Awesome stuff tonight from John Berkey.
The end of today was a bit of a fade. I stopped an hour “early” and I’d been behind a bit up to that point. These apartment building distractions during my work days really suck it out of me. I don’t know what to do about it…I get behind in my work, and it just snowballs from there. Or spirals. That’s probably a better descriptor.
But…that’s all I’m going to talk about that, I think. I’m not particularly *feeling* it tonight as I type it, but I’m going to find a way to make it true nonetheless: I’m going to rock it tomorrow. A nice, uninterrupted work day. No distractions. Just me, my computer, some baseball and some Deep Space Nine, and some work.
I’m going to do editing work up front, and I’m going to get my writing hour done at the end of the day. That’s what’s up. Sunday, no editing work. Just me and rest and making sure I end the week on target with this script.
I watched an episode of season 4 Deep Space Nine tonight that was so well written, it stopped me in my tracks. It reminded me of how powerful dramatic irony can be; which is to say that the audience (and sometimes a character) knows something that another character doesn’t know. The tension you feel watching that unknowing character proceed with their actions, oblivious to your knowledge of what is waiting for them…well that’s just some good shit right there. And it works *every* time. It’s not a gimmick, or a “twist” that loses its power once the story has played out…no, instead, it packs the same gut punch every time. You know what’s going to happen, and the journey is in watching it happen.
Good stuff. Aristotle wrote about it, I do believe.
I should re-read Poetics, man. It’s been a while. Read it in college for a Theatre History course. It blew my mind. I remembered reading it, actually, back in High School too, but I couldn’t give two shits about it back then. I was too young. But in college, it bowled me over. How could a book that old be so incredibly relevant to this very day. It’s crazy to think about. The same views on story and dramatic structure hold true from thousands of years ago.
Anywho, that’s all for tonight. Felt good not to dwell on the work, actually. Talk about something else. I was feeling down a bit today, feeling like certain things I want in life are never going to happen for me…I don’t want to live in that space. I want to live in a space that’s more content, and calm, and self-assured. A space that sustains itself because it’s happy.
Here’s to that. Sweet dreams to you all. I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow 😉