"The responsibility of a writer is to bring forth words that capture, through painful personal experience, people's suffering, pain, faith and hope. This is because a writer is charged with the mission of speaking on behalf of his fellow human beings. Everything that happens in the world is happening to me personally."
--Chingiz Aitmatov
This does explain somewhat why it's been so difficult for me to write and rewrite the screenplay I've been working on. I'm writing about ex-slaves, six years after the Civil War. I explore themes of loss and hope. It's heartbreaking and I often find myself veering wildly between grief and anger, often hours after I've finished writing for the day. Most people who know me know I can be very scary when I'm angry. But the grief part, I think is scarier for others to witness because it's so unexpected that I'm such a sap. My sister Laura once rolled her eyes then hit me in a movie theatre for tearing up during a screening of The Parent Trap. Okay, that wasn't grief, but you know what I mean.
I am really looking forward to writing a comedy.
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