Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Five Secrets From Julie Eberhart Painter




Today we get to learn five secrets from Julie. We all LOVE secrets, right? Me, too. 
Read on.


Bio: Julie Eberhart Painter, a native of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, has ten books in print. Previously, she worked with nursing homes as a volunteer coordinator and later as a community ombudsman. She spent eighteen years with Hospice of Volusia/Flagler in Port Orange, Florida and contributed to and edited two of their self-help books.



Five Secrets we may not know about Morning After Midnight’s “conception”, but will after today!
1)    Who my favorite male nurse is, and what he did to save my life – twice:
The character of Aaron is the fulfilment of a deathbed promise -- mine. Mothers’ Day eve, 2010, due to a medication error, I went from unbearable itching into anaphylactic shock. One of my night heroes, an experienced male CNA, didn’t even ask for authorization. “You’re goin’ to the hospital, girl.” He dashed out in the hallway and dialed 911.

I vowed I’d write a book about a male nurse in his honor, and I did. The working title came from the advertisement, “Are you man enough to be a nurse?” But the finished product I called MORNING AFTER MIDNIGHT. The main character is still my hero; his quick thinking saved my life. Only his Harley was missing from my description of the real Aaron in my book.

2)    Our first “southern exposure” in 1960 came as a result of a business transfer     from Philadelphia, PA to Dallas, TX:
Everything that meant home turned to unfamiliar culture shock. Shipped to a foreign environment where no one knew “our language,” we dropped out of civilization into a cultural abyss. Where we were used to conservative, quiet and formal, we got brash and noisy. Accustomed to small self-contained lawns, we owned a vast expanse of black gumbo soil that ranged from white ash to black goop after the rain (months later). We had to plant plugs of grass with blades wide as lettuce. My roses, which bloomed undisciplined and untended in Philadelphia, now needed coaxing by scientific agriculture and blind faith. Just before cold weather set in, one lone “Yellow Rose of Texas” showed its surprised face. I rushed to the back yard and plunged my nose into the parched petals. The yellow rose blossom had no fragrance.
          The children stayed with a neighbor while I sped downtown to the Dallas courthouse to register for a homestead exemption. I used the Yankee convertible with the back window out. Now I knew why Texans drive so fast. It’s cooler.
          “YOU ARE NOW ENTERING DOWNTOWN DALLAS,” the sign proclaimed. What? Where? Cotton fields lined each side of the two-lane highway. The horizon undulated in the dry, 105-degree August heat. Where were the tall buildings? Where was the city? I couldn’t gather the vast horizon into a collectable mass—no clouds, no mountains, nothing but dark blue sky above the flat brown land.
          When invited to, “Y’all come back,” we came. We weren’t expected, but there we were on time and ready to party. Lost, disoriented and otherwise befuddled, this was home, or I tried to make is so. Each evening after dark, the neighbors, like cats and lightening bugs, came out of their houses. Children stayed up much later even as late as eleven to play outside -- strangers in a strange land.

