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thebleedingeffect · 6 months

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tell us about your hannibal-faith-fnaf au please :) be as incoherent as you want

FORREST, BELOVED MUTUAL, I AM KISSING YOU!!!! ON THE LIPS OR CHEEK? IDK THAT'S FOR YOU TO DECIDE!!! AUGHHHHHHH okay I'm gonna be 100% incoherent now, thank you for letting the BEAST to escape its time to release the autism demons.

Alright, so, the very very beginning of the au starts around mid season one of hannibal, I'm sorta thinking around the episode 7~8 range, before Abigail comes back into the picture. Hannibal's efforts at driving a wedge between Will and Jack have worked to such a point, along with his still struggling mental health and budding encephalitis, he's completely, 100%, done with the FBI. He's losing a painful amount of time, he doesn't trust himself, he doesn't trust the people around him, and he knows that it's only getting worse with every passing day. Will knows that he shouldn't, he absolutely shouldn't, he knows that him taking time away from the FBI and the countless investigations would only get more people killed. He can already feel his mind beginning to bend, and taking on more and more killers is only making it worse. Its gotten so bad that he can see Jack simply calling him and he can barely breathe around the fact that he'll have to allow another killer in his mind.

Not even the appointments with Hannibal seem to be working at releasing the tension, and he feels closer to a steadily breaking dam than a person.

It's callous, it's reckless, it's selfish... but Will doesn't stop himself on the third night of absolutely no sleep to call the Baltimore FBI department directly ans ask for a case. Any case, any case at all, as long as it's out of Baltimore entirely and he's solo- he'll take anything. Will knows that he's only a "consultant" and not an official agent, so it should at least lend him a single day before Jack finds out. It takes less than a day for them to get back to him and while it isn't that far- Will can't help the bolt of relief at hearing that he'll be going to Connecticut of all places. He leaves that same day with only a voice-mail to Alana to request that she take care of his dogs until further notice. Whatever he tells Alana will eventually make its way to Jack, so he very carefully turns off his phone and only dares to turn it back on the moment he walks into the Connecticut FBI division.

It's a small little thing, nowhere as large and distinguished as Baltimore, but that very fact is a comfort as he settles into the uncomfortable, old chair. They tell him of a town that's been suffering through an increasing rate of missing people, as well as the strange deaths littering the town. Ritualistic almost, but all of their investigations have proved to be useless as they can't find a thing. There's rumors, of course, but it seems like any info that there is, is trapped within that little country town. They've gotten so desperate that it's why they requested for another pair of eyes on the disappearances. Will can already feel his own curiosity burning at the threads begin to weave together.

A little town in the middle of nowhere, deaths and disappearances that have stretched back for decades, and now? A string of murders and animal corpses filling the forests. It's... an intimidating case, but one that promises to keep him more than well distracted from Baltimore and all of the lingering regrets that wait for him. Will doesn't hesitate to accept the case.

He very pointedly ignores his ringing phone and Alana's concerned texts.

Some more mundane events happen until!! Will and John officially meet during chapter one :]] Will have gone to check out the Martins' abandoned household, the most recent of disappearances, only to run into John :] who has a shotgun :] and just got done failing to exorcise Amy FOR A SECOND TIME!!!! Anyway, John saves Will from getting absolutely fucking mauled by Michael! Sorry it just cracks me up that their first interaction is John being freshly traumatized, Will learning that demons exist, and promptly adopting each other as besties.

Some other little details about the faith-hannibal meeting!! Will acts in what would be Garcia's role if he had been present throughout the entire story, aka he physically protects John and acts as the more rational, calculating one to John's more extreme anxiousness and ridiculous guilt complex. They help to balance out each other a ton and it's really fun for me to imagine that Will is the "bite" between the two of them. Their dynamic is the equivalent of two EXTREMELY different people, somehow finding a ton of common ground and even an understanding between each other. At first, it concerns John that Will is able to understand the demons and worshippers so well, but he soon comes to terms with it. If anything, it's a comfort that Will offers a sort of stability to the world for John and John is a glimpse of how genuinely good the world can be. Will is so frequently haunted by the absolute worst of humanity that it can be a nice reminder that a whole lot of people are also haunted by darkness, not all of them reflect the potential for darkness. They're each other's stability and also help each other with keeping tied down to reality.

