‘You can have both.’ McKee: Story

Another wonderfully inspiring and informing weekend is over. Thursday-Saturday I attended Robert McKee’s Story seminar, and it wasn’t only a lesson on how to write a good story – the 75-year-old had a few life lessons to pass on too!

It was a lot more intense than I first thought to sit through 10 hours of lectures three days in a row – but oh-so worth it. I met a lot of interesting and lovely people that I hope I can keep in touch with, and learn even more from in the future, as well as the many insights and tricks of the trade I learnt from McKee himself.

I also got to enjoy the sun in Regent’s Park an early morning before the seminar.

I’m not going to attempt to recap or reformulate anything McKee talked about, when it comes to story, or writing a screenplay. I won’t be able to sum it up, or say much about it, in any way that’ll be particularly useful. What I can do, however, is tell you to go buy his book or attend the seminar yourself! I’d absolutely recommend both, for any writer who’d like to know more about storytelling. And I would also like to write a little about one of these life lessons that McKee was kind enough to share with his audience on Saturday:

I didn’t understand much at first when McKee started talking about ‘the ultimate contradiction in life – the human dilemma’. McKee said that it is a question about how you can keep who you are constant and unchanging, when you have to constantly change and adapt to survive. He used the terms ‘inner life’ and ‘outer life’ to describe the two – who you are on the inside, and how you have to change as a result of the pressures of the outer world. He discussed this in relation to the film Casablanca (Curtiz, 1942), and the character Rick, who in the end chooses what he realises is best for both his inner and outer life. He has love, as a constant inside, but also chooses what is best for his survival, politically and morally. He lets go of the woman he loves, physically, which lets him grow as a moral human being.

Rick realised, in the end, that ‘Love is not conditional on the presence of the beloved. Love transcends romance. When love is real, the beloved is always present.’ What Robert McKee then said to his audience, was that we too, can have both: ‘A full inner life, and a fulfilling outer life.’

And I really hope he is right.

Until next time x

 

‘What happens next?’: The engine of a story.

Wow. What a weekend. My notebook is full of useful tips, and my brain is full of new ideas and inspiration!

“The Power of Storytelling Journalism”, an intensive conference with lectures and talks from some of the best narrative journalists in the world: Tom French and Mark Kramer. These two were the biggest names, but I also learnt a lot from some of the Norwegian journalists, and the photographer/visual storyteller Melanie Burford. All of these were absolutely lovely people, too! As I said my notebook is full, and although I’d love to share all my new knowledge with you, I don’t think I’m in any way capable of passing it on as well as the speakers at the conference. I have however picked out a few of the things I wrote down, on the first few pages, and I’ll try to explain as well as I can.

Mark Kramer and Tom French in discussion.

Melanie Burford talking about voice and visual storytelling.

A focus in Tom French’s talk was that no matter the story, it should make the reader wonder ‘what happens next?’ The question of what happens next is the engine that drives the story, whether it be factual or fictional. French even made the connection to Maslow’s hierarchy of basic human needs (things such as food, shelter, sex) but saying that he forgot to add one thing: the need to know what happens next.

‘The day you stop caring about what happens next is when you’re ready to die.’ – Tom French

In order to write such a story, you need a brilliant idea. A good idea, no matter how well you execute it, can be no better than that – good, maybe just average. But a brilliant idea, even if you can’t manage to execute it as brilliantly, will still be good, and maybe even great.

A good idea has to be specific – you can’t simply cover a topic. Look for a situation that makes you wonder what will happen next. And, you also need characters unfolding with the story. What is important about the characters in your stories, is that they have to be flawed. Nobody will empathise with a perfect person – most readers despise those who seem to have everything in order. So you need to find someone who is imperfect, and willing to share this.

‘Imperfection is where character is revealed.’ – Mark Kramer

Lastly, something has to happen. Action is what is interesting.

It was also nice to spend some time in my beautiful hometown Bergen.

And I think that’s where I’ll stop for now. I could go on for quite a while to try and explain all the stuff I’ve learnt, but I think the chances are you’ll be bored rather than inspired. To get the rush of new ideas and motivation, like I felt it, you simply had to be there. Next weekend I’m off to Robert McKee’s Story seminar, and will hopefully feel even better prepared to take on a writing challenge or two over the summer.

Until then x

 

 

 

 

 

 

Editor-in-Chief

I’m very happy to be taking over as editor for the Latitude Lookout, the student magazine at The University of Greenwich, for the 2016/17 academic year. Although it’s going to mean a lot of extra work in the final year of my BA, I’m confident it is going to be a fun, interesting experience that’ll teach me many new skills. It’ll also look pretty good on my CV!

