tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60850942272063607722023-11-15T09:02:26.165-08:00Kill Your DarlingsMy name is Jim Christopher and this is my fiction writing blog. I took the name from an old writing adage that says one needs to "Kill Your Darlings" when revising your work.
Writing is rewriting so I will be posting revised works here in addition to works in progress and stories that I consider to be "finished."
Thanks for reading. Comments are much appreciated. - Jim CJim Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07369741393336008645noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6085094227206360772.post-23448204428441689852014-06-03T15:05:00.001-07:002014-06-03T15:05:16.137-07:00DAVID MAMET MEMO ON DRAMATIC WRITINGThe following memo relates primarily to screenwriting and television, however, since Mamet is essentially a dramatist I think the comments he expresses here relate well to just about all good writing. This show, THE UNIT, was cancelled a little while ago, but the Memo was written by David Mamet to his team of writers while it was still in active production. - JC<br />
<br />
*************************** <br />
<br />
<div id="pmc-js-copy-text" style="background-color: white; color: black; display: block; font-size: 14px; left: -99999px; position: absolute;">
CBS's
drama The Unit, about the lives of the highly trained members of a
top-secret military division, was canceled last year, but a memo to its
writing staff from its executive producer David Mamet has just surfaced
online. (The source appears to be the online writing collective Ink
Canada.) If you think you know where this is heading, you might be
wrong:
Besides the fact that it's written in all-caps, there's nothing
particularly ranty, pejorative or potty-mouthed about it. Rather, Mamet
lays down an extremely sensible case for what makes good television,
imploring them to avoid expository writing for what he characterizes as
authentic "drama." Along the way, he refers repeatedly to the
"blue-suited penguins" (probably the copious-note-givers at the
network), while passing along some very useful advice ("any time two
characters are talking about a third, the scene is a crock of shit") and
helpful writing exercises ("pretend the characters can't speak and
write a silent movie"). Screenwriters, take note: You may think you knew
this already, but there's nothing like Mamet for a good kick-in-the-ass
reminder.
"TO THE WRITERS OF THE UNIT
GREETINGS.
AS WE LEARN HOW TO WRITE THIS SHOW, A RECURRING PROBLEM BECOMES CLEAR.
THE PROBLEM IS THIS: TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN DRAMA AND NON-DRAMA. LET
ME BREAK-IT-DOWN-NOW.
EVERYONE IN CREATION IS SCREAMING AT US TO MAKE THE SHOW CLEAR. WE ARE
TASKED WITH, IT SEEMS, CRAMMING A SHITLOAD OF INFORMATION INTO A LITTLE
BIT OF TIME.
OUR FRIENDS. THE PENGUINS, THINK THAT WE, THEREFORE, ARE EMPLOYED TO
COMMUNICATE INFORMATION -- AND, SO, AT TIMES, IT SEEMS TO US.
BUT NOTE:THE AUDIENCE WILL NOT TUNE IN TO WATCH INFORMATION. YOU
WOULDN'T, I WOULDN'T. NO ONE WOULD OR WILL. THE AUDIENCE WILL ONLY TUNE
IN AND STAY TUNED TO WATCH DRAMA.
QUESTION:WHAT IS DRAMA? DRAMA, AGAIN, IS THE QUEST OF THE HERO TO
OVERCOME THOSE THINGS WHICH PREVENT HIM FROM ACHIEVING A SPECIFIC, ACUTE
GOAL.
SO: WE, THE WRITERS, MUST ASK OURSELVES OF EVERY SCENE THESE THREE
QUESTIONS.
1) WHO WANTS WHAT?
2) WHAT HAPPENS IF HER DON'T GET IT?
3) WHY NOW?
THE ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS ARE LITMUS PAPER. APPLY THEM, AND THEIR
ANSWER WILL TELL YOU IF THE SCENE IS DRAMATIC OR NOT.
IF THE SCENE IS NOT DRAMATICALLY WRITTEN, IT WILL NOT BE DRAMATICALLY
ACTED.
THERE IS NO MAGIC FAIRY DUST WHICH WILL MAKE A BORING, USELESS,
REDUNDANT, OR MERELY INFORMATIVE SCENE AFTER IT LEAVES YOUR TYPEWRITER.
YOU THE WRITERS, ARE IN CHARGE OF MAKING SURE EVERY SCENE IS DRAMATIC.
THIS MEANS ALL THE "LITTLE" EXPOSITIONAL SCENES OF TWO PEOPLE TALKING
ABOUT A THIRD. THIS BUSHWAH (AND WE ALL TEND TO WRITE IT ON THE FIRST
DRAFT) IS LESS THAN USELESS, SHOULD IT FINALLY, GOD FORBID, GET FILMED.
IF THE SCENE BORES YOU WHEN YOU READ IT, REST ASSURED IT WILL BORE THE
ACTORS, AND WILL, THEN, BORE THE AUDIENCE, AND WE'RE ALL GOING TO BE
BACK IN THE BREADLINE.
SOMEONE HAS TO MAKE THE SCENE DRAMATIC. IT IS NOT THE ACTORS JOB (THE
ACTORS JOB IS TO BE TRUTHFUL). IT IS NOT THE DIRECTORS JOB. HIS OR HER
JOB IS TO FILM IT STRAIGHTFORWARDLY AND REMIND THE ACTORS TO TALK FAST.
IT IS YOUR JOB.
EVERY SCENE MUST BE DRAMATIC. THAT MEANS: THE MAIN CHARACTER MUST HAVE A
SIMPLE, STRAIGHTFORWARD, PRESSING NEED WHICH IMPELS HIM OR HER TO SHOW
UP IN THE SCENE.
THIS NEED IS WHY THEY CAME. IT IS WHAT THE SCENE IS ABOUT. THEIR ATTEMPT
TO GET THIS NEED MET WILL LEAD, AT THE END OF THE SCENE,TO FAILURE -
THIS IS HOW THE SCENE IS OVER. IT, THIS FAILURE, WILL, THEN, OF
NECESSITY, PROPEL US INTO THE NEXT SCENE.
ALL THESE ATTEMPTS, TAKEN TOGETHER, WILL, OVER THE COURSE OF THE
EPISODE, CONSTITUTE THE PLOT.
ANY SCENE, THUS, WHICH DOES NOT BOTH ADVANCE THE PLOT, AND STANDALONE
(THAT IS, DRAMATICALLY, BY ITSELF, ON ITS OWN MERITS) IS EITHER
SUPERFLUOUS, OR INCORRECTLY WRITTEN.
YES BUT YES BUT YES BUT, YOU SAY: WHAT ABOUT THE NECESSITY OF WRITING IN
ALL THAT "INFORMATION?"
AND I RESPOND "FIGURE IT OUT" ANY DICKHEAD WITH A BLUESUIT CAN BE (AND
IS) TAUGHT TO SAY "MAKE IT CLEARER", AND "I WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT
HIM".
WHEN YOU'VE MADE IT SO CLEAR THAT EVEN THIS BLUESUITED PENGUIN IS HAPPY,
BOTH YOU AND HE OR SHE WILL BE OUT OF A JOB.
THE JOB OF THE DRAMATIST IS TO MAKE THE AUDIENCE WONDER WHAT HAPPENS
NEXT. NOT TO EXPLAIN TO THEM WHAT JUST HAPPENED, OR TO*SUGGEST* TO THEM
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.
ANY DICKHEAD, AS ABOVE, CAN WRITE, "BUT, JIM, IF WE DON'T ASSASSINATE
THE PRIME MINISTER IN THE NEXT SCENE, ALL EUROPE WILL BE ENGULFED IN
FLAME"
WE ARE NOT GETTING PAID TO REALIZE THAT THE AUDIENCE NEEDS THIS
INFORMATION TO UNDERSTAND THE NEXT SCENE, BUT TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO WRITE
THE SCENE BEFORE US SUCH THAT THE AUDIENCE WILL BE INTERESTED IN WHAT
HAPPENS NEXT.
YES BUT, YES BUT YES BUT YOU REITERATE.
AND I RESPOND FIGURE IT OUT.
HOW DOES ONE STRIKE THE BALANCE BETWEEN WITHHOLDING AND VOUCHSAFING
INFORMATION? THAT IS THE ESSENTIAL TASK OF THE DRAMATIST. AND THE
ABILITY TO DO THAT IS WHAT SEPARATES YOU FROM THE LESSER SPECIES IN
THEIR BLUE SUITS.
FIGURE IT OUT.
START, EVERY TIME, WITH THIS INVIOLABLE RULE: THE SCENE MUST BE
DRAMATIC. it must start because the hero HAS A PROBLEM, AND IT MUST
CULMINATE WITH THE HERO FINDING HIM OR HERSELF EITHER THWARTED OR
EDUCATED THAT ANOTHER WAY EXISTS.
LOOK AT YOUR LOG LINES. ANY LOGLINE READING "BOB AND SUE DISCUSS..." IS
NOT DESCRIBING A DRAMATIC SCENE.
PLEASE NOTE THAT OUR OUTLINES ARE, GENERALLY, SPECTACULAR. THE DRAMA
FLOWS OUT BETWEEN THE OUTLINE AND THE FIRST DRAFT.
THINK LIKE A FILMMAKER RATHER THAN A FUNCTIONARY, BECAUSE, IN TRUTH, YOU
ARE MAKING THE FILM. WHAT YOU WRITE, THEY WILL SHOOT.
HERE ARE THE DANGER SIGNALS. ANY TIME TWO CHARACTERS ARE TALKING ABOUT A
THIRD, THE SCENE IS A CROCK OF SHIT.
ANY TIME ANY CHARACTER IS SAYING TO ANOTHER "AS YOU KNOW", THAT IS,
TELLING ANOTHER CHARACTER WHAT YOU, THE WRITER, NEED THE AUDIENCE TO
KNOW, THE SCENE IS A CROCK OF SHIT.
DO NOT WRITE A CROCK OF SHIT. WRITE A RIPPING THREE, FOUR, SEVEN MINUTE
SCENE WHICH MOVES THE STORY ALONG, AND YOU CAN, VERY SOON, BUY A HOUSE
IN BEL AIR AND HIRE SOMEONE TO LIVE THERE FOR YOU.
REMEMBER YOU ARE WRITING FOR A VISUAL MEDIUM. MOST TELEVISION WRITING,
OURS INCLUDED, SOUNDS LIKE RADIO. THE CAMERA CAN DO THE EXPLAINING FOR
YOU. LET IT. WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERS DOING -*LITERALLY*. WHAT ARE THEY
HANDLING, WHAT ARE THEY READING. WHAT ARE THEY WATCHING ON TELEVISION,
WHAT ARE THEY SEEING.
