first gave him his bad man status. Mr. Collins doesnt have any family who live near him, he had an older brother who moved away when he was very young and he never knew his mum. He has good well-tied friends and corrupt business partners locally. For an example of a good character backstory I was looking at Bilbo Baggins in the first Lord of The Rings. If you read The Hobbit and then Fellowship of the Ring you already
Week Three know a lot about Bilbo, who is the stepfather/uncle of Frodo who is a prominent character. The way that The Hobbit ties in to create the events of Fellowship of the Ring and how Bilbo is writing his book There and back Again which essentially is The Hobbit is quite interesting, and it creates a very strong and clear story that aids the books. The next few paragraphs are what I wrote as a possible backstory for Mr. Collins:
Mr. Collins is an independent man. Born into a chaotic life with nowhere to go, his father; like him, took care of the bookies business dealings. Mr. Collins was raised to understand that acting mercifully is not a proper way to act with your customers. By the age of 20 Mr. Collins was left alone to run the bookies by himself. He inherited a reputation and by every means he was going to build on it. Known for his fearsome reactions and foul business dealings, he was soon feared as much as his father ever was. Some would view Mr. Collins as barbaric, but those who had really dealt with him would know that he was more conniving than anything else. Driven by his own desire for riches and power Mr. Collins was an unbreakable, unstoppable and corrupt force. Compromise was unlikely, forgiveness even less, you knew that if you were indebted to this man you best be paying it off before he starts really wanting anything back.
Week Four I missed this session due to illness, but I have tried my best to gage an understanding and to attempt some of the activities that took pace. A task that was given to us was to write an opening paragraph using 3 different writing styles; a writing style is affected by many different factors and can reveal certain elements about the narrator depending on how they choose to write. I am writing a sample paragraph which involves a child that is becoming lost in some dark woods. Scary stuff. Style 1: As dusk arrived Jimmy knew he wasnt going to make it out before night. Deep dark shadows thrown across the ground, towering over Jimmy he could no longer see what lay ahead, alone; he called out and whimpered in despair. Style 2: Hello? Jimmy whispered fearfully. He was alone, but the rustling and creaking of the forest would make you think otherwise. The darkness was now over him, he could not see or predict what was beyond him. Style 3: As I walked through the wood I could tell that I wasnt going to get out any time soon. I could hear strange noises, ever escalating as my vision decreased. Night-time was not waiting for anybody, I was very scared. Define: narrative vs. storytelling Storytelling: Storytelling is the conveying of events in words, images, and sounds, often by improvisation or embellishment Narrative: A narrative any account that presents connected event and may be organized into various categories e.g. non-fiction and fiction A story needs to engage people, unfold stuff. Many writers make u want know more from the beginning, interesting and broad descriptions help. Opening line very often involves a character. Will often involve a person doing a thing. Carry the reader along with you. narrative arch . Know that readers going to follow you. Change the nature of everyday events in order to make them appealing.
Week Five Three act structure: Syd Field, author, in relation to film: a standard screenplay can be divided into 3 parts: setup, confrontation, resolution. Act one: (setup). Exposition-the part of a story that introduced characters, places them within a time and a place. Dramatic premise and dramatic situation. Main character-needs to achieve something and drive the story. Dramatic premise-whats the story about? Whats happening/going to happen. Dramatic situation-the circumstances surrounding the action. Inciting incident-an event that sets the film in motion, e.g. a villain kidnapping someone. plot point 1 according to field, the 3 acts are separated by 2 points. Often the first plot point adds another hurdle, twist or boundary for the main character. Act Two: Obstacles-the main character has to defeat obstacles in order to progress. First culmination-happens a tad just before halfway, a point where it all seems to be going well until something happens that makes life all difficult again :( Midpoint-roughly halfway through, the main character hits an all time low and seems like the objective is near impossible. Plot