Finally: A Reason for this Blog

I have realized today that there are three people who follow this blog. I'm not sure when this happened, or how, but I feel bad that nothing has been posted since my writings on Synecdoche, New York. However much I enjoy analyzing films, I feel that it would be interesting to post snippets of my own writing, and hear what other people think. But I will also write what inspires me, and if that is analyzing a film once again then I will do so. The reason for this is because I am stuck within my recent screenplay. It could be writer's block, or it could be that I've lost passion for the story. Either way, I think this will be good for me to do so that I can grow as a writer. See what inspires me, so that one day I can write like the ones who produce the most beautiful pieces of art that go up on the big screen.

To begin: Charlie Kaufman and Haruki Murakami are currently my two favorite writers. At one time I might have said Ingmar Bergman, Quentin Tarantino, or F. Scott Fitzgerald. These guys might make it back on my list some day, but today I am feeling their writings more than anyone else. Kaufman and Murakami use very human characters in situations that might be despicable, yet I still feel for them. Is it due to an eccentric story line that keeps me interested? Or maybe because they are just so human that I can see myself in them? Either way, they hit this level of honesty that I hope to reach within every single thing I write. Currently I am reading Norwegian Wood, and I can't stop thinking about the connections that he has between his lead character Watanabe and the lead character in South of the Border: West of the Sun. I remember reading in Murakami's memoir something along these lines: "I don't particularly like who I am. It's like carrying around extra baggage everywhere I go. But I don't have a choice. I'm always going to be me. And carrying it around, obviously I've grown fond of it." Of course, that is incredibly butchered, but the main point is that there are characteristics of who we are that we want to change, such as being overly shy, but we live with what we have. It seems as if Murakami is stuck in this idea that he had a love when he was young, and somehow let it slip through his fingers. His main character in both stories is a man in his 40s who regrets leaving that one woman in the past, then marrying someone he thought he loved, but nothing close to the one he had. This could either be literal or figurative. Either way, his writing shows regret. And it's this same lonely regret that can be seen in Charlie Kaufman's characters. I'm only 20, going to be 21 in two weeks, and I'm already feeling this desperation of being someone else. Does it just go downhill from here? Or will there be some remarkable turning point? It's Christmas day, and instead of loving the moment I'm missing the past. Nostalgia creeps in like a silent cancer. But I digress. Caden Cotard in Synecdoche, New York has a lot of personal similarities to Charlie Kaufman in Adaptation. The writing is honest. When someone is lying they tend to tell the story the same way each time. Kaufman and Murakami's characters have minor changes, but in the end they typically have some of the same flawed personas. I hope to one day reach a level of honesty that I can do the same with my characters, but also put them in a world that I believe to be truly beautiful.

Thanks for reading. I'm sure this is probably so personal to me that it will not interest anyone else, but I guess that's what true writers think of each of their works. I will be adding on a screenplay I wrote soon. Let me know what you think if you have the time.

Have a Merry Christmas!