Knowledge VI Flashcards
“O serpent heart hid with a flowering face!
Did ever a dragon keep so fair a cave?
Beautiful tyrant, feind angelical, dove feather raven, wolvish-ravening lamb! Despised substance of devinest show, just opposite to what thou justly seemest - A dammed saint, an honourable villain!”
― William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
― William Shakespeare
“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.”
― Mark Twain
― Mark Twain
Intermittent repetition of phrases -
A less rhythmic and more spontaneous effect can be had by circling back to the same or nearly identical phrase, less systematically, the speaker doesn’t mean to offer a refrain he just can’t help saying the thing again and again.
” I say we must necessarily undo these violent oppressive acts, they must be repealed. You will repeal them. I pledge myself for it, that you will, in the end, repeal them. I stake my reputation on it. I will consent to be taken for an idiot, If they are not finally repealed”
“I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.”
― Mark Twain
― Mark Twain
Where are you from?
You seem like a classic
ATL-ien
You seem like a yankee/midwesterner/West Cost.
Where are you from?
You seem like a classic
ATL-ien
You seem like a yankee/midwesterner/West Cost.
Unify Your Plot:
: A unified plot consists of one central action and nothing more. Aristotle’s test
of this was to ask of every element of the story (every scene, line of dialogue): If this was gone,
would the story still function? If the answer’s always ‘no’ — you’ve written a unified plot. Relate
this back to Aaron’s advice on rewriting and “killing your darlings” — chip away at anything
that isn’t related to the main conflict.
“This is what poets are paid for—to look at clouds, watch chipmunks. Someone has to keep an eye on these things. And if not the poets, who else has the time for it?”
My writing process consists of two main steps.
Step 1: Make a mess. I write one or two drafts
in long hand, making a mess as a I cross out words or
entire lines. I don’t try to be tidy.
Step 2: Tidy it up. I type the poem up on a
computer, tidying it as I make it into a printed object.
If this method resonates with you, write your
next poem in long-hand in your notebook and feel
free to make a mess with strike-throughs, asides in the
margin, and the like before you type it up on a screen.
How does the typed up version look on the
page? Is it thin, sprawling, even or jagged? Are you
moved to make adjustments in the poem, such as
shortening or lengthening lines, for the sake of giving
your poem a definite shape?
Aries
Aries
Aries always mark the begining of something. Its usually adventurous and passionate.
One Thing Should Lead to Another
Each element of a plot — each scene, each line — should
come out of what preceded it and lead to what follows. Aristotle thinks the worst mistake you
can make in plotting is to have episodes “succeed one another without probable or necessary
sequence.” Remember, each scene has a purpose — it should move the story forward.
Make an executive Opinion—Doris Kearns Goodwin
Once you’ve solicited the opinions of your team,
consider their input, then make an executive decision.
Sometimes things will go exactly as you planned, but
chances are you’ll end up making the wrong call at
some point in your life or career. If a decision goes
awry, then you must own responsibility for it. As long
as you put integrity and character first, you’ll be able
to offer an honest and compelling defense of your
position.
As FDR told his staff members: “You and I
know people who wear out the carpet walking up and
down worrying whether they have decided something
correctly. Do the very best you can in making up your
mind, but once your mind is made up, go ahead.”
“Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers.”
― Voltaire
― Voltaire
“Wherever you are, and whatever you do, be in love.”
― Rumi
“With all the fearful strain that is
upon me night and day, if I did not
laugh I should die.”—Doris Kearns Goodwin
—Abraham Lincoln
• Genre
In a tragedy, your main character should undergo a major change of fortune — almost
always from good to bad, happy to sad. In comedy, even though your characters have defects,
their defects should never wind up being painful or destructive. Tragic characters have to suffer.
Comic characters make it through unscathed.
“Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime.”
― Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast
N) Nickleback
What Do You Like But Are Kind Of Embarrassed To Admit?
Adult Alternative. What did nickleback ever do to anyone besides a few bleeding ears.
Time Emphasized
The repetition of time emphasizes it and the fresh language afterwards is emphasized as well, because it is the excuse for saying the word a second time.
” If the government and people of the USA, have a word to speak for the salvation of the world. Now is the time. And now, is the last time, when words will be of any use.”
Churchill speech at London 1938.