IF YOU PRETEND THE CHARACTERS CANT SPEAK, AND WRITE A SILENT MOVIE, YOU
WILL BE WRITING GREAT DRAMA.
IF YOU DEPRIVE YOURSELF OF THE CRUTCH OF NARRATION, EXPOSITION,INDEED,
OF SPEECH. YOU WILL BE FORGED TO WORK IN A NEW MEDIUM - TELLING THE
STORY IN PICTURES (ALSO KNOWN AS SCREENWRITING)
THIS IS A NEW SKILL. NO ONE DOES IT NATURALLY. YOU CAN TRAIN YOURSELVES
TO DO IT, BUT YOU NEED TO START.
I CLOSE WITH THE ONE THOUGHT: LOOK AT THE SCENE AND ASK YOURSELF "IS IT
DRAMATIC? IS IT ESSENTIAL? DOES IT ADVANCE THE PLOT?
ANSWER TRUTHFULLY.
IF THE ANSWER IS "NO" WRITE IT AGAIN OR THROW IT OUT. IF YOU'VE GOT ANY
QUESTIONS, CALL ME UP.
LOVE, DAVE MAMET
SANTA MONICA 19 OCTO 05
(IT IS NOT YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO KNOW THE ANSWERS, BUT IT IS YOUR, AND
MY, RESPONSIBILITY TO KNOW AND TO ASK THE RIGHT Questions OVER AND OVER.
UNTIL IT BECOMES SECOND NATURE. I BELIEVE THEY ARE LISTED ABOVE.)"<br />
<br />
Read More at:
http://movieline.com/2010/03/23/david-mamets-memo-to-the-writers-of-the-unit/#utm_source=copypaste&utm_campaign=referral</div>
"TO THE WRITERS OF THE UNIT
GREETINGS.<br />
AS WE LEARN HOW TO WRITE THIS SHOW, A RECURRING PROBLEM BECOMES CLEAR.<br />
THE PROBLEM IS THIS: TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN <strong>DRAMA</strong> AND NON-DRAMA. LET ME BREAK-IT-DOWN-NOW.<br />
EVERYONE IN CREATION IS SCREAMING AT US TO MAKE THE SHOW CLEAR. WE ARE TASKED WITH, IT SEEMS, CRAMMING A SHITLOAD OF <strong>INFORMATION</strong> INTO A LITTLE BIT OF TIME.<br />
OUR FRIENDS. THE PENGUINS, THINK THAT WE, THEREFORE, ARE EMPLOYED TO COMMUNICATE <strong>INFORMATION</strong> -- AND, SO, AT TIMES, IT SEEMS TO US.<br />
BUT NOTE:THE AUDIENCE WILL NOT TUNE IN TO WATCH INFORMATION. YOU
WOULDN'T, I WOULDN'T. NO ONE WOULD OR WILL. THE AUDIENCE WILL ONLY TUNE
IN AND STAY TUNED TO WATCH DRAMA.<br />
QUESTION:WHAT IS DRAMA? DRAMA, AGAIN, IS THE QUEST OF THE HERO TO
OVERCOME THOSE THINGS WHICH PREVENT HIM FROM ACHIEVING A SPECIFIC, <strong>ACUTE</strong> GOAL.<br />
SO: WE, THE WRITERS, MUST ASK OURSELVES <strong>OF EVERY SCENE</strong> THESE THREE QUESTIONS.<br />
1) WHO WANTS WHAT?<br />
2) WHAT HAPPENS IF HER DON'T GET IT?<br />
3) WHY NOW?<br />
THE ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS ARE LITMUS PAPER. APPLY THEM, AND THEIR ANSWER WILL TELL YOU IF THE SCENE IS DRAMATIC OR NOT.<br />
IF THE SCENE IS NOT DRAMATICALLY WRITTEN, IT WILL NOT BE DRAMATICALLY ACTED.<br />
THERE IS NO MAGIC FAIRY DUST WHICH WILL MAKE A BORING, USELESS,
REDUNDANT, OR MERELY INFORMATIVE SCENE AFTER IT LEAVES YOUR TYPEWRITER. <strong>YOU</strong> THE WRITERS, ARE IN CHARGE OF MAKING SURE <strong>EVERY</strong> SCENE IS DRAMATIC.<br />
THIS MEANS ALL THE "LITTLE" EXPOSITIONAL SCENES OF TWO PEOPLE TALKING
ABOUT A THIRD. THIS BUSHWAH (AND WE ALL TEND TO WRITE IT ON THE FIRST
DRAFT) IS LESS THAN USELESS, SHOULD IT FINALLY, GOD FORBID, GET FILMED.<br />
IF THE SCENE BORES YOU WHEN YOU READ IT, REST ASSURED IT <strong>WILL</strong> BORE THE ACTORS, AND WILL, THEN, BORE THE AUDIENCE, AND WE'RE ALL GOING TO BE BACK IN THE BREADLINE.<br />
SOMEONE HAS TO MAKE THE SCENE DRAMATIC. IT IS NOT THE ACTORS JOB (THE
ACTORS JOB IS TO BE TRUTHFUL). IT IS NOT THE DIRECTORS JOB. HIS OR HER
JOB IS TO FILM IT STRAIGHTFORWARDLY AND REMIND THE ACTORS TO TALK FAST.
IT IS <strong>YOUR</strong> JOB.<br />
EVERY SCENE MUST BE DRAMATIC. THAT MEANS: THE MAIN CHARACTER MUST
HAVE A SIMPLE, STRAIGHTFORWARD, PRESSING NEED WHICH IMPELS HIM OR HER TO
SHOW UP IN THE SCENE.<br />
THIS NEED IS WHY THEY <strong>CAME</strong>. IT IS WHAT THE SCENE IS ABOUT. THEIR ATTEMPT TO GET THIS NEED MET <strong>WILL</strong> LEAD, AT THE END OF THE SCENE,TO <strong>FAILURE</strong> - THIS IS HOW THE SCENE IS <strong>OVER</strong>. IT, THIS FAILURE, WILL, THEN, OF NECESSITY, PROPEL US INTO THE <strong>NEXT</strong> SCENE.<br />
ALL THESE ATTEMPTS, TAKEN TOGETHER, WILL, OVER THE COURSE OF THE EPISODE, CONSTITUTE THE <strong>PLOT</strong>.<br />
ANY SCENE, THUS, WHICH DOES NOT BOTH ADVANCE THE PLOT, AND STANDALONE
(THAT IS, DRAMATICALLY, BY ITSELF, ON ITS OWN MERITS) IS EITHER
SUPERFLUOUS, OR INCORRECTLY WRITTEN.<br />
YES BUT YES BUT YES BUT, YOU SAY: WHAT ABOUT THE NECESSITY OF WRITING IN ALL THAT "INFORMATION?"<br />
AND I RESPOND "<strong>FIGURE IT OUT</strong>" ANY DICKHEAD WITH A BLUESUIT CAN BE (AND IS) TAUGHT TO SAY "MAKE IT CLEARER", AND "I WANT TO KNOW MORE <strong>ABOUT</strong> HIM".<br />
WHEN YOU'VE MADE IT SO CLEAR THAT EVEN THIS BLUESUITED PENGUIN IS HAPPY, BOTH YOU AND HE OR SHE <strong>WILL</strong> BE OUT OF A JOB.<br />
THE JOB OF THE DRAMATIST IS TO MAKE THE AUDIENCE WONDER WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. <strong>NOT</strong> TO EXPLAIN TO THEM WHAT JUST HAPPENED, OR TO*SUGGEST* TO THEM WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.<br />
ANY DICKHEAD, AS ABOVE, CAN WRITE, "BUT, JIM, IF WE DON'T ASSASSINATE
THE PRIME MINISTER IN THE NEXT SCENE, ALL EUROPE WILL BE ENGULFED IN
FLAME"<br />
WE ARE NOT GETTING PAID TO <strong>REALIZE</strong> THAT THE AUDIENCE
NEEDS THIS INFORMATION TO UNDERSTAND THE NEXT SCENE, BUT TO FIGURE OUT
HOW TO WRITE THE SCENE BEFORE US SUCH THAT THE AUDIENCE WILL BE
INTERESTED IN WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.<br />
YES BUT, YES BUT YES <strong>BUT</strong> YOU REITERATE.<br />
AND I RESPOND <strong>FIGURE IT OUT</strong>.<br />
<strong>HOW</strong> DOES ONE STRIKE THE BALANCE BETWEEN WITHHOLDING AND VOUCHSAFING INFORMATION? <strong>THAT</strong> IS THE ESSENTIAL TASK OF THE DRAMATIST. AND THE ABILITY TO <strong>DO</strong> THAT IS WHAT SEPARATES YOU FROM THE LESSER SPECIES IN THEIR BLUE SUITS.<br />
FIGURE IT OUT.<br />
START, EVERY TIME, WITH THIS INVIOLABLE RULE: THE <strong>SCENE MUST BE DRAMATIC</strong>.