3.)Which scenes in the book actually happened in real life?
The most revealing scene from MORNING AFTER MIDNIGHT is when our hero Aaron becomes an Eagle Scout. Let’s just say, this happened to someone I know.
Aaron invites his “other” grandparents, to witness his Eagle Scout ceremony. These are the parents of his birth father, whom his mother never married, in a small gossipy southern Georgia town where his mother has a whole new life – and reputation.
When Aaron told his grandparents what he’d done, the words were barely out of his mouth and Gram exploded. “You invited them! Why? Where have they been all these years? They think they can show up now, seventeen years later and be welcomed with open arms?”
“Gram, I think you know why the Frasers have been AWOL in my life. You and Mom saw to that.”
Dreading the kind of cool reception they’d get, Aaron could only pray the Frasers would not reconsider. The week before the ceremony, he sweated it out.
They showed up on time having come directly from a hotel in town. His grandfather, Rennie Fraser, brought his old Boy Scout sash and his badges to show Aaron what they were like back then.
“Thank you, sir. Those are impressive and different from what we work on now.” He looked around. “It’s nice to see both my families together in one auditorium.”
“We’re honored that you asked us.”
Aaron stood among his boyhood friends in the church’s largest meeting room, knowing he had family of his own. But he needed a hacksaw to cut the tension. He hoped everyone would stay civil and not embarrass him.
During the reception, Aaron heard one of Gram’s neighbors ask her, “I thought they were out of the picture all these years, Ella?”
Gram stammered through a weak, rambling explanation.
“Is this the first husband’s family?” the woman persisted.
“No, no, they’re just…well you know.” Ella made a beeline for the kitchen under the guise of bringing out more refreshments.
The neighbor turned to Aaron’s mother. “I didn’t know you’d been married before, Lonnie Jo.”
His mother turned red and asked if everyone had enough punch.
His mother and grandmother returned empty-handed a few minutes later. They looked as if they wished the floor would swallow them up before the whole story of his mother and “that Fraser boy” came out.
Aaron took his soda and stepped outside hoping Mr. Fraser would follow him; but Rennie was already sitting on a low stone wall by the parking lot.
“I hope that wasn’t too uncomfortable for y’all,” Aaron said.
Rennie tapped his heel with his empty pipe and looked at Aaron. “Not as uncomfortable as it was for some other people I could mention.”
“Ummm. Are you sorry I got you into it?”
“Goodness, no. It brought back a lot of happy memories. Although, the Eagle Scouts have certainly changed since I was young. We thought the environment was the air around us. We never thought anyone could get a badge for studying crop rotation in Asia.” He laughed. “I’m really out of touch.” He looked at his stainless steel Rolex. “We’d better get going. It’s late and getting a bit tense in there.”
They walked back in. “Margaret, I think we should head back to the hotel and let these nice folks celebrate without us.”
He took his wife’s arm, and they walked to the car where Aaron waited to open the passenger side door. Standing there in the half-lit street, Aaron looked into the car at the people who were his father’s parents. How different they were from the picture his grandparents had painted. He slapped the roof of the car for good measure. “You drive safe now. Thanks for coming.”

4.) Not exactly a secret: I was an interior designer before I became a writer.
That brief career has helped me in my writing description. At parties for fun, I mime chairs and couches in periods. Currently my best is a Hepplewhite dinner chair, with arms, of course.

5.) Last but not least, I managed to delay my writing career until I had something to write about. 
My husband and I raised three children, traveled to more than 70 exotic locales, such a Tahiti, Chili’s Easter Island, Argentina, the Falkland Islands, Fiji, Samoa, Kenya, South Africa, China and Antarctica. We moved into new homes around the country 17 times and played tournament bridge in each new hometown When I was  a teen, I studied eight years of ballet, two of voice and one of piano. I love all music except the asthmatic hard rock sounds of today. And I’m proud to say that I predicted that with rap music there would be a revival of poetry.





Blurb:
Morning After Midnight visits the odd dynamics of a shattered white southern family and our hero’s upwardly mobile black friend in the midst of love, lust and social unrest in the sixties. 

Find Julie at:
The Writer's Vineyard where I blog every fourth Monday
Goodreads Blog Posts where I have a new blog every Tuesday

Buy Links:
Sony 

Social Media Links:
Champagne Book Club via Facebook


Monday, January 19, 2015

Screenwriter Robert Gosnell on What It's Really All About - Part Three




What It's Really All About - Part Three

All one has to do is to listen to the political rhetoric floating around out there to know that there are many points-of-view on a given subject.

