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morality in writing

susanrainter

susanrainter

How to let go of it all and just write? Even if it's wrong in real life. I mean those are just words, but at times it feels like you're suddenly the most evil person in the world and everyone suddenly assumes you are a criminal or something. There's always that pressure of being "busted" in real life for your art. It's all just a lie, but at the moment tit feels real.
I'm talking about both - fiction and stories based on true stories. I have great true stories, that could be turned into awesome scenes, but they feel wrong from real life aspect, even tho they seem to have that sense of coolness to them. I mean it's cool to be a bad guy in the movie, but when it all suddenly mixes with real life and your own life it get's twisted. It's like reliving the past and being proud of the wrong, like it's the only good thing you even had.
 
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If you're just writing? There is NO WRONG. Write whatever you want. If some of your stories are true but with certain horrific elements to them, who cares? If you need to change names, do it. If you need to change locations, do it.

If you're a DARK writer? Just be aware that if you're writing to one day hopefully sell a spec, really dark matter can be difficult to sell. Dark stories with uplifting ending do much better in the marketplace.

Just my two cents.
 
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Feutus Lapdance said:
Butt susanrainter. Are you afraid that you will be busted? By who? Everyone?
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Play and pretend in the wrong places made me realise that I'm a writer, a liar, a pretender and attention seeker, which made me paranoid. Also writing paragraphs to someone and not getting response does magic to you. Made me realise - "damn, I'm really talking to myself, now that's something son :D"
Fine balance between writing alone and writing with a thought about other persons reaction, even if they don't respond. I mean that's how books work right?
 
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Yeah I hear you. I wrote a script about a woman that is abducted and tortured and it’s a bit embarrassing. But hey it’s a lot of drama for two people in one location.
 
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My first feature (Surviving Family) has an ending that seems as first as if it's going to be "happily ever after" and perfectly resolve the shit the main character has been through. But it pulls back in the last scene, and ends in an ambivalent way that leaves it to the viewer to decide what the main character does next.

I once got chased out of a film festival screening by a woman who was screaming at me that I had abandoned the moral imperative for writers to give an uplifting conclusion to their stories. I told her - my story, my ending.

Some people love it - I've had amazing feedback from some people who have struggled with alcoholism and mental illness, which are subjects that are dealt with extensively in the movie. And other people absolutely hate it. I'm fine with that.
 
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susanrainter said:
How to let go of it all and just write? Even if it's wrong in real life. I mean those are just words, but at times it feels like you're suddenly the most evil person in the world and everyone suddenly assumes you are a criminal or something.
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Do you feel that way about other writers? That they are a criminal or something
when they write about immorality or criminality?

susanrainter said:
I'm talking about both - fiction and stories based on true stories. I have great true stories, that could be turned into awesome scenes, but they feel wrong from real life aspect, even tho they seem to have that sense of coolness to them. I mean it's cool to be a bad guy in the movie, but when it all suddenly mixes with real life and your own life it get's twisted. It's like reliving the past and being proud of the wrong, like it's the only good thing you even had.
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Sounds like you are finding it difficult to separate your writing from your real life.
When your writing mixes with your real life and you own life gets twisted that's
troubling. If you begin to feel proud of the wrong, like it's the only good thing you
ever had, then perhaps you should not be writing anything that feels wrong to you.

You could take those great true stories that could be turned into awesome scenes
and twist them to something positive. Take something that is wrong in real life and
turn it into something wonderful and empowering in your story.
 
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Well, when I was a kid I loved twisted stuff and thought it was cool. When you get older you suddenly realise that it's actually pretty twisted if you think about it in real life.
I mean there are lots of movies and games that just show everything straight up in the face. It gets old after a while and makes you wonder why does all the movies involve this kind of stuff. And from that it makes you question why movies are even the way they are.
I try to put everything in mystery and sort of hide away from it all, at least in horror.
It takes balls and a lot of recharging which you never truly get, to go down into that deep stuff. You can't really escape it.
I mean nobody really talks about psychological factor and those lines between fiction and reality - in writing or acting. I just want to know how actors do it and not go insane from all the characters that they have been playing.
Feels like in reality you are just an empty shell and nobody which makes you feel lost, as you are able to imitate any emotion and so on. Makes you wonder who are you, who is the real you.
 