In my essay “Poetry, Pleasure, and the Hedonist Reader,” I outline several pleasures of poetry, including the pleasure of dance (rhythm); the pleasure of sound (words); the pleasure of travel (using written work to transport us to different worlds); the pleasure of metaphoric connection (surprise and new perspectives); the pleasure of companionship (memorization); and others. To read more about these multisensory qualities, find the essay in the book The Eye of the Poet: Six Views of the Art and Craft of Poetry (Oxford University Press, 2001).
The Pleasures of Poetry
“You were born with wings, why prefer to crawl through life?”
-Rumi
Credible, Consistent Characters
Credible characters follow, more or less, universal rules of probability. Again, if you’re wondering if you’ve written a credible character, don’t ask, “Could
that person exist?” Instead ask, “Would the audience be likely to understand a person like that?”
“You’re not playing secretary to your thoughts and feelings by just writing them down… the act of composition is an experience.”
Take Marie’s advice and do a free write. In your notebook, give yourself 10 minutes to simply write whatever comes to mind, not letting your pen or pencil leave the page, and not revising. After ten minutes has passed, review what you wrote. How does the subject and tone change from the beginning to end? Is there anything
you might want to lift for a new poem?
Drama Is not History:
Real life is full of confusion, chaos, and contradiction — good storytelling
isn’t. Don’t ever let a dedication to “the facts” get in the way of crafting a tight, understandable story. Relate this to how Aaron writes with the “more important truth” when he’s incorporating research.
Listen and Learn—Doris Kearns Goodwin
Listen and Learn
Make it clear that differing perspectives are
welcome in your business, field, or organization by
creating opportunities for others to voice their
opinions and concerns.
Embrace Failure:
One way of ensuring that your team feels comfortable
taking risks is to embrace failures—recognizing the
good intentions and hard work that went into the
decision making. Turning failure on its head can inspire
the people who work for you and lead to lessons that
may well inform future success.
Y) Yourself
If You Could Send One Letter To Yourself In The Past Without The Goal Of Making Yourself Rich (No Lotto Numbers, Stock Picks, Etc.), What Age Would You Choose And What Would The Letter Say?
Study a lot harder.
“Your voice has an external source. It does not lie within in you… It lies on the shelves of the library, and the shelves of the bookstore. Your voice is in the voices of other poets.”
Think of some of the poets or poems you admire.
These could be poems you’ve discovered in this course
or longtime favorites. Pick one of these poems and
read it over and over again, noting the methods the
poet uses to achieve his or her voice. Notice how the
poem develops stage by stage. How does it find its way
through itself? See if you can write a poem that follows
a similar style of organization or path of development.
This is more than an exercise; it’s a way of opening
yourself to the influences of other poets. It’s a state of
mind that you should cultivate in your reading of the
poems of others and seeing what you can learn (i.e.
steal) from them.
Repeated distortion or smears are persuasive even if it isnt true.
Repeated distortion
“silence is the language of god,
all else is poor translation.”
Rumi
“Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood.”
― George Orwell, 1984
George Orwell
U) Universe
What fictional universe would you want to live in?
Star Trek, Marvel, Mass Effect.
“Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.”
― haruki murakami, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
Haruki Murakami
Poetry, in this sense, is perhaps a way for
readers and writers to experience a different sort of
timeline: one that experiences histories not in terms
of boundary disputes, inventions, truces, and wars,
but through the way such events have made us feel.
Poetry is a living history of the human heart: a testa
“Poetry is really the
only history we have
of the human heart.”
“Can’t repeat the past?…Why of course you can!”
― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
― F. Scott Fitzgerald
the bully pulpit—Doris Kearns Goodwin
Presidents enjoy the power of what Theodore
Roosevelt coined as “the bully pulpit,” meaning
they possess a unique ability to communicate with
the nation across a variety of platforms. A presidential
address from the White House always has been (and
always will be) a national news event.
An overwhelming majority of American radios were tuned to Franklin
Roosevelt’s fireside chats during the Great Depression
and World War II. Both JFK and Ronald Reagan mastered the style of speaking in the age of three television networks.
President Donald Trump has amassed more
than 65 million Twitter followers.
Communication is crucial to successful leadership.
Through well-prepared and well-delivered messages,
you can mobilize the people around you or change
their perspectives about issues of collective concern.
K) Kinds
Who Are Your Kind Of People?
Curious.
