Bob Vance's Lounge Discussions

Welcome Bob! What do you write about?

Hi Bob, lovely to meet you! What kind of content do you have on your substack? I know people are often leery to go to a website or click on a link without knowing anything. I'd love to hear more about what you're working on and your interests!

poetry, short fiction, absurdist blurbs, opinion, plays, humor, photography... ie: everything including the kitchen sink. Compendium: The Kitchen Sink.

Well said Mark and Wayne, you're on the money when it comes to both realisations, either scenario you put forward can be solved, but the loss of passion is perhaps the hardest one to restore... still, in the particular case I was thinking of I'm back on track thank goodness and have a couple more projects on the go now too, so it's all happening and the one that suffered the dreaded block is now going quite well. All the suggestions, thoughts and ideas that have been posted here have been very useful... I hope others will come across them at their time of need and be equally helped :-) Cheers Andy

Go and do something ridiculous, outrageous, in public even and see how that makes you feel. Then write about it. Even if it's crap it'll get you moving again

Hey if it's mad enough Ricky it could become a story on the news :-) I hear what you're saying though, the distraction etc could free up the creative flow... Cheers Andy

I teach the "Writing the Feature Screenplay" course at the Burt Reynolds Institute. Ours is a think tank atmosphere... students bring ten new pages a week and we "perform" them in as a staged reading. Then everyone gets to offer their insights. The results have been amazing. Every week we leave inspired by what we have heard. Perhaps a meet up with other writers would help clear your mind and bring your fingers back to the keyboard.

Hey Donna, I've kind of been sharing with fellow creatives on here and it certainly helped a great deal. I finished the script in question this very afternoon! Letting it sit for a bit before I go through and do any revisions. I figure the new work in progress I started will give it plenty of time to sit :-) But you're right, meeting with fellow writers whether in reality or virtually definitely helps get the creative juices flowing :-) Cheers Andy

Wait a second! I do theatre for kids and I AM expected to throw my hands around and warble and make funny faces! Are you invalidating my performance? Are you calling me a BAD actor because I'm 'acting'? HAHAHAHA! The children get question time at the end and one of the questions is "How are you not ashamed?" So... I guess they answered one of my questions, there. :)

Oh gawd, just read all the comments. Why did it need to get personal guys? Debating acting theory is a beautiful and constructive thing. Saying, "IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU" to an actor is just harsh. And inaccurate. What you actually wanted to say is, 'Stuff the audience, if they don't get my emotional truth from my state of being in character then that's their problem." Which it is... but they'll make it your problem and then you won't get work and then... it really won't be about you. Totally on board with all this anti-intellectualising theory but the audience issue seems to be splitting hairs and creating a false dichotomy. I know I can count on you to shoot me in the face with boiling rage and indignation if I'm wrong.

Hello Mr. Coburn, love your comment. I have heard these words from my acting teachers also. Don't act they say. Just be. Forced acting is easy to spot, but sometimes hard to fix. I find myself drawn to those characters that are secretly hidden within me...and as my mom says, there's a lot of them.

Is that your final word..?

Pass the pop corn :)

Feel free to change their names and appearances - completely re-imagine the characters that way they're virtually unrecognizable from the real people.

True life characters can be some of the best to create stories about. How close you are to your subject can be a double edged sword. Will the story show them in a negative light or positive? can you be objective as you tell the story? can you bring them in as a story consultant? like albert said changing the personalities of the "nervous" people and being honest about the story may be the best approach. I'm in a similar situation. I'm looking for writing partners for input and a second pair of eyes. That may be an option for you as well.

I've just completed a screenplay SHADES OF LOVE which details the experiences of a friend who had a love affair with a man behind his wife's back (she still doesn't know) His lover died and continues to help him beyond the grave It's all amazingly true. Anyway, when I told him I wanted to write a book about it (I did and called it TWO SHADES OF GAY) he was happy with the idea and liked the book but the screenplay really gets inside his head and is quite different from the book. It's a message about the power of love. I sent him each draft and he told me if it is accurate. I've now polished the script and he is flattered I\ve taken the time to dramatise his life. I was up front from the start. i think this is the best way. i changed names and the location is generic (could be Britain, USA or Australia) It was actually NZ. The message here is be open with your friend. If they agree fine. if not, best think of a story that is not directly identifiable with them.

One way out is to write it while its fresh in your mind and then save it.Time and distance will put everything in perhaps in better perspective and take some of the emotional sting out of it. I have a friend who wrote a film as a slice of his life and I am sure he has no clue as to how bad it makes him look.He is evolving at his own pace.My other friend and I who encouraged him to write it, now have to beg off because any of the needed criticism of the movie will probably be seen as a personal attack.This is on top of demanding that he must have major control over the whole movie, when he is as green as they get.Its a danger to bring in family and friends on projects you see as work,Generally its best not to unless you have a very honest and open good working relationship. Its why many bands and entertainment relationships don't last and its a better choice to go for trust love and privacy with family with an occasional steal of character traits or odd story line.that's not true when you are doing a loving nostalgic story but if you are dealing with sensitive issues its a one sided bomb that is going to go off.

I have a similar situation one of my pals! I've asked to write her story and she's concerned about jeopardizing individuals she came in contact with who had security clearances. I decided on developing composite fictional characters and accounts "inspired by actual events." Otherwise I'd be forever stymied by getting clearances from hundreds of persons I don't know. -kaf