I’ve had a lot of fun writing for the magazine the past year, and I’ve had articles in all four of the paper issues, as well as interviews and gig reviews up online. Now it’s time for me to think as the editor – think of what content we want in the paper, edit and help our writers develop their skills, as well as making sure we all have fun doing it! At least, that’s what I think is the most important thing about a uni magazine. It’s by the students, for the students, and it shouldn’t be about how good you are at writing, or how interesting an angle you can take on some world problem. It’s about spreading the enthusiasm for writing of all kinds, and letting students have an opportunity to get their work published for others to see.

When all my deadlines are behind me, I’ll update you on what else is going on in my life. There’s some pretty exciting stuff coming up for me!

Until next time x

 

 

24 eventful hours

The last 24 hours or so of my life have been very upsetting, stressful, but also with some nice moments. I’ll write you a little list, and I’m sure you’ll be able to identify the good and the bad.

• I met up with a friend from home who is in London for a few days. We’ve not really spoken for a while, apart from when we randomly met in an airport a few weeks ago, so it was super nice to catch up and as always a pleasure to have a Norwegian conversation and pretend to be a bit of a tourist. We had a nice meal on Southbank, enjoying the spring-like weather and eating outside, but then…
• My handbag, with my wallet, notebook and lipstick inside, was stolen. Now the bag itself is not a great loss, although it was a very nice and handy bag. The lipstick I’m annoyed about as it was a mac one, but I’ll get over it. The wallet – including my driver’s license, bankcard and student ID… Not that fun. Particularly because the thief was so quick he managed to empty my bank account before I could block the card – yay, contactless…
  And then it’s the notebook. Might not seem as a great loss to most people, but to a writer it’s a big deal. It was full of ideas, important dates and notes for uni work. And it even was a quite new and expensive moleskine. So, not so happy about any of that.
• I didn’t get any sleep. Like, maybe two hours, max. Why? Stress, noise, whatever else. Made me miss my first lecture – which I probably wouldn’t have got into anyway, seeing as I don’t have my student ID.
• I checked my email and found I’d received a £25 amazon voucher for completing some online surveys. It expires in 2026 so I’ll probably forget to use it, but, it brightened my day a little.
• I had an argument with someone at the student centre at uni, trying to get a new student ID. The conversation went something like this:

  Me:                  Hi, my wallet was stolen so I don’t have a student ID.
  The guy:        OK?
  Me:                  Yeah, so I need a new one, please?
  The guy:         That’ll be £10.
  Me: (confused) I just told you my wallet and all it’s contents were stolen?
  The guy:         As it’s your second replacement ID you have to pay.
  Me:                  Because the first ID I got didn’t work, so I had to get a new one… The second day of uni…
  The guy:         But you have to pay for this one.
  Me:                  Right, but, I don’t have any money. Like literally nothing.
  The guy:        Well, okay then, I’ll let you have it this time, but next time you lose it you have to pay.
  Me: (muttering) Except I didn’t lose it, it was stolen…

• Shortly after this I had a job interview. I have no idea how it went. I think I answered some of the questions all right, and some I probably messed up. Not exactly in the best state of mind to convince someone they should hire me, except maybe, I really need the money.
• I realised I’d bought my 9th coffee in the library café the day before, and therefore could claim a 10^th one for free. Excellent timing. I got a large cappuccino, and everything felt better for a little while.
• Samia, my lovely friend, surprised me with a new moleskine notebook. Even when the world seems to go against you, it gets better with good friends.
• I went to a talk with Matt Charman, the screenwriter behind the Oscar nominated Bridge Of Spies. Interesting and inspiring, and he seemed like a genuinely nice guy.
• I got home to find I actually have no food besides pasta, apples and eggs. Too tired to go shopping, so dinner was, as you can imagine, quite the feast… Breakfast will be even better.

The worst part is, I’m not even making any of this up. I hope your last 24 hours have been better than mine, and also probably less eventful.

Until next time x

 

Not going to stop saying “YES!”

Busy.
Always something I should be doing, should have done already, should be preparing to do soon. It’s never-ending. I do a little, then let myself rest, then feel guilty I didn’t do more. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. I’m sure you know exactly how I feel.