point 2-a new thing happens that gives hope, a light at the end of the tunnel. Act Three: Climax (second culmination)-the point at which the plot meets a tense situation, a stand off, a death, a conclusional element... Peak. Denouement-brief period of calm at the end of the film, different than the end of the film, somethings changed or resolved. In horrors you have an or is it the end? Or maybe a hilarious random death....almost a third plot point, a twist, reversal... Tzvetan Todorovs theory of narrative.He made a different structure, more generally for any narrative, but still applies well for films. Similar to Fields. Star wars is a textbook classic example of Fields layout. Scrolly through spacey text puts it all in place. Brief task: Pick a film, deconstruct it, place within the three act structure. Fargo: Act1: Inciting incident-the husband arranging kidnap of his wife. Dramatic premise-character is very desperate for cash
Week Five Plot point 1-deciding he doesnt want her kidnapped but hes too late. Act2: the kidnap becomes worse as the kidnappers have to kill some people. Obstacles-police officer starts to pursue the case, kidnappers want more money. Midpoint-they exchange money, is more than the villain expected, he also killed kidnappees father/money bringer. Plot point 2-police officer starts to get on husbands case. Act 3: Climaxing-two kidnapping villains argue, one kills the other and I think the wife too. Resolution-surviving villain is putting his co-villain in a woodchipper. Police woman catches him and arrests him. Husband had run away but police catch him up. No ones particularly happy, but not too bad, the end. Group activity: Decide on a genre location and character. Plot a simple narrative using the three act structure. Plot out a story arc. Engaging, intriguing, interesting... Use your time to make a solid story: Rupert. An Android... A destitute world living off solar energy. Science and technology combined to keep humans alive. First Android person perhaps now 120 years old. Pinnacle. 3017... New Earth. Population 4million. Religious weirdos going round killing the Android people. Rupert is their prime target. Think that technology is the devils work. They use electro magnetic weapons and water to disable and hinder them. Have to cross past equator from north earth to south earth. Meteors that have landed on the south pole but not earth, they contain minerals essential to their components and survival. Know its possible, but difficult, unclear mutants and harsh climate. Angry Christians kidnap him and kill him and stop them from advancing, ransom, political leverage. Recognition of their group and its ways. Just Rupert taken, his companions now become main characters looking for him. 12 of them. Religious castaway mutant. Cam. Has local knowledge/can be an informant. Christians brainwash Rupert and the expedition gets there to find him a mentally changed man. Rupert kills himself cos hes an emo and hates technology. The prototype prophet is dead. The world starts to look at technology under a new light.
Week Five -----------HOMEWORK----------- Find and bring in example of dialogue that is effective. You can choose from a book, film or game. I chose an extract from the opening scene of the 1987 film Full Metal Jacket which was directed and co-written by Stanley Kubrick and Michael Herr. The script was an adaptation of a book written by Gustav Hasford in 1979. The following is quite a strange dialogue to read, but in the film it really makes a strong impact, which is a recurring theme throughout the whole film. Joker says in a John Wayne voice: I think Im going to hate this movie. Cowboy laughs. Gunnery Sergeant Gerheim laughs, too. The senior drill instructor is an obscene little ogre in immaculate khaki. Sergeant Gerheim walks slowly back along the line of recruits. Who said that? Silence. Sergeant Gerheim peers into each face. Who said that? I did, sir, Joker says. Sergeant Gerheim aims his index finger between Jokers eyes and says, Private Joker... I like honesty. I like you. You can come over to my house and fuck my sister. He grins. He punches Joker in the stomach. Joker sinks to his knees. You little scumbag. I got your name. I got your ass. You will not laugh. You will not cry. You will learn by the numbers. I will teach you. Get up! Joker gets to his feet and comes to attention. Leonard Pratt grins. Sergeant Gerheim puts his fists on his hips. If you ladies leave my island, if you survive recruit training, you will be a weapon, you will be a minister of death, praying for war. And proud. Until that day you are pukes, you are scumbags, you are the lowest term of life on Earth. You are not even human. You people are nothing but a lot of little pieces of amphibian shit.
