Whew.
How are you taking care of your hearts today, CoSo?
@MLClark: My usual way, i.e., doggos, gatos, horror movies, reading, and the box fan is on.
Heck yes. Horror movie season is such a quaint way of controlling the terrors of the real world, no? 👌
@MLClark: Horror movies in general, all year. For me they're not therapeutic, just interesting, though sometimes irksome for very deeply geek reasons.
The world doesn't hold much terror for me, really. Seen too much of it, the world. I stopped trying to control or feeling as if I should control things I cannot control long ago.
That's good.
I find horror movies fascinating, because each region's flicks unwittingly show the *actual* limits of a culture's fears. Sometimes it's through tacit coding of who on screen is allowed to be brutalized or killed; other times, through the family value lessons underpinning the story. I also love the films with atheists, because they're almost always *very* good at responding to new evidence.
For me, they're great storytelling lessons - cozy viewing to that end!
@MLClark: I like horror, suspense, and mystery/thrillers because I find they're the most flexible and, I believe, most engaging. I find that's especially the case quite often if a fair amount of comedy is sprinkled through. It isn't just rising and falling tension so much as a sort of psychological punctuation. Also, suspense/mystery and comedy engage the intellect, even on a subconscious level, the same way. Horror engages emotions and instincts. So get all of them together, and it's a party.
@MLClark: The right balance can be highly engaging for the audience *and* as a bonus, not treat them like they're stupid. (I really hate movies that treat viewers like they're stupid... or indicate the filmmakers were stupid.)
I haven't seen A Haunting in Venice yet, but it's supposed to be an interesting intersection of whodunnit and horror. It's always neat to see how the beats of different narrative structures play together.
Suspense is my utter favourite - real suspense, patient and building dread - but I love putting on mysteries to "hear" the story beats when I'm working on a major writing project. As you note, they're quite flexible, but in part because the "bones" are so familiar.
@MLClark: Interesting. I can barely even have music on if I'm actually sitting down writing, much less stories/podcasts. That said, I'm a pacer, a sit-stand-sit-stander-sitter, a talker, and fidgeter when I write. I also say things aloud to find the right cadence, tenor, words, etc., rather like how Churchill wrote his speeches.
@MLClark: Ah, okie. I get that in re: the pacing, chewing. I initially thought you meant while you were putting pen to paper. I listen to weird/cosmic horror, horror fantasy, mystery, suspense stories/novels. I also watch/rewatch films/tv and read. I also let one or two of my trains just go all over and let my imagination be all amok. I play in the story sandbox and bash things on the bench, and everything gets filed away, riffed on, etc.
As far as my WIPs go, I've got a comedy-horror that...
@MLClark: ...was pitched for development, and I'm waiting to hear back. I'm planning (*fingers crossed*) to travel for a few days to north Georgia to research geography for a longtime anthology project. Shooting got pushed back on a slasher that was delayed by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, and it's not set to shoot now until February. So I have time (and no paycheck). And I'm trying to do prose again for the first time in thirty-five years. (It's not like riding a bike, I've learned.)
"And I'm trying to do prose again for the first time in thirty-five years."
A different rhythm for sure! It sounds like you have a dynamic range of projects at various stages of the process, but I especially love that there's some research travel involved for one of them. Changing up one's work environment, even for a little while, can be quite stimulating.
I hope you get that trip in, and that it inspires tons of surrounding work.
Thanks for sharing!
@MLClark 👍
Merci for the chat. Chats are cool. 🙂
@thedisasterautist
Oh, I can't listen to music with lyrics when I write, let alone full shows. I was referring to the pacing part - when I'm between writing stints, still chewing things over.
When I said "working through" I meant "what's on your film slate this month?".