Randall

I am sorry, my plans are cancelled for a couple of days as I have some reading to do.

Thanks @pulmyears.bsky.social & @houseofanansi.bsky.social

I have a handful of friends in ABQ who routinely post photos of the skies filled with balloons...

so incredible to witness and such diversity of designs!

A hockey fan drinks coffee from a PWHL mug while staring blankly. (Photo by & of @createdbyrcw)

When there's coffee in a scene, I assume someone will drink it. You don’t need to tell me.

But might the character use his coffee mug to avoid answering awkward questions or to hide his face?

Rather than describe minutiae, focus on what augments our understanding of the story.

sowhatsyourstory.ca

TALES TORONTO takes us HOME on Oct 14 with stories of belonging & conflict, family & alienation.

Come hear what home means to Dena Jackson, Nicholas Rice, Lynne Torrie, Narges Kushki & co-host Briane Nasimok.

Seating is limited. Details at talestoronto.com

#storytelling #spokenword #ShowUp

Oh, apparently I became confused as well... it is spreading!

KEN HALL PRESENTS THE COMEDY BAR ADVANCED STORYTELLING SHOWCASE

Mon, Oct 27 @ 8:30pm, Comedy Bar Danforth, Main Stage

Get your tickets at: comedybar.ca/shows/SHOWCA...

#storytelling #spokenword #monologues #truetales #ShowUp

The climactic moment of a story I told onstage at Toronto’s Burdock Music Hall for Replay Storytelling.

For audiences, what happens to a character is less important than how the #character feels about & responds to what happened.

We connect with the character through their #emotional response as we have likely felt those feelings despite rarely having experienced what they have.

sowhatsyourstory.ca

Sorry, Paul.

Not my intent.

Just thought the graphic with the biography labelled best in fiction was odd as the book is non-fiction. I know you have no control over that

Shouldn't the JOHN CANDY book be Best in Non-fiction?

What're you tryin' to pull @pulmyears.bsky.social? (I am kidding about Paul)

Glad to hear your creativity is flowing, & possibly erupting, again.

I find even going for a walk in my neighbourhood or visiting local natural areas does wonder for those ebb moments.

Anything, really, that allows my mind to loosen up without conscious effort stimulates my creativity.

Do you have a funny, embarrassing story you would like to get off your chest in a room full of strangers?

Listen To This is looking for your most cringe-worthy yet uproarious tales for its November show.

Public catharsis/humiliation will set you free.

nowlistentothis.ca

#storytelling #ShowUp

Through cloudy skies, a supermoon finds us amusing. (Photo by @createdbyrcw)

The cosmic irony of our existence is that we are simultaneously insignificant & infinite.

Our insignificance eliminates all pressure to define a single path while our infiniteness offers limitless possibility.

#self #selfawareness #selfcare #potential #possibility #opportunity

Three whitewater rafters carry a fallen man as a fourth rafter defends the group with a bow in this moment from Deliverance.

On a good day, creative #storytelling is like whitewater rafting: an incredible, chaotic thrill.

On a bad day, creative storytelling is like whitewater rafting in the movie Deliverance: same but with more squealing.

sowhatsyourstory.ca

#screenwriting #writing #filmmaking #publishing #theatre

CAPTION: “Randall is one of the greatest creative cheerleaders we’ve ever come across at Collab Writers. Thank you, [Randall], for your devotion & dedication to the craft & to creators of all kinds.” – Jennifer Griffiths What are you working on? And how can I support that? What are you struggling with? And how can I ease the challenges? What have you stopped working on? And how can I help get you back on track? You never have to face your creative efforts alone. Visit sowhatsyourstory.ca or DM me & let’s chat.

“Randall is one of the greatest creative cheerleaders we’ve ever come across at Collab Writers. Thank you, [Randall], for your devotion & dedication to the craft & to creators of all kinds.” – Jennifer Griffiths

You never have to face your creative efforts alone.

Visit sowhatsyourstory.ca or DM me

Silly #sarcasm

A tern soars across a clear blue sky. (Photo by @createdbyrcw)

Although the path is mine to select and the journey is mine to lead, my passage is made more pleasant, my destination is made more satisfying, by those who buoy my wings, by those who cushion my steps, by those who celebrate my arrival.

Thank you all.

#journey #lifepath #lifelived #gratitude

Top: (left) Replicant Roy Batty gives the “tears in rain” soliloquy in this moment from Blade Runner. (right) Genetic engineer Else feeds her creation Dren in this scene from Splice. Bottom: Paul Atreides rallies the Fremen for jihad against the Empire and Harkonnens in this moment from Dune. CAPTION: The greatest strength of science fiction & fantasy is often their distance from our everyday lives. That distance makes it safer to ask questions too emotionally charged for rational consideration, to examine scarring actions by individuals & groups, to understand that individuals are not monoliths but rather angelic demons & demonic angels.