It also helps that the both of them suffer with delusions, hallucinations, and nightmares, so it's nice to be understood and not feared, or pitied.

I like to imagine that they get one of the neutral endings!! Or aka :) the ending where the seal is not completely broken and the crucible is instead sealed. Things get a bit, uh... heated when Garcia takes out a shotgun and points it at John :( to which Will points his gun at Garcia :( I like to imagine that Garcia reminds Will of Jack in that painful moment, of being willing to sacrifice someone for the greater good. Will is the one who asks John if he wishes to join the fight- join Garcia- and his gaze tightens when John says no for the second time- he needs time, he needs to breathe-

Keep in mind that this is a timeline where Lisa had been killed by John while he was possessed :( so he's extremely emotional and traumatized, and really? Will is one of the only reasons that he's been at all stable whatsoever through all of this. It just KILLS ME to imagine that WILL ASKS JOHN IF HE WANTS TO CONTINUE THE FIGHT!!! HE ASKS IF HE WANTS TO IMMEDIATELY THROW HIMSELF BACK INTO HELL!!! AND HE DEEPLY UNDERSTANDS WHEN JOHN SAYS NO!!!!!!!! LIKE GOD. DEAR GOD..... I just can't fucking get over the idea of Will feeling so much like a tool, of being pulled that way and that, of being the sacrificial lamb- that he SEES himself in John at that very moment and steps IN!!!! HE'S THE ONE WHO HOLDS A GUN TO GARCIA WHEN HE TRIES TO FUCKING IMPEDE ON JOHN'S CHOICE. END IT ALLLLLLL !!!!! And like, Will fucking gets why John wants a break, wants to run, because isn't that what he's doing? It doesn't matter much, but Will is able to successfully get them both out and on the road.

They're not going to Baltimore, he knows that it would be the smartest option, but he just can't yet.

Anyway uuuhhhhhhh plot is a bit twisty and turny here because I'm still solidifying on how they end up in Nevada- but they end up there after Will is forcibly put into the hospital for his encephalitis and extreme fever. John is by his side the entire time btw ^-^ ! And I've been thinking that they end up staying in Nevada for a bit so Will can recover and that's how they end up learning about the string of disappearances within the remains of freddy's! And it doesn't help that there's been other, more quieter disappearances as well... and Will just knows that somethings up, and he can't refuse the pull when he reads paper after paper of the missing children. Eventually! They end up finding Vanessa and its through her that they end up learning more and they meet Mike on his very first night!! :DD

Will, John, and Mike all bond and it doesn't take long for Mike to tell him about Garrett and all that he experienced. How he dreams every night, the same dream, but he never feels any closer to his brothers killer. Will deeply understands how it feels to be haunted by a killer, to have the feeling of being useless and helpless under your skin, and how it feels when everything is ripped away from you. John also understands because he's deeply sympathetic to how Mike lost absolutely everything and yet... he's still so protective, how he tries. How even if the world seemed determined to keep him alone, he always stayed by his sisters side. It reminds him of how him and Lisa used to be and it's all very...... uhhhhhhh lemme rip my heart out of my chest rq, I can't fucking handle all of these guys being sosososososo sad :(((( but it's okay cause they're all besties and are having a therapy session on the dirty kitchen floor.