Week Six In this weeks lesson we discussed dialogue and looked at a good sample of dialogue that features a meeting between Iggy Pop and Tom Waits. The ten minute short was an extract from the 2003 film Coffee and Cigarettes although this particular extract was actually filmed in 1993. The set and shots are very simple and all shot in black and white. It is filmed in a traditional and bland looking American diner. We were asked to take notes on the dialogue. I thought that it was very well composed. The dialogue was incredibly natural in the way that it featured awkwardness and pauses. Tom and Iggy fail to majorly relate to each other or get along in the scene. There is also an eerie Hawaiian like soundtrack going on in the background (although it is supposed to be filmed in California). The dialogue illustrates the differences between Iggy and Tom and also raised the topic of the fact that they had both supposedly quit smoking. Personally I thought that it was well made and enjoyable to watch. Dialogue is an effective tool for revealing certain elements of characters. It can help to disclose the characters traits and how they react to certain situations or people. We were then set a task to pair up and make a dialogue between our two fictional characters that we had previously created. The following dialogue is between Haggis the cat who lives with the butcher & Mr. Collins who owns a bookies nearby: Here are some rough notes that we put down in order to layout the scene and relationship between the two characters: Mr Collins friends / nasty customers drink in back room, come out and give the butchers grief. Had some food poisoning at a previous point; bad move. Mr Collins goes to butchers asks for a refund, butchers cant, he has no money. Cat hisses at Mr Collins and draws attention to himself with his aggressive tone. Seeing as both of our characters are quite agressive and defensive we have decied to make the dialogue very confontational and perhaps a bit rude at points, so dont be offended! The characters said it, not us. The dialogue (seen on next page) starts off at the point where Mr. Collins has entered the shop and confronts the cat.
Week Six Mr Collins shouts in exasperation What the fuck a talking cat. Haggis calmly responds Im normally quiet but I would like you to leave, now! Mr Collins i dont take orders from nobody... Especially a cat, pah! Haggis get outta my shop or we will have to sort this out my way Mr Collins Your way? And what might that be? Youre just a pussy arent you Haggis, revealing his claws and preparing to pounce Ill show you Mr Collins lunges towards Haggis, haggis like lightning springs into action and scuttles up his arm and latches onto his face, Mr Collins lets out a chilling scream as blood cascades down his face as his eye is wrenched from his socket. In shock Mr Collins gasps as Haggis backs down with his eye in his mouth. Haggis exclaims Keep an eye out for me, youve made my list
Week Seven We were very privildged to have Hugh Janes to come and speak to us. He knows a lot about the film industry and plenty of interesting things to say. I took some rough notes, here they are: Worked as an actor when younger, started writing in mid 20s. Helped a West end musical. Went for a job on childrens BBC, wrote for CBBC. Has written a film recently, wants students to help out. Who doesnt want to work on a feature film? Made a good play, went west end, Laurence Olivier n his son tried to make it into a film. Wide blue yonder: Started in 1988 got financed in 2007 made it between 2007-8. Became screened at Cannes and got released in Norway. Look up: litigation - film. As a writer your very much in the directors and editors hands, they may scrap stuff. Also actors dont always say the script properly... Naughty actors. Robert Downey Jr quoted connection between writers and actors; actors are handsome n gifted writers are small n moley Pay or play to actors: pay in advance, actors still get money even if the film goes kaput. David Leane. Director. When adapting a screenplay you can jump about and move things, miss things out to your hearts content. Little miss sunshine. First draft written in 4 days, was his first film. Do something, you can always change something after youve got a base. Michael Arndt. Reversal is a great thing to put into a story, add something that is completely unexpected. Also conflict, conflict makes stuff good. Coincidences do not happen in films so much, if done right they are good to put in. Farcical things are really good fun, often happen because of a drive to make better things happen or to achieve a goal. In film making a soundtrack is very important. Americans are doing things well at the moment. Juxtapositions are good. One A4 page = approximately 1 minute in a screen play. Homework: 3 or 4 screen-play page adaptation of piece of text we were given, I was given hitchhikers guide to the galaxy by Douglas Adams.
