What's Your Muse?

[Furious D]

Bennttk made a good suggestion in the 'Is McKee Really Worth It Forum," where he asked people what books & stuff inspired them.

I figured such a big topic required it's own thread. So here it is.

What's your muse"

What books, movies, etc.,etc..... inspire you to write better. Where do you go for the kind of inspiration & coaching when you can't shell out the big green for a seminar?

Here are some of the books that have helped me in the past:

[list=1]
Screenwriting: the Art, Craft & Business of Film & Television Writing, by Richard Walter An excellent introduction into screenwriting. It was the first screenwriting book I ever read when I was just out of high school.
Screenwriting 434 by Lew Hunter. A more advanced departure from the Richard Walter book. Full of good advice.
The Art of Fiction by John Gardner. It's technically about writing novels, but it's helpful to anyone who wants to use language to effectively tell a story.
Pulp Fiction Screenplay by Quenting Tarantino (Shooting Script Version) Avoid any 'transcript' versions. This version contains the actual shooting script, excellent way to learn complex formatting and study how scripts are eventually translated onto screen.
On Writing by Steven King. Another book that's technically about novel writing. But it's also full of good advice in a clear and easy to read fashion on how to write in a clear and easy to read fashion.
[/list=1]

Let's hear what's inspired you over the years and let's get this thread going.

[El Duderino Diablo]

What inspires me the most? Homicide: Life on the Street. I obsessively and feverishly edited the commercials from every episode while taping them in the order they were originally written to run in. Why, you ask? Because H:LotS, in my humble opinion, represents some of the best writing found on telelvision if not the best (seasons one through four, at least). David Simon, Paul Attanasio, Tom Fontana and James Yoshimura consistantly outdid themselves on that show. So, when looking for a little inspiration I dig out an old episode of H:LotS.

Honestly, I don't get too much inspiration from books. I feel that there's more to be learned from just getting to it and doing the writing and getting feedback from an objective reader.

[Furious D]

All these years I thought I was the only one who loved Homicide: Life on the Street. That show actually showed that writing a TV show can be an art.

I watched the show from episode 1 to that finale movie & I missed it greatly when it went off the air. Sadly, my love of the show often led to arguments with my university roommates who wanted to watch something else, probably something from Aaron Spelling. Since I owned the apartment's only TV, let them watch Beverly Hills 90210 without beating them for it, and paid for the cable I usually won.

In Canada, my frosty homeland, the best domestic show on TV is called 'DaVinci's Inquest.' It's about a coroner named Dominic DaVinci and his police colleagues working Vancouver's seediest neighbourhoods. The dialogue is clever and realistic, the plots complex without becoming overly complicated, and nothing has an easy ending.

One of their best tricks is having the characters engaging in a rather banal conversation about haircuts, or plumbing, while standing over the poor victim of a brutal crime or terrible accident. These seemingly pointless dialogues actually serve to flesh out the characters and add dramatic weight to the lives of those who deal with the messy side of death.

I don't know if it's available in the USA, but it's probably one of the best crime-dramas on TV.

Thanks for your contribution Dude, it's a welcome change of pace from people just listing their favourite books. Let's hope others add their own personal muses, whether they're books, TV shows, movies, or whatever.

[El Duderino Diablo]

I've noticed so many Canucks on this board I almost forgot that there are people on here who may not have heard of DaVinci's Inquest. Damn fine show with writing that holds up well compared to H:LotS

EDIT: I almost forgot to mention one other source of inspiration; people watching and listening to the way people from different backgrounds speak, the sound of their voices, accents, etc. May be weird to some bu tI find it inspiring sometimes. The written equivilent to sketching a stranger.

[Furious D]

One of my all-time favourite & inspirational TV shows ended its run last season. Made in Canada (called The Industry on USA-PBS & Cable) was a vicious satire of the Canadian film & TV industry.

It's writing was dark, sharp and made vicious fun of what the Canadian Film/TV industry is really like. Basically it's a factory pumping out cheap shows for cable & syndication markets while releasing the occassional government approved feature film that almost no one in Canada will actually see.

If you can catch the reruns, tape them, it was probably the best satire Canadian TV has ever produced.

[bennettk]

Good On Ya Furious D...

I guess I should have read your thread before I jumped the gun!

Let's stay with this thread folks...

Time to give back..

BENNETT

[bennettk]

Hello Film Threat Fanatics,

DaVinci's Inquest is a fine, fine show as is Homicide LOTS...

Has anyone noticed that all of the great writers have moved to television?

Although most of us concentrate on spec features, television seems to be for the pros and film's been left for the hacks.

Don't get me wrong, I write for film, but look at the facts.

Alan Ball wins an Academy Award for American Beauty, then the following year He can't get arrested...So, he turns back to T.V. and spins out a yarn of some of the best writing on T.V. "Six Feet Under". Plus a Producer credit. That's where the money is, isn't it?

Anyhow, up and above books and gurus, I get my inspiration from watching a myriad of movies and stacks upon stacks of scripts.

But we must stay fresh, otherwise the stuff on top of our brains will simply seep out into some tired, seen before cliché.

So, how do you stay fresh while not copying other peoples copy?

ONWARDS & UPWARDS

BENNETT

[Furious D]

There's a reason why so many top writers are hopping feet first into TV. As a creator you usually are an executive producer as well, and if you've got a good show that catches an audience, you're king of the mountain.

Mainstream feature films are too obese with special FX and star salaries & too many 'indie' films are aiming for the Sundance Festival crowd instead of the general audience. These pigeonholes stifle creativity. But in TV, the medium is expanding, and it's unquenchable hunger for new shows is forcing broadcasters to take risks they wouldn't have dared try a few years ago.

Now like all art forms 99.99% is total fecal matter, but there is the occassional flower found in the compost. The overwhelming diversity in TV nowadays has made it possible to have a successful show with what used to be called a 'cult following.'

Now that 'reality TV' is on the way out writers with good ideas might actually get a chance to get their vision on air.

Viva la revolution!