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Creative Writing: Thematic WritingAll work must be submitted in Times New Roman 12pt font, 1.15 spacing, and must be at least THREE pages (per assignment). Assignment 1 Theme: ComedyAssignment 2 Theme: RomanceAssignment 3 Theme: HorrorOnce you are finished, please share with me at saraha.strahan@cms.k12.nc.us10 COMEDY CONCEPT EXERCISES?1. The Switch?– This comedy starting point has antecedents in stories like “The Prince and the Pauper” and the movie,?Trading Places.?This is the comedy story where two opposites swap situations for some reason: a bet, an urgent need, or a mistake. It can also include the switching of a device or object, e.g.,?Taking Care of Business?with Jim Belushi and Charles Grodin. My experience with the Switch is a movie called?Big, Ugly Baby!?— best described as an “alien switched at birth comedy.”??ACTION STEP: Draw this symbol: <–> on the top of a piece of paper. On one side list the “Prince,” on the other the “Pauper” to show OPPOSITES. Find two sets of people most at odds, then have them switch (and give one the upper hand), but both need to learn the “lesson.” Then in the middle section, write ideas for how these two would actually switch places or cross lives; the gimmick of how the switch is made is your title!2. The Fish Out of Water?– This is a “Fool Triumphant” tale about someone who, in his own pond, is less effective or average, but by going to a?new?body o’ water becomes a star:?Legally Blonde, Miss Congeniality, Beverly Hills Cop.?Here’s the way I come up with these. It’s my favorite idea-generating tool. I call it “The T-bar Method” and it’s simple.??ACTION STEP: Draw a big T on a piece of paper and label one side “fish,” the other side “water.” Make a list of fish; try to be specific. (Use the heroes of?Miss Congeniality?and?Legally Blonde?as examples.) Then ask yourself where would that fish feel most out of place? What pond would they be most out of place in? Write that on the “water” side of the T. Make sure too that the “problem” you set up in the beginning is solved by the end. What is the problem?? It’s the deficit the hero must overcome to be whole. It will also be the theme of your movie, e.g., the relationship between the beauty contestants and Sandra Bullock in?Miss Congeniality?helps Sandra overcome the problem of being a “tomboy” at the beginning of the movie.3. The Rom-Com with a Twist?– Everyone is looking for a romantic comedy (rom-com). But they’re hard to come up with! Why? Nowadays, there are no social strata. Anyone can fall in love with anyone or have sex with anyone at will. Not like the old days of?My Man Godfrey?or?Pillow Talk! Your job: Come up with what is keeping the lovers apart, e.g., geography in?Sleepless in Seattle, the Internet in?You’ve Got Mail, living with one’s parents in?Failure to Launch. The gimmick that is keeping the two separated is the movie, the title, and the complication! And “the complication” is what makes all rom-coms work. But how can you come up with a new one? Start with what is separating the lovers — then figure out who they are.??ACTION STEP: Draw two vertical lines on a piece of paper. Label the middle column: “The Complication.” Label the other two “Him” on the left and “Her” on the right, or vice versa. In the middle column figure out the thing that is keeping two people apart (ironically also what’s keeping them together!), then figure out the opposites on either side of that complication. For example, if “politics” is the problem, make her a Republican and him a Democrat.4. The Magic Spell?– In my new book, this will be the chapter titled “Out of the Bottle,” and there are all kinds of curses, body switches, and magic spell gimmicks to choose from. In these tales we also most easily see the difference between the Empowerment and Comeuppance tale. The former is seen in?The Nutty Professor, Click, and?Bruce Almighty;?the latter is in?Liar, Liar;?Shallow Hal; and?Freaky Friday. But the message in both types is the same: Be careful what you wish for! Your job, after thousands of years of magic stories: Come up with a new one! It can be done.?Clickintroduced a new magic wand and was a hit for Adam Sandler.??ACTION STEP: Write at the top of the page: “If I had a magic wand and could grant myself any power, what would that be?” Then on another piece of paper: “If there was a curse cast on me, what would be the worst one?” Then beside either the power or the curse write a list of the least likely person that would get that magic. One piece of magic per movie please, and once you set up the “rules” of the magic, make sure you stick to them throughout.5. The Bet?– You see this done a lot, e.g.,?How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days. This may sound artificial, and often is, because at any moment we in the audience are thinking, “Just tell her/him about the bet!” — yet it remains a wonderful starting point for a comedy premise. ?ACTION STEP: At the top of your blank piece of paper, write “Google.” This will remind you to use the Internet to find some “outrageous bets” and see where this search leads you. Also query friends and relatives about the most unusual, most outlandish bet they ever made, e.g., “The Contest” episode of?Seinfeld. A list of such bets is the starting point for your movie; now also include the equally outrageous participants in the bet, and a time limit for it.6. The Buddy-Buddy?