In my last post, I was saying that two of the classes I’m teaching this term two are very similar to classes I took in screenwriting school. One — the topic of my last post, I enjoyed. The OTHER was pitching class. The room was small and bright. The number of students was less than … Read more
2019 has been a year. Such a year that I haven’t even thought much about how it’s the end of a decade — another thing to process at another time. Parents of dear friends have been ill this year. Parents of dear friends have died. Spouses of friends were ill this year. Spouses of friends … Read more
EPISODE 06: “Superman Falling”To save his marriage, a New York advertising exec reluctantly accompanies his wife to the Midwest. Superman Falling lives near to my heart, first because it came from an emotional place, and second, because it I learned so much working on it. The emotional origin was years ago. I was recovering from … Read more
I must be feeling poetic this morning. Good Bones By Maggie Smith Life is short, though I keep this from my children. Life is short, and I’ve shortened mine in a thousand delicious, ill-advised ways, a thousand deliciously ill-advised ways I’ll keep from my children. The world is at least fifty percent terrible, and that’s … Read more
In exchange for all the sacrificed minutes, the Twitter occasionally offers a gift. Thanks BY W. S. MERWIN Listen with the night falling we are saying thank you we are stopping on the bridges to bow from the railings we are running out of the glass rooms with our mouths full of food to look at … Read more
It’s a tough time of year. The weather is hot, both in the way that August is always hot and the way that portends the ever-nearing climate apocalypse. The autumn is nigh. In the way that August always precedes the too-fast downhill slope into the holidays and the end of the year. We’re housesitting for … Read more
EPISODE 02: “Tribe” (After the Storms, Part 2) SUMMARY: In a dystopian future, a woman juggles memories of her former life with her growing feelings for someone new as she and her nomadic tribe face a dwindling water supply in the desert. NOTES:This story was first published in an anthology, *Turning Points: Stories About Choice … Read more
The other day, I was asked to give notes on a short script that had an interesting premise and main character and cool settings, but felt lacking in dramatic dramatic tension. In my notes I talked about obstacles and stakes, which are elements that come up commonly enough with clients or students, that I thought … Read more
EPISODE 01: “Room”(After the Storms, Part 1) SUMMARY: In a near-future dystopia, two people check into a hotel room knowing only one will check out. NOTES:This story was first published in Devilfish Review (where you can still read it). It stands alone, but is the first part of a trilogy of stories called “After the … Read more
February 7, 2019 After a close-but-no-cigar a semi-finalist finish in the Black River Chapbook Competition last week (which was still lovely and encouraging). Today I received this letter from The Sonder Press. Dear Barrington Congratulations! Your chapbook, After The Storms: A Tryptych has been shortlisted for our 2018 competition. You will be notified by February … Read more