I keep taking on too many responsibilities. I’ve got uni, and I’ve got two jobs. I’m volunteering on several projects, such as the Thailand project with FutureSense Foundation that I’m currently fundraising for, and I’m also involved in the Greenwich Book Festival again this year (set aside the 27th and 28th for some book fun!). On top of this I’m writing for the student magazine, and have taken on quite a few interviews and gig reviews I’ll have to do the next couple of weeks.

 

I like being busy, having things to do. But sometimes I think I take on a little too much; I’m not good at saying no. I’m not going to start saying no though – not to things I’d like to be a part of, things that’ll look good on my CV, or things that’ll make other people happy. I think I’ve just got to say “Yes – but it might take a while!”

Until next time x

Check out my latest article for Latitude Lookout here or below:

And read about my volunteering for FutureSense foundation here!

There’s a starman waiting in the sky

It’s a sad day for anyone who’s ever felt weird, out of place, not like everyone else. The earth has just become a little less strange, a little less odd, a little less amazing.

I became a fan of David Bowie when I was 9. My mum and step dad were getting married the day he held a concert in my home town, and we were listening to a ‘Best of Bowie’ album on repeat for weeks before it. Somehow the fact that I wasn’t going to the concert didn’t strike me until the day, and really upset me. I understand now why you wouldn’t want a 9-year old to come along, but if my mum had known then that it would be my last chance to see him perform, I hope she would have let me go anyway.

On any questions about where I’d like to go if I could go back in time, it would be to a Bowie concert, without a doubt.

David Bowie is the closest thing I’ve ever had to a God. He will always be my hero. I don’t think Bowie would like to rest in peace – I think he’d like to rest in songs, rest in rhythm, rest in weird sounds, and to not stop moving, or creating, ever. Thank you for being a hero. Thank you for the beautiful album you left as a goodbye, as something new to help us through this.

You’ll always blow our minds.

Open letter to 2016

Dear 2016,
You’re here, all of a sudden.

I’m not sure I’m ready for you, and still not sure I’ve made peace with the one that was here before. In some ways I am happy that you are here now, so I won’t have to deal with your predecessor any more. At the same time, it wasn’t too bad, or too good either, so in all honesty, I’m just really not sure.

You’ve got a lot to live up to, and a lot of things you need to sort out. I hope you make me smile as much as the one before did, and I hope you’ll make me laugh so much I can’t breathe. I hope you challenge me, but not too much. I hope you let me grow, inspire me, and excite me. I hope you won’t push me back down every time I can see the top of the mountain, like the one before you did so many times. I hope you let me run beside you rather than fighting to not lose sight of where you’re going. I’m tired of falling behind.

I’m not sure what to expect, but I hope you’ll surprise me. In a good way, of course. I hope you, too, show me things I’ve never seen before, introduce me to people I’ve always wanted to meet, and play music that makes me want to dance my feet off.

I hope you have that thing the one before you forgot to give me, or hid from me, or thought I wasn’t ready for yet. I know there’ll be something new about you, something new for me and only me. I have no idea what it is, if it’s yet another challenge, a lesson, inspiration, or something else entirely. But there’s something that’s been missing. It’s as if I’m waiting to be shown something, and now you’re here with it.

I hope you’re better than I expect.

I’m looking forward to getting to know you, 2016.
Best,
Hanne.

Open letter to 2015

Dear 2015.
It seems you left so suddenly.

I’m not sure what I feel about you. I’m not sure if I’m happy or sad that you’re gone. You let me see things I hadn’t expected to see, you let me do things I didn’t know were possible, and you let me feel things I didn’t know I could feel, let alone stop feeling.

You had so much in store, so much to show me, so much to give and take. I tried to keep up with you, but I never really got the hang of you. Just when I thought I caught up to you, you put a new obstacle in my way, gave me a new challenge to face, a higher mountain to climb. Sometimes I overtook you, and I felt triumphant for a little while, but then I lost control, and you swerved past me again. It was a bit like playing Mario Kart. And I’m not sure who won.

I mean, you were great much of the time, I’m not simply criticizing you. There was so much good in you, so many amazing moments, and many smiles and fits of laughter. And you made me take risks, you made me jump into new things, be brave, and fight for myself and what I want, you pushed me further than I’ve ever been pushed. Being with you has made me feel tired, endlessly tired, and stressed beyond belief. But I pushed through every challenge you threw at me, admittedly with varying degrees of success, but I pushed through nonetheless. Thank you for showing me I could do that.