it must start because the hero HAS A PROBLEM, AND IT MUST CULMINATE
WITH THE HERO FINDING HIM OR HERSELF EITHER THWARTED OR EDUCATED THAT
ANOTHER WAY EXISTS.<br />
LOOK AT YOUR LOG LINES. ANY LOGLINE READING "BOB AND SUE DISCUSS..." IS NOT DESCRIBING A DRAMATIC SCENE.<br />
PLEASE NOTE THAT OUR OUTLINES ARE, GENERALLY, SPECTACULAR. THE DRAMA FLOWS OUT BETWEEN THE OUTLINE AND THE FIRST DRAFT.<br />
THINK LIKE A FILMMAKER RATHER THAN A FUNCTIONARY, BECAUSE, IN TRUTH, <strong>YOU</strong> ARE MAKING THE FILM. WHAT YOU WRITE, THEY WILL SHOOT.<br />
HERE ARE THE DANGER SIGNALS. ANY TIME TWO CHARACTERS ARE TALKING ABOUT A THIRD, THE SCENE IS A CROCK OF SHIT.<br />
ANY TIME ANY CHARACTER IS SAYING TO ANOTHER "AS YOU KNOW", THAT IS,
TELLING ANOTHER CHARACTER WHAT YOU, THE WRITER, NEED THE AUDIENCE TO
KNOW, THE SCENE IS A CROCK OF SHIT.<br />
DO <strong>NOT</strong> WRITE A CROCK OF SHIT. WRITE A RIPPING THREE,
FOUR, SEVEN MINUTE SCENE WHICH MOVES THE STORY ALONG, AND YOU CAN, VERY
SOON, BUY A HOUSE IN BEL AIR <strong>AND</strong> HIRE SOMEONE TO LIVE THERE FOR YOU.<br />
REMEMBER YOU ARE WRITING FOR A VISUAL MEDIUM. <strong>MOST</strong> TELEVISION WRITING, OURS INCLUDED, SOUNDS LIKE <strong>RADIO</strong>. THE <strong>CAMERA</strong> CAN DO THE EXPLAINING FOR YOU. <strong>LET</strong> IT. WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERS <strong>DOING</strong> -*LITERALLY*. WHAT ARE THEY HANDLING, WHAT ARE THEY READING. WHAT ARE THEY WATCHING ON TELEVISION, WHAT ARE THEY <strong>SEEING</strong>.<br />
IF YOU PRETEND THE CHARACTERS CANT SPEAK, AND WRITE A SILENT MOVIE, YOU WILL BE WRITING GREAT DRAMA.<br />
IF YOU DEPRIVE YOURSELF OF THE CRUTCH OF NARRATION, EXPOSITION,INDEED, OF <strong>SPEECH</strong>. YOU WILL BE FORGED TO WORK IN A NEW MEDIUM - TELLING THE STORY IN PICTURES (ALSO KNOWN AS SCREENWRITING)<br />
THIS IS A NEW SKILL. NO ONE DOES IT NATURALLY. YOU CAN TRAIN YOURSELVES TO DO IT, BUT YOU NEED TO <strong>START</strong>.<br />
I CLOSE WITH THE ONE THOUGHT: LOOK AT THE <strong>SCENE</strong> AND ASK YOURSELF "IS IT DRAMATIC? IS IT <strong>ESSENTIAL</strong>? DOES IT ADVANCE THE PLOT?<br />
ANSWER TRUTHFULLY.<br />
IF THE ANSWER IS "NO" WRITE IT AGAIN OR THROW IT OUT. IF YOU'VE GOT ANY QUESTIONS, CALL ME UP.<br />
LOVE, DAVE MAMET<br />
SANTA MONICA 19 OCTO 05<br />
(IT IS <strong>NOT</strong> YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO KNOW THE ANSWERS, BUT IT IS YOUR, AND MY, RESPONSIBILITY TO KNOW AND TO <strong>ASK THE RIGHT Questions</strong> OVER AND OVER. UNTIL IT BECOMES SECOND NATURE. I BELIEVE THEY ARE LISTED ABOVE.<div id="pmc-js-copy-text" style="background-color: white; color: black; display: block; font-size: 14px; left: -99999px; position: absolute;">
CBS's
drama The Unit, about the lives of the highly trained members of a
top-secret military division, was canceled last year, but a memo to its
writing staff from its executive producer David Mamet has just surfaced
online. (The source appears to be the online writing collective Ink
Canada.) If you think you know where this is heading, you might be
wrong:
Besides the fact that it's written in all-caps, there's nothing
particularly ranty, pejorative or potty-mouthed about it. Rather, Mamet
lays down an extremely sensible case for what makes good television,
imploring them to avoid expository writing for what he characterizes as
authentic "drama." Along the way, he refers repeatedly to the
"blue-suited penguins" (probably the copious-note-givers at the
network), while passing along some very useful advice ("any time two
characters are talking about a third, the scene is a crock of shit") and
helpful writing exercises ("pretend the characters can't speak and
write a silent movie"). Screenwriters, take note: You may think you knew
this already, but there's nothing like Mamet for a good kick-in-the-ass
reminder.
"TO THE WRITERS OF THE UNIT
GREETINGS.
AS WE LEARN HOW TO WRITE THIS SHOW, A RECURRING PROBLEM BECOMES CLEAR.
THE PROBLEM IS THIS: TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN DRAMA AND NON-DRAMA. LET
ME BREAK-IT-DOWN-NOW.
EVERYONE IN CREATION IS SCREAMING AT US TO MAKE THE SHOW CLEAR. WE ARE
TASKED WITH, IT SEEMS, CRAMMING A SHITLOAD OF INFORMATION INTO A LITTLE
BIT OF TIME.
OUR FRIENDS. THE PENGUINS, THINK THAT WE, THEREFORE, ARE EMPLOYED TO
COMMUNICATE INFORMATION -- AND, SO, AT TIMES, IT SEEMS TO US.
BUT NOTE:THE AUDIENCE WILL NOT TUNE IN TO WATCH INFORMATION. YOU
WOULDN'T, I WOULDN'T. NO ONE WOULD OR WILL. THE AUDIENCE WILL ONLY TUNE
IN AND STAY TUNED TO WATCH DRAMA.
QUESTION:WHAT IS DRAMA? DRAMA, AGAIN, IS THE QUEST OF THE HERO TO
OVERCOME THOSE THINGS WHICH PREVENT HIM FROM ACHIEVING A SPECIFIC, ACUTE
GOAL.
SO: WE, THE WRITERS, MUST ASK OURSELVES OF EVERY SCENE THESE THREE
QUESTIONS.
1) WHO WANTS WHAT?
2) WHAT HAPPENS IF HER DON'T GET IT?
3) WHY NOW?
THE ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS ARE LITMUS PAPER. APPLY THEM, AND THEIR
ANSWER WILL TELL YOU IF THE SCENE IS DRAMATIC OR NOT.
IF THE SCENE IS NOT DRAMATICALLY WRITTEN, IT WILL NOT BE DRAMATICALLY
ACTED.
THERE IS NO MAGIC FAIRY DUST WHICH WILL MAKE A BORING, USELESS,
REDUNDANT, OR MERELY INFORMATIVE SCENE AFTER IT LEAVES YOUR TYPEWRITER.
YOU THE WRITERS, ARE IN CHARGE OF MAKING SURE EVERY SCENE IS DRAMATIC.
THIS MEANS ALL THE "LITTLE" EXPOSITIONAL SCENES OF TWO PEOPLE TALKING
ABOUT A THIRD. THIS BUSHWAH (AND WE ALL TEND TO WRITE IT ON THE FIRST
DRAFT) IS LESS THAN USELESS, SHOULD IT FINALLY, GOD FORBID, GET FILMED.
IF THE SCENE BORES YOU WHEN YOU READ IT, REST ASSURED IT WILL BORE THE
ACTORS, AND WILL, THEN, BORE THE AUDIENCE, AND WE'RE ALL GOING TO BE
BACK IN THE BREADLINE.
SOMEONE HAS TO MAKE THE SCENE DRAMATIC. IT IS NOT THE ACTORS JOB (THE
ACTORS JOB IS TO BE TRUTHFUL). IT IS NOT THE DIRECTORS JOB. HIS OR HER
JOB IS TO FILM IT STRAIGHTFORWARDLY AND REMIND THE ACTORS TO TALK FAST.
IT IS YOUR JOB.
EVERY SCENE MUST BE DRAMATIC. THAT MEANS: THE MAIN CHARACTER MUST HAVE A
SIMPLE, STRAIGHTFORWARD, PRESSING NEED WHICH IMPELS HIM OR HER TO SHOW
UP IN THE SCENE.
THIS NEED IS WHY THEY CAME. IT IS WHAT THE SCENE IS ABOUT. THEIR ATTEMPT
TO GET THIS NEED MET WILL LEAD, AT THE END OF THE SCENE,TO FAILURE -
THIS IS HOW THE SCENE IS OVER. IT, THIS FAILURE, WILL, THEN, OF
NECESSITY, PROPEL US INTO THE NEXT SCENE.
ALL THESE ATTEMPTS, TAKEN TOGETHER, WILL, OVER THE COURSE OF THE
EPISODE, CONSTITUTE THE PLOT.
ANY SCENE, THUS, WHICH DOES NOT BOTH ADVANCE THE PLOT, AND STANDALONE
(THAT IS, DRAMATICALLY, BY ITSELF, ON ITS OWN MERITS) IS EITHER
SUPERFLUOUS, OR INCORRECTLY WRITTEN.
YES BUT YES BUT YES BUT, YOU SAY: WHAT ABOUT THE NECESSITY OF WRITING IN
ALL THAT "INFORMATION?"
AND I RESPOND "FIGURE IT OUT" ANY DICKHEAD WITH A BLUESUIT CAN BE (AND
IS) TAUGHT TO SAY "MAKE IT CLEARER", AND "I WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT
HIM".
WHEN YOU'VE MADE IT SO CLEAR THAT EVEN THIS BLUESUITED PENGUIN IS HAPPY,
BOTH YOU AND HE OR SHE WILL BE OUT OF A JOB.
THE JOB OF THE DRAMATIST IS TO MAKE THE AUDIENCE WONDER WHAT HAPPENS
NEXT. NOT TO EXPLAIN TO THEM WHAT JUST HAPPENED, OR TO*SUGGEST* TO THEM
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.
ANY DICKHEAD, AS ABOVE, CAN WRITE, "BUT, JIM, IF WE DON'T ASSASSINATE
THE PRIME MINISTER IN THE NEXT SCENE, ALL EUROPE WILL BE ENGULFED IN
FLAME"
WE ARE NOT GETTING PAID TO REALIZE THAT THE AUDIENCE NEEDS THIS
INFORMATION TO UNDERSTAND THE NEXT SCENE, BUT TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO WRITE
THE SCENE BEFORE US SUCH THAT THE AUDIENCE WILL BE INTERESTED IN WHAT
HAPPENS NEXT.
YES BUT, YES BUT YES BUT YOU REITERATE.
AND I RESPOND FIGURE IT OUT.
HOW DOES ONE STRIKE THE BALANCE BETWEEN WITHHOLDING AND VOUCHSAFING
INFORMATION? THAT IS THE ESSENTIAL TASK OF THE DRAMATIST. AND THE
ABILITY TO DO THAT IS WHAT SEPARATES YOU FROM THE LESSER SPECIES IN
THEIR BLUE SUITS.
FIGURE IT OUT.
START, EVERY TIME, WITH THIS INVIOLABLE RULE: THE SCENE MUST BE
DRAMATIC. it must start because the hero HAS A PROBLEM, AND IT MUST
CULMINATE WITH THE HERO FINDING HIM OR HERSELF EITHER THWARTED OR
EDUCATED THAT ANOTHER WAY EXISTS.
LOOK AT YOUR LOG LINES. ANY LOGLINE READING "BOB AND SUE DISCUSS..." IS
NOT DESCRIBING A DRAMATIC SCENE.