“It’s not just that dialogue
sounds like music to me. It
actually is music.”
—Aaron Sorkin
Dialogue is the most personal part of writing. Aaron likens it
to music — dialogue can follow all of the same rules of music, including pacing, cadence, tone, and volume. How do you know if the dialogue you have written is a beautiful piece of Beethoven,
or clunky and awkward like music on amateur night? Try to be physical with your
dialogue. Say it out loud to hear how it lands.
Remember: you are in the business of writing things that are meant to be performed, not read. Don’t be intimidated if what you’re writing is not how people
sound. Screenwriting is an art — feel free to take liberties to create a fantastic piece of dialogue.
With these lessons in mind, let’s revisit the Ritchie-Bartlet scene in “Posse Comitatus” in “The West Wing.” Rewatch the scene,
this time deconstructing the musicalities of the dialogue. Can you hear the percussion thuds? How about the rhythm in the line
“people who like baseball can’t like books?”
L) language
Do You Speak Any Other Languages? (Teach me)
Probable Impossibilities Are Better Than Improbable Possibilities
(or as Aaron calls it, a ‘possible improbability’): If you’re wondering whether a scene or an element of a story is too ridiculous for
your audience, don’t ask, “Could it happen?” Instead ask, “Would it happen?”
Longer Phrase Repetition
Repetition of longer phrases is gentler on the ear when the phrases are spread apart, which also can enable them to serve as a kind of chorus, or burden, as when showing how different possibilities provoked the same reply.
“Who is here so base that would be a bondmen, if any, speak for him Have I offended, who is here so rude. It would not be a Roman, if any, speak or him Have I offended, who is here so vile that will not love his country, if any, speak for him Have I offended. I pause for a reply.”
Julius Caesar Act Three scene two,
“There I have another bad match a bankrupt, a prodigal who dare scares show his head on the reality of a beggar that was used to come so smug upon the mart. Let him look to his band. He was want to call me user. Let him look to his bond. he was wanting to lend money for a Christian courtesy led him a look to his bond.”
The Merchant of Venice Act Three scene one.
Of the people/by the people/
For the people
Apostrophe
“Here’s to alcohol, the rose colored glasses of life.”
― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Beautiful and Damned
― F. Scott Fitzgerald
“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars/ But in ourselves.”
― William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
― William Shakespeare
Metaphor
“The greatest thing by far is to be amaster of metaphor; it is the one thing that cannot be learnt from others; and it is also a sign of genius, since a goodmetaphorimplies an intuitive perception of the similarity in the dissimilar.”
“And iron curtain has descended over europe “
“Ye are the salt of the earth”
“I am the bread of life”
Charismatic presidents use twice as many metaphors
Clinton has “bridge to the future.”
Obama tried to use “winning the future” but it didnt work.
A good metaphor linked something we know or something can explain with something we cant easily explain.
“I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life.”
― Fitzgerald F. Scott, The Great Gatsby
― F. Scott Fitzgerald
“It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong.”
― Voltaire, The Age of Louis XIV
― Voltaire
“What would men be without women? Scarce, sir…mighty scarce.”
― Mark Twain
These presidential decisions marred legacies:
—Doris Kearns Goodwin
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese Americans were met with suspicion and racism as the
country prepared for war. Succumbing to national hysteria, Franklin Delano Roosevelt
authorized the forced internment of more than 100,000 people of Japanese descent—most of
them U.S. citizens—in concentration camps. Eleanor Roosevelt saw this violation of civil rights as a
rare stain on her husband’s presidency.
Lacking the self-confidence LBJ radiated in domestic affairs, his handling of the war in Vietnam
will forever remain a scar on his legacy. He narrowed his circle of advisors to only include those
who agreed with his ill-fated policy of slowly mounting escalation.
Theodore Roosevelt’s decision to challenge his friend and successor, William Howard
Taft, for the Republican nomination in 1912 not only split the party—it led to Democrat Woodrow
Wilson’s victory and hurt the very progressive cause that Roosevelt symbolized and led.
Presidents and technology—Doris Kearns Goodwin
donald trump has been called “the Twitter president,” not only communicating with the
world on the social media platform but often using it to make policy announcements, explain his
decisions, and weigh in on live television broadcasts.
Before mass media, the train was arguably the most important means by which
commanders-in-chief could travel to communicate with the public. Harry S. Truman gave
352 speeches on a cross-country whistle-stop tour during the election of 1948.
