Signs

"All characters are based on elements of a writer's personal experience."

               - Robert Holdstock

A writer is everywhere in his writing; so are the people he meets.



© 2010 Steven R. Lundin, all rights reserved

Trash

"A story has been thought to its conclusion when it has taken its worst possible turn."

         - Friedrich Durrenmatt

Fortunately for readers, the conclusion often involves a trash can.


© 2010 Steven R. Lundin, all rights reserved

Self-criticism

"I am forced to say that I have many fiercer critics than myself."

               - Irwin Shaw

While self-criticism washes like a warm drizzle on a summer day, the criticism of strangers soaks like one of those slanting, face-on, pressure washes of winter.


© 2010 Steven R. Lundin, all rights reserved

Rescripting

Screenplays improve with every rewrite. You can spend your lifetime rewriting the perfect script. Unfortunately, no one will ever find it if you're dead.
        - S.R. Lundin


© 2010 Steven R. Lundin, all rights reserved

Master Mind

"I am a galley slave to pen and ink."

         - Honore de Balzac

Master is in the mind.


© 2010 Steven R. Lundin, all rights reserved

Kiss of Death

"A kiss that speaks volumes is seldom a first edition."

         - Clare Whiting

Writing without passion is a sure kiss of death.


© 2010 Steven R. Lundin, all rights reserved

Need Nerve

"You need a certain amount of nerve to be a writer."

         - Margaret Atwood

Thick skin is helpful too.


© 2010 Steven R. Lundin, all rights reserved

Calling a Screenplay

Calling a screenplay a template is like calling sheet music an outline.

        - S.R. Lundin


© 2010 Steven R. Lundin, all rights reserved

End of Editing

Publication: The end of editing and beginning of revision.

- S.R. Lundin


© 2010 Steven R. Lundin, all rights reserved

Writing is to Reading

Writing is to reading what cooking is to eating.
   - S.R. Lundin


© 2010 Steven R. Lundin, all rights reserved

Sin not Read

"When I am dead, I hope it may be said:

'His sins were scarlet, but his books were read.'"
     - Hilaire Belloc

...and still to this day I hear his voice in my head.


© 2010 Steven R. Lundin, all rights reserved

Baby Pictures

Seeing your first screenplay is like seeing baby pictures of you in a diaper.

   - S.R. Lundin


© 2010 Steven R. Lundin, all rights reserved

Blockhead

"No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money."

- Samuel Johnson

From the money I make from writing, it's a wonder I can lift my head.


© 2010 Steven R. Lundin, all rights reserved

Roaches

Writing errors are like roaches. If you find one, you can be sure hundreds more lie hidden in your manuscript.
        - S.R. Lundin


© 2010 Steven R. Lundin, all rights reserved

Shortening your Screenplay

Shortening your screenplay is like selling your possessions. You save the best for last.

                  - S.R. Lundin

© 2010 Steven R. Lundin, all rights reserved

Actions of Men

"I have always thought the actions of men the best interpreters of their thoughts."
                    - John Locke

I have always thought the desires of most men the limit of their action; they sit and they want. For those who keep standing, their desires become their achievements.


© 2010 Steven R. Lundin, all rights reserved

Droplet of Wisdom

"Metaphors have a way of holding the most truth in the least space."
       - Orson Scott Card

A droplet of wisdom.


© 2010 Steven R. Lundin, all rights reserved

To Be Done

To be done writing is to be done living.

    - S.R. Lundin


© 2010 Steven R. Lundin, all rights reserved

Day Without Writing

A day without writing is like a day without family.

    - S.R. Lundin


© 2010 Steven R. Lundin, all rights reserved

When Writing

Feeling the emotions of your characters is as natural as laughing when you're happy or crying when you're sad.
      - S.R. Lundin


© 2010 Steven R. Lundin, all rights reserved

True When You Start

"Writers are not just people who sit down and write. They hazard themselves. Every time you compose a book your composition of yourself is at stake."

    - E.L. Doctorow

There's no doubt about it: Writing changes everyone, especially the writer.


© 2010 Steven R. Lundin, all rights reserved

Newlove

"Remember: Writing can get you fed to a lion whose teeth draw your whole face into its foul wet breath and cut your skull with knives. There's no soft way to put this. A black hole swallows you up. Willpower's no help. Getting in print is like beating cancer but losing a lung, staying in print is hopeless. Your best work goes begging.....Today's paragraph comes, a word from the heart of the universe, and shines in the darkness, unquenched. And you ask for power, wisdom, and love as you make the anvil sing."

     - Donald Newlove

Whew! What ever happened to the old love?


© 2010 Steven R. Lundin, all rights reserved