– This is the most popular movie spec right now;?Wedding Crashers?and?40 Year Old Virgin?really paved the way for R-rated comedies starring two guys. This includes the cop buddy genre — which needs a shot in the arm! Put two guys in an unusual situation and you really have a good chance to sell that story. But how can you make it new??ACTION STEP: Go back up to your Fool Triumphant T-bar page and make the “Fish” two people!?Wedding Crashers?is a good example; the filmmakers did not need to have two guys to make that movie work. But by having it be a buddy movie, they gave each of the guys an adventure — and someone to talk about what’s happening! Do likewise, for every fish out of water story, there’s a buddy version of it.7. The True Life Tale?– I keep a file of stories from the news. One I saw recently concerned a bride kidnapped by her parents, who didn’t want her to marry her fiancé. In real life, the parents are now in jail, but in Hollywood that pitch is now making the rounds at the studios. Why? Because even though it happened in real life, it’s a hilarious starting point. We should all keep a manila folder file of newspaper clippings of funny stories that strike us as such. Whether you use each of these stories as a movie idea, or use elements of them in the scripts you’re working on, they’re great comedy thought starters. ?ACTION STEP:?Get a manila file and start scanning your news sources today!8. The Invasion of the Jerk That Came to Dinner aka The Interminable Time?– These are stories about experiences that never seem to end, situations where we are forced to put up with inconvenience, either a boring friend, an overbearing relative, or a very long car ride. Recent examples include:?Meet the Parents;?You, Me and Dupree; 4 Christmases?and?The Break-Up.??ACTION STEP: Think situation. Ask yourself, and list, where you’ve been stuck in life: in traffic, in an elevator, in a relationship, in a family situation, or at an event that never seems to end. From this situation create a hero whose only goal is to get out of that situation and who or what is stopping them.9. Long Day’s Journey into Jokes?– This is from my category called “The Golden Fleece,” based on the myth of Jason and the Argonauts; it is mostly about road stories. There are a lot of funny (and obvious) ones from this group, e.g.,?Road Trip?and?Planes, Trains and Automobiles. But there is a much simpler way to generate ideas that put our heroes on the broad highway! ?ACTION STEP: Go to Leonard Maltin’s book of 3000 movies or Ebert and Roeper’s if you’re from Chicago, read through it, and add the phrase “on the road” to any title. This is how several movies I have come up with have gotten written, including a spec I co-wrote that is best described as “Home Alone…?on the road.” I also recently heard of one that was pitched as “Grumpy Old Men… on the road” that sold and got made, and I can see the poster just from that description! This concept is a fun game and can really generate funny story ideas.10. Spoof!?–?Scary Movie?is a big hit,?Date Movie?got made, and variations on the mock-documentary like?Spinal Tap?are often good. So, where is yours???ACTION STEP: Pick an institution, movie type, historical event or period, improbable biography, or fake news story — and make fun of it by lampooning our preconceived notions of what it is. It’s taking something we see seriously and poking fun at it. How about a movie that combines?Gladiator, all those Ray Harryhausen stop-motion Hercules classics, and the recent?Troy?and?Alexander?“sand and sandal” movies? That’s the spoof I’d love to see. So next time you read in the trades that a spoof sold, you can say what we who aren’t working on our comedy loglines always say: “Why didn’t?I?think of that!?” Or maybe get to work on yours – right now!Talk tomorrow,Horror Writing PromptsHorror stories appeal to many of us because we enjoy experiencing the sensation of fear in a safe, controlled way, and our minds can prove quite masterful at creating it. If you're looking to practice writing scary stories, you may find your own fears are a good place to start exploring. Here are some ideas to help you get started:It Was a Dark and Stormy Night…It's a bitter cold night. The rain pelts against the eaves and windows, tree branches whisper warnings as they brush against the old, drafty cabin. Suddenly, the screech of the telephone pierces through the very air I was breathing, and just as suddenly it cuts short and fades away as all of the lights go out, enveloping me in utter darkness.We all have probably heard at least one story that includes darkness, stormy weather and creepy houses. Using specific objects and events in your writing can evoke certain emotions, leading your readers to a particular frame of mind through the use of?objective correlatives.Read about some?literature from the turn of the century?that use objective correlatives to elicit ominous and spine-chilling reactions.Getting Lost in a Strange, Exotic PlaceYou're exploring an ancient ruin with a tour group while vacationing in South America. As you venture deeper into this massive space, you fall into a cavern and twist your ankle. Separated from the group, you find you can't walk, and no one is responding to your cries for help. Darkness creeps closer to you, and you're getting colder. A feeling of estrangement from the outside world envelops you. Just as you remember the tour guide had mentioned a legendary curse about these ruins, eerie laughter