PLEASE NOTE THAT OUR OUTLINES ARE, GENERALLY, SPECTACULAR. THE DRAMA
FLOWS OUT BETWEEN THE OUTLINE AND THE FIRST DRAFT.
THINK LIKE A FILMMAKER RATHER THAN A FUNCTIONARY, BECAUSE, IN TRUTH, YOU
ARE MAKING THE FILM. WHAT YOU WRITE, THEY WILL SHOOT.
HERE ARE THE DANGER SIGNALS. ANY TIME TWO CHARACTERS ARE TALKING ABOUT A
THIRD, THE SCENE IS A CROCK OF SHIT.
ANY TIME ANY CHARACTER IS SAYING TO ANOTHER "AS YOU KNOW", THAT IS,
TELLING ANOTHER CHARACTER WHAT YOU, THE WRITER, NEED THE AUDIENCE TO
KNOW, THE SCENE IS A CROCK OF SHIT.
DO NOT WRITE A CROCK OF SHIT. WRITE A RIPPING THREE, FOUR, SEVEN MINUTE
SCENE WHICH MOVES THE STORY ALONG, AND YOU CAN, VERY SOON, BUY A HOUSE
IN BEL AIR AND HIRE SOMEONE TO LIVE THERE FOR YOU.
REMEMBER YOU ARE WRITING FOR A VISUAL MEDIUM. MOST TELEVISION WRITING,
OURS INCLUDED, SOUNDS LIKE RADIO. THE CAMERA CAN DO THE EXPLAINING FOR
YOU. LET IT. WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERS DOING -*LITERALLY*. WHAT ARE THEY
HANDLING, WHAT ARE THEY READING. WHAT ARE THEY WATCHING ON TELEVISION,
WHAT ARE THEY SEEING.
IF YOU PRETEND THE CHARACTERS CANT SPEAK, AND WRITE A SILENT MOVIE, YOU
WILL BE WRITING GREAT DRAMA.
IF YOU DEPRIVE YOURSELF OF THE CRUTCH OF NARRATION, EXPOSITION,INDEED,
OF SPEECH. YOU WILL BE FORGED TO WORK IN A NEW MEDIUM - TELLING THE
STORY IN PICTURES (ALSO KNOWN AS SCREENWRITING)
THIS IS A NEW SKILL. NO ONE DOES IT NATURALLY. YOU CAN TRAIN YOURSELVES
TO DO IT, BUT YOU NEED TO START.
I CLOSE WITH THE ONE THOUGHT: LOOK AT THE SCENE AND ASK YOURSELF "IS IT
DRAMATIC? IS IT ESSENTIAL? DOES IT ADVANCE THE PLOT?
ANSWER TRUTHFULLY.
IF THE ANSWER IS "NO" WRITE IT AGAIN OR THROW IT OUT. IF YOU'VE GOT ANY
QUESTIONS, CALL ME UP.
LOVE, DAVE MAMET
SANTA MONICA 19 OCTO 05
(IT IS NOT YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO KNOW THE ANSWERS, BUT IT IS YOUR, AND
MY, RESPONSIBILITY TO KNOW AND TO ASK THE RIGHT Questions OVER AND OVER.
UNTIL IT BECOMES SECOND NATURE. I BELIEVE THEY ARE LISTED ABOVE.)"<br />
<br />
Read More at:
http://movieline.com/2010/03/23/david-mamets-memo-to-the-writers-of-the-unit/#utm_source=copypaste&utm_campaign=referral</div>
<div id="pmc-js-copy-text" style="background-color: white; color: black; display: block; font-size: 14px; left: -99999px; position: absolute;">
CBS's
drama The Unit, about the lives of the highly trained members of a
top-secret military division, was canceled last year, but a memo to its
writing staff from its executive producer David Mamet has just surfaced
online. (The source appears to be the online writing collective Ink
Canada.) If you think you know where this is heading, you might be
wrong:
Besides the fact that it's written in all-caps, there's nothing
particularly ranty, pejorative or potty-mouthed about it. Rather, Mamet
lays down an extremely sensible case for what makes good television,
imploring them to avoid expository writing for what he characterizes as
authentic "drama." Along the way, he refers repeatedly to the
"blue-suited penguins" (probably the copious-note-givers at the
network), while passing along some very useful advice ("any time two
characters are talking about a third, the scene is a crock of shit") and
helpful writing exercises ("pretend the characters can't speak and
write a silent movie"). Screenwriters, take note: You may think you knew
this already, but there's nothing like Mamet for a good kick-in-the-ass
reminder.
"TO THE WRITERS OF THE UNIT
GREETINGS.
AS WE LEARN HOW TO WRITE THIS SHOW, A RECURRING PROBLEM BECOMES CLEAR.
THE PROBLEM IS THIS: TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN DRAMA AND NON-DRAMA. LET
ME BREAK-IT-DOWN-NOW.
EVERYONE IN CREATION IS SCREAMING AT US TO MAKE THE SHOW CLEAR. WE ARE
TASKED WITH, IT SEEMS, CRAMMING A SHITLOAD OF INFORMATION INTO A LITTLE
BIT OF TIME.
OUR FRIENDS. THE PENGUINS, THINK THAT WE, THEREFORE, ARE EMPLOYED TO
COMMUNICATE INFORMATION -- AND, SO, AT TIMES, IT SEEMS TO US.
BUT NOTE:THE AUDIENCE WILL NOT TUNE IN TO WATCH INFORMATION. YOU
WOULDN'T, I WOULDN'T. NO ONE WOULD OR WILL. THE AUDIENCE WILL ONLY TUNE
IN AND STAY TUNED TO WATCH DRAMA.
QUESTION:WHAT IS DRAMA? DRAMA, AGAIN, IS THE QUEST OF THE HERO TO
OVERCOME THOSE THINGS WHICH PREVENT HIM FROM ACHIEVING A SPECIFIC, ACUTE
GOAL.
SO: WE, THE WRITERS, MUST ASK OURSELVES OF EVERY SCENE THESE THREE
QUESTIONS.
1) WHO WANTS WHAT?
2) WHAT HAPPENS IF HER DON'T GET IT?
3) WHY NOW?
THE ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS ARE LITMUS PAPER. APPLY THEM, AND THEIR
ANSWER WILL TELL YOU IF THE SCENE IS DRAMATIC OR NOT.
IF THE SCENE IS NOT DRAMATICALLY WRITTEN, IT WILL NOT BE DRAMATICALLY
ACTED.
THERE IS NO MAGIC FAIRY DUST WHICH WILL MAKE A BORING, USELESS,
REDUNDANT, OR MERELY INFORMATIVE SCENE AFTER IT LEAVES YOUR TYPEWRITER.
YOU THE WRITERS, ARE IN CHARGE OF MAKING SURE EVERY SCENE IS DRAMATIC.
THIS MEANS ALL THE "LITTLE" EXPOSITIONAL SCENES OF TWO PEOPLE TALKING
ABOUT A THIRD. THIS BUSHWAH (AND WE ALL TEND TO WRITE IT ON THE FIRST
DRAFT) IS LESS THAN USELESS, SHOULD IT FINALLY, GOD FORBID, GET FILMED.
IF THE SCENE BORES YOU WHEN YOU READ IT, REST ASSURED IT WILL BORE THE
ACTORS, AND WILL, THEN, BORE THE AUDIENCE, AND WE'RE ALL GOING TO BE
BACK IN THE BREADLINE.
SOMEONE HAS TO MAKE THE SCENE DRAMATIC. IT IS NOT THE ACTORS JOB (THE
ACTORS JOB IS TO BE TRUTHFUL). IT IS NOT THE DIRECTORS JOB. HIS OR HER
JOB IS TO FILM IT STRAIGHTFORWARDLY AND REMIND THE ACTORS TO TALK FAST.
IT IS YOUR JOB.
EVERY SCENE MUST BE DRAMATIC. THAT MEANS: THE MAIN CHARACTER MUST HAVE A
SIMPLE, STRAIGHTFORWARD, PRESSING NEED WHICH IMPELS HIM OR HER TO SHOW
UP IN THE SCENE.
THIS NEED IS WHY THEY CAME. IT IS WHAT THE SCENE IS ABOUT. THEIR ATTEMPT
TO GET THIS NEED MET WILL LEAD, AT THE END OF THE SCENE,TO FAILURE -
THIS IS HOW THE SCENE IS OVER. IT, THIS FAILURE, WILL, THEN, OF
NECESSITY, PROPEL US INTO THE NEXT SCENE.
ALL THESE ATTEMPTS, TAKEN TOGETHER, WILL, OVER THE COURSE OF THE
EPISODE, CONSTITUTE THE PLOT.
ANY SCENE, THUS, WHICH DOES NOT BOTH ADVANCE THE PLOT, AND STANDALONE
(THAT IS, DRAMATICALLY, BY ITSELF, ON ITS OWN MERITS) IS EITHER
SUPERFLUOUS, OR INCORRECTLY WRITTEN.
YES BUT YES BUT YES BUT, YOU SAY: WHAT ABOUT THE NECESSITY OF WRITING IN
ALL THAT "INFORMATION?"
AND I RESPOND "FIGURE IT OUT" ANY DICKHEAD WITH A BLUESUIT CAN BE (AND
IS) TAUGHT TO SAY "MAKE IT CLEARER", AND "I WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT
HIM".
WHEN YOU'VE MADE IT SO CLEAR THAT EVEN THIS BLUESUITED PENGUIN IS HAPPY,
BOTH YOU AND HE OR SHE WILL BE OUT OF A JOB.
THE JOB OF THE DRAMATIST IS TO MAKE THE AUDIENCE WONDER WHAT HAPPENS
NEXT. NOT TO EXPLAIN TO THEM WHAT JUST HAPPENED, OR TO*SUGGEST* TO THEM
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.
ANY DICKHEAD, AS ABOVE, CAN WRITE, "BUT, JIM, IF WE DON'T ASSASSINATE
THE PRIME MINISTER IN THE NEXT SCENE, ALL EUROPE WILL BE ENGULFED IN
FLAME"
WE ARE NOT GETTING PAID TO REALIZE THAT THE AUDIENCE NEEDS THIS
INFORMATION TO UNDERSTAND THE NEXT SCENE, BUT TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO WRITE
THE SCENE BEFORE US SUCH THAT THE AUDIENCE WILL BE INTERESTED IN WHAT
HAPPENS NEXT.
YES BUT, YES BUT YES BUT YOU REITERATE.
AND I RESPOND FIGURE IT OUT.