John F. Kennedy’s soaring rhetoric—as well as his ability to master the relatively recent
medium of television—helped him win a closely contested election against Richard Nixon in 1960.
z) Zzz
Are You A Morning Person Or A Night Owl?
Night is my aesthetic
Stories Have Harmony and Rhythm
Dialogue shouldn’t sound like real conversation and scenes shouldn’t feel like interactions in real life. Almost always they’ll be snappier, more condensed, and more focused. They might also be funnier or more emotionally charged. Choosing certain phrases over others because of the way they sound, or their length, or their emotional resonance are important choices that give a script its harmony and rhythm and often separate the good from the great
Spread the Word:
—Doris Kearns Goodwin
Make a list of people or outlets who can help you share your message. Commit to cultivating these relationships in order to establish a network for sharing news about future endeavors
“There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.”
― Ernest Hemingway
“What you have to do in your poetry is tell a little white lie. Harmless, but it’s a lie. And the lie is that you love poetry more than you love yourself.”
Go on a walk and bring your notebook. Look around
and take down some observations on the external
stimuli around you—a tree, a person, a neighborhood,
a pool. See if you can begin a poem by using some of
these external elements. Once you’ve got the poem
underway, have you made a decision about what your
stanzas will look like? Will you use enjambment or will
you use punctuation? Do you want the poem to go
slowly or faster? Do you want to use long sentences or
short?
A) Attribute/ Ass / Adventuroush
What is your favorite physical attribute about yourself?
A) Attribute/ Ass / Adventuroush
What is your favorite physical attribute about yourself?
Sagittarius-
Sagittarius-
Smart girls are my kryptonite. Are you an adventurous Sag?
both passionate adventurous and intelligent. Feed off each other but Aries is more philosophical.
What Amazing Adventures Have You Been On?
I blessed to have seen alot of the world. Which continent are you interested in?
S) Skydiving
Skinny dippingor sky diving? Naked skydiving
“Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it.”
― Leo Tolstoy, A Confession
― Leo Tolstoy
“Never allow someone to be your priority while allowing yourself to be their option.”
― Mark Twain
Poetry - Reading Exercise
Write a few lines setting a scene that is easy to accept.
Think about the example of snow on pine trees or a
dog lying under a hammock. Establish a scene of your
own. Then have your poem take a twist. Take your
reader and yourself somewhere very different—spatially or thematically—from your original scene
“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.”
― Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood
Haruki Murakami
Use emotion for each line and play to it.
Never over rehearse the big moment. Little moments lead to the bit moment. Rehearse those
Contrast create comedy. A pimp and a nun walk into elevator. find the extra contrast in the material.
Notes to anActor-
“The world breaks everyone, and afterward, many are strong at the broken places.”
― Ernest Hemingway
“Do not be angry with the rain; it simply does not know how to fall upwards.”
― Vladimir Nabokov
“Pleasure is found first in anticipation, later in memory.”
― Flaubert
― Gustave Flaubert
P) Phone
What’s Your Favorite App On Your Phone?
Audible
“Jealousy is a disease, love is a healthy condition. The immature mind often mistakes one for the other, or assumes that the greater the love, the greater the jealousy - in fact, they are almost incompatible; one emotion hardly leaves room for the other.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land
Conduplicatio
“A bad cause will ever be supported by bad means and bad men” -Paine
“Butchers we are. That is true, but butchers but the bloodiest butchers have been honored “
Conduplicatio
“A bad cause will ever be supported by bad means and bad men” -Paine
“Butchers we are. That is true, but butchers but the bloodiest butchers have been honored “
Use Your Imagination to Make Things Credible
An audience is very perceptive when they’re
imaginatively engaged in a story — a good writer should be too, to make sure you don’t leave any
glaring errors for the audience to pick up on
“At the end of a scene, we
have to be at least one step
further than we were before.”
—Aaron Sorkin
A screenplay is just a series of scenes. Here are a few tips to help
strengthen your scenes:
• Every scene in your screenplay should move the plot forward.
• Not every scene needs to end dramatically, but you should feel
satisfied with how it does end.
• If you are struggling with what the next scene should be, try
answering a question posed in the previous scene.
• Grab the audience as soon as you can. Try dropping the
audience in the middle of a conversation —it forces the
audience to pay attention and play catch up.
