SCREENPLAYS, ICE BATHS, AND HURRICANE HELENE

LIFE OF A BOOKMAN

Bookman: 1. a person who has a love of books and especially of reading. 2. a person who is involved in the writing, publishing, or selling of books. Oh, hi that's me!!

Medium Switch: Over a year ago, I ordered five highly recommended screenwriting books (from people that write for screen) that have sat pretty on my mantle. Well folks, this weekend I finally cracked open one of them: How to Write a Movie in 21 Days: The Inner Movie Method by Viki King. It was full of creative gems that would help any artist, and it helped move a creative block I've had in making progress on my next novel. What King wrote that hit home was to just write what's going on for you. Write about the themes that are super present in your life. Find that emotional connection between your inner world and the character's inner world, and the entire fictional world will open up. If you've ever wanted to write in this medium, her book is an easy read. I'm following it with Save the Cat.

What I'm writing: OK, see above. I'm going to take my hand at adapting That Novel into a script, because creativity is fun!! And I've got 7 new key scenes for That Second Novel all worked out. The point of this book? Know your power. The heroine? America's most famous astrologer of the last century. If my writing coach gives this new structure a stamp of approval, outlining is next! PS. if you have a book you'd like to finally get drafted, on Oct 7 my writing coach Julie kicks off 12 Weeks to Your Next Draft!, to finish by the end of year. Join me in getting those pages down.

WOMEN’S STUDIES

What gets passed down becomes our history. A few for the canon:

I'm about to ruin your next cold plunge, and for that I'm not sorry. The Dutch newspaper deVolkskrant published seriously exhaustive reporting on the domestic violence of Wim Hoff, “The Iceman”, known for plunging ice baths into popularity (although I was doing this all thru college way before “the ice man”)

The reporting is chilling. And his fame had a chilling effect on his family's experiences of his abuse being shared and believed.

This article, which synthesized years of court documents, first-hand interviews, texts, and emails from Wim Hoff to the family, paints a picture that's in total misalignment from the health guru to the mega-stars persona he portrays.

The outlet did something unique, which was to insert a voice-over from psychologists and domestic violence experts as a type of overlay to the story – explaining how these aggressors function and what to look for. It was both educational and informative (and infuriating). Worth the read, and follow it with a hot bath.

PASS IT ON

Stories are heirlooms. Here's one of mine:

Hurricane Helene was underestimated. It's heartbreaking to see the devastation, especially in North Carolina. While nothing compares to what those communities are dealing with, Savannah didn't make it out unscathed! Most of my friends have been without power for five days, muscling through the heat with backup generators or heading to guest rooms. Thankfully, my dog, house, and block are (mostly) fine. We lost some gutters and one oak tree out front (heartttt breaking) but have kept power the whole time. The beautiful part of this community going through a hard time is seeing how much people show up for their neighbors. I've had so many people reach out, offer help (because fallen trees are heavy!?!? Squat pulling them is not recommended), and sending their love. It's a good reminder that little moments of showing up go a long way. I've been trying to do the same!!

Woman on xx