🗣️ Inneresting #135 - Respecting your voice
Who you are, and how that comes through in your work
What does it mean to have a voice?
Some writers and filmmakers become an adjective for a certain style or genre. Orwellian. Lovecraftian. Burton-esque. Jim Vorel looks at a list of adjective-worthy filmmakers and how their identities connect to their work. For a deep dive on the topic, check in with Thomas Flight’s video essay on Wes Anderson’s voice, and the possible motivations behind his stylistic choices. Emma Madden asks if overusing “Lynchian” dilutes the qualities it’s trying to describe. For a different angle on voice, Angélique Kidjo performs an example of how Celia Cruz created a distinctive style mixing Cuban and African music traditions.
Digging in to find your voice
What makes your work unique doesn’t have to isolate it from others’ work. Wendy Orr looks at the conversation between a writer and their influences as a way of creating a kind of literary compost in your mind. Filmmaker Kogonada made a series of popular video essays dissecting the work of famous directors until he felt the need to tell his own stories.
But not all forms of influence work the same way. Christine Nishiyama looks at the kinds of copying that help a person find their own style. On the flip side, Rebecca Jennings describes how creating to ride TikTok’s algorithm amplifies existing biases toward whiteness, thinness, and wealth. Kat Tenbarge suggests that increased attention to younger creators still working to define themselves traps them in a loop of performing the version of their identity that made them popular.
“Your work is self expression. So you will never love your work if you hate yourself.”
–Andy J. Pizza
In his presentation on learning to become a creative professional while navigating ADHD and self-doubt, Andy J. Pizza suggests it’s important to understand and love yourself before you can define your voice.
Weekend Read 2 Public Beta
The original Weekend Read made it easier to read screenplays on an iPhone. Now we’re preparing to launch a sequel!
Can you hunt for bugs?
Can you load in scripts with different file formats to test compatibility?
Can you test if it feels like the best way to read a screenplay on your phone?
Then we need your help.
The public beta starts today, where anyone with an iOS or iPadOS device can use TestFlight to download a copy of this app in progress. Your feedback helps speed up the process of getting the best version of this app to the App Store.
And you get a sneak peak at some of the new features we’ve built in!
Download the beta through TestFlight and let us know what you think!
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Reading the room
Remember to fuel up before you Write Sprint
In last week’s thread, nola reminded us about the importance of what you do before you start writing:
I’m working on draft two of a novel. I am going to start in about five minutes after I finish eating almond butter on rice crackers.
What do you need to get ready to write? Snacks? Stretching? The right music? Tell us in this week’s thread!
What’s a Write Sprint?
John wrote up an explanation, but here’s the short version: Set a timer for 60 minutes, close down all distractions, and do nothing but write until that timer goes off.
Shout out this week to Sprinters John Harvey, Alee O. Karim, Brian Matusz, Shirley Wang, and Chris Leyva!
Previously on Inneresting…
In case you missed it, in last issue’s most clicked link Eileen Cartter talks with costume designer Bina Daigeler on the decisions made dressing Cate Blanchett as Lydia Tár.
Other Inneresting Things…
Joel Spolsky breaks down the story of Netscape’s unreleased Navigator 5.0 as an example of when throwing things out and starting over can lead to disaster.
Olivia Rutigliano looks at an early draft of You’ve Got Mail and the serial killer subplot that was almost completely excised from the finished film.
Austin Kleon shares some observations on target fixation, and how what you pay attention to determines where you go.
And that’s what’s inneresting this week!
Inneresting is edited by Chris Csont, with contributions from readers like you and the entire Quote-Unquote team.
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🗣 Have ideas for future topics (or just want to say hello)? Reach out to Chris via email at inneresting@johnaugust.com, Twitter @ccsont, or Mastodon @ccsont@mastodon.art