Also some random details during the whole fnaf part- Mike invites Will and John to his house because it's kinda clear that they're not from here and have absolutely no place to go. Abby is initially not happy at ALL that there's two whole other people stealing Mike's attention- but she softens really quick when she sees how having friends has made some of his stress alot easier. John is actually pretty good with kids, though he does fumble and is kinda awkward- he's trying his best!! And Will is so out of practice because being in the FBI means you don't really interact with kids, ever, and her being a child knocks him off his rocker so damn much you have no idea. Abby is able to get him on the floor to draw and he's completely stunlocked the entire time, he has no fucking idea what he's doing whatsoever.

Also Will has been fucking pampered by Hannibal's cooking, but he's brought back to earth extremely quickly when Mike shows up with cheap, greasy pizza. Will swears he can feel Hannibal shiver from across the states.

But besides that! John, Will, and Abby all end up accompanying Mike to his job that they can watch over Abby while researching more about freddy's and the profane sabbath! Goodbye to Mike's late night nap sessions :)

John is extremely spooked by the animatronics btw LMAOOOOOOOO he shrieks the first time that Vanessa shows them all off and he immediately hides behind Will, who has the most incredious expression you've ever seen in your life. Will doesn't trust any of them worth a SHIT and he just wishes that he could shoot them like any old demon or person. He may or may not carry a taser 24/7 the moment he's able to work the info out of Vannessa that they're weak to electricity :)) not even joking Abby and Vanessa are the only ones who trust the animatronics worth a damn and it's the funniest damn thing to see in action. Just imagine three vaguely anxious guys all huddled together with The Expressions of all time.

John is terrified, Mike is untrusting and slightly dissociated, and Will can and will figure out how to take them apart by evidence of his face alone.

It gets even worse when the animatronics start moving and Will just has to sit on the ground because OF COURSE FUCKING GHOSTS EXIST. OKAY WHATEVER. ITS FINE. I KNOW YOU'RE ALL DEAD KIDS BUT I STILL DON'T TRUST YOU WORTH A SHIT. I MISS REGULAR MURDERERS NOW <- he's going to regret that thought extremely quickly when he meets William and Gary.

While all of this happening btw I just need you to imagine the rest of the hannibal cast absolutely losing their shit trying to figure out where Will went. Hannibal is slowly unraveling because he utterly despises how MIA Will is rn and he has no idea where he is. Let's just say that he's... a bit tired of it :) just a bit :) he's totally not about to go off-gride himself and find Will by the skin of his fucking teeth. He doesn't even fucking know about Gary........

#THERE'S SO MUCH MORE BUT I'M GETTING A BIT SLEEPY ADMITTEDLY #this is the result of these three medias but my most intense hyperfixes rn so I'm slamming them together #this was so much fun btw I gotta fucking talk more about about this au <- its only existed MAX for two days now #will is the most functional out of the three of them btw ^-^#thebleedingeffect talks #KISSING YOU BTW. THANK YOU FOR ASKING TRULY!!!!!!!

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the-real-tc · 5 years

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Review! Heartland Ep. 1202: Hearts Run Free

(Cross-posted as always on the CBC Heartland FB page) First thoughts: super-good to see Will Vernon again! Nicholas Campbell and Shaun Johnston get along together so well on screen, it’s just fun to watch them in their respective roles. Will, ya clean up nice, too. I was pleased the writers didn’t drop the thread about Jack’s advice to Will to try to mend fences with his ex-wife.

Pike River Reprise! That location will always hold a special place in the hearts of Heartland fans, I think, particularly for Ty and Amy moments. “Miracle Girl” Amy worked her magic again on the wild stallion, this time coaxing it to accept the mare and foal.

Was it cheesy? Oh, my, yes. Stallions in the wild can’t understand spoken English, and they certainly don’t go doing personal favours for humans. But that’s part of the charm of a show like Heartland: forget harsh realities for a moment, and believe in fairy tales once again. Smile and be happy that things can be set right again when they seemed hopelessly lost and broken. We also get teased with the possibility of another Jack-and-guitar number when Will solicits his help with a song he’s writing for the occasion of his ex-wife’s birthday. Seems he could use Jack’s touch with coming up with a good hook. More on that later... Istanbul (not Constantinople!) is the France of Season 12 (France, of course, being the standard excuse for Lisa’s lengthy absences every season...) But will it turn out to be the Waterloo for Jack and Lisa’s marriage? Fortunately, we have video and photographic evidence of Lisa being present later on in the season, so I have zero fears on that one.

