It's not so bad living in box. Just ask a cat -- or E.C. Henry.
I had a revelation two weeks ago -- that dedicated writers LIVE in creative boxes of their own making while their in the midst of crafting their stores.
I just read that cats enter boxes in search of a form of security. This makes sense, if you're a animal and have animal sensitivities, needs, and thoughts. In terms of cats from I've witnesses they have very specific focus on what excites them: ball of yarn - what is that?! A new person enters the house -- what is that? The prospect of hunting and killing unsuspecting mice draws them to the window. Other than that they move from place to place out of need. Food -- time to walk to the food dish. Bodily need to poop or pee drives them to take a jaunt to the litter box -- once they've been so trained. Need for love? Occassionaly with cats, just to stroke their ego I think.
Our "story world" is the box in which writers live. Creating a false reality that is believable and interesting is engrossing. It really does require that the writer LIVE in that "box" so it becomes real to him or her.
Right now my "box" is the Aleutians Islands. That string of islands that curls from the mainland of Alaska and looks like it ends at the doorstop of Russia's Kamchatka peninsula. That's right I'm in the midst of editing The Otterroid, my creature horror feature-length screenplay. Living in the box of creature horror is fun at times. Writing in Lit Expression makes writing screenplays much, much harder and time consuming; as Lit Expression requires a artistic playful nature with fonts and colors to arrive at a greater aesthetic over time.
Aleutian Islands that I remember: barren, NO TREES, just scraggly, knee high fauna.
Windy too. Always in the temperature range of 35-45 degrees F.
Every time I write a story I allow myself to get engrossed in what's in the box. Gotta be master of my own domain, and make it the best I can BEFORE I expose it to criticism from the outside world.
Wanna vibe with ol' E.C. Well-p here's the soundtrack for The Otterroid, which I've been listening too repeatedly over the past couple months:
- Head Like a Hole by Nine Inch Nails
- Seven Wonders by Fleetwood Mac
- Chase the Ace by AC/DC
- Fallen Angel by Poison
- Lonely is the Night by Billy Squire
- Love is a Stranger by Eurythmics
- Ride the Lightening by Mettalica
- Animal by Neon Trees
- Karma by Taylor Swift
- Hungry Like the Wolf by Duran Duran
- Blackout by The Scorpions
This "box" is mostly edgy, heavy metal. I find making these soundtracks helps power me through the scripts I write, and over time becomes an anchor and mental call-back to scenes in the scripts I write. Wait till you see what some of these songs do in the script. Remember, I told you I was writing horror...
Hopefully by the end of the month, I'll be done with The Otterroid. That's the "plan" right now. Being forced to work 50 hour weeks has put a dent in my creative writing life. Still, no matter obstacles I face, its completed stories that matter. Painting in the box, until that box is complete and it's time to move on to the next creative box.
Content creator. That's what E.C. Henry is. The Otterroid is just one of 30 plus creative boxes I've been in over the years, and unless God calls me to something else that's where I'll continue to go. Ever the curious cat who dares to explore boxes and make them my own!
"Hey, whatchu doing in your box, broh?" E.C. and his fellow writers, it's not always throwing axes at each other!
Happy Super Bowl everyone! As I write this post it is literally Superbowl Sunday. Kansas City Chiefs vs. the San Francisco 49ers at 6:30 Eastern Standard Time. Should be a fun one. Patrick Mahomes is such a fun player to watch. Yeah, I'll be rooting on the Kansas City Chiefs later today. Hoping Taylor Swift is there, as she is my favorite celebrity. Went all out and bought Portillo's for my family to eat. So come game time we'll be eating:
As for the rest of the day, I'll be editing The Otterroid on and off. I've been on the edge of a cold so I don't have a lot of energy. Still, this box needs to be completed to put put a check on that box, and move on to the next one. Gotta bring Thars to completion. I'm in my mid-50s now. Don't like leaving things undone. But for now, I've gotta master this rascal --