Why do I enjoy the UCLA writer's program?

When I was a kid I had this book, how machines work, or something like that. It explained how machines work. Very smart. Anyways, I was too young to read, so I just browsed the illustrations. My favorite part of the book was a page (spread of 2 pages actually) with a big boat. The illustrated boat was cut, so you could see the inside. Now it remindes me of this film with Bill Murray, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Anyway, I could sit there for hours, stare at that still image, meditating to it. In my mind it was alive. The girl in the room at the bottom was waiting for the guy from the hall. The couple in the room just had an argument. The empty room had a history larger than any of our lives.

I think I understood right there I wanted to write. It's the game of the mind, of the eye, of the heart. Studying scriptwriting teaches me so much about myself.

The course I take at UCLA Extension is great. They teach us the craft, and the business. I know right now I'm not in the US, and perhaps the business here is a bit different than what's happening in LA, but still. We proceed fast (unlike normal classes, where each student with a stupid question drags the class to another wasted hour). We learn everything, we communicate with each other well (the forum of the program is very good). We must do our assignments on time (dicipline is so important in this business).

The rest of my afternoon I will use to write and try to complete the 8th assignment we got: the beat sheet for the third act of our story. I have no idea yet, but writing is all a writer needs to do to find the answers.

Btw, I killed vista today, went back to xp. The first thing I did was to reinstall Celtx, the free scriptwriting software i love so much.

The dreadful second act

I just wrote the first skech for my second act. It's a super hard mission, your brain feels like the world, total chaos and many details. But, since its just a first skech, I had the freedom to let myself go, no fear.

So I added a character, might gave it too much space, but it opened a new direction. My tutor (UCLA Extension) gave some usefull suggestions. Writing is the key here. The more I write the more there is to write. It's a great feeling, especially since I do have the time now.

I still have a short script to write for another class (at Tel Aviv University). The subject we're supposed to write about is 'downtrodden'. I think it's facsinating, I have a general idea of my story. I want to keep it short (cos it needs to be read during class, time is very limited).

I'm going to enroll for another 2 UCLA Extension courses today. I'm very excited about my next semester. In terms of beggining, middle and end, it's going to look like - lots of interesting courses, study hard, give birth. I hope together with my human baby I'll also experience the birth of a script. That would just do it.

And then - the summer ::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Lots of changes, I'm still writing

Looking at your life like on a doll house, that's inspiring. Everything seem to have a reason. You understand the order of things. It's called perspective, I guess. But it's also meditative.

Anyway, I switched departments at university: from directing to scriptwriting. It's been great, really brilliant. My work is to write now, it seems like the good life is here. No one pays me for it, but being smart as I am I know that little can be measured with money. Joy cannot. And my life is full of joy now.

I take two scriptwriting courses at uni: "writing the scene" and "advenced scriptwriting". For both I write on a weekle basis (writing and rewriting, that is). It's going very well so far (today I'll have a short script read at class, hope I still be so happy in the evening).

I also take that UCLA Extention course, feature scriptwriting. This also goes very well. We go from the premise, the characters and the structure - into creating the beat sheet of our feature. It's hard, requiring a lot of writing. A lot. 3 hours a day is the minimum I need to write to take this project somewhere, and the more I do it the more fun it gets. I see my characters better. they sometime even talk to me. Still miles to go.
I work now on the beat sheet for the second act. It is hard, to decide how it all will fold out.
We read a script every week (well, we can watch the movie instead but what's the point). So I've read yesterday Ghost. I think the script is much better than the film itself, even though it's not very different. We use on this class two books: Lajos Egri's "The Art of Dramatic Writing" and Linda Seger's "How to Make a Good Script Great". Both books are excellebt. Egri's book is meant for the theatre and I enjoyed reading the examples he uses, taken from plays I've never saw or even heard of. The book of Seger is just brilliant, very clear and full of usable notes. I think I'll buy this one (the library will want it back at some point and I just can't give it away).

Besides all that, I'm very pregnant now. 4th month. I have a small belly (the size changes all the time). I feel sick every evening, but at least I can go to the cinema (I couldn't do it one month ago). So I saw No Country for Old Men, which I loved a lot (but I wouldn't say it's the best film by Coen Brothers, this wouldn't be fair. Miller Junction, Blood Simple - they have such a diverse record, there's no one best film). I also saw 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 Days...which I must say I didn't go crazy for. the style was too outside of the movie. it's not like in Rosetta of
those belgian brothers, there the style was in the movie. Here i felt it was just a costum. I thought the acting was good, and some good dramatic moments. I guess I didn't like the directing very much. The script could have be made into a better film, that's my guess.

I shut up now.