HOW DOES ONE STRIKE THE BALANCE BETWEEN WITHHOLDING AND VOUCHSAFING
INFORMATION? THAT IS THE ESSENTIAL TASK OF THE DRAMATIST. AND THE
ABILITY TO DO THAT IS WHAT SEPARATES YOU FROM THE LESSER SPECIES IN
THEIR BLUE SUITS.
FIGURE IT OUT.
START, EVERY TIME, WITH THIS INVIOLABLE RULE: THE SCENE MUST BE
DRAMATIC. it must start because the hero HAS A PROBLEM, AND IT MUST
CULMINATE WITH THE HERO FINDING HIM OR HERSELF EITHER THWARTED OR
EDUCATED THAT ANOTHER WAY EXISTS.
LOOK AT YOUR LOG LINES. ANY LOGLINE READING "BOB AND SUE DISCUSS..." IS
NOT DESCRIBING A DRAMATIC SCENE.
PLEASE NOTE THAT OUR OUTLINES ARE, GENERALLY, SPECTACULAR. THE DRAMA
FLOWS OUT BETWEEN THE OUTLINE AND THE FIRST DRAFT.
THINK LIKE A FILMMAKER RATHER THAN A FUNCTIONARY, BECAUSE, IN TRUTH, YOU
ARE MAKING THE FILM. WHAT YOU WRITE, THEY WILL SHOOT.
HERE ARE THE DANGER SIGNALS. ANY TIME TWO CHARACTERS ARE TALKING ABOUT A
THIRD, THE SCENE IS A CROCK OF SHIT.
ANY TIME ANY CHARACTER IS SAYING TO ANOTHER "AS YOU KNOW", THAT IS,
TELLING ANOTHER CHARACTER WHAT YOU, THE WRITER, NEED THE AUDIENCE TO
KNOW, THE SCENE IS A CROCK OF SHIT.
DO NOT WRITE A CROCK OF SHIT. WRITE A RIPPING THREE, FOUR, SEVEN MINUTE
SCENE WHICH MOVES THE STORY ALONG, AND YOU CAN, VERY SOON, BUY A HOUSE
IN BEL AIR AND HIRE SOMEONE TO LIVE THERE FOR YOU.
REMEMBER YOU ARE WRITING FOR A VISUAL MEDIUM. MOST TELEVISION WRITING,
OURS INCLUDED, SOUNDS LIKE RADIO. THE CAMERA CAN DO THE EXPLAINING FOR
YOU. LET IT. WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERS DOING -*LITERALLY*. WHAT ARE THEY
HANDLING, WHAT ARE THEY READING. WHAT ARE THEY WATCHING ON TELEVISION,
WHAT ARE THEY SEEING.
IF YOU PRETEND THE CHARACTERS CANT SPEAK, AND WRITE A SILENT MOVIE, YOU
WILL BE WRITING GREAT DRAMA.
IF YOU DEPRIVE YOURSELF OF THE CRUTCH OF NARRATION, EXPOSITION,INDEED,
OF SPEECH. YOU WILL BE FORGED TO WORK IN A NEW MEDIUM - TELLING THE
STORY IN PICTURES (ALSO KNOWN AS SCREENWRITING)
THIS IS A NEW SKILL. NO ONE DOES IT NATURALLY. YOU CAN TRAIN YOURSELVES
TO DO IT, BUT YOU NEED TO START.
I CLOSE WITH THE ONE THOUGHT: LOOK AT THE SCENE AND ASK YOURSELF "IS IT
DRAMATIC? IS IT ESSENTIAL? DOES IT ADVANCE THE PLOT?
ANSWER TRUTHFULLY.
IF THE ANSWER IS "NO" WRITE IT AGAIN OR THROW IT OUT. IF YOU'VE GOT ANY
QUESTIONS, CALL ME UP.
LOVE, DAVE MAMET
SANTA MONICA 19 OCTO 05
(IT IS NOT YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO KNOW THE ANSWERS, BUT IT IS YOUR, AND
MY, RESPONSIBILITY TO KNOW AND TO ASK THE RIGHT Questions OVER AND OVER.
UNTIL IT BECOMES SECOND NATURE. I BELIEVE THEY ARE LISTED ABOVE.)"<br />
<br />
Read More at:
http://movieline.com/2010/03/23/david-mamets-memo-to-the-writers-of-the-unit/#utm_source=copypaste&utm_campaign=referral</div>
<div id="pmc-js-copy-text" style="background-color: white; color: black; display: block; font-size: 14px; left: -99999px; position: absolute;">
CBS's
drama The Unit, about the lives of the highly trained members of a
top-secret military division, was canceled last year, but a memo to its
writing staff from its executive producer David Mamet has just surfaced
online. (The source appears to be the online writing collective Ink
Canada.) If you think you know where this is heading, you might be
wrong:
Besides the fact that it's written in all-caps, there's nothing
particularly ranty, pejorative or potty-mouthed about it. Rather, Mamet
lays down an extremely sensible case for what makes good television,
imploring them to avoid expository writing for what he characterizes as
authentic "drama." Along the way, he refers repeatedly to the
"blue-suited penguins" (probably the copious-note-givers at the
network), while passing along some very useful advice ("any time two
characters are talking about a third, the scene is a crock of shit") and
helpful writing exercises ("pretend the characters can't speak and
write a silent movie"). Screenwriters, take note: You may think you knew
this already, but there's nothing like Mamet for a good kick-in-the-ass
reminder.
"TO THE WRITERS OF THE UNIT
GREETINGS.
AS WE LEARN HOW TO WRITE THIS SHOW, A RECURRING PROBLEM BECOMES CLEAR.
THE PROBLEM IS THIS: TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN DRAMA AND NON-DRAMA. LET
ME BREAK-IT-DOWN-NOW.
EVERYONE IN CREATION IS SCREAMING AT US TO MAKE THE SHOW CLEAR. WE ARE
TASKED WITH, IT SEEMS, CRAMMING A SHITLOAD OF INFORMATION INTO A LITTLE
BIT OF TIME.
OUR FRIENDS. THE PENGUINS, THINK THAT WE, THEREFORE, ARE EMPLOYED TO
COMMUNICATE INFORMATION -- AND, SO, AT TIMES, IT SEEMS TO US.
BUT NOTE:THE AUDIENCE WILL NOT TUNE IN TO WATCH INFORMATION. YOU
WOULDN'T, I WOULDN'T. NO ONE WOULD OR WILL. THE AUDIENCE WILL ONLY TUNE
IN AND STAY TUNED TO WATCH DRAMA.
QUESTION:WHAT IS DRAMA? DRAMA, AGAIN, IS THE QUEST OF THE HERO TO
OVERCOME THOSE THINGS WHICH PREVENT HIM FROM ACHIEVING A SPECIFIC, ACUTE
GOAL.
SO: WE, THE WRITERS, MUST ASK OURSELVES OF EVERY SCENE THESE THREE
QUESTIONS.
1) WHO WANTS WHAT?
2) WHAT HAPPENS IF HER DON'T GET IT?
3) WHY NOW?
THE ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS ARE LITMUS PAPER. APPLY THEM, AND THEIR
ANSWER WILL TELL YOU IF THE SCENE IS DRAMATIC OR NOT.
IF THE SCENE IS NOT DRAMATICALLY WRITTEN, IT WILL NOT BE DRAMATICALLY
ACTED.
THERE IS NO MAGIC FAIRY DUST WHICH WILL MAKE A BORING, USELESS,
REDUNDANT, OR MERELY INFORMATIVE SCENE AFTER IT LEAVES YOUR TYPEWRITER.
YOU THE WRITERS, ARE IN CHARGE OF MAKING SURE EVERY SCENE IS DRAMATIC.
THIS MEANS ALL THE "LITTLE" EXPOSITIONAL SCENES OF TWO PEOPLE TALKING
ABOUT A THIRD. THIS BUSHWAH (AND WE ALL TEND TO WRITE IT ON THE FIRST
DRAFT) IS LESS THAN USELESS, SHOULD IT FINALLY, GOD FORBID, GET FILMED.
IF THE SCENE BORES YOU WHEN YOU READ IT, REST ASSURED IT WILL BORE THE
ACTORS, AND WILL, THEN, BORE THE AUDIENCE, AND WE'RE ALL GOING TO BE
BACK IN THE BREADLINE.
SOMEONE HAS TO MAKE THE SCENE DRAMATIC. IT IS NOT THE ACTORS JOB (THE
ACTORS JOB IS TO BE TRUTHFUL). IT IS NOT THE DIRECTORS JOB. HIS OR HER
JOB IS TO FILM IT STRAIGHTFORWARDLY AND REMIND THE ACTORS TO TALK FAST.
IT IS YOUR JOB.
EVERY SCENE MUST BE DRAMATIC. THAT MEANS: THE MAIN CHARACTER MUST HAVE A
SIMPLE, STRAIGHTFORWARD, PRESSING NEED WHICH IMPELS HIM OR HER TO SHOW
UP IN THE SCENE.
THIS NEED IS WHY THEY CAME. IT IS WHAT THE SCENE IS ABOUT. THEIR ATTEMPT
TO GET THIS NEED MET WILL LEAD, AT THE END OF THE SCENE,TO FAILURE -
THIS IS HOW THE SCENE IS OVER. IT, THIS FAILURE, WILL, THEN, OF
NECESSITY, PROPEL US INTO THE NEXT SCENE.
ALL THESE ATTEMPTS, TAKEN TOGETHER, WILL, OVER THE COURSE OF THE
EPISODE, CONSTITUTE THE PLOT.
ANY SCENE, THUS, WHICH DOES NOT BOTH ADVANCE THE PLOT, AND STANDALONE
(THAT IS, DRAMATICALLY, BY ITSELF, ON ITS OWN MERITS) IS EITHER
SUPERFLUOUS, OR INCORRECTLY WRITTEN.
YES BUT YES BUT YES BUT, YOU SAY: WHAT ABOUT THE NECESSITY OF WRITING IN
ALL THAT "INFORMATION?"
AND I RESPOND "FIGURE IT OUT" ANY DICKHEAD WITH A BLUESUIT CAN BE (AND
IS) TAUGHT TO SAY "MAKE IT CLEARER", AND "I WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT
HIM".
WHEN YOU'VE MADE IT SO CLEAR THAT EVEN THIS BLUESUITED PENGUIN IS HAPPY,
BOTH YOU AND HE OR SHE WILL BE OUT OF A JOB.
THE JOB OF THE DRAMATIST IS TO MAKE THE AUDIENCE WONDER WHAT HAPPENS
NEXT. NOT TO EXPLAIN TO THEM WHAT JUST HAPPENED, OR TO*SUGGEST* TO THEM
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.
