MY SCREENPLAY: Writing the Beast, Part 2
Title: WALKING FOR LITTLE FISH
The seed for this feature length movie script began about fifteen years ago. I was at a local annual event, a place I’d attended many times.
Back then I had a writer’s epiphany of sorts. And as any writer knows, if there’s a story in it you can’t ignore it. Is that true for other artistic creators too?
A childhood friend had passed away that year and although we hadn’t remained close, every so often when I bumped into him, we chatted about growing up in the old neighborhood.
The event that day coupled with remembering his death triggered a childhood memory. So I took out a notepad (doesn’t everybody carry one?) and started to write.
Based on casual observance, I scribbled down a few details of the people around me — reactions, demeanors, mannerisms. If I overheard an interesting dialogue exchange I wrote it down. I imagined relationships and created some character sketches -– sort of like the song, America by Simon and Garfunkel — riding the bus and making up stories about strangers. I noted the weather, the “feel” of the place, its energy and aura.
Later back home, I wrote an essay just to start the percolation process. It went into the “vault”, a back drawer with a hundred other ideas.
Over the years the screenplay idea got pushed aside but I never forgot it. In fact every once in a while some dialogue would pop into my head or I’d observe someone with a tic or mannerism that would be great for one of the characters and I’d write it down. It got stuffed into one of those accordion folders to mingle and play with all the others.
Then in June 2012 I “retired” from marketing and promotional product advertising and reawakened my muse and the screenplay. The word “muse” sounds so lyrical and floaty and fun. In truth, I’d awakened a beast!
