IV: Why, is it such a bad thing to die?
I want to swallow you, have you melt into me and flow through my veins.
Hello, and welcome from Vancouver, Canada.
This is the fourth edition of The Voice In Your Head Is Mine. The date is May 25, 2020. If you're receiving this email and have no idea what's going on, well, fuck. I guess I blew it. Or maybe you blew it. Either way, you're here and this is Zac Thompson's weekly newsletter.
It’s the early morning on Monday. This weekend, I spent some time hiking through the woods just outside Vancouver. Some huge trails just opened up and most of the people in the city haven’t figured it out yet. Spending time outside is such a fixture of my summer that I didn’t realize how much I was craving a hike until it was all over. Now, I count the days until I can head back out.
Outlines
Okay, like I’ve been saying for the past month (WTF time flies) I’ve been meaning to talk about outlines. Over the past 8 weeks I’ve outlined 4 new projects that will provide the roadmap of my 2020 and well into 2021. Here’s what I’ve learned during that time:
First, you want to have confidence in your vision. You want to articulate it with precision and a commitment to your take that shines through in the character moments. Honestly the best example of this you can find online is the pitch document made by Nic Pizzolatto for True Detective. It’s bursting with confidence, articulates the vision, and has that brilliant structure I adore so much.
Which brings me to the first thing you want to communicate. Structure. Is this an adventure story that turns into a romance at the midpoint? A romance book that spirals into horror. It’s good to know these things upfront. For Lonely Receiver, I pitched that book as a romance book that slowly becomes an erotic thriller before the floor drops out from under you and it becomes a relentless cosmic horror. Not only does this help your idea feel developed, but it allows you/your audience to understand where you’re going and how you’re going to get there. Don’t worry if you don’t have it all figured out. Details can sometimes make things worse (we’ll talk about that later).
Okay, so next. Your outline should talk about the main relationships driving the narrative. Who is this story about and how can you show who they are through their relationships and the choices they make over the course of the narrative. It’s fine to only have one character but they still have relationships with the outside world. Find something that seems like an unexpected choice they make in the narrative but make sure it’s spelled out through their character so it’s also inevitable that they make this choice. The writing should be on the wall for your character and their relationships right from the get-go.
How you’ll feel while outlining a new project.
Theme. Have one. What is your story trying to say? Why are you the person making this commentary on society? What question(s) is your story asking about the central idea. It doesn’t have to be fully figured out. But you should have some idea of what you’re trying to say and the themes you're trying to tackle.
Climax. Make sure this central point of your story is in here somewhere. It doesn’t have to be conventional and it certainly doesn’t have to be a fight. It’s just the moment of your story that pushes you into the final part of the story. It’s often the plot of your story coming to a head. In most things, this means a big showdown between the protagonist and the antagonist but it doesn’t have to me. You can do more, you can be more, you should reach for more than the conventional “fight” climax.
Relevance. This is one that most people seem to miss. But you want to angle your outline and story for something that feels relevant to people in some way. It doesn’t have to be literal in a way that “this story is about the overdose epidemic” but it can be. It can be something as simple as “right now people are stuck at home, isolated from their loved ones, and wondering how to carry on. This is a story about isolation. blah blah blah.”
Two things you don’t need: dialogue and description. Both are best left for your scripts or final product. You don’t need to bog yourself down with unnecessary details and if you need the exact dialogue in an outline to communicate the point of a scene – you probably need to rework that scene for clarity. That’s not to say you shouldn’t have ideas about both of those things, but trust your outline as a blueprint and build from there. Strip it down to its naked form and your story will be better for it.
Audition
Yesterday, I loaded my belly up with 3 vegan pancakes and settled in to watch Takashi Miike’s 1999 horror film Audition. Readers, it was a mistake. I forgot about the third act and those pancakes really wanted to escape up my throat. I made it, but it was not a good time. Do not recommend it.
Based on the 1997 novel by Ryu Murakami (which I just started reading), Audition is about a widower, Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi), whose son suggests that he should find a new wife. Aoyama agrees, and with a friend, stages a phony audition to meet a potential new partner in life. After interviewing several women, Aoyama becomes interested in Asami (Eihi Shiina), who responds well to him, although as they begin to date, her dark past begins to affect their relationship.
What comes next is a horrifying descent into Aoyama’s lustful relationship with the women in his life. His vanity and abuse of power are his undoing and honestly, in the post #MeToo era this film takes on a whole new meaning. If you’ve seen any of Miike’s other films then you know what to expect. If you haven’t, well…
Audition has an explosive third act that really needs to be seen to be believed. It’s complex, cathartic, and horrifying in equal measure. The film has a precision to the narrative that slowly sharpens its themes like a knife. The whole time you’re watching you’re expecting things to descend into depravity and yet… nothing prepares you for what happens when they do.
I loved this film when I originally saw it over ten years ago but now that we live in a world where the debauchery of Harvey Weinstein and other serial abusers have been exposed, it takes on a whole new meaning. Specifically, what is our role in cultural voyeurism and violence?
I can’t imagine a more relevant question for 2020. Audition is now streaming on Shudder.
Melt Into Me And Flow Through My Veins
This week’s playlist. Right here, right now:
Tiny Scabs
This writeup about a copyright battle currently tearing apart the weird lupine fan fiction world is interesting, if only for how people abuse copyright. Check it out from the New York Times.
Over the past week, I sessioned the entire ten-part documentary series The Last Dance. It’s about Micheal Jordan’s last year playing for the Chicago Bulls as they try to win their six championship. Knowing nothing about Jordan going in – I was blown away. Sincerely. The doc has unprecedented access to all the key players and is easily one of the best-edited docuseries I’ve ever seen. Check it out.
Here’s a TikTok of frogs wearing cowboy hats.
Bye, Bye
It’s the beginning of another week. Be good to one another. Practice safe boundaries with the things in your life that threaten to drain you. The world is on fire and we’re all too consumed with watching the flames. So carve out space for yourself, read a book, go for a walk. You’ve earned it.