Continuing past the first interlude, I found myself back in the section of the story taking place in the 50’s, this time finally being introduced to our main characters as kids. It was interesting to see the differences between them as kids and adults, but also the similarities. Ben goes from a fat kid, to a thin handsome man, but still had his internal issues. I will be interested to see what exactly gets them to how they are as adults as I continue.

I think the structure of this novel helps me stay interested, as it bounces between our characters as adults and as kids, and makes you want to see more of each. It also does a great job of helping you get a more full idea of the characters than I have in most other books. You see them as adults and childs, and it really shows who they are.

As I continued this novel I came to a part titled “Derry: The First Interlude”. This was interesting to me, as I wasn’t expecting any interludes, but as I began to read this section I realized exactly what this was meant to be used as, and I really found it to be one of the most interesting parts of the book so far. After the “Six Phone Calls” part of the book we have been introduced to six main characters, Stan, Ben, Beverley, Eddie, Richie, and Bill, and they all mention someone named Mike, the man who calls him. Obviously Mike can’t call himself, so this section is used to introduce to the character of Mike Hanlon, and explain the town of Derry a little more. I found this to be very interesting because it does a great job introducing both a character and giving us a good idea of who he is, and setting up the town of Derry.

Being a big Stephen King fan, I finally decided it was time to pick up one of his most famous novels, IT. I obviously knew some of the plot, but wasn’t too sure what to expect, and so far it has not disappointed.

The novel starts out with something intended to hook you right away, and it works really well. We are introduced to two characters, Bill and George Denbrough, brothers who seem very close. It starts out establishing their brotherly relationship, but mostly focuses on George, the younger of the two, and his determination to help his brother make a paper boat for him to sail outside in a raging storm. The two brothers finish the boat, and Georgie goes out to sail it, and that’s where it hooks you. “Bill never saw him again.” That one sentence hooks the reader instantly. What happens? Where does George go? How does it all go down? It’s perfect, and creates a sense of dread that not many books can create.

George races his boat next to the curb, in the water from the storm, and for a moment is filled with pure joy. But the reader knows something is going to happen, and so the suspense continues, and escalates the moment that paper boat goes down into the storm drain. And it’s finally revealed where this is all going when a clown reveals himself from the darkness of the storm drain. The clown behaves like a clown at first, but again, the readers know something bad is going to happen, and so this entire interaction is filled with complete tension and dread, and it all pays off when George reaches for that boat from the clown, and the clown bites off his arm and leaves George armless in the street, dead. This is quite the opening, setting the tone for the entire rest of the book, by both introducing the importance and intricacy of the human relationships, and the pure horror and darkness that was shown through the suspense, tension and gruesomeness of the final demise of a six year old child.

The book then continues its setup for what will become to overall plot, by jumping forward from 1950, to 1986, and introducing the clown once again, after he is supposedly spotted carrying away the victim of a hate crime, and this event is what jumpstarts the 1986 portion of the plot, and introduces us to our characters. The book begins a section entitled “Six Phone Calls” that both introduced our main characters, foreshadows events later, and once again sets up a deep feeling of dread for what’s to come. Six of our main characters get a call from someone named Mike, a character who all we know is an old friend from their old town. But their reactions to these calls is nothing normal, and creates tension throughout the book. Ben, Richie, Beverley, Eddie and Bill Denbrough all seem terrified by the implications of this phone call, but all insist they must leave for some mysterious reason, and return to their home town of Derry. One character, Stanley Uris, has a bit of a different reaction however, calmly walking himself to the bathroom and locking the door. It isn’t until his wife finds him dead, wrists slit in the bathtub, and the word “IT” written on the wall in his blood, that we truly see the implications of this call. What could have been so bad, that going back would cause this, what happened in Derry, and what will continue to happen? I suppose I will find out as I continue reading.

Something that I find to be a great art form, and something that I find much enjoyment in, is the art of screenwriting. Basically, screenwriting is writing a script, for a stage play, or movie. It contains nothing more than the essential details, like characters actions, dialogue and potentially details that might play a role in the plot. All other trivial details are left to later production.

Although writing is a very popular art form in our culture, I find screenwriting to be much less popular, and often forgotten in the overall topic of writing. To me, this is a shame, because I find screenwriting to be one of the most unique, and potentially challenging ways to write. This is because it leaves out the small details as something to be worried about later, and solely looks at the story, characters, and most importantly to me, creating emotion in the audience. Now, one might say that a short story or novel can do this just as well, and I wouldn’t disagree at all, I find this it creates a unique challenge for the writer because if you are lacking in the core elements I previously mentioned, then you are lacking overall. There is no room to make up for poor story, underdeveloped characters and no emotional core in a screenplay. You have to hope the filmmakers can save you later on. But even if they do, you become the weak link in the storytelling process.

Now this may seem like it would be a turn off in some ways, but to me it creates an all new experience for a writer. It seems to me, that even if a writer isn’t too familiar with the art of writing a screenplay, it could help them in many ways. One major way that I believe it could help writers, is with writing good dialogue. Since dialogue is often the core of a screenplay, its is crucial that the writer have good and natural dialogue. And since it is such an important aspect, it is also just as important for a writer to learn to write good dialogue, if they struggle in that element. Putting them in the position of screenwriting, I think, can help immensely.

The second thing I think that would benefit a writer from writing a screenplay, is finding an emotional core through language. Often times I find myself reading a good novel, while not always necessarily being moved, or angered, or saddened. While I feel these emotions from a film on a regular basis. Now, in a film, actors performances, visuals and music play a role in the emotion also, but it all comes back to the writing of the script. I think that writing a scripts core is the emotion of the story, and I think that makes it a very unique way to write, and a very unique form of art.

My name is Lucas, and this blog is for my 11th grade English class. I am a lover of film and the writing of films. Writing in general actually. Film has always been an interest of mine, especially sci-fi, fantasy and horror. But since I could never jump right into the filming of some epic action adventure, I always decided to write the story instead, since anyone can do that. So I hope this blog becomes a good place to talk about that, and all of my other interests.