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Time. It takes TIME. I just finished writing a book that took me a year to write. About an actual living, breathing, person. Not only did I interview this person, but in addition to that? I watched every YouTube video that he was in. I watched every Vimeo video he was in. There were lots of local Los Angeles websites with interviews of him as well and I listened to those. Later, I transcribed EACH video so I'd have a transcript of every interview. I read every interview of him online. I read every story about him online. For the last year, he's been in my head and I've been so DEEP into his persona that I've had a hard time thinking of anything else. That was actually one of the reasons I came back to indietalk -- to help clear my head. I have quite a few acquaintances that are method actors. They all say the same thing... You just gotta do SOMETHING ELSE to clear your synapses and slowly throttle it all back DOWN.
 
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susanrainter said:
Well, when I was a kid I loved twisted stuff and thought it was cool. When you get older you suddenly realise that it's actually pretty twisted if you think about it in real life.
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When I was kid I loved twisted stuff. When I got older I did not come
to the realization you did. I find it easy to separate real life from my
writing and directing.
susanrainter said:
I mean nobody really talks about psychological factor and those lines between fiction and reality - in writing or acting.
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Here in the states many people talk about the psychological factor
and those lines between fiction and reality. I first remember this being
talked about during the rise of the "slaughter film" and the introduction
of "parental warnings" for songs and records in the 1980's. Of course
the concern has been going on much longer - read about the Breen/Hays
Code. More recently many people talk about the psychological factor
of video games and the lines between fiction and reality.
susanrainter said:
I just want to know how actors do it and not go insane from all the characters that they have been playing.
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I suspect that most actors are like most writers - they separate their real
life from the characters they play easily. They understand they are playing
a character for a short period of time.

I'm a writer who writes some pretty twisted stuff. As a make-up effects
person I did a lot of very twisted stuff. I've directed some pretty twisted
movies. I've always been able to easily separate my craft from my real
life.

You ask "how". I don't have an answer. I wonder how any writer or
actor could combine their craft with their real life. That's concerning
to me.
 
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indietalk said:
Think about your favorite sick and demented movies and what you think about those writers and directors. You hail them as being great, not sick. Be them. Write!
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Everyone seems so sure about this but its not my experience

I remember when my mom saw nightcrawler i remarked what a great performance jake gave.
She said "yeah he's really great at playing a psycho!" in a very negative and judgmental way.

she definitely thought worse of him as a person afterward.
 
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Feutus Lapdance said:
There are many actor's, directors and writer's that get consumed by there own shadow. Some director's use making movies as a way to deal with the shadow. Heath ledger did go to far...
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There's also the reverse and it's a cathartic process, and you "leave it all on the page."
 
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indietalk said:
I know people say that all time, like so and so must have a sick mind. However I see it mostly in jest. There's always the exception.
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You do see it in a lot of advertising "from the sick a twisted mind of SO AND SO!!"
but to have it be genuine also speaks to just how good the performance of jakes was !

Edit: also lets get real - does anyone think the creator of " a Serbian film" is just a normal well balanced individual ?
 
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I agree. I talkt to Joachim Lafosse that made À perdre la raison . People hatted him for making that movie. Vincent Lambe also did not get love for making Detainment. Its like people think the director make movies out of the desire of fame, money or media attention. Joachim Lafosse told me that he was depressed a big part of his life and wanted to make a movie that would show that under the right circumstances everybody is capable of doing evil. He wanted people to understand Geneviève Lhermitte, to prevent future evil.
 
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