I have been a Scriptnotes listener since the beginning, back when I used to burn it to a CD so that I could play it in my car while driving. It’s only recently, however, that I added a new screenwriting podcast to my rotation. It’s called The Screenwriting Life with Meg LeFauve and Lorien McKenna.
It’s chock-full of great information and interesting anecdotes. But the thing that stands out is that they started their podcast before the pandemic. Like just before. By the third episode, Meg and Lorien are doing the podcast from their homes due to the stay at home orders. I have to shake my head and chuckle while listening to Meg’s and Lorien’s reactions to the initial stages of the pandemic. Little do they know that there is at least a year-and-a-half to go!
It got me thinking… If you could know that something terrible was about to befall you, would you want to know?
I think back to the major loss in my life, and I wonder if it was possible to go back in time and warn myself, would I want to know? What does that answer say about me? What does it say about you?
In some regards, it is good to know. You could modulate your expectations, or see that some things are minor blips that actually work to make us stronger or better people. But sometimes the anticipation is all we get from an event that turns out to be a disappointment. Or sometimes things are so bad, that knowing about it before it happens would drain us of all hope and joy.
What about the protagonist in your story? Would they want to know about that thing you’re plotting for them? Does your answer to that reveal something important about them as a character?
I haven’t thought more about this in a narrative sense, but it is something that tickles my brain.
Anyway, hopefully this is the start of getting back on my blogging horse. If nothing else, it is good discipline to post semi-regularly.