Week Seven Exterior: A cold bleak morning somewhere outside of London. Arthur Dent, unkempt, in his pajamas is seen lying in front of a yellow bulldozer outside of his house. Preventing a typical looking English workforce from flattening his house. The stout fat Mr. L Prosser, also looking unkempt, wearing a furry hat has his arms crossed and is standing over Arthur Dent looking rather displeased and exasperated. Mr. Prosser: Come off it, Mr. Dent, you cant win you know. You cant lie in front of the bulldozer indefinitely. Arthur, remaining unfazed by his threat , looks back up at Mr. L Prosser: Im game, well see who rusts first Dozens of workers are standing behind Mr. Prosser looking disgruntled, all trying to urge along the work through various forms of revving and grunting. Mr. Prosser: Its not our fault that you didnt see the plans that we displayed months in advance, now please move, we have work to do. Arthur, still lying on the floor responds irritably: I found them yesterday, displayed on a filing cabinet, in a disused lavatory Not exactly easy to find! Mr. Prosser: Nonetheless you found it and now if youd kindly move so we can be done with your house and make this bypass! Arthur: I quite like my house and Id rather that you didnt An odd silence breaks out, Arthur looks at Mr. Prossers dazed expression, then suddenly Mr. Prosser quickly shakes his head back and forth, refocuses his eyes, looks at Arthur and exclaims:
Week Seven Have you any idea how much damage that bulldozer would suffer if I just let it roll straight over you? Arthur: How much? Mr. Prosser Absolutely none at all. Mr. Prosser, looking temporarily defeated, turns around slowly and strolls back towards his work colleagues for a fag and a cup of thermos warm tea. Out of nowhere Ford Prefect pokes his head over the blade of the bulldozer and says in a strange nasal voice. Ford: Hello Arthur! Arthur: Ford! Hello, how are you? Ford: Im fine of course. Look, are you busy? Arthur, scratching his head looking staggered up at Ford: Busy? Well, Ive just got all these bulldozers and things to lie in front of because theyll knock my house down if I dont, but other than that ... well, no not especially, why? Ford, completely ignoring Arthurs obvious exaggeration continues talking as usual: Ford: Oh thats good. Is there anywhere that we can talk? Arthur, looking bemused and dazed: Arthur: What? There is an eerie moment of silence as Ford looks up at the sky almost hypnotized and affixed at staring into the unimaginable abyss. Ford eventually snaps out of and
Week Seven squats down to Arthurs level. Ford: We urgently need to talk! Arthur: Well, go on then Talk! Ford, looking back at Arthur, not blinking, sincerely but creepily staring into Arthurs eyes. Ford: Talk, and drink. Lets go to the pub in the Village. Arthur, now starting to be more agitated looks back at Ford who is currently staring expectantly into the sky again and points towards Mr. Prosser. Arthur: As lovely as that sounds, I have more pressing matters, such as that man trying to flatten my house. Ford: Well move out the way and then he can get on with it Arthur: No, I dont want him to Ford: Ah, thats a shame. Anyway; pub? Arthur: Im not sure if you understand the gravity of this situation Ford: Im not sure if you understand gravity at all. Lets go to the pub anyway, I think youre going to need a very stiff drink. Ford, once again staring deep into Arthurs eyes somehow as if by intergalactic magic started to persuade Arthur that perhaps going to the Horse & Groom was in fact not such a bad idea. Arthur: But what about my house?
Week Seven Ford thinks for a second and then dashes off towards Mr. Prosser who was in midflow of arguing with his workers who really hoped theyd be driving over rubble by now. Ford starts talking to him enthusiastically. Ford: Hello, names Ford Prefect, nice to meet you Mr. Prosser, unenthusiastically looks back at him, looks him up and down. Mr. Prosser: Ford? Hi. Can I help you? Ford: Yes, strangely enough you can. I am here representing Mr. Dent, basically, if Arthur lies here all day then you will be doing nothing all day, am I correct? Mr. Prosser: You could be. Ford: Right, so is it necessary that Arthur lies there if youre going to be doing nothing anyway? No. Its pointless, so would you mind if we popped off to the pub for half an hour? Mr. Prosser looking puzzled and starting to question the sanity of Ford but also noticing that this seems to be playing in his favor. Mr. Prosser: No, I dont think wed have any trouble if you left us for a short while. Ford: Great! Well be heading off then, but first can you come here and take Arthurs place for him? Mr. Prosser: What? No, why? Ford: Perhaps I wasnt clear, I mean, youve got to have someone replace him right? Mr. Prosser did not look impressed, but Arthur finally moved and got up for Mr.
Week Seven Prosser and let him take his place. Mr. Prosser sat down into the mud that oozed into his shoes and around his coat. Ford: Perfect. Well be going to the pub then. Dont move Mr. Prosser? Mr. Prosser: What? No. The thought never even crossed my mind. Arthur, looking confused and Ford acting hesitantly both strolled off to the pub.