ANY DICKHEAD, AS ABOVE, CAN WRITE, "BUT, JIM, IF WE DON'T ASSASSINATE
THE PRIME MINISTER IN THE NEXT SCENE, ALL EUROPE WILL BE ENGULFED IN
FLAME"
WE ARE NOT GETTING PAID TO REALIZE THAT THE AUDIENCE NEEDS THIS
INFORMATION TO UNDERSTAND THE NEXT SCENE, BUT TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO WRITE
THE SCENE BEFORE US SUCH THAT THE AUDIENCE WILL BE INTERESTED IN WHAT
HAPPENS NEXT.
YES BUT, YES BUT YES BUT YOU REITERATE.
AND I RESPOND FIGURE IT OUT.
HOW DOES ONE STRIKE THE BALANCE BETWEEN WITHHOLDING AND VOUCHSAFING
INFORMATION? THAT IS THE ESSENTIAL TASK OF THE DRAMATIST. AND THE
ABILITY TO DO THAT IS WHAT SEPARATES YOU FROM THE LESSER SPECIES IN
THEIR BLUE SUITS.
FIGURE IT OUT.
START, EVERY TIME, WITH THIS INVIOLABLE RULE: THE SCENE MUST BE
DRAMATIC. it must start because the hero HAS A PROBLEM, AND IT MUST
CULMINATE WITH THE HERO FINDING HIM OR HERSELF EITHER THWARTED OR
EDUCATED THAT ANOTHER WAY EXISTS.
LOOK AT YOUR LOG LINES. ANY LOGLINE READING "BOB AND SUE DISCUSS..." IS
NOT DESCRIBING A DRAMATIC SCENE.
PLEASE NOTE THAT OUR OUTLINES ARE, GENERALLY, SPECTACULAR. THE DRAMA
FLOWS OUT BETWEEN THE OUTLINE AND THE FIRST DRAFT.
THINK LIKE A FILMMAKER RATHER THAN A FUNCTIONARY, BECAUSE, IN TRUTH, YOU
ARE MAKING THE FILM. WHAT YOU WRITE, THEY WILL SHOOT.
HERE ARE THE DANGER SIGNALS. ANY TIME TWO CHARACTERS ARE TALKING ABOUT A
THIRD, THE SCENE IS A CROCK OF SHIT.
ANY TIME ANY CHARACTER IS SAYING TO ANOTHER "AS YOU KNOW", THAT IS,
TELLING ANOTHER CHARACTER WHAT YOU, THE WRITER, NEED THE AUDIENCE TO
KNOW, THE SCENE IS A CROCK OF SHIT.
DO NOT WRITE A CROCK OF SHIT. WRITE A RIPPING THREE, FOUR, SEVEN MINUTE
SCENE WHICH MOVES THE STORY ALONG, AND YOU CAN, VERY SOON, BUY A HOUSE
IN BEL AIR AND HIRE SOMEONE TO LIVE THERE FOR YOU.
REMEMBER YOU ARE WRITING FOR A VISUAL MEDIUM. MOST TELEVISION WRITING,
OURS INCLUDED, SOUNDS LIKE RADIO. THE CAMERA CAN DO THE EXPLAINING FOR
YOU. LET IT. WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERS DOING -*LITERALLY*. WHAT ARE THEY
HANDLING, WHAT ARE THEY READING. WHAT ARE THEY WATCHING ON TELEVISION,
WHAT ARE THEY SEEING.
IF YOU PRETEND THE CHARACTERS CANT SPEAK, AND WRITE A SILENT MOVIE, YOU
WILL BE WRITING GREAT DRAMA.
IF YOU DEPRIVE YOURSELF OF THE CRUTCH OF NARRATION, EXPOSITION,INDEED,
OF SPEECH. YOU WILL BE FORGED TO WORK IN A NEW MEDIUM - TELLING THE
STORY IN PICTURES (ALSO KNOWN AS SCREENWRITING)
THIS IS A NEW SKILL. NO ONE DOES IT NATURALLY. YOU CAN TRAIN YOURSELVES
TO DO IT, BUT YOU NEED TO START.
I CLOSE WITH THE ONE THOUGHT: LOOK AT THE SCENE AND ASK YOURSELF "IS IT
DRAMATIC? IS IT ESSENTIAL? DOES IT ADVANCE THE PLOT?
ANSWER TRUTHFULLY.
IF THE ANSWER IS "NO" WRITE IT AGAIN OR THROW IT OUT. IF YOU'VE GOT ANY
QUESTIONS, CALL ME UP.
LOVE, DAVE MAMET
SANTA MONICA 19 OCTO 05
(IT IS NOT YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO KNOW THE ANSWERS, BUT IT IS YOUR, AND
MY, RESPONSIBILITY TO KNOW AND TO ASK THE RIGHT Questions OVER AND OVER.
UNTIL IT BECOMES SECOND NATURE. I BELIEVE THEY ARE LISTED ABOVE.)"<br />
<br />
Read More at:
http://movieline.com/2010/03/23/david-mamets-memo-to-the-writers-of-the-unit/#utm_source=copypaste&utm_campaign=referral</div>
<div id="pmc-js-copy-text" style="background-color: white; color: black; display: block; font-size: 14px; left: -99999px; position: absolute;">
CBS's
drama The Unit, about the lives of the highly trained members of a
top-secret military division, was canceled last year, but a memo to its
writing staff from its executive producer David Mamet has just surfaced
online. (The source appears to be the online writing collective Ink
Canada.) If you think you know where this is heading, you might be
wrong:
Besides the fact that it's written in all-caps, there's nothing
particularly ranty, pejorative or potty-mouthed about it. Rather, Mamet
lays down an extremely sensible case for what makes good television,
imploring them to avoid expository writing for what he characterizes as
authentic "drama." Along the way, he refers repeatedly to the
"blue-suited penguins" (probably the copious-note-givers at the
network), while passing along some very useful advice ("any time two
characters are talking about a third, the scene is a crock of shit") and
helpful writing exercises ("pretend the characters can't speak and
write a silent movie"). Screenwriters, take note: You may think you knew
this already, but there's nothing like Mamet for a good kick-in-the-ass
reminder.
"TO THE WRITERS OF THE UNIT
GREETINGS.
AS WE LEARN HOW TO WRITE THIS SHOW, A RECURRING PROBLEM BECOMES CLEAR.
THE PROBLEM IS THIS: TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN DRAMA AND NON-DRAMA. LET
ME BREAK-IT-DOWN-NOW.
EVERYONE IN CREATION IS SCREAMING AT US TO MAKE THE SHOW CLEAR. WE ARE
TASKED WITH, IT SEEMS, CRAMMING A SHITLOAD OF INFORMATION INTO A LITTLE
BIT OF TIME.
OUR FRIENDS. THE PENGUINS, THINK THAT WE, THEREFORE, ARE EMPLOYED TO
COMMUNICATE INFORMATION -- AND, SO, AT TIMES, IT SEEMS TO US.
BUT NOTE:THE AUDIENCE WILL NOT TUNE IN TO WATCH INFORMATION. YOU
WOULDN'T, I WOULDN'T. NO ONE WOULD OR WILL. THE AUDIENCE WILL ONLY TUNE
IN AND STAY TUNED TO WATCH DRAMA.
QUESTION:WHAT IS DRAMA? DRAMA, AGAIN, IS THE QUEST OF THE HERO TO
OVERCOME THOSE THINGS WHICH PREVENT HIM FROM ACHIEVING A SPECIFIC, ACUTE
GOAL.
SO: WE, THE WRITERS, MUST ASK OURSELVES OF EVERY SCENE THESE THREE
QUESTIONS.
1) WHO WANTS WHAT?
2) WHAT HAPPENS IF HER DON'T GET IT?
3) WHY NOW?
THE ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS ARE LITMUS PAPER. APPLY THEM, AND THEIR
ANSWER WILL TELL YOU IF THE SCENE IS DRAMATIC OR NOT.
IF THE SCENE IS NOT DRAMATICALLY WRITTEN, IT WILL NOT BE DRAMATICALLY
ACTED.
THERE IS NO MAGIC FAIRY DUST WHICH WILL MAKE A BORING, USELESS,
REDUNDANT, OR MERELY INFORMATIVE SCENE AFTER IT LEAVES YOUR TYPEWRITER.
YOU THE WRITERS, ARE IN CHARGE OF MAKING SURE EVERY SCENE IS DRAMATIC.
THIS MEANS ALL THE "LITTLE" EXPOSITIONAL SCENES OF TWO PEOPLE TALKING
ABOUT A THIRD. THIS BUSHWAH (AND WE ALL TEND TO WRITE IT ON THE FIRST
DRAFT) IS LESS THAN USELESS, SHOULD IT FINALLY, GOD FORBID, GET FILMED.
IF THE SCENE BORES YOU WHEN YOU READ IT, REST ASSURED IT WILL BORE THE
ACTORS, AND WILL, THEN, BORE THE AUDIENCE, AND WE'RE ALL GOING TO BE
BACK IN THE BREADLINE.
SOMEONE HAS TO MAKE THE SCENE DRAMATIC. IT IS NOT THE ACTORS JOB (THE
ACTORS JOB IS TO BE TRUTHFUL). IT IS NOT THE DIRECTORS JOB. HIS OR HER
JOB IS TO FILM IT STRAIGHTFORWARDLY AND REMIND THE ACTORS TO TALK FAST.
IT IS YOUR JOB.
EVERY SCENE MUST BE DRAMATIC. THAT MEANS: THE MAIN CHARACTER MUST HAVE A
SIMPLE, STRAIGHTFORWARD, PRESSING NEED WHICH IMPELS HIM OR HER TO SHOW
UP IN THE SCENE.
THIS NEED IS WHY THEY CAME. IT IS WHAT THE SCENE IS ABOUT. THEIR ATTEMPT
TO GET THIS NEED MET WILL LEAD, AT THE END OF THE SCENE,TO FAILURE -
THIS IS HOW THE SCENE IS OVER. IT, THIS FAILURE, WILL, THEN, OF
NECESSITY, PROPEL US INTO THE NEXT SCENE.
ALL THESE ATTEMPTS, TAKEN TOGETHER, WILL, OVER THE COURSE OF THE
EPISODE, CONSTITUTE THE PLOT.
ANY SCENE, THUS, WHICH DOES NOT BOTH ADVANCE THE PLOT, AND STANDALONE
(THAT IS, DRAMATICALLY, BY ITSELF, ON ITS OWN MERITS) IS EITHER
SUPERFLUOUS, OR INCORRECTLY WRITTEN.
