Anyway, enough about my class's brilliant initiative that makes you want to hire us instantly (which it does). There were lots of writers at the showcase exchanging tales and tips, which reminds me of the most common writing tip on the face of the planet.
Write what you know. A piece of advice given to every new writer, every old writer, and every writer who needs to get back on track having just penned a screenplay about narcoleptic racist hobgoblins from space.
Of course what's meant by that piece of advice is not just physical stuff. You don't have to just write about your job or hometown or family; but your opinions and emotions and values too. Write what you know. The problem with that is that every writer has one thing that every single one of us -- without exception -- knows, and should, according to the advice, therefore write about. And that's... BEING A WRITER.

I think there are plenty of characters that don't HAVE to be writers. Like Jeff Daniels's character in The Squid and the Whale, for instance. Or, more recently, Eddie in Limitless. If you haven't seen it yet, Limitless is a fun swishy thriller which heavily relies on the annoying myth that we only use 20% of our brainbits. I enjoyed Limitless more than I thought I would, mainly because my expectations were lowered dramatically by everything I was ever told about it, but one thing I did frown at was the profession of the main character, Eddie.
To be honest, I think Eddie is just a writer because his name is Eddie. It's a writer's name. He has scraggly hair and lies on the sofa a lot. Eddie gets dumped by his girlfriend (oh, can only be a writer then), and can't finish his book, but then he gets a magic bean and can finish his book because he gets super brainpower. Then we never see his profession as a writer again. He becomes a stock trader.

There's a million jobs in which to be a loser-turned-superman. Not everyone HAS to be a writer.

Eleanor is on the MA Scriptwriting degree at Goldsmith's, specialising in comedy drama. Join her on Facebook here and read her own blog, here.
2 comments:
Um, Jeff Daniels' character in Squid in the Whale is a failed novelist, whose wife's success as a writer becomes the catalyst for their seperation. How would you replace this crucial dynamic?
Hi Pooka! I used Squid as an example because I believe the character's profession to be one of those that could be just about anything. A million and one jobs generate rivalry and resentment. And for that extra level of emotional depth, there's a million and one creative jobs too. 'Course I don't mean wipe out all writer characters altogether, but, to my mind, Squid's a good example of a profession that could be just about anything. Naturally, though, s'all a matter of opinion, and I'm certain those characters spoke to others more than they spoke to me.
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