The characters in your story should be no exception. How each character relates to the Active Theme, i.e., the story's message, determines how much depth and dimension your story contains, while still maintaining focus.
This is the juggling act we all face, when we sit down to construct the next Great American novel or screenplay. Our stories need to be complex, without losing clarity. They must be logical in their construction, yet emotional in their intent.
Well, nobody ever said it would be easy, did they? At least, nobody ever said it to me.
Once again, this leads to my heavy emphasis on understanding theme, and learning how to reflect that theme through the prism of the characters who inhabit the world we've created.
Today's excerpt addresses the issue of theme through the eyes of each character in the story: protagonists, antagonists, lead characters and supporting characters. The intertwining of all of these characters into a single thematic thread is a difficult, but necessary task. The more we understand it, the easier will be the path ahead of us.
I hope the following excerpt from "The Blue Collar Screenwriter and The Elements of Screenplay" will help you on your journey.
The Character's Take on the Theme
Once your theme has been established, it must be reflected in every possible manner within your story. How do the characters relate to the theme?
I'm talking about every character, because they all must have an opinion; a point-of-view on the theme being explored. That's one significant way to add dimension and nuance to your story. It also creates areas of conflict between characters, and conflict is everything in a story, especially a story designed for the screen.
I'll use the same examples I use in my screenwriting class, from the terrific courtroom drama "A Few Good Men."
As a classic courtroom drama, the Master Theme of the story is Justice. First, for those who aren't familiar with this movie, here's the setup.
Two young Marines, Lance Corporal Harold Dawson and PFC. Louden Downey, are accused of murder while performing an illegal disciplinary action against a third Marine, PFC. William Santiago. We soon learn that this illegal action was ordered by their Commanding Officer, Col Nathan Jessup. Jessup's Executive Officer, Lt Col Matthew Markinson and Platoon Leader Lt. Jonathan Kendrick are a part of the conspiracy to cover up Jessup's involvement, Markinson reluctantly, Kendrick willingly. It's up to our heroes, Lt. Danny Kaffee, Lt. Sam Weinberg and Lt Cdr Joanne Galloway to defend the accused Marines. Capt Jack Ross, a friend of Danny Kaffee, is the prosecutor.
A veritable bevy of characters, no? But, each one has a "take" on our justice theme, and each take is slightly, if not significantly different.
Let's start with Lt. Danny Kaffee, our Central Protagonist, played by Tom Cruise.
Kaffee initially believes his clients' best defense is to attempt to plea bargain their murder charge to a lesser charge. In his mind, they are clearly guilty, and chances of acquittal are virtually nil. His take on justice changes, as the case progresses. Eventually, he will come to believe his clients should be acquitted. A change in goals is not unusual for a central protagonist, since we want to see them grow.
So, at first, Kaffee tries to plea bargain the case, meaning Justice would be a reduced sentence for his clients. When new information comes to light that they were ordered to perform the action that led to Santiago's death, he decides that Justice means setting his clients free, except he's not the attorney for the job. He's never tried a case in court, and has serious doubts about his ability to win the case at trial. On top of that, losing could destroy his career. So, justice is clear for Danny, but the risks of failure are enormous.
Sam Weinberg, played by Kevin Pollack, is Kaffee's friend and co-counsel. Yet, even though he's defending Dawson and Downey, and even though he knows Jessup ordered them to discipline Santiago, Sam still believes the two young Marines should be punished.
This is pointed out clearly, when Danny Kaffee suggests that Sam doesn't believe their clients' story, and thinks they should go to prison for the rest of their lives. Sam's reply is that he believes every word of their story...and thinks they should go to prison for the rest of their lives.
In Sam's view, all his clients did was "beat up on a weakling." That's his take on the theme. Yes, they were ordered, but that still doesn't justify the act they committed. They performed their duty, but in doing so, sacrificed their integrity and humanity. They need to be punished. That's justice, and a source of internal conflict within Sam.
Now we come to Joanne Galloway, portrayed by Demi Moore. Joanne has an idealistic take on the theme. These are two noble young men serving their country. They "stand on a wall" to protect the rest of us. They followed orders, like good Marines. They deserve their day in court, and they deserve to go free, plain and simple.
Our prosecutor, Jack Ross, played by Kevin Bacon, has a dispassionate point-of-view on the subject. He represents the government, and he has a case. No conflict within him, in that respect. The outcome is of no personal concern to him.
What does concern him, and where his internal conflict exists, is the fate of his friend and courtroom rival, Danny Kaffee, who Jack feels is sacrificing his career in a lost cause by defending these two Marines.
And, what about those two Marines? Do they, also, have a "take" on what Justice is? Of course.
LCpl Dawson, played by Wolfgang Bodison, is so convinced of his innocence, he literally forces Kaffee to take the case to trial, not because he's afraid of going to prison, but because his honor is at stake. That is his take on the theme. Justice is maintaining his honor.
Likewise, his cohort, PFC. Downey, portrayed by James Marshall, wants only to remain a Marine. Marines follow orders. He followed orders. Therefore, he's innocent. For him, it's black-and-white.
Now, let's look at our bad guys, starting with Col Nathan Jessup; portrayed by superstar Jack Nicholson. Naturally, being on the other side of the issue, he has a completely different take on what justice means. In his view, ordering Dawson and Downey to discipline Santiago was designed to make Santiago a better marine.
That's Jessup's job: to train marines to defend their country. Doing otherwise would put Santiago's fellow marines, and the nation, at risk. He didn't set out to have Santiago killed, only to train him. Santiago's death was a sacrifice that had to be made for the greater good, and Dawson and Downey likewise. Justice is flawed, because he, Jessup, answers to a higher calling. That was the "truth" we couldn't handle.
Lt Col Markinson, portrayed by the late, great J.T. Walsh, gave us one of the more interesting takes on the Justice theme. Markinson's character was so torn between duty and conscience that he ultimately turned to suicide. For him, justice clashed with duty, and there was no way to reconcile the two. He finally decided that the only real course was to reveal the truth, so that others may sort it out.
At one point, Markinson states to Kaffee that he's not proud of his complicity in the events of this case, but neither is he proud of informing on his long-time friend and Commanding Officer. He is a tragic character, so internally conflicted as to be unable to live with the consequences of his actions.
Keifer Sutherland's Lt Jonathan Kendrick gave us one of the quirkiest, almost humorous takes on this Justice theme. In his view, Santiago was an inferior marine. All Kendrick did was assist in trying to make him a better one. He, too, followed orders, but it goes beyond that. The victim, Santiago, violated a sacred code and sacrificed his honor, and therefore was doomed to die by a higher power. "God was watching," he tells us. How's that for a take on the justice theme? God killed Santiago!
The Character's Take on the Theme provides us with the vehicles to deliver the message of the Active Theme. All characters, not just the Central Protagonists and Antagonists. The more diverse the points-of-view presented by the characters, the more complex the story.