Aunt Evelyn (gonna start calling her “Evilyn” if she doesn’t quit manipulating Lisa) is either heartbroken or sick, or both. Or maybe she’s just making stuff up to play on Lisa’s sympathies and loyalty to get her to be her travel buddy in Turkey.

Jack isn’t happy about it. Lisa is clearly torn, but feels she has to go see after her aunt in the event she really is sick. (Small detail: Lisa’s first marriage collapsed after she came back to Fairfield to care for her sick and dying father. One hopes history isn’t about to repeat itself.)

Anyway, after some wise words from Will, Jack is ready to let Lisa go. Her parting was a sad one, but I adored her “I love you more” response to Jack’s “I love you”, which leads quite nicely to the inspiration Jack was seeking for the “hook” for Will’s tribute song. I can’t wait to hear the finished version, though I fear the circumstances will be bittersweet when we do.

Lou continues to be infuriating. She won’t let well enough alone with Tim, and now she’s lying through her teeth that she’s dating lots of guys when Mitch asks if she’s really okay with his dating someone else. Lou, you forgot to take your dose of Humility again... the last 10,695 days of your life...

Michelle Morgan really needs to be commended on this point, because she plays this frustrating character with such authenticity.

Predictably, Tim has selected Heartland as his place to crash now that he has sold Big River. Jack (no surprise) is none-too-pleased. Can’t wait to see how these two get along, since it is clear Tim isn’t going anywhere despite his protests the stay is “temporary”. Still no real news on what happened (or didn’t happen) between Tim and Casey, but Lou seems to have been told.

Last, but not least, aspiring Olympian Georgie makes the decision to audition for a new, elite coach. Amy is disappointed, but rightly comes to the conclusion maybe her niece does need higher-level coaching that she cannot provide.

Kim Price, the elite coach, at first does not think Phoenix is at the level fitting for Georgie’s next step, but the kid makes a convincing case for the partnership when she aces a course set to prove their mettle. While we knew Georgie and Phoenix would silence yet another critic, I was really pleased that she stuck to her guns and won over the coach.

Final thoughts:

1) I don’t think Will is long for this world. He told Jack to head off to his fishing cabin while Lisa was off to Istanbul. In fact, he and Jack made plans to hang out there together, make some music, and have a high old time. My prediction? It is never going to come to pass. Instead, I think Will is going to pass unexpectedly. We know something “devastating” is happening thanks to Jack’s character bio for Season 12, and it’s been telegraphed loud and clear, in my opinion. 2) Nice gesture from Lisa to hire Ty and Amy officially for all vet duties at Fairfield. It’s this kind of family loyalty and care from her that makes me like her even more.

3) Dean Woodley better not have unexpected trouble with Bandit and seek to sue Amy for damages like Stewart Forrest once tried.

So far, a great start to Season 12, and I can’t wait to see more of Ty and Amy’s traditional/non-traditional style of horse-healing as things progress. Oh! Final-final thought! Did anyone else catch Jack strumming a little of Walk Me Over the Bridge early in the episode?

#Heartland #Season 12 #Episode 1202 #Hearts Run Free #Pike River #Amy Fleming #Ty Borden #Will Vernon #Jack Bartlett #Lisa Stillman #Aunt Evelyn #Lou Fleming #Mitch Cutty #Georgie Fleming-Morris #Phoenix #Fairfield #Dean Woodley #Michelle Morgan #Nicholas Campbell

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christinesumpmg1 · 6 years

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14 Lessons From Our Content Marketing Conference

I’ve been to a lot of content marketing conferences, and I finally got to see one from the inside out.

