Inneresting 17
a Quote-Unquote Newsletter
issue 17
August 6, 2020
"Buckle your seatbelt, Dorothy, 'cause Kansas is going bye-bye."
At some point in almost every story, a hero realizes that the world they knew is gone forever. In this week’s blog post, we look at moments where the character’s world is destroyed, and how we see it through their eyes.
Learning to read between the lines (and what lines were omitted)
Writing for Film Daze, Joshua Sorenson takes a look at the adaptation of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof for film, and how the filmmakers erased the play’s queer themes. By trying to uphold the heteronormative status quo enshrined by the Hays Code, the movie obscures, rather than reveals, the internal truths the characters struggle with.
“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood...”
You may already be filling in the next lines. But while Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” is held up as a famous example of choosing one future at the expense of another, this reading misses some key elements pointed out by David Orr, who calls it “The Most Misread Poem in America.”
Highland How-To: Clipping Out Your Road Not Taken
Have an idea in your story that’s just not working, but you don’t want to hit Delete? Or maybe it’s a scene that might have a better home elsewhere?
Put it in The Bin.
Highland 2’s Bin sidebar lets you drag and drop chunks of text from your document to save for later. They’re stored in your .highland file, and you can pull them out and re-use them at any time.
To learn more about how Highland 2 can help you sort through your outlining and alternate versions of scenes, check out our Knowledge Base!
A quick shoutout to Marquette, Michigan
Sometimes all it takes is a single song to open up a new view of the world. In Joe Pera Reads You the Church Announcements, Joe shares the jubilant experience of discovering a new favorite song. This positive destruction of Joe’s old life leads him to approach the everyday in a bolder, more energized way.
(If for no other reason, watch to enjoy seeing a grown man dance with a dog to The Who.)
Other Cool Things
Hat tip to Tim Hume from the Highland 2 Slack channel for sending in this story about an investigation into the phenomenon of how writers hear the voices of their characters in their heads.
Writer and Artist Austin Kleon recently made a playlist of tracks featuring the Memphis Horns that acted as the soundtrack to writing this newsletter.
(Your day needs more Al Green. That’s just an objective fact.)
Shruti Saran posted some images showing how she learned to break down half-hour TV structure by reading scripts for New Girl. A great peek into process!
And that’s what’s inneresting this week!
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UPCOMING EVENTS
November 3rd, 2020
Election Day
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Inneresting is edited by Chris Csont, with contributions from the entire Quote-Unquote team. Subscribe here.
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