Some Thoughts On Writing – And A Few Comments About The Movie “Juno”

I stopped writing this blog about 10 days ago.  I considerately let readers know I didn’t know when I was going to post again.  I expected readership to dwindle, or to at least fall off significantly.  Instead, as many or more people keep visiting each day.  

I started this blog for many reasons, including attempts to find feedback on these questions:

a)  What if a writer wrote with the protection of anonymity and without a writer’s self-protective interests to protect their “reputation” and the reputations of their family and familiars?

b)  What kind of interest would there be if someone wrote and shared the best ideas they encountered?

c)  What if you only wrote about important and often taboo things?

d)  Would anyone be interested in reading the viewpoints of a gender-unidentified writer, a writer who neither identified as male or female?

e)  If hubris was in large part removed from the writing equation, what would you want to share with others?  If a writer’s identity was unknown, would readers keep returning to read more as long as the ideas being shared were good?

Here are two recommendations for writers:

1)  If you are going to write, write primarily about the things you believe are important.

2)  Ultimately, it may not be how much you write or how often you write.  Instead, focus on only writing about the best ideas you have discovered and the best ideas you can clearly explain or possibly improve upon.

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Speaking of important things, I had the pleasure of watching the movie “Juno” today.  I highly recommend it.  I don’t have a full review’s worth of comments to express about the film, and other reviewers have probably said most of the good things to be said about this film.  So, I will focus on one important concept that may be less commonly mentioned about the film:

The movie is a delightful illustration of real life.

If you are headed to watch the movie with the expectation of: 

“Oh, I think I’d enjoy watching a film about an independent-minded young woman and her choices about whether to continue her pregnancy or to give up her baby for adoption”

Then you will not be disappointed.  But the magic in the movie is multi-faceted.  It shines on so many, many levels.  And one level I’d like to highlight is this:  The movie’s plot excels because it has an exceptionally realistic twist in the third act. 

And the movie suggests this idea:  The story of the love (or loves) of your life will probably not proceed as you anticipated.  The major conflicts you are preparing for may or may not come.  But at some point in your life’s love stories, there will come a conflict that you genuinely did not foresee, and you will choose how to learn about and adapt to those new challenges.

In this movie, the surprising plot conflict is not “I got pregnant . . . Now what do I do?”  Yes, that question is central to the story, but the movie’s third act plot twists are centered more on universal questions of whether or not to continue acts of love and relationships with loved ones.  And the way the movie handles those common (yet unexpected) issues transforms the movie from simply a witty-screenplayed made-for-TV or after-school-special about teen pregnancy into a movie that is worthy of its Best Picture Oscar nomination.

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A note to readers:  I’m not returning to regular posting, and I don’t know when the next post will be.  Until then, I hope you find and share the best ideas you can find.  Thank you to those of you who have given kind and thoughtful feedback comments.

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