Between Rupture and Rapture

I went to the movies today because I had a free ticket from Regal Cinema due to my frequent moviegoing skillz!  ;) hahahahahahahhaahah

So out of the movies available to see, I decided to go see a scary movie.  I went to see THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT.  It was true to form as far as scary elements, and the storyline had an interesting injection of faith and hope to it, which took me by surprise.  The actor who played the main character was really really really good.  I mean, in one second, I felt ultimate pity for him, and the next scene I felt afraid of him, and in the next I felt extreme respect for him and man, he could just switch from portraying one facet to another- great array of depth for the character.  The story-line was really interesting as well.  

I think the more and more I study screenwriting and practice it, the more I see the movie on paper as opposed to just going to see another movie.  I'm not saying that this movie will definitely win Oscars, but the mood and the cinematography definitely left an impression on me.  Though I'm not sure I'd ever be able to write a horror/thriller script without feeling like a complete knob, it definitely inspired me to keep writing.  

This new "dedicated hobby" of mine has challenged my creativity and I love exploring new mirrors and doors and being able to express the things, the characters, the locations, the scenarios that play out in my imagination all throughout the day.  And I love the discipline it's teaching me as well.  

I recently got to sit down with one of my mentors- Brian Brooks, who taught me a vast amount of exploring creativity in life, graphic design, web design and video production... and it was so refreshing to run my ideas through him and explain to him some of the things I've been learning.  I got to share with him the synopsis of both screenplays I'm working on and one of them is definitely more tragic than the other, but one of them actually hit home with him.  And for me, though it is a tragic situation, to know that what I'm writing is relatable and not just "poopy-shash" as it were, gives me a new level of confidence that I can write something and get something out of my mind that's not just unique to myself.   

I love writing. so much. truly.  And I think that this "dedicated hobby" I've ventured into is bringing out a lot of honesty and a lot of depth to my own mind and heart.  I love it!

One thing that I've been wrestling with as a writer lately is the "line" of involving faith in the scripts that I am working on.  I mean, you have to think so deeply about the characters and what they like and what they would say in any moment... how would they stand if asked a serious question? how would they respond to a cat call?  would they laugh at an unfunny comment?  And for me, I've wrestled with... language.   Would I be less of a Christian if my character said "Hell" flippantly?  Would I be looked down upon for one of the characters saying "Damn"?  If I'm true to the character in my head, she would say that.  If she was being attacked, she's not going to say "Oh crap!"  She's not necessarily a Christian.  And in the moment, I wonder, if she were a Christian, and she was being attacked, would she really "turn the other cheek?" Honestly? I think not.  I think that when you explore the lives of other people (real or fictional) that you begin to realize that their situations where faith meets life, are not 100% perfectly holy.  There will be anger.  There will be retaliation.  People are people.  

So I was thinking the other day, does it make me less of a Christian if I don't promote bible verses and people getting "saved"?  And I'd like to think that if what I write is in line with what I believe in my heart that God wants me to write and if I do it with excellence, He will shine through more and more.  Because this ability to write the things in my head, the characters, the lives, the stories... it's all because of HIM. Seriously.  

While I'm still wrestling with a lot of elements involved in these scripts, I love knowing that it's meaningful.  If not to others, at least to me.