Last week, the Convince & Convert team partnered with our friends at Uberflip to produce and host CONEX: The Content Experience.

750 content marketers joined us in Toronto, including many Convince & Convert readers, clients, and fans. Thank you!

It was a fantastic experience, and I can’t wait for the next edition of CONEX: The Content Experience (which will be August 20-22, 2019)

I learned a lot about hosting and co-producing a content marketing conference, as well as some new ideas from our lineup of amazing speakers. But instead of just passing along my own recollections and notes, I thought it would be more interesting to provide my favorite tweets from CONEX, so you can see what real attendees thought of each speaker. Tweets are presented in chronological order.

IMPORTANT NOTE: You can watch the livestream of the event here: https://contentexperience.uberflip.com/live-stream-2018/

No More Random Acts of Content

Karine Bengualid picked this up from our very own Anna Hrach (a strategist here at C&C) who ran an outstanding pre-conference workshop on how to create the ultimate editorial calendar. (note: We will be offering this material as an online course this Fall).

No more random acts of content! #conex @annabananahrach @convince @Uberflip

— Karine Bengualid (@KarineBen) August 20, 2018

Content Success is About Remixing the Content

The theme of the CONEX content marketing conference was “Remix” and several speakers talked about repackaging content, and merchandising it better for content consumers. This trend was kicked off by Uberflip CMO and co-founder Randy Frisch, in his opening keynote. Kevin Webb tweeted this concept from Randy’s talk.

Marketing’s ability to remix the right content makes or breaks the content experience @randyfrisch #conex pic.twitter.com/7Od8LGJIfv

— Kevin Webb (@KevinWebb) August 21, 2018

Viral Means Nothing

My old pal Scott Stratten brought some thunder to the opening keynote and indicted the entire notion of trying to go viral with content marketing and social media. Yvonne Tsui tweeted one of many quotable Stratten-isms. (listen to Scott on the Social Pros podcast)

Vanity viral aka the great social reach around. It feels good, it means nothing. If it doesn’t move the needle it doesn’t matter. @unmarketing #ConEx #contentmarketing

— Yvonne Tsui (@life_of_Y) August 21, 2018

The Best Content Marketing Experiences Have 4 Ingredients

A highly relevant presentation from Nate Skinner of Pardot was next up on the agenda. I hadn’t heard this framework from Nate before, and I really liked his construct. So did Alex Fasken, who also grabbed a photo of the accompanying slide.

“The best experiences have 4 ingredients: entertainment, education, escapism and aesthetic” @renniksn @Uberflip #Conex pic.twitter.com/yaQJqL12Jd

— Alex F (@alexfasken) August 21, 2018

Behavior Change Starts with Perception

Tamsen Webster is on fire. She’s a content coach and idea whisperer who’s Red Thread system is being used by more and more executives and professional speakers to add clarity to their messaging. (disclosure: she’s worked with me) Tamsen brought her ideas to the stage at CONEX too and had a big impact on Madison Harbin and many other attendees.

“You can’t change WHAT people do without changing HOW they see it”. Great session @tamadear #CONEX pic.twitter.com/qHRvOXa2uA

— Madison Harbin (@Mads_Harbs) August 21, 2018

Content Is Critical at All Stages

As I mentioned in my introduction of him (I was the emcee at CONEX: The Content Experience) Carlos Abler of 3M may be the smartest bald guy I know. Or perhaps he’s the smart guy with the least hair. Either way, he knows a LOT about content. He brought a ton to the stage at the event, especially his ideas about content at every stage of the customer journey. Stephanie Totty tweeted about it.

