Stuch and Bruch is the idea that every fencing technique has a counter and every counter has a technique. Technique and counter are two major components of German swordsmanship and a fair description of my screenwriting adventures and life.
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
High Concepticide
Okay, no "concepticide" is not a real word, but I accomplish it now and then none the less with my screenplays that asphyxiate their initial high concepts. So, concepticide, by my definition, is death of a high concept.
How do you kill a high concept? Well, you choke the life out of it. Yeah, really. You start out with a fresh high concept outline that you've slaved for weeks to perfect. Then, as you start writing, you can't resist the urge to cram it full of additional themes, symbolism and subtext like an obsessive horticulturalist filling a patio garden with four seasons of veggies, a fruit of the month for the next year, an herb assortment for a homeopathic cure to everything from the the common cold to bunyons, and then add a few hanging vines and perennial flowers to make it look nice.
On the positive side, you're almost certain to have NO weeds. There's very little room for them. However, virtually every reader will be allergic to something on your patio. Can the high concept be saved? I'm not sure yet. I haven't finished digging the turnips out of my screenplay.
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