YES BUT YES BUT YES BUT, YOU SAY: WHAT ABOUT THE NECESSITY OF WRITING IN
ALL THAT "INFORMATION?"
AND I RESPOND "FIGURE IT OUT" ANY DICKHEAD WITH A BLUESUIT CAN BE (AND
IS) TAUGHT TO SAY "MAKE IT CLEARER", AND "I WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT
HIM".
WHEN YOU'VE MADE IT SO CLEAR THAT EVEN THIS BLUESUITED PENGUIN IS HAPPY,
BOTH YOU AND HE OR SHE WILL BE OUT OF A JOB.
THE JOB OF THE DRAMATIST IS TO MAKE THE AUDIENCE WONDER WHAT HAPPENS
NEXT. NOT TO EXPLAIN TO THEM WHAT JUST HAPPENED, OR TO*SUGGEST* TO THEM
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.
ANY DICKHEAD, AS ABOVE, CAN WRITE, "BUT, JIM, IF WE DON'T ASSASSINATE
THE PRIME MINISTER IN THE NEXT SCENE, ALL EUROPE WILL BE ENGULFED IN
FLAME"
WE ARE NOT GETTING PAID TO REALIZE THAT THE AUDIENCE NEEDS THIS
INFORMATION TO UNDERSTAND THE NEXT SCENE, BUT TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO WRITE
THE SCENE BEFORE US SUCH THAT THE AUDIENCE WILL BE INTERESTED IN WHAT
HAPPENS NEXT.
YES BUT, YES BUT YES BUT YOU REITERATE.
AND I RESPOND FIGURE IT OUT.
HOW DOES ONE STRIKE THE BALANCE BETWEEN WITHHOLDING AND VOUCHSAFING
INFORMATION? THAT IS THE ESSENTIAL TASK OF THE DRAMATIST. AND THE
ABILITY TO DO THAT IS WHAT SEPARATES YOU FROM THE LESSER SPECIES IN
THEIR BLUE SUITS.
FIGURE IT OUT.
START, EVERY TIME, WITH THIS INVIOLABLE RULE: THE SCENE MUST BE
DRAMATIC. it must start because the hero HAS A PROBLEM, AND IT MUST
CULMINATE WITH THE HERO FINDING HIM OR HERSELF EITHER THWARTED OR
EDUCATED THAT ANOTHER WAY EXISTS.
LOOK AT YOUR LOG LINES. ANY LOGLINE READING "BOB AND SUE DISCUSS..." IS
NOT DESCRIBING A DRAMATIC SCENE.
PLEASE NOTE THAT OUR OUTLINES ARE, GENERALLY, SPECTACULAR. THE DRAMA
FLOWS OUT BETWEEN THE OUTLINE AND THE FIRST DRAFT.
THINK LIKE A FILMMAKER RATHER THAN A FUNCTIONARY, BECAUSE, IN TRUTH, YOU
ARE MAKING THE FILM. WHAT YOU WRITE, THEY WILL SHOOT.
HERE ARE THE DANGER SIGNALS. ANY TIME TWO CHARACTERS ARE TALKING ABOUT A
THIRD, THE SCENE IS A CROCK OF SHIT.
ANY TIME ANY CHARACTER IS SAYING TO ANOTHER "AS YOU KNOW", THAT IS,
TELLING ANOTHER CHARACTER WHAT YOU, THE WRITER, NEED THE AUDIENCE TO
KNOW, THE SCENE IS A CROCK OF SHIT.
DO NOT WRITE A CROCK OF SHIT. WRITE A RIPPING THREE, FOUR, SEVEN MINUTE
SCENE WHICH MOVES THE STORY ALONG, AND YOU CAN, VERY SOON, BUY A HOUSE
IN BEL AIR AND HIRE SOMEONE TO LIVE THERE FOR YOU.
REMEMBER YOU ARE WRITING FOR A VISUAL MEDIUM. MOST TELEVISION WRITING,
OURS INCLUDED, SOUNDS LIKE RADIO. THE CAMERA CAN DO THE EXPLAINING FOR
YOU. LET IT. WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERS DOING -*LITERALLY*. WHAT ARE THEY
HANDLING, WHAT ARE THEY READING. WHAT ARE THEY WATCHING ON TELEVISION,
WHAT ARE THEY SEEING.
IF YOU PRETEND THE CHARACTERS CANT SPEAK, AND WRITE A SILENT MOVIE, YOU
WILL BE WRITING GREAT DRAMA.
IF YOU DEPRIVE YOURSELF OF THE CRUTCH OF NARRATION, EXPOSITION,INDEED,
OF SPEECH. YOU WILL BE FORGED TO WORK IN A NEW MEDIUM - TELLING THE
STORY IN PICTURES (ALSO KNOWN AS SCREENWRITING)
THIS IS A NEW SKILL. NO ONE DOES IT NATURALLY. YOU CAN TRAIN YOURSELVES
TO DO IT, BUT YOU NEED TO START.
I CLOSE WITH THE ONE THOUGHT: LOOK AT THE SCENE AND ASK YOURSELF "IS IT
DRAMATIC? IS IT ESSENTIAL? DOES IT ADVANCE THE PLOT?
ANSWER TRUTHFULLY.
IF THE ANSWER IS "NO" WRITE IT AGAIN OR THROW IT OUT. IF YOU'VE GOT ANY
QUESTIONS, CALL ME UP.
LOVE, DAVE MAMET
SANTA MONICA 19 OCTO 05
(IT IS NOT YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO KNOW THE ANSWERS, BUT IT IS YOUR, AND
MY, RESPONSIBILITY TO KNOW AND TO ASK THE RIGHT Questions OVER AND OVER.
UNTIL IT BECOMES SECOND NATURE. I BELIEVE THEY ARE LISTED ABOVE.)"<br />
<br />
Read More at:
http://movieline.com/2010/03/23/david-mamets-memo-to-the-writers-of-the-unit/#utm_source=copypaste&utm_campaign=referral</div>
Jim Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07369741393336008645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6085094227206360772.post-20102560850735274072014-06-03T15:00:00.001-07:002014-06-03T15:00:12.147-07:00ON THE BEACH - an unstructured prose poem.<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Baskerville Old Face","serif"; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">ON
THE BEACH</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Baskerville Old Face","serif"; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">By
James J. Christopher</span><br />
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Baskerville Old Face","serif"; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"> It had taken him twenty-five minutes to
descend the long, steep corroding steps while salt spray stung his face and the
cold swirling dampness struck with each successive wave. He was nearly exhausted when he reached
the bottom but heaved himself forward until he was within a dozen yards of the
surf.</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Baskerville Old Face","serif"; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">The
sound was beyond deafening. With all the
subtlety of a freight train careening over a chasm the Pacific hurled itself
relentlessly into the narrow rocky inlet.
Each new assault threatened to leave him battered. But like this recalcitrant cove he was
steadfast in his quest. Like the sea,
unrelenting.</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Baskerville Old Face","serif"; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">The
beach was dotted with sun-blanched driftwood and the pinkish-red corpses of
unlucky crabs the gulls had picked bare.
Mounds of spaghetti-like green and orange seaweed huddled alongside
dense leafy bundles of tide-twisted plant life.
Clusters of pulsing anemones, starfish and mussels clung to the
algae-coated rocks.</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Baskerville Old Face","serif"; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">He
detached the aluminum forearm-crutch and raised it over his head. The moon stared down like a watchful elder as
he cocked his arm and hurled it into the surf.
It floated on the foamy surface for a moment before being swallowed up
by a ferocious wave. He leaned his
weight on the remaining crutch and dragged himself forward, his shriveled legs
trailed behind leaving snakelike impressions in the sand.</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Baskerville Old Face","serif"; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">His
remaining crutch lost its grip on a salt-slickened patch and he tumbled
forward, face-planting into the rocky sand, his mouth filling swiftly with the
brackish seawater – his nose assaulted by the stench as a horde of beach flies
swirled into his eyes. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Baskerville Old Face","serif"; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">He
unbuckled the offending crutch and sent it clattering into the rocky tide pool.