I do, however, have a feeling there’s something you’ve been hiding from me. I have no idea what it is, if it’s yet another challenge, a lesson, inspiration, or something else entirely. But there’s something that’s been missing. It’s as if I’m waiting for you to show me something, and now you’re gone.

I hope the one taking your place has brought what you forgot.

I’ll never forget you, 2015.
Best,
Hanne

Aiming away from the amateur

Hey all, and happy holidays!

I have to tell you about some of the Christmas presents I got this year, because I got the probably best gift an aspiring screenwriter can get.

I got Robert McKee’s Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the principles of Screenwriting, signed. That’s pretty good in itself, but, I also got a ticket to his seminar in London in May 2016! I’m thrilled, and fairly sure the seminar will benefit me tremendously. Before the seminar I’m going to reread Story (more than once, be sure!) and take in as much I can about screenwriting, as I think the more knowledge and enthusiasm you’ve got, the more that seminar will pay off. Knowing I’m going it feels like an extra kick, a reminder I have to work for what I want. The last months, since giving temporarily up on my screenplay, I’ve been a little down. I haven’t worked on anything new. Mostly, I haven’t had the time for it, but I’ve also not been prioritising it. Now I’ll both make time and prioritise.

I’ve started one of the other books I got; Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art: Winning the Inner Creative Battle (also signed, by both him and McKee who’s written the foreword), and it made me feel less bad about giving up on that screenplay. Like I wrote here on the blog, I was going to finish it in a month, and I was  super enthusiastic about what I thought was a great plan. Since then I’ve learnt I wasn’t prepared enough, and also that I was being overambitious. What Pressfield writes about confirmed this for me. He emphasises that the professional is patient, and I’ve merely been an amateur.

“Resistance outwits the amateur with the oldest trick in the book: It uses his own enthusiasm against him. Resistance gets us to plunge into a project with an overambitious and unrealistic timetable for it’s completion. It knows we can’t sustain that level of intensity. We will hit the wall. We will crash.” (Pressfield, 2002, 75.)

This is exactly what I did, and I was ashamed about it. But now I know I just have to become a little more professional, and a little more determined, and I’ll make it. As soon as I’ve got the essays I need to write over Christmas out of the way, I’ll have another look at that screenplay. And I’ll finish it.

Until next time x

Seizing an opportunity to make a difference

A few days ago I decided to sign up to something I’ve been considering to do for quite a while. As soon as I heard of it, I wanted to do it… And now that I’m formally signed up, I’m buzzing with excitement! The summer of 2016 I am going to do volunteer work on two amazing development projects with Futuresense and Challenges Abroad in northern Thailand.

The first part of the challenge will be spent working in an elephant sanctuary. Elephants in Thailand are often abused as working elephants, or as spectacle in shows, where they too often end up disabled, blind, orphaned and hurt. In the elephant sanctuary my team and I will help with care and rehabilitation for the mistreated animals, as well as other support work for the sanctuary.

The second part of the trip goes to a hill-tribe village, where the team will help with improving the lives of those living there in any way we can. Although Thailand is increasingly being seen as a developed country, it still has many problems with both economy and culture as well as social issues. Marginalised groups, particularly hill-tribes, often don’t receive the support they need. This is why our team will lend a hand in improving their educational facilities, teaching English and providing activities for children who would otherwise have a minimum of opportunities for education. We will also help with building projects, and any other contribution we can make to try and make a difference in the community.

So not only will this be a great opportunity to try and make a change, but it’ll also be an incredible adventure for me personally. I went to Thailand with my family when I was 9, and have wanted to go back there ever since. The people there are so generous, the culture interesting, the country is beautiful and the food is amazing. However the last time I went I took part in the abuse of elephants and other animals, unknowing, of course, as I believe many tourists do. I went to animal shows, petted drugged tigers and went for a ride on an elephant. So now that I know about the abuse so many animals experience, and being presented with an opportunity to properly explore and experience the country.

Picture taken from Challenges Abroad website.

The next few months will for me be all about fundraising. It’s still not certain that I can go, I can’t unless I get enough donations to cover my share of the expenses of the work we’re going to do, so this is where you come in. I would be endlessly grateful for any donation that helps towards reaching the fundraising goal, and enables me to provide as much aid and support as I can. Any contribution, of any size, will make a difference!

If you’d like to donate, have a click through to my Virgin Money Giving page. Donations will be quickly processed and passed to the charities. Virgin Money Giving is a not for profit organisation and will claim gift aid on a charity’s behalf where the donor is eligible for this. I really appreciate all your support and thank you for any donations.

Thanks,
Hanne x