Paper Is For Writing, the Cat's For the Rat, Cheese Is For Scratching

The number of YouTube videos that appear in this space in place of actual musings and anecdotes might be enough to convince you otherwise, but I really enjoy writing (unless the thing I'm writing is a six-page essay on Joan of Arc - hey, guess what my homework is tonight!). Most of all, I love to write dialogue, and if you want to write pure dialogue, there's no better medium for it than a script. There's also nothing worse. A script isn't like a book. In a book, the author writes something and the reader reads it. Maybe there's an editor who gets involved somewhere in the middle, but, overall, it's a fairly straightforward transaction. There's no real negotiation. With a script, other people are almost always involved in translating it into what the audience eventually experiences. Don't get me wrong - this is a good thing. Actors and directors can infuse a script with new life and perspective while still remaining true to the author's intent. Unfortunately, it goes beyond that. A script passes through so many hands that everyone from the producer to the boom operator may begin to feel some sense of entitlement. The author loses all authority.

I have a lot more to say, but I'm busy tonight. Let's add this to the rapidly growing stack of subjects I'll discuss further at a later date.

For now, this pretty much sums it up. It also features the best drawing I've ever seen of Eugene Ionesco.

Here's my Ionesco.