• It’s also satisfying to lay out the theme to your entire movie
right in the first scene.
• If you’re introducing a character in a scene for the first time,
show the audience what the character wants.
• If a character doesn’t want something, then they are
cluttering up your screenplay.
And remember, a great scene clearly shows each character’s
intention and obstacles, the exposition is laid out without
impeding the story, and the stakes are high and clear. Aaron
loves writing courtroom dramas because all of these elements are
built into the setting.
“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars/ But in ourselves.”
― William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
― William Shakespeare
“Love me or hate me, both are in my favour. If you love me, I’ll always be in your heart… If you hate me, I’ll always be in your mind.”
― William Shakespeare
What Are People Often Surprised To Learn About You?
Pacemaker (Story)
“You cannot pretend to be funny. You’re either funny or you’re not. And if you’re not funny, people are staring at you, and they’re not laughing. You know that very quickly.”
Notice in Ruth Schwartz’s “The Swan at Edgewater
Park” how she uses humor in a strategic way. About
half way in, she makes a deliberate joke at the expense of “Clevelanders,” who point and exclaim, “Look at that big duck!” The line occurs deliberately just as the poem switches from the swan (its provisional subject) to Lorie (its discovered or true subject).
The laugh line relaxes us and thus makes us more surprised by the serious turn the poem takes as it details the grim scene that is Lorie’s life. This is an excellent example of a poet using humor with serious intent. Warning: if you are not naturally funny as a person in your life, don’t try to be funny in your poems.
“I’ve always loved you, and when you love someone, you love the whole person, just as he or she is, and not as you would like them to be.”
― Leo Tolstoy
Emotional Intelligence - “I don’t like that man.
I must get to know him better.”
—Abraham Lincoln—Doris Kearns Goodwin
Empathy
A cornerstone of emotional intelligence hinges on your
ability to tap into your empathy. This means leading
while taking others’ feelings, thoughts, and opinions
into account and then acting in good faith to put
yourself in other people’s shoes.
Humility
More than merely being modest about your achievements, you must look inward, learn from your mistakes, and seek out opportunities to learn from others.
Self-Reflection
Considering the perspectives and needs of others
also gives you the opportunity to reexamine your own
actions and approaches.
Openness to Disagreement
You’ll perform best when you’re surrounded by others
who feel comfortable offering contrary viewpoints or
challenging assumed logic.
Greater Ambitions
As an emotionally intelligent leader, you’ll be able to
inspire your team to collaborate on common goals
Sorkin - A Probable Impossibility is Preferable to a Possible Improbability
For Roland’s script, Chronic, Aaron calls out the principle of probable impossibility. Probable impossibilities present
extraordinary events in a way that is believable to an audience.
Improbable possibilities (or as Aaron calls it, possible improbability) take ordinary events that could be coincidental, but presents them in a way that is forced and too convenient for your script to move forward. To create believable scripts, always use a probable impossibility. If you are going to use a possible improbability, Aaron suggests calling it out explicitly.
Repeating the same thing makes you seem more right. Stick to the message and repeat or no matter what.
Repeating
Appanellipsis
Occurs when the same word or phrase is used at the beginning and end of a sentence or set of them.
eg. The king is dead. Long live the king,
Shakespeare will never be made by the study of Shakespeare.
Emerson - Self reliance 1841
A prominent case of epicellipses occurs in Brutus his speech at the funeral of Julius Caesar, where the device is used twice, and then relaxed at the end, a useful idea, a pattern and relief from it considered more closely in later chapters.
“Romans countrymen and lovers. Hear me for my cause and be silent, that you may hear. Believe me for mine honor and have respect to mine honor that you may believe censure me in your wisdom and awake your senses that you may the better judge.”
Julius Caesar Act Three scene two
“It’s as if Shakespeare
writes this, and then he
looks around and says,
‘I wrote that?’”
Write a poem of any length on whatever subject or
subjects you choose (and it doesn’t need to rhyme),
but try to make each line in iambic pentameter.
Remember, this means five iambic feet (da-DUM,
da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM).
Write a traditional Shakespearian sonnet,
using iambic pentameter and the rhyme scheme ABAB
CDCD EFEF GG.