and voices in a language you don't recognize pierce the darkness.Explore the elements of?gothic?and?fantasy?that elicit strong emotions of fear, dread, and wonder, as employed in well-known?dark romantic works.Battling Unknown Apocalyptic ForcesYou open your eyes, and the world is on fire. The streets are full of chaos, overturned cars, people screaming and running frantically, and sirens blaring from every direction. You're shaken out of your state of shock by the voice of your closest friend, who is grasping your shoulder firmly and looking at you with purpose and focus: 'It's coming for us. We have to go. We have to get to the safe zone….'Identify strong?themes?that explore the human condition and the state of our world through?symbolism and imagery, which are often found in?post-apocalyptic literature.Horror Writing TipsWhether you are just getting started or are far along in your attempts, reviewing the following suggestions can help you get a better idea of what approaches work best for you.Recall frightening images and feelings from spooky stories you've heard or read to incorporate them into your own writing.Before attempting your story, think about the images and themes you want to explore, and build the plot around them.Use vivid and descriptive language to create the sensation of fear in your readers.Develop characters that your readers can care about or relate to.Make sure your plot contains a lot of excitement and interesting detail to keep readers hooked.Start with the end. Consider what you want readers to take from this story, how you want things to come together, and what final image you want to leave readers with.Read different kinds of horror fiction, such as legends, graphic novels and short stories, and draw inspiration from them.ROMANCE Story Ideas:She’s a cop. He’s the owner of a jewelry store. A sudden rash of break-ins brings her to his store over and over and over again, until it becomes obvious that he might be tripping the alarm on purpose—just to see her. That’s illegal—but she’s kind of falling for him, too. Write the moment she realizes she has to do something about this crazy illicit courtship.Two dirt-poor art students survive by sharing a nasty little apartment above a bodega. They struggle through four years, barely making ends meet, comforting one another through tragedies and triumph, but never openly admit how they feel about each other…until they graduate, and one of them gets a job in another city. Is it too late?to confess their love?Colorado Animal Rescue has never been more challenging than after that zoo caught on fire. Sally Cougar (no jokes on the name, or she’ll kill you) tracks down three missing tiger cubs, only to find they’ve been adopted by millionaire Bryce Champion. Thanks to an antiquated law on the books, he legally has the right to keep them. It’s going to take everything Sally has to get those tiger cubs back.Ever heard of?Balkan Sworn Virgins? Let’s take that concept further. Unspecified ancient times; matriarchal society. Only a queen may ascend to the throne, and only daughters have been born to the royal family for generations—but to everyone’s amazement, this royal couple had a son. To avoid some unpleasant relative taking over, the prince must become a princess in appearance, dress, and behavior—which makes things REALLY awkward because “she” has been betrothed to a neighboring prince before he—er, she—was born.She’s a nurse trying to work her way through both her massive student debt and the everyday living expenses of Boston. Desperate for cash, she?takes a job as a model for a late-night sculpting workshop, and initially doesn’t question why the workshop organizer keeps paying her more than agreed. Or keeps insisting on ordering delivery so she goes home with food. Or keeps making sure?she?gets the job even though several other people are trying for it. Initially, she doesn’t question anything; when she finally does, how will she handle this attention? Is it adorable or terrifying?Horticulture…in space! It’s “the future,” and humans are in communication with an interdimensional alien species—but the only way they CAN communicate is telepathically via a certain type of plant. Elizabeth, the top human horticulturist, has been navigating these odd waters with the alien’s top horticulturist for the past ten years. Whether she admits it or not, this being she’s never seen is her closest friend and confidante. When the door between dimensions finally opens and she meets her counterpart, she’s in for two surprises: one, he’s tall, green, and gorgeous; and two, he thinks they’ve been?courting all this time—and expects her to drop everything and marry him at once. How does she respond?He’s a museum curator with a fetish for perfection. No one’s ever gotten close to him; how could they? They’re never as perfect as the portraits, the sculptures, the art that never changes. Then one day, an intern is hired on—a young, messy, disorganized intern, whose hair and desk are in a constant state of disarray. The curator is going half-mad with this walking embodiment of chaos; so why can’t the he stand the thought of the intern leaving at the end of their assistantship?Yalena used to breed greyhounds; now, she rescues them. But one of the most powerful magnates in the racing industry takes issue with her efforts, and sends a professional saboteur to infiltrate her grassroots organization and undo it from within. Unfortunately, that saboteur