Things are rough in my neck of the woods, too, but I've been dying to see 'Take the Fall' in hardcover. Saving my coin and plan on pre-ordering within the month. I can't give much, but I can give that! Sending you both hugs.

To me, Orphan Black (and Tatiana Maslany) are the reason Canada had to exist.

Heh. I've been working on making soap. I'm not yet at the point where I'd be able to sell them, but I've been giving some as gifts and trying to get better at it. I've also been baking a bunch, but that's not for sale. That's for snacks. 😋

Lastly, just wanted to remind you both of 'Ugly Betty,' a comedy about a NON-white young woman who worked at a magazine! ❤️

Thanks as always for the awesome conversation! (4/4)

#Scriptnotes #ScriptSky

Aline sounded like she thought us "learning to date from reality TV" was somehow worse, though she did acknowledge that the old sitcoms/rom-coms weren't entirely great either. I feel like every generation is trying to undo damage/indoctrination caused by the mass media of the past. #ScriptSky (3/4)

Re: female-led workplace sitcoms..how people have come to view gender/gender roles/sexuality has changed a lot, which changes how we see shows like that. When you said those shows "used to teach us how to be women," or "how to date," I was like, thank GOD they don't anymore! 😝 #ScriptSky (2/4)

Um, my sensitivity settings DIDN'T BLUR THIS AS A DISTURBING IMAGE! What's the point of these settings if they aren't gonna work?? 😱

No, they can't be divorced. But once u have that plot idea - "wouldn't it be cool if x happened" - stop & think about character. Once you're thinking about character, plot should come from them. If it doesn't fit w/the orig plot, the PLOT should change, not the character. That's "character-first."

If you start w/plot, the character you create won't be as interesting/nuanced & you'll need to adjust the character, which will adjust the plot anyway. It's not about the result as much as it's about process. Starting w/character makes the writing process easier & allows for better options. (2/2)

People want cool things to happen, but they CARE about stories because of characters. If you start w/character, you're tailoring the plot to them, which affects how it unfolds, allowing for options better suited to the story. (1/2)

Example: 'Shaun of the Dead' works, because Shaun's a slacker in his 30s who needs to learn a lesson by being in the kind of video game/movie he "wastes" his time on & rising to the occasion IRL. SotD works, because Shaun NEEDED that specific plot to grow. Not the other way around.

Because starting w/character regardless of genre (or popularity) makes for better structure. Shoehorning a character into an existing plot & letting plot dictate story is harder/less interesting than having plot evolve from a well-defined character for whom that plot is key to their journey.