Make sure your poem has exactly 14 lines, and
use the last 2 lines to make a “turn.” Remember that
the turn often has the poet looking back at the previous
12 lines and making a 2-line comment on them
Read one of your poems aloud at least ten times to
yourself. As you read, mark your paper, noting where
you stumble over your words.
Now, read that poem aloud to another person. (Try to give the dog a break this time, and find a trusted confidant.) Mark your poem where you
stumble.
Do these areas differ from where you stumbled when reading aloud to yourself?
Examine the poem you just read out loud, noting
where you made your marks for fluency. Now, make
revisions based on these marks. Consider editing for
diction, pacing, and clarity. Even consider cutting the
nonessential lines and phrases.
D) Dream
What Would Be Your Dream Job?
Director or own a hostel.
Sorkin - Inciting Incident
You can’t wait very long to introduce the inciting action. Aaron says if you’ve gotten to page 20 or 25 and you haven’t yet
introduced it, you’re in trouble. Use page numbers as road signs to know if you’ve hit a certain milestone in your script.
When setting up your story arc, remember to make the first 15 pages the most memorable. When a producer or studio executive is deciding whether to produce your script, you have to hook them
with the first 15 pages.
Siblings:
Guess which one order.
“You’re the baby aren’t you, you seem spoiled”
What was your ‘identity’ in the family. The goofy one? Goody/goody? Peacemaker, etc
I’m one of 36. I’m the result of an experiment to make the perfect lover. The experiment failed and the released me into the wild on an unsuspecting public. I was TOO good.
Siblings:
Guess which one order.
“You’re the baby aren’t you, you seem spoiled”
What was your ‘identity’ in the family. The goofy one? Goody/goody? Peacemaker, etc
I’m one of 36. I’m the result of an experiment to make the perfect lover. The experiment failed and the released me into the wild on an unsuspecting public. I was TOO good.
Who Is Your Favorite Author?
Hemingway for shorts. Dumas for Longs.
Make important key points rhythm or have a rhythm.
“If the glove doesn’t fit, you must acquit”
Make important key points rhythm or have a rhythm.
“If the glove doesn’t fit, you must acquit”
“I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it.”
― Mark Twain
• Complex Plots Are Best:
: The two elements of complex plots are reversals and recognitions.
Reversals occur when a character’s intentions result in unexpected and opposite outcomes.
For recognition, the character is destroyed not by what happens but by the knowledge of what really happened. Recognition scenes usually come as surprises to the hero and the audience. And remember, as Aaron says, the best type of reversal happens when the audience doesn’t see it
coming.
J) Jill off
Whats your favorite porn Catagory
J) Jill off
Whats your favorite porn Catagory
Ask not what what your country can do you
But what you can do for our countries.
Say an old truth in a new way
We all was ignore the ones who adore us
And adore the ones that ignore is.
Judge not lest you he judge
Render to ceaser what is ceasers;
Render to god to gods.
Kiasmas
PITCH SESSIONS
Here are some other things to keep in mind for your pitch, particularly for a TV pitch:
• The pilot should be clear in your head — but so should the
second episode.
• Be able to describe several episodes down the line and the
arc of the season. Is each episode dealing with a new crisis
of the day like “The West Wing?” Or is each episode
building on a longer term goal, like “Silicon Valley?”
• Where will it be shot? Is there a “home-base” set that
production only needs to build once?
• Be prepared to answer questions from executives like, “Will
there be a love interest for your characters?”
“It is amazing how complete is the delusion that beauty is goodness.”
― Leo Tolstoy
Make time to rest—Doris Kearns Goodwin
Given today’s environment of overstimulation and
instant access, it can feel difficult—even irresponsible—to disconnect from the barrage of digital communication and its many demands. As a successful
leader, you must remain accessible while also making
time for yourself.
Even if rest, replenishment, and
having time to think are three of the most undervalued
elements of leadership, they’re key to meeting challenges with consistency and vigor in the long run.
Devoting time to self-reflection, friends, family, and
personal interests was critical to the success of many
of the presidents Doris has studied.
Abraham Lincoln
immersed himself in the theater. Theodore Roosevelt
fortified himself through exercise and outdoor pursuits.
FDR decompressed during a regularly scheduled
cocktail hour with close friends.
F) Food
What’s Your Favorite International Food?
Ramen. I want to learn how to make it.
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”
Jane Austin
“I love sleep. My life has the tendency to fall apart when I’m awake, you know?”