“There is never a touch point in the customer experience when content is not involved – it’s a complex journey and relationship that requires thoughtful setup.” @carlos_abler #conex

— Stephanie Totty (@Tottums) August 21, 2018

Honest and Transparent Content Creates Customers

This may be the quintessential quote from a Marcus Sheridan presentation. Marcus preached the gospel of no b.s. content at CONEX, and had the audience transfixed, as usual. Nice .gif usage here from Katrina Couto! (Listen to Marcus on the Social Pros podcast)

“Honest and transparent content is the greatest sales and trust-building tool in the world.” – Marcus Sheridan, @TheSalesLion#CONEX @Uberflip pic.twitter.com/TRnj8ow8Vt

— Katrina Couto (@KatrinaMktg) August 21, 2018

Time to Play the Feud

One of the highlights of our particular content marketing conference is The Content Feud, which closes out day one. Inspired by Family Feud, we pit content marketing strategists against content marketing practitioners in a five-round quiz show, with me as the host. In a nail-biter that went down to the last question, the strategists (captained by Ann Handley) retained their title.

Fun way to keep up w/ marketing trends, content, digital & more at @Uberflip’s Content Feud #conex pic.twitter.com/K7j7toKBx7

— Lara Martinez (@LAMKVH) August 21, 2018

Customer Retention is the New Marketing

As anticipated, a tremendous day two opening keynote from Joey Coleman, whose book “Never Lose a Customer Again” may be my favorite business book so far this year. Joey also co-hosts the awesome ExperienceThis! show that we used to produce via Convince & Convert Media. Thinking through retention-based content resonated with Melanie Persaud. (Listen to Joey on the Social Pros podcast)

Customer retention! The next frontier in marketing? “We’re not just here for you in the beginning, we’re here for you all the way through.” #conex @thejoeycoleman pic.twitter.com/MPvOFgQ5BJ

— Melanie Persaud (@Melanie_Per) August 22, 2018

Social Video Isn’t TV

The delightful Caitlin Angeloff runs global social at Docusign and brought a supremely relevant and tactical presentation about social video, especially Facebook Live, to the CONEX event. Demand Gen Report tweeted one of Caitlin’s key points, about the real-time interactivity of social video. (Listen to Caitlin on the Social Pros podcast)

“Social video should NOT be a mistake for TV. Television doesn’t let you interact with your audience. Facebook does.” –@caitlinangeloff of @DocuSign #conex pic.twitter.com/wES4txgz9W

— Demand Gen Report (@DG_Report) August 22, 2018

Engage Buyers on Their Terms, Not Yours

Laura Ramos from Forrester delivered tremendous advice rooted in new research. Her talk centered on empathetic content: being prospect/buyer focused instead of company focused. Brandi Smith grabbed this photo and Tweet.

Great advice @lauraramos from @forrester. Engage buyers on their terms, not yours. Provide the right level of access and personalization based on where they are in the buyers journey #conex pic.twitter.com/nh4I5v6uGR

— Brandi Smith (@brandismith01) August 22, 2018

Create More Content Without Actually Creating More Content

Corinne Sklar is the super smart CMO of Bluewolf, and shared her concept of “Plucking the Chicken” at CONEX. What she means by that is that if you have a piece of content, if you keep plucking, you can create several other iterations and version of that content, boosting content efficiency. We call that “atomization” here at C&C, but I like a good chicken metaphor, as does Deirdre Buckingham (who won a return trip to next year’s CONEX during the event).

How can we extend our content and keep it going… without creating MORE content? #PluckTheChicken

@csklar #Conex pic.twitter.com/mmpPltZTyw

— Deirdre Buckingham (@dlaubuck) August 22, 2018

Don’t be Clever. Be Vulnerable

I wore a Buzz Lightyear outfit when I introduced Matthew Luhn, a legendary storyteller from Pixar.

A post shared by Jay Baer (@jaybaer) on Aug 22, 2018 at 9:13am PDT

With that less-than-ordinary lead-in, Matthew took the stage at CONEX and blew us away with heart and poignancy. His advice that content marketers are trying to get too cute was spot-on. His talk really resonated, including with Function 1, who grabbed this great photo in their tweet.