quickly finds Yalena’s spirit and determination irresistible (not to mention her perky smile and gorgeous eyes). Failure isn’t an option; what’s a formerly heartless corporate terrorist to do?He’s a cop—one of the good ones—and when an undercover bust went bad ten years ago, his wife and small child were killed. He swore he’d never love again. Then his old partner retires, only to be replaced by a wide-eyed, spunky rookie, whose seemingly impossible innocence and?joie de vivre?remind him life is worth living again. This could only end in disaster…right? Dare he make the first move?She’s working her way to the top the only way a woman can in this business: by being absolutely ruthless, heartless, and six times as tough as the men. But when one of those men, an underling, begins to soften her heart, she panics. Will she take their relationship off the books? Or take the “safe” path and send him away?More Story Ideas80% of Soviet males born in 1923 didn’t survive World War II. Describe a young Russian widow, alone now on her family’s farm, who finds love again in the most unexpected of places: the ostler hired to care for the horses.Fun fact: There was a remarkable cat in World War II named Unsinkable Sam, who survived the sinking of not one, not two, but THREE vessels in the war.?No, I’m not making this up. This is so marvelous that we’re going to go in two different directions with it: First, write from the perspective of Sam the?magicalcat, whose job is overseeing burgeoning romance among humans. Describe his frustration over the fact that every time he’s just about got the right couple together, SOMEBODY has to go and sink the boat. Again.Now, write from the perspective of Martha, the widow who adopts Sam after the war. This kitty (the animal, not the woman) has been through a lot, and Martha takes him to the local vet, who happens to be single, lonely, and continually inventing reasons for her to bring the cat back in for more appointments. (“I need you to bring the cat in, Mrs. Smith. There’s a possibility he contracted Saline Fever/Gooshy Madness/Purr Dementia/The Whiskered Moist.”)After a horrible car accident, Charlene struggles through years of physical therapy to regain her mobility. Her PT (physical therapist) is a young man she initially assumes is gay, which is upsetting because she falls in love with him. Describe her reaction the day she realizes she was wrong.Fantasy time! The werewolves and vampires (all of whom are, naturally, ridiculously sexy) have been at war for?centuries. Unfortunately, the crown vampire prince and the chief werewolf’s daughter have been meeting in secret to fight and show off and act out their people’s aggression. In the process, their little rivalry turns into something a lot more heated.The Aztec warrior prince Matlal can’t be beaten. By the time he’s twenty, he’s stronger, faster, and a better fighter than anyone in his kingdom, and one might say it’s given him a big head. When he first encounters Chinese explorers (China very likely reached South America in the 1500s, just FYI), he thinks these strangers are just another chance for him to prove his prowess…and REALLY does not expect the diminutive captain to somehow spin him around and beat him most thoroughly via martial arts. Bad: the captain is short and looks weak. Even worse: the captain is a woman. What happens next?For her graduate thesis, a young woman attending the University of Cape Town is doing a study on the folklore of?Anansi?the trickster and how he shaped various cultures throughout western Africa. Exhausted and overworked, even she can’t help but notice that the professor seems?too?interested in what she finds…and more than that, seems to resemble the subject of her research a little too closely for comfort. Against all reason, she suspects he might be THE Anansi—which is more than a little terrifying. Is he playing with her, or is he actually falling in love? And even if he is, would she dare respond?There are many ancient tales about?love and desire in Hindu mythology. Write from the perspective of young adults in modern-day Dehli who’ve only met online, and are convinced they are the reincarnation of ill-fated lovers, Moomal and Mahendra (spellings vary). They believe they’re supposed to be together, but equally afraid a misunderstanding will lead to more tragedy and death. Remember, they’ve never met: write out one of their instant messenger conversations as they try to figure out what they ought to do.There’s an ancient Blackfoot legend about?Feather Woman and the Morning Star. Let’s mess with that a bit. One day, the Morning Star fell in love with a young secretary working in Detroit. But there’s a problem; in order to come to earth and express his love, he has to pass a test: he has to show up on her doorstep without his powers, perhaps even without clothes, and convince her to take him in. How does THAT conversation go?It’s 1700s provincial France. Sixteen-year-old Beau a clever young man who’s too curious for his own good. One day, he decides to go poking around the abandoned castle-that-you-should-never-go-near, and in the process, disturbs the hideous female creature who lives there. She captures him… and promptly explains that to break her curse, he must fall in love with her. In exchange, she promises tons of gold for Beau’s family. Like a business arrangement, right? Write what happens next. ................
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