― Ernest Hemingway
“Unfortunately, the clock is ticking, the hours are going by. The past increases, the future recedes. Possibilities decreasing, regrets mounting.”
― Haruki Murakami, Dance Dance Dance
Haruki Murakami
Lincolns Team of Rivals—Doris Kearns Goodwin
Abraham Lincoln’s Team of Rivals offered
a multitude of perspectives that mirrored
the factionalized dynamic of a nation at
war with itself. This was particularly true
with respect to the question of emancipation: abolitionists called for the immediate end of slavery, but conservatives
in Lincoln’s cabinet sought to prioritize
preservation of the Union over achieving
racial justice. While Lincoln came to his
ultimate decision to free America’s slaves,
conversations with his cabinet were key
to determining the timing and tone of the
announcement.
Abraham Lincoln,
Short words win
“Beware as long as you live of strange words”
Ceaser
Judge not lest ye be judge
To be or not to be
Blood, toil, tears and sweat
I have a dream
― Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms
“Maybe…you’ll fall in love with me all over again.”
“Hell,” I said, “I love you enough now. What do you want to do? Ruin me?”
“Yes. I want to ruin you.”
“Good,” I said. “That’s what I want too.”
“I want to see you.
Know your voice.
Recognize you when you
first come ‘round the corner.
Sense your scent when I come
into a room you’ve just left.
Know the lift of your heel,
the glide of your foot.
Become familiar with the way you purse your lips then let them part, just the slightest bit, when I lean in to your space and kiss you.
I want to know the joy
of how you whisper
“more”
-Rumi
I) Inspiration
Who is your Inspiration in life
I) Inspiration
Who is your Inspiration in life
“We penetrated deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness”
― Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness
Joseph Conrad
Two Claims
Big pattern in the use of this scheme involves two initial claims, each of which is then repeated with elaboration or reasons for it.
“Sir, he was a scoundrel, and a coward, a scoundrel, but charging a blunderbuss against religion and morality, a coward, because he had not resolution to fire it off himself, but left half a crown to a beggarly Scotsman to draw that trigger after his death.”
“If you look for perfection, you’ll never be content.”
― Leo Tolstoy
“Before you can do anything else, you have to tell
the audience what they
need to know.”
—Aaron Sorkin
The queen died is a fact. The queen died and left a king with a
broken heart is a story. The queen died, and she was the brains behind the king who is now struggling to keep his throne is
drama. Always keep the stakes of your drama high by strengthening and pressing on your intentions and obstacles.
Now you can begin setting up the arc of your story. Aaron breaks down what happens in each act:
- Act 1: You chase your hero up a tree.
- Act 2: You throw rocks at them.
- Act 3: You get them down (or not).
Be sure to avoid any magical surprises in Act 3 by setting up and introducing everything in Act 1 through exposition.
Exposition is the first part of drama, but it’s not easy. One way to get through
exposition in your screenplay is to have at least one character early on who is a stand-in for the audience; Rashida Jones’s
character in The Social Network, or Chrisann in Steve Jobs for example, because they ask questions of the main character that the audience might have.
After you’ve set up the exposition, introduce the story’s main
conflict with the inciting action.
In Aaron’s example of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the inciting action happens when Hamlet’s father’s ghost tells Hamlet that Claudius murdured him. Hamlet’s intention becomes clear — to avenge his father’s death — and the story begins.
Doublets
“I tell you, sir. I’m serious. And now that my passions aroused. I say this house is mine, sir. This house is mine, and I commend you to leave it directly.” Goldsmith, she Stoops to Conquer 1773.
“The cause then sir, the cause. Let the world know the cause, which has induced one state of the union to bid defiance to the power of the whole and openly to talk of succession.”
Webster speech in the Senate. 1833
Losing things
Losing things
I donate every-time i go out drinking in Atlanta. Im pretty generous that way. I’m a socialist, I like to spread the wealth.
Use props when possible - “how you deprive this cute kid of his parents “
Use props when possible - “how you deprive this cute kid of his parents “
“′Classic′ - a book which people praise and don’t read.”
― Mark Twain
― Mark Twain
Headlines should be like tweets. Short puffy and clever.
Mother nature is just getting warmed up (pun, personification)
Breaking news: energy efficiency programs are working saving consumers millions (sarcasm)
NASA: it rained so hard the ocean fell (metaphors)
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