am April 15, 2009 - 20:59.
Lauren, you make success and brilliant writing seem extremely easy. Can you give us some behind-the-scenes details? What is the most absurd plot twist you ever attempted? Do you have a favorite place to write? Any quirks you care to share? Spill it!
Behind the scenes details? Behind the glamorous life of drinking too much coffee and getting carpal tunnel and getting way to excited about science biographies is... more of the same. Honestly I just love writing; I feel privileged and passionate and, to complete the alliteration, powerful! I'm not one of those hate-writing-'til-its-done kind of folks. I can't wait to get in to my scripts and make them better, or wilder, or sexier. I love seeing theatre, films, TV. I love it all and I believe that it matters (cue violins)—seriously. Our work isn't just about fame or ego; it's about communicating big ideas and sharing the human experience. Rock on!
Most absurd plot twist? I just wrote a play where a painting comes to life, and a screenplay where a girl splits into three version of herself. Ha... wow that sounds really crappy out loud. It's tasteful and riveting! Promise! Really though, I have no problem with meta-theatrical zaniness, or really going for a bizarre surreal thing for a while. I always have elements of the impossible in my stories. That's what fiction's for!
Favorite place to write? My little green desk in my little Manhattan closet. I used to be a coffee shop person, but I don't have my NYC spot yet and I'd be afraid to walk away from my computer. I really just love making coffee at my place, no socks, looking all tousled, and writing for hours surrounded by all my books. I also tend to talk to myself (read my lines out loud, especially the really bitchy ones) so that makes public writing a bit awkward...
Quirks? Good lord. As my sister can attest, I'm one big bag of quirks. I will relate one of my habits: I love to run, and I always come up with the BEST script solutions on these runs (great lines, those absurd plot twists, fun titles). Thanks, Nike!
I will close with this. I've learned in my albeit short little life thus far... that there are only two things I can control in my career. And at the risk of sounding like a Girl Scout, here we go:
- Writing the best I can
- Being nice
Yep. Good writing and good personhood are all you can really control—and you never know which one of those will start working for you first. Sometimes its the script, sometimes its being a reliable and decent human being.
And it relaxes my that everything else about this crazy career (luck, taste, timing, allegiance, bullsh*!, luck, luck, contacts) is not in my range of influence. So I focus on my two elements, chill out, do what I love, and as my dad always says, "just keep typing."
Check out Lauren's Cameo here.
Lauren is a NYC (by way of Atlanta) playwright, screenwriter, and short story author. She holds an MFA in Dramatic Writing from NYU/Tisch and is a Reynolds Fellow in Social Entrepreneurship working with science, art, and education. Her work has received national productions, development, and awards all over the country. Her play Emilie: Le Marquise Du Châtelet Defends Her Life at the Petite Theatre at Cirey Tonight, will premiere at South Coast Rep April 24, 2009. See more at www.LaurenGunderson.com.