Storytelling advice from Pixar’s @matthewluhn: “Don’t be clever. Be vulnerable and honest.” #ConEx pic.twitter.com/Q7bXAzmZ8b

— Function1 (@function1corp) August 22, 2018

Ignoring Video is the Avoided Handshake of 2018

Amy Landino brought a warm, story-filled approach to her presentation on the importance of video content. She emphasized video’s ability to build community, and also shared her own formula for creating authority videos. Super useful! Dionne Mischler grabbed this photo from the balcony at the Royal Conservatory of Music, in Toronto. (Listen to Amy on the Social Pros podcast)

“Ignoring video is the avoided handshake of 2018.” Schmittastic #conex pic.twitter.com/dSN3MXSHUs

— Dionne Mischler (@MischlerDionne) August 22, 2018

Bridge the Curiosity Gap to Create Content Success

The legendary Andrew Davis delivered a hilarious and important keynote presentation about curiosity and delayed gratification, poking holes in the “audience is too distracted” excuse for poor content performance. Watch this one on the live stream: you’ll be glad you did! Mo Waja was on the scene to capture this tweet.

Earning attention means bridging the Curiosity Gap between what your audience knows and what they want to know. @DrewDavisHere #Conex pic.twitter.com/V7E81dE1HB

— Mo Waja (@iammowaja) August 22, 2018

Mobile isn’t for Serving Content it’s for Utility

Bonin Bough is the former head of digital of Pepsico and the former global head of media and digital for Mondelez. Bonin closed out Conex: The Content Experience with a roaring keynote that reminded attendees that mobile can (and should) do a lot more than it’s doing today, in most cases. Maya Chendke was paying close attention!

Mobile isn’t a medium to serve content, it should create utility. @boughb talking through crazy #mobile realities. #CONEX #mobilemarketing #contentmarketing

— Maya Chendke (@mayachendke) August 22, 2018

That’s a wrap. 14 lessons from our content marketing conference. You may have your own takeaways. Watch the on-demand livestream and see for yourself. It’s free!

Huge thanks to everyone at Convince & Convert and Uberflip for their work on the event. And massive thanks to all the speakers, sponsors, and attendees.

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#14 Lessons From Our Content Marketing Conference

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char27martin · 6 years

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The Screenwriter’s Toolbox: Two Techniques Novelists Can Borrow from Film When Writing Opening Scenes

Get ready for a bigger, better writing community. Writers Digest and ScriptMag will be merging into a single, fully redesigned website in 2018!

image from Getty | CSA Images/Printstock Collection

By Kes Trester

When I made the switch from feature film development executive to novelist, I discovered how much the two mediums have in common. For instance, when people ask about my former job, I describe it in publishing terms: I was an editor for screenwriters.

It also got me thinking: what other similarities are there between screenplays and books, and more importantly, what could I borrow from film that I could use in my writing? I realized there were a number of screenwriting tricks I could employ, including writing cinematically inspired opening scenes. Here are two of my favorite techniques.

ACTION OPENINGS

There is no faster way to pull an audience into a film than via an action opening, which is exactly what it sounds like. With a few quick shots to develop empathy for the character we’ll be following (we see him saying goodnight to coworkers, calling his wife to say he’ll pick up dinner up the way home—hey, he’s just like us!), we plunge him into physical jeopardy. Maybe he realizes he’s being followed, which accelerates into a life-or-death struggle when his pursuers attempt to drive him off a bridge.

If his name is James Bond (the most famous and consistent example of all action openings), we already understand the stakes; whatever he’s doing is in service to Queen and country, and he must succeed/survive. If he’s a stranger to us, his worthiness or duplicity may be revealed in how he responds. Maybe Mr. Average suddenly reveals hidden skills—driving abilities that turn the tables on his aggressors, or sliding a high-grade weapon out from under the dashboard—that makes us realize he��s not simply an unwitting pawn in a high-stakes game.

