Orphans and Psychopaths

Another lazy Sunday. Jer is lighting a fire in the wood stove as I type. I've wrapped an afghan around my shoulders while I wait for the room to heat up. We ate breakfast about 1pm and now we're looking at how our toys will entertain us.

Breakfast was a hashbrown, egg white, cheese, and sausage (Aidells Cajun Style Andouille Minis, chicken & turkey) casserole.

Yesterday we stumbled into a theme of orphans and psychopaths, and found ourselves watching "Anne of Green Gables" on PBS - I have way too much in common with Anne's wordy, dramatic, and stubborn qualities

"Scarface" - I'd never seen this before. Reminded me, wrongly, of GTA

and "Perfume: The Story Of A Murderer" - Best to go in with low expectations. The main actor also plays Ariel in the recent Tempest remake

I'm struggling with organizing elements of story and plot in a compelling way. But I find that when I start watching a film or reading a book I suspend all disbelief and critical thinking. It's a new way of thinking, to look for the framework instead of the skin and it is not second nature to me. The essential question is this: how do I go from consumer to producer?

I've written longer works before and I've relied on intuition to guide me, but I feel like now I should understand why certain choices should be made and how. One time during a Twilight Zone marathon I plotted out the ups and downs of each episode. For example, this many minutes in such-and-such usually happens, and this many minutes further is when you can expect this... I tried to document the Twilight Zone formula. Lately I think I should do that for other stories. Look for patterns and trends.

Likely I am just thinking too much again.