Comments on: Improve Your Authorial Voice Not By Writing, But By Watching

By: Meredith

Meredith — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 01:11:28 +0000

I’m not much of a movie buff, but I am very hard of hearing, and I know that when I watch TV or a movie, I depend as much or more on the color and the texture of the pictures as I do the dialog.

I have been working on improving my narrative voice. There’s a lot to chew on in this post.

This is great stuff: thanks.
.-= Meredith´s last blog ..1000 Words Before Breakfast =-.

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By: Julie Kibler

Julie Kibler — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 19:15:34 +0000

For a movie with a beautiful color palette and loads of nonverbals — and about a writer to boot with many great one-liners about the writing life I wanted to write down and post on my mirror — check out Starting Out in the Evening. I watched this last weekend, and I think I might now go back and watch it with the mute button applied.
.-= Julie Kibler´s last blog ..Setting as Character =-.

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By: J.C. Hutchins

J.C. Hutchins — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:41:26 +0000

Thanks for the kind words, everyone. I’m delighted you found value in my crazy little idea. :)
.-= J.C. Hutchins´s last blog ..Help A Friend In Need =-.

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By: Kathleen Bolton

Kathleen Bolton — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:19:04 +0000

I’m a little in love with this post. I also watched the Simpsons with the sound off, and I could basically read their lips or I was interpreting the animated tonal techniques to help me read their “lips”. Lots to think about here.

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By: Marisa Birns

Marisa Birns — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:54:41 +0000

Very good tip! Now I realize that the tonal techniques help in guiding my emotional response to many of the movies I love.

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By: Laura Droege

Laura Droege — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:50:49 +0000

I enjoyed this post, though I’m no movie-junkie. I love creating different moods for my various environments from words. It’s a challenge; but what in writing ISN’T a challenge?
.-= Laura Droege´s last blog ..I’m Ms. Potato Head today =-.

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By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:45:58 +0000

I find movies incredibly inspiring for all the reasons you mentioned. It can be such a challenge to create the emotional fullness of a movie scene with just words – but what a challenge! For this reason, I often make music playlists that accompany a piece I’m writing. I find that having another medium – and one that is already created – that reverberates with the emotions I am trying to weave into my story is very helpful.
.-= Rebecca´s last blog ..Craft Cheese =-.

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By: Indigo

Indigo — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:41:28 +0000

I live this lesson. As a deaf individual to me life is almost like watching a silent movie unfold in front of me. My eyes look for details. (Hugs)Indigo
.-= Indigo´s last blog ..Rainy Day Muse =-.

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By: Jessika

Jessika — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:34:31 +0000

A few friends and I were discussing this as it pertained to directors, not fiction writing, but this post relates very well to what we talked about.

Good examples: Scorsese movies look and feel like Scorsese movies. As do Stone and Tarantino. Even with different writers, genres, and DPs.

Most directors will either lean heavily on visual storytelling, like Argento and Lynch, while others focus on writing/dialog.

I think this applies to fiction writers as well. There are those who can write sweeping prose and paint the entire scenery around the characters, including how they look, what they smell, etc. Others are better with what the character says and conveying what they feel. While both are valuable, striking a balance will be very beneficial to creating a good work of fiction.

So when picking a movie to watch on mute, just make sure you don’t pick one that relies more on dialog. Like Kevin Smith’s Clerks. Or maybe do, and see how relying more on dialog affects how the story is told…
.-= Jessika´s last blog ..Writing prompt 1: Cybernetics =-.

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By: Linda Pennell

Linda Pennell — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:11:15 +0000

Thank you for this post, as well as the others, on voice. It is something that has been on my mind a great deal. Critique groups are very helpful, but they can sometimes distract a writer from his/her true voice. These posts are a wonderful reminder of its nature and genesis. Very helpful!

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