The same technique can be used in the opening pages of a novel of almost any genre. Maybe it opens on a young man dangerously weaving his bike through Manhattan traffic, doors thrown open in his path, a near miss with a horn-blaring truck, a pursuit by a dog who’s snapped his leash, only to have it end at the steps to his school/job/band practice. No, he’s not the hero of a spy novel, but you’ve kept your reading turning pages at breakneck speed while we also discover your character is bold, maybe reckless, perhaps chronically late to everything (which might be a set up for the inciting incident), etc.

[The Difference Between Science Fiction and Fantasy: What Every Screenwriter Needs to Know]

I used an action opening in the young adult, espionage romance thriller, A Dangeroue Year. As in a James Bond film, the five-page scene is the inciting event that triggers the rest of the story. In this case, the first few paragraphs also establishes setting and the building of stakes:

“Please, don’t let them take me!”

I knew enough Urdu to understand the girl’s desperate plea. The scrawny little thing clutching my arm was like any other twelve-year-old in the crowded Karachi marketplace, her hair covered with the traditional hijab headscarf, and her soft brown eyes wide with fear.

“It’s okay,” I said, betting she’d understand the tone if not the actual English words. My eyes darted about, attempting to pinpoint who or what was about to destroy the peace of a sweltering September afternoon. I’d heard enough horror stories to know if a young girl turned to an ambassador’s daughter for help, it had to be a matter of life or death.

INTRIGUE OPENINGS

When the first few minutes of a film result in the viewer wondering, “How did we get here?” it is known as an intrigue opening. Two of the most popular techniques used to achieve this are by opening with the conclusion or in medias res.

Saving Private Ryan is a famous example of a film opening with the ending. We all know how world events played out during World War II, but the moments we stumble through a veterans’ cemetery in the company of an elderly man are powerful. His emotion causes him to falter as he threads his way past headstones, the names engraved in marble not anonymous to him. Obviously he survived the war, so that isn’t the mystery we want resolved, but how did he survive when so many others died, and at what cost? Is he shedding tears of grief, guilt, or regret? These questions will cause a viewer (or the reader of your book) to sign up for the ride.

The Latin translation of in medias res is, literally, “into the middle things.” Forrest Gump successfully used this device by introducing the main character on a bus bench recounting how the shoes he’d worn over the years had brought him to this point in his life. It can also be combined with an action opening, as Amy Giles did in the upcoming novel Now Is Everything:

Emergency first responders scramble up and down the hill around me like ants, trying to see what can be salvaged. We’re on different frequencies. Theirs is manic and frenzied, searching for life, while I watch without seeing. What I escaped below eclipses everything. Blank eyes. A blood-soaked Cornell sweatshirt. Necks bent unnaturally. Angry fists of heat pounding at my back as I crawled away from the wreckage.

But the sky is a perfect crisp blue, like someone forgot to tell it to wipe that smug smile off its face.

No one survives a plane crash. I shouldn’t be here.

Whatever method you choose to open your book, remember to always leave your reader asking, “…and then what happened??”

A native of Los Angeles, Kes Trester has worked in Hollywood as a feature film development executive, then later a producer and head of production. In an attempt to raise kids who could actually pick their mom out of a line up, Kes now writes fulltime. Her contemporary novels for young adults are cinematic, fast-paced, and above all, fun. Her debut novel, A Dangerous Year, follows 17-year-old Riley Collins, daughter of a U.S. Ambassador, as she takes on her toughest mission yet: high school. Connect with her at kestrester.com.

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The post The Screenwriter’s Toolbox: Two Techniques Novelists Can Borrow from Film When Writing Opening Scenes appeared first on WritersDigest.com.

from Writing Editor Blogs – WritersDigest.com http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/there-are-no-rules/craft-technique/screenwriting-toolbox-writing-techniques-writing-opening-scenes-books-film

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mysticaltidalwavedaze-blog · 7 years

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