What's in the Box?

My son sent me this piece that samples SEVEN. “What’s in the Box??”

https://open.spotify.com/track/6krePyBjPsnPH5AkHzylJx?si=ez7OeKqmQ2WCuXexvLCT9g

Which lead to our conversation/thoughts for the day:

Horror and thrillers are both about opening a box. In fact ALL drama is about that. If you don’t have a box or a door that needs to be opened, something is missing.

Horror though may be that you open the box at the beginning of the movie and then have to deal with the consequences. The Ring for example.

Thrillers you don’t open the box until the end; earlier you’re trying to figure out where the box might be and what’s in it. So What’s in the box?? IE Silence of the Lambs getting to the house at the end.

New wave of horror: They never opened the box. They’re dealing with the consequences of someone else’s fault/opening a box. Us – they’re dealing with a box someone else opened. So more on the edge of science fiction/institutional. Or no reason for the horror, so no one opened any box, horror just happens. . . 

Your thoughts?

Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images

Approaching Writing like Jackson Pollock Approached Painting

It’s Jackson pollock’s birthday. What’s the parallel in writing of taking the canvas off an easel and putting it on the floor and dripping paint on it from above. Still think about this always. How do we approach writing in a new way that no one has thought of. . . 

Gave talk at the Prague Film School

Gave a talk on February 16 on "Understanding Character Arc: A Screenwriter's Perspective" at the Prague Film School, very cool institution in a very cool city.

What is “classic” character development based on 3-act structure or the Hero’s Journey/mythic structure? What are recent trends? What happens when you leave off the beginning or end of a character arc or twist our expectations about what an arc should be? What does a character arc look like when time is compressed, expanded, reversed, or duplicated (either within a film or across TV episodes)?  When is it appropriate not to have a character arc (that is, your character is unchanging)? Finally, how is character arc related to theme/message?  In general, as a writer, how can you use an understanding of character arc to jumpstart your writing process? 

Contribution to Janet Neipris' New Book

Honored to be asked to contribute to the chapter on Lessons from Master Teachers in Janet Neipris' new book.

Discussing Storytelling with Stuart Dybek, Rebecca Gilman, Alex Kotlowitz and Debra Tolchinsky

How awesome to be depicted by Ozge Samanci with the word disease coming out of my mouth and to have had the chance to chat about storytelling with four artists I admire a great deal – Stuart Dybek, Rebecca Gilman, Alex Kotlowitz and the one and only Debra Kahn Tolchinsky. http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2016/03/northwestern-storytellers-discuss-their-art.html