Writer's Block

I've been watching one of my favorite new movies of the last couple of years, Stranger Than Fiction and I've been thinking about all of the reasons why I love the movie. Honestly, it's the kind of film I hope I can be involved with some day. When I saw it in the theater I had an initial "that was delicious" type of reaction, but like any good foodie would know, it's all of the nuances of flavor that make a great dish. In the hope of figuring out flavors, I've given this a lot of thought. 

First of all, there is the obvious: the Cast. Will Ferrell turns in a great performance as a for-once non-over-the-top character. I'm not saying I don't love Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, because I really REALLY do, but it's just not as satisfying as this. He's so endearing that it's very disarming. Of course Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson are great in the film as well, that should go without saying. Maggie Gyllenhaal and Queen Latifa are also good. The music is charming. Love Spoon. Zach Helm did a brilliant job on the screenplay because the dialogue is wonderful and there are parts that couldn't possibly have been put better. What touches me personally, though, is Marc Foster's approach to Karen Eiffel's writing technique. Imagining herself into every situation to the point where it's completely real to her is very effective visually and articulates perfectly what it's like to compose fiction. 

As someone who does this on a regular basis, it's easy to see her behavior in a manner that echoes a whisper of "I understand" in my subconscious. Sometimes, to me, writer's block can be suffocating, so when she (Eiffel) is going insane, it's completely understandable. Lately I've been working on two stories simultaneously. The first story has been put on hold for two reasons:

1. I discovered Literature was not the right medium for that story.

2. It was time to make way for a new story. 

So I've been trying to figure out the first story. Drawing the blueprints, if you will. The second story is substantially less complicated, so it's already under construction. But I feel like I'm being pulled in a thousand different directions. On top of those two stories, I always have my poetry, which to me is just like that cat that lives in the ally. It pops it's head in every once in a while, but you never count on seeing it and making it come around is just going to force it away. Writing poetry is no way to make a living, but I do love it. I think that writing is a public service. We authors do not condescend to think that our work brings meaning to the lives of others (correction: I do not think that my work would bring meaning to the lives of others), but fiction is very much like the dessert of the Literary world. What would Spaghetti be without Tiramisu? 

Karen Eiffel puts it far more eloquently, though:

"And, fortunately, when there aren't any cookies, we can still find reassurance in a familiar hand on our skin, or a kind and loving gesture, or subtle encouragement, or a loving embrace, or an offer of comfort, not to mention hospital gurneys and nose plugs, an uneaten Danish, soft-spoken secrets, and Fender Stratocasters, and maybe the occasional piece of fiction."