Thursday, April 12, 2007
Windy day thoughts
Today a cold spring wind blew across our canyon carrying clouds of dust and in the early part of the day it chased all my good cheer away like a feather on the wind. The soft feeling of spring I'd been clinging to, waiting for warmer weather was blown off and seemed to be gone far away.
For me, working on creative things is harder when the wind blows. The 35mph wind brought in dry air in the mid-forties that the desiccated the skin on my hands and face like old leather. I moisturize but when you cook and work around the farm it is hard to keep enough moisturizer on to make skin soft.
In some ways wind is good, though. I stayed inside, writing and it seems like the gale blew away a confusing chaff of facts disguising the real focus of why in a screenplay I am working on. To believe a story seen on the screen every act must be a reflection of an inner state of the person who's do-ing. That inner state must be clear, making the external actions we see believable. If not, the viewer feels cheated.
That emotional clarity, knowing why I am doing something and how I feel about doing it takes work all the time to keep track of.