He was alone now. Unshackled and unprotected. He tasted salt on his lips. Felt the sand crunch like bits of glass in
his teeth. He sensed subtle motion
beneath his fingers where clams gasped upward with sucking mouths and the sand
crabs scuttled about in tiny pockets of air.</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Baskerville Old Face","serif"; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">He
hoisted himself upright onto his hands like a beached mermaid and gazed out at
the surf. The moonlight was sparkling on
the water. He tried to remember what it
felt like to swim.</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Baskerville Old Face","serif"; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">A
California Gull twisted, arched and dove striking the surface and emerging with
a prize. Lt. Paul Leland Johnson, former
platoon commander and US Navy SEAL, reached the water’s edge with three
powerful thrusts of his arms and slipped beneath the waves with the silent
grace of a sea mammal.</span></div>
Jim Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07369741393336008645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6085094227206360772.post-31131923804330511742012-10-12T16:28:00.000-07:002012-10-13T10:15:46.806-07:00SPECIAL DESSERT excerpt from PHILLY BOYThis is a brief sample from the second chapter of my first draft memoir PHILLY BOY currently in progress. I am posting it as a response to the Writing on Edge prompt #secretpiefridge because I wanted to stay involved with that online group even though I am deep into writing a much longer work at this point.<br />
<br />
This is only related to the prompt in the most cursory way. However, it is new material just written today.<br />
<br />
Note: The excerpt takes place in Philadelphia in May 1974. <br />
<br />
As always feedback and comments are much appreciated. <br />
<br />
- JC<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
********************************************** </div>
<br />
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 67.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Mongolian Baiti"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That night at dinner I ate Mom's
tuna noodle casserole and tried to tune out the conversation while Maureen begged
Mom and Dad to let her go see some guy named Bruce Springsteen at a club in
Upper Darby.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mom and Dad would only let
her go if she promised to be home by midnight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 67.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 67.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Mongolian Baiti"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“The show starts at 9pm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What if he goes on late?” </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 67.5pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Mongolian Baiti"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“You’ll
still have enough time.”</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 67.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 67.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Mongolian Baiti"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“I can’t leave before it’s
over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The bus and the El take more than
an hour.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 67.5pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Mongolian Baiti"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“It’s a
concert. How long can he possibly play?”</span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Mongolian Baiti"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I was imagining myself gliding
down the ice, deftly handling the puck and stick with one hand while I punched
out opposing players with the other, knocking them out, one after the other, as
I moved toward the goal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Marty,
Frannie, and Tim each stared at me in awe clapping their hands as
everything moved in slow motion like a scene from The Six Million Dollar
Man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 67.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 67.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Mongolian Baiti"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Go Jimmy!”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 67.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 67.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Mongolian Baiti"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Kick some ass!”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 67.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 67.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Mongolian Baiti"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“I wish I was as cool as you!”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 67.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 67.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Mongolian Baiti"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I swung my new Bill Barber
Signature stick with one hand and the puck blasted off like a rocket – the
goalie tried to stop it but it tore right through his glove and into the net.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Flashbulbs popped, everyone stood and cheered
and that girl in the cut off Flyers top came bouncing with the giant trophy and
kissed me on the lips.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 67.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 67.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Mongolian Baiti"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Putting away!” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 67.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 67.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Mongolian Baiti"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Drying!”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 67.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 67.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Mongolian Baiti"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Washing!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 67.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Mongolian Baiti"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Someone nudged me hard –
knocking me out of my reverie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 67.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 67.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Mongolian Baiti"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“I guess you know what that
means?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Said Kevin.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 67.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Mongolian Baiti"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I looked up as awareness
overtook me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone was getting up
from the table.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dinner was over and we
had a formalized ritual where as soon as the meal was finished we had to call
our cleanup assignments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were four
possible duties.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Washing, drying and putting away</i> the dishes – the last of which was
the easiest and most desirable – and the final task was taking out the trash,
which potentially included the abhorrent garbage. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Mongolian Baiti"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I looked around quickly –
tonight was Friday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fish night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We just ate canned tuna baked with noodles,
mushroom soup, and bread crumbs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What
garbage could there be? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Mongolian Baiti"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I watched in disbelief as Mom opened
the coffee pot and removed the metal basket; she dumped the contents, a sopping
heap of used coffee grinds, into a bowl that already contained some eggshells.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She scraped the remnants of some saucy noodle
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<span style="font-family: "Mongolian Baiti"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Here you go Jimmy, this is all
for now.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Mongolian Baiti"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I stared at the disgusting
heap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It looked like somebody puked on top
of an anthill. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 67.5pt;">
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<span style="font-family: "Mongolian Baiti"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“The farmer comes tomorrow so
that can might be full.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Press it down so
it doesn’t overflow.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Mongolian Baiti"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I crept toward the kitchen door
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<span style="font-family: "Mongolian Baiti"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Hurry back,” said Mom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“We have a special desert as soon as the
dishes are away.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Mongolian Baiti"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I could hear the excitement over
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coffee grinds as I descended the cement steps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The garbage can was beneath the stairs behind a hinged wooden door to
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<span style="font-family: "Mongolian Baiti"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I wondered if Bobby Clarke ever
took out the garbage when he was a kid up in Canada.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or was it so cold they just scraped it out
the door into the snow where it would freeze into a block of ice.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Mongolian Baiti"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The galvanized steel can was up
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onto the cement at my feet. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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potato peels, coffee grinds, eggshells, orange peels, apple cores, and chicken
bones all swirled in a greyish gooey ooze of gravies and sauces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All this was topped with a white creamy glaze
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<span style="font-family: "Mongolian Baiti"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I nearly puked right there.
Once my head stopped spinning I saw a shovel against the wall so I grabbed it
and started scraping the mess back into the can.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a few minutes it was mostly gone and I
added the night’s garbage to the can and snapped on the lid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My stomach was churning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I kept closing my eyes to quell the
nausea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally I used the hose to rinse
the goop off the cement and to wash the last few maggots down the drain by the
corner of the house. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 67.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Mongolian Baiti"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I went back inside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The dishes were cleaned up and everyone was sitting
at the table finishing dessert.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 67.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 67.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Mongolian Baiti"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“What took you so long?” asked
Dad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 67.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 67.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Mongolian Baiti"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Don’t ask,” I said.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 67.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 67.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Mongolian Baiti"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“We saved you some dessert,”
said Mom.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 67.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 67.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Mongolian Baiti"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">She placed a bowl in front of
me and scooped a large serving from a take-out container.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I looked down and nearly wretched. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was rice pudding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 67.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 67.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Mongolian Baiti"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Never mind,” I said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 67.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 67.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Mongolian Baiti"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My stomach didn’t settle down
until the end of Mission Impossible. </span></div>
<br />
<br />Jim Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07369741393336008645noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6085094227206360772.post-25721636636019722862012-09-21T00:24:00.000-07:002012-09-21T00:24:22.335-07:00CLUEThe following piece was suggested by a prompt at Writing on Edge based on the game Clue. Hope you enjoy it and as always I am famished for feedback. - JC<br />
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>CLUE</u></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The ice cubes bob and clack like glass buoys in my
bourbon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The server was correct: Its smooth
character does befit a fine Southern lady.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Charles addresses the fur-laden harlot nestled against him:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m sorry dear but… Miss Scarlet… in the library… with a
candlestick.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The trollop is positively baffled. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Huh?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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“Not likely,” I inject. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And why not?” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I doubt Scarlet can read.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Excuse me?” says the offended.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Perhaps she just wandered in?” he poses.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Like a cat in heat?” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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“And stuck around.” </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The poor thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
can’t find the door?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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“She is right here…” </div>
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<br /></div>
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“In the flesh,” I observe. </div>
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<br /></div>
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“In the library.”</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“About how reading is overrated, darling.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Like many things.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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“I promise not to.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Ta-ta.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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“So nice to clear the air,” he says, refilling my glass.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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“Yes,” I reply.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Now
we can get back to our game.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">FINI</b></div>
<br />Jim Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07369741393336008645noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6085094227206360772.post-43616071973417223062012-08-31T11:05:00.001-07:002012-08-31T11:09:27.665-07:00HOLLYWOOD LUNCH<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">He scanned the listings
and one got his attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He clicked
on it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was a photo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pretty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Definitely young.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The caption said all he needed to know. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>NSA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ready and waiting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Call now. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
The apartment building is nondescript, faded blue stucco, a
rusty fire escape. Like a thousand others in Los Angeles. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ranchero music blasts from a storefront.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A homeless man laughs at an unspoken joke. </div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">He emailed the pic and
to his surprise the phone rang.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A number
in the 213 area code.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He picked it
up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hello?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The female’s voice was delicate but firm. </i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“6621 Santa Monica
Boulevard, Apartment 2B…<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">”</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“What’s your
name?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How do I..?”</i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Fifteen minutes. The
door is unlocked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No talking.”</i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">CLICK.</i></div>
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<br /></div>
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And the door is unlocked just like she said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You step inside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not too shabby.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The paintings on the wall look like they were
done by the resident.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Must be her work –
or her boyfriend’s.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You find her in the bedroom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Facing away, but definitely the girl from the photo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s twenty years younger than you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Already naked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her
mocha skin unblemished.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She doesn’t turn
to look at you. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After fumbling with the condom you make an attempt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She rejects any caresses, demands penetration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As you struggle to be aroused, her flesh
pounds against you in frustration.</div>
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<br /></div>
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You struggle to hold her, kiss her, to inhale her scent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She heaves you off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your manhood shriveling in its latex wrapper.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Get out!” </div>
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</div>
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</div>
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</div>
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</div>
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<br /></div>
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You reach. </div>
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<br /></div>
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“Get the FUCK OUT!”</div>
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<br /></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Socks and shirt in
hand, he exited the apartment. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fastening
his belt as he descended the stairs. </i><br />
<br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The homeless man was still laughing. The joke now less funny than sad. <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></i></div>
Jim Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07369741393336008645noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6085094227206360772.post-21001939830935999832012-08-10T00:34:00.000-07:002012-08-10T01:07:33.669-07:00PHOENIX<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 98.25pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">PHOENIX<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 98.25pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;">By Jim Christopher</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 98.25pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
108 Degrees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Henry’s
ass crack was getting chafed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why did he
wear jeans for the long drive back to Los Angeles?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The trip south on Route 17 brought him down to
the valley floor and the temperature soared with each mile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Henry couldn’t afford to run the A/C
non-stop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’d turn it on when there was
a downward incline, letting gravity do the work, and when the road leveled and he
had to press the gas again, he turned it off. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A/C uses gas, he thought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’d have to suffer.</div>
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A sign indicated Phoenix in 28 miles. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What an appropriate name, Henry thought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
imagined a bird spontaneously bursting into flames from the intense heat –
scorched feathers drifting to the asphalt like the remnants of a pillow fight
in hell. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Henry scanned the dash of his 1996 Nissan Sentra. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The temperature
gauge was at three-quarters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fuel gauge showed only an eighth of a tank
of gas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That wouldn’t do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once he connected with Interstate 10 he’d
have a three hundred mile stretch heading West with few signs of life. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had to stop in the next half hour and that
meant Phoenix.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was no way around it. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The sprawling Valley of the Sun stretched out like a monopoly
board.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Palm trees and swathes of green indicated
golf courses and the recurring billboards hawked unfinished developments to unemployed
and overleveraged passersby who would never be able to make the balloon payments.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Henry thought of the air in his tires.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Heat would cause expansion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He hadn’t checked them before he left
Sedona.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And the engine coolant. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Check that too. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This little car had lasted many years – the
two of them bought it new and he never expected to still be driving it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But a lot had changed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>He saw it on the
right, one of those huge trucker stops with a sign as tall as the Chrysler building
shouting <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mexican Food</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Diesel</i>. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Henry guided his subcompact into the draft of
a Kenworth and rolled up next to a pump.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The smell of Diesel fuel and tamales hit with the hot blast of Arizona air
as he opened his car door.<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Henry stood by his car squeezing the pump handle as he watched
the digital numbers flash: nine, ten, eleven gallons… click. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Forty six dollars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a lot of money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it was worth it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The trip was a success.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He hung
up the pump handle and inhaled deeply, the scent of cigarettes joining the
desert stench. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Henry watched a
forty-something dad sucking on a Marlboro while he deposited a king’s ransom into
a rented camper from El Monte RV. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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That will never be you, he thought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>Jim Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07369741393336008645noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6085094227206360772.post-49882051717759914882011-08-30T16:04:00.000-07:002011-08-30T22:28:42.623-07:00KILL YOUR DARLINGS - A WRITER'S BLOGI took the name of this blog from an old writing adage that one needs to "Kill Your Darlings" when revising your work. <br />
<br />
Writing is rewriting so I will be posting revised works here in addition to works in progress and stories that I consider to be "finished." I don't really consider posting here as "publishing," though some will disagree. To me, this is more like Allende's metaphorical <i>Message in a Bottle </i> - I am just putting it out there. <br />
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Thanks for reading. Comments are much appreciated. - Jim CJim Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07369741393336008645noreply@blogger.com0