The greatest strength of science fiction & fantasy is often their distance from our everyday lives.

That distance makes it safer to ask questions too emotionally charged for rational consideration.

sowhatsyourstory.ca

#storytelling #screenwriting #writing #filmmaking #publishing #theatre

Black-and-white photo of a moss-covered angel standing guard over a grave. (Photo by @createdbyrcw)

Even if I never discover my life’s purpose, I will have lived a wondrous adventure that touched myriad lives.

#fulfillment #purpose #destiny #satisfaction #contentment #peace

In a messy academic office, Will Hunting (Matt Damon) talks but says little to psychotherapist Sean Maguire (Robin Williams) in this moment from the film Good Will Hunting.

#Dialogue is not conversation, but a distillation.

Every word, every silence, every hesitation conveys meaning & serves a purpose.

sowhatsyourstory.ca

#storytelling #writing #screenwriting #subtext #performance #acting #filmmaking #publishing #theatre

Love is always enough. But it doesn’t always appear as expected.

It isn’t simply hugging & providing support. It is also asking hard questions & urging change, not just of others, but also of myself.

Love can be limitless & still have boundaries.

YouTube video by Randall Willis Baby Steps Aren't

Baby steps aren’t baby steps to a baby. And whenever any of us try something new, we are babies.

So, rather than allow the final outcome to intimidate us, what if we simply made that first incremental stumble?

I cannot write an article until I have written a word.

youtu.be/hKu7rzd9Dto

A tree-lined cliff face overlooking Lake Huron. (Photo by @createdbyrcw)

Plan all you want. Train all you want.

Prepare all you want. Seek advice all you want.

But at some point, you simply step off the cliff, believing you’ll eventually figure out how to fly.

sowhatsyourstory.ca

#storytelling #screenwriting #writing #filmmaking #publishing #theatre

Toronto Arthouse Film Festival – Oct 6 – 9 https://www.torontofilmfestival.org/ Female Eye Festival – Oct 14 – 19 https://www.thefemaleeyefilmfestival.com/ Toronto After Dark Film Festival – Oct 15 – 19 https://torontoafterdark.com/ Toronto Chinese Canadian Film Festival – Oct 18 – 24 https://www.tccff.ca/ Planet in Focus Film Festival – Oct 21 – 26 https://planetinfocus.org/ Reelworld Film Festival – Oct 21 – Nov 3 https://www.reelworld.ca/film-festival-summit

Toronto is a filmmaker’s & film lover’s paradise in October!

(web links in ALT text)

#storytelling #filmmaking #filmmakers #indiefilm #movies #filmfests #filmfestivals

Prepared for your mind to be blown!
Prepare to question your reality!
Prepare to enjoy your evening!

Jenna Shows returns Sat, Oct 4 with her mesmerizing work-in-progress, live-directed by Jesse Buck

Tickets at: jennashows.eventbrite.ca

#music #song #comedy #jennashows #workinprogress #ShowUp

Just pitched a mind-bending story to Listen To This for the pre-Hallowe’en body horror show “Break a Leg”

Up against stiffs competition, but excited to share the screams of my fav bloody sport

And if they murder my hopes, I. WILL. BE. BACK! (with other pitches)

For tickets: www.nowlistentothis.ca

The dying sun reflects across a lake as it slides behind silhouetted mountains. (Photo by @createdbyrcw)

I am focused…

…on going, not arriving
…on creation, not achievement
…on understanding, not dictating
…on evolution, not perfection
…on today, not my last day

Death (Robert Redford) drinks tea with an elderly Wanda Dunn (Gladys Cooper) in “Nothing in the Dark”, an episode of The Twilight Zone.

Curse him though we might, the Garden of Eden was boring until the Serpent arrived.

To be formidable, my #antagonist must also have skin in the game.

sowhatsyourstory.ca

#storytelling #screenwriting #writing #characters #filmmaking #publishing #theatre

Against a black background, a struggling woman holds her hand to her face. (Photo by Juan Pablo Serrano Arenas via Pexels)

To live in the moment is to not only experience joy but also experience pain.

To ignore my pain, to block it from my mind, is to disrespect my body and the story it seeks to tell me.

I can try to alleviate it, but to pretend it doesn’t exist does nothing to heal my body. It is a foot’s errand.

Plot seeks to answer the dramatic question: Does the protagonist achieve their goal or satisfy their need?

Theme asks a larger, more universal question, each facet of which one or more #characters explores & answers.

Thus, where #plot is what happens, #theme is why it matters.

sowhatsyourstory.ca

It's not complicated!