Nerd Girl Tip #2

Hey fobsters <friends of blog(sters)>,
I have a new tip for you. But, my butler, Winston, has asked me to pass along some exciting news first. Earlier this week, we took a break from researching and made a trip to Bucharest. As you know, World's Greatest Writing Tips (written by none other than the Nerd Girl herself) has been on Romania's bestseller list for the past 45 consecutive weeks. My fans in Romania asked the city of Bucharest to erect a statue in my honor. Somehow a marble sculpture transitioned into what you see below.

For a full view of the Bucharest Metro, please click here

They named a Metro station after me. So, I may not have thousands of Romanian eyes on my pale marble buttocks as they pass through a beautiful city square, but I have other perks, such as people telling their loved ones to pick them up at "Nerd Girl station." It is surely just as good. Surely.

On to the tip...

Movies...movies...movies...movies
 
Use movies to help you get a good idea of what you should include in your 1)action scenes 2)romance scenes 3)booger picking scenes 4)husband and wife bickering scenes 5)you get the point

Start by choosing a movie that has a similar scene to the one you are writing. First, watch it without the sound. Watch for 1)body movement 2)placement of props 3)facial expressions 4) spacial proximity between characters 5)characters in the background who aren't talking


Now, rewind and watch it with the sound turned on. How did dialogue change the feel of the scene? What about the tone?


We are so used to interpreting data visually that when we're thinking about how a scene should unfold in our mind, we might be missing a key element. It's also a motivator when you're feeling stumped on how to begin a scene. But remember, don't *over-stuff* your scene. This exercise may help you identify what's missing in your scene, but you still have to par it down to the most important information.

At the end of the day, be creative, be resourceful, and do what you love. As a nerd, I don't expect you to like this tip, I expect you to love it. Or do I mean the opposite? Not sure. Good-bye, friendly fobs...until next time...next time...next time...