I'm not paranoid, they really are discussing me.
The quote of the day:
I prescribe a lot of Clozaril.
-- The psychiatrist
Running news:
5.3 miles, taken very, very easily. Whenever I give up running for a day or so, it always takes me a while to get back into it. I have no idea why that is.
The additional bonus that I got, besides a little peace and quiet, was the conversation of the two people next to me. The man, in fact, had stopped by my table earlier to ask, "Are you Barbara?" I was not, although for a fraction of a second I considered saying yes, just to see where the conversation would go.
It turned out that he was not meeting someone he'd met through the personal ads, but rather he was a psychiatrist meeting for a consult with Barbara the therapist to talk about therapies and how they might refer patients to one another. They had a long chat about anti-psychotic drugs (see "Quote of the day"), how psychiatric clinics have been closing down, the LA Group Psychotherapy organization, an in-depth discussion of the mechanics of how psychoactive drugs work, and how when you see a psychiatrist you shouldn't necessarily give up your therapist as well.
Well. Okay then.
After the psychiatrist left, the therapist pulled out a book on tape she'd just bought: How to Make Love to a Man. I guess even therapists wonder about that one.
When I'm having trouble planning out a scene, or figuring out how to attack it, I use a technique taught to me by Floyd Salas, who taught the Novel Writing class at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills. I never did write a novel, or even come close, but I really liked his class.
Anyhow, scenes are always about conflict. Always. Whenever a scene in a movie is dragging, ask yourself, "What's the conflict here?" Chances are, there is none, or it's over something so obvious or trivial that you're frustrated that the characters just don't acknowledge it and move on. It's a fun game; check it out.
Okay, so when I'm working on a scene, I need to focus on what the conflict is. And here's the chart that Floyd gave us to a)make sure we had a conflict in the scene and b)make sure that the conflict escalated:
Problem/conflict: What's the conflict at the start of the scene? The characters must be at loggerheads to start with.
Crisis 1: The first crisis, which drives them further apart.
Crisis 2: The second crisis, which must be bigger or more serious than the first one.
Climax: Everything comes to a head. How?
Resolution: How the scene ends--who's won? What questions are left?
If you've having trouble focusing your scenes, or ensuring that there's rising tension in the scene, try this format. No promises, though.
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Send comments and questions to diane@spies.com