________________________________________

Robert's book, "The Blue Collar Screenwriter and The Elements of Screenplay" is currently available at:
Amazon digital and paperback
CreateSpace 
Barnes & Noble
Smashwords
Find Robert at:
Website (with information on classes)
Email
IMDB Page

A professional screenwriter for more than thirty years, Robert Gosnell has produced credits in feature films, network television, syndicated television, basic cable and pay cable, and is a member of the Writers Guild of America, West and the Writers Guild of Canada.
Robert began his career writing situation comedy as a staff writer for the ABC series Baby Makes Five. As a freelance writer, he wrote episodes for Too Close for Comfort and the TBS comedies Safe at Home and Rocky Road. In cable, he has scripted numerous projects for the Disney Channel, including Just Perfect, a Disney Channel movie featuring Jennie Garth. 
In 1998, he wrote the Showtime original movie, Escape from Wildcat Canyon, which starred Dennis Weaver and won the national "Parents Choice Award." Robert's feature credits include the Chuck Norris/Louis Gosset Jr. film Firewalker, an uncredited rewrite on the motion picture Number One With A Bullet starring Robert Carradine and Billy Dee Williams, and the sale of his original screenplay Kick And Kick Back to Cannon Films. Robert was also selected as a judge for the 1990 Cable Ace awards, in the Comedy Special category.
In 1990, Robert left Hollywood for Denver, where he became active in the local independent film community. His screenplay Tiger Street was produced by the Pagoda Group of Denver, and premiered on Showtime Extreme in August of 2003. In 1999, Denver’s Inferno Films produced the action film Dragon and the Hawk from his script. In 2001, Robert co-wrote the screenplay for the independent feature Siren for Las Vegas company Stage Left Productions. His feature script Juncture was produced by Front Range Films in March of 2006.
Robert is a principal member of the Denver production company "Conspiracy Films." He is frequently an invited speaker for local writers organizations, served on the faculty of the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Conference in 2002, and in 2007 was chosen to participate as a panelist for the Aspen Film Festival Short Screenplay Contest. Robert regularly presents his screenwriting class "The Elements of Screenplay," along with advanced classes and workshops, in the Denver area.