TV (or movie) Viewing Habits

Ms.Write · Jan 22, 2007

I am starting a first draft of a novel and find that too much time watching movies or entertaining programs distracts me from my story. A no brainer, really, but I wonder about YOUR habits when you're working on a full-length story...

The problem with viewing is that it's passive. And it drains our energy. I find the imagination works better with an empty canvas.

Have you cut down on TV or movie viewing? Does it hamper your work?

IrishScribbler · Jan 22, 2007

It depends on what I'm watching. I can't watch a movie and write. However, I find I'm quite productive while watching Law & Order. Failing TV, I have to put on music; I can't work if it's too quiet.

jennifer75 · Jan 22, 2007

Ms.Write said:
I find the imagination works better with an empty canvas.

Exactly why I'm not reading anything fictional right now. I don't want any "ideas" to mess with my own creative thinking.

alaskamatt17 · Jan 22, 2007

I love watching movies. Film is one of the most time-efficient ways to tell a story, if not THE most efficient. Sure, a lot differs between a story told by visuals and one told by words on a page, but there is a strong correlation between the different storytelling media. Film can help you think well in terms of dialogue and pacing. Or, at least that's how it seems to work for me.

Good movies I've seen lately:

Children of Men, directed by Alfonso Cuaron
Curse of the Golden Flower, directed by Zhang Yimou (not as good as his other movies, but still watchable)

I've heard Pan's Labyrinth is really good, I hope it gets released where I'm at but I doubt it will be.

Shadow_Ferret · Jan 22, 2007

No. I don't stop my entertainment choices or reduce them simply because I'm writing a story. My writing time is separate from my other entertainment time.

You find it drains you. Me, I find it relaxes me. It keeps my logical mind distracted allowing my writer's (creative) mind to plug away uninterupted on whatever story problem I have at the time. Otherwise my logical mind keeps putting in it's 2 cents and nothing ever gets created.

Then when it's time to go write, my creative mind comes forward with what it was purculating on while the logical mind was otherwise occupied.

Ms.Write · Jan 22, 2007

Hmmm... actually that's reassuring. I was afraid I'd have to drastically cut down - I watch maybe 2 or 3 movies a week, 2 or 3 programs.

Maybe it's all a matter of being focused on your story and knowing when to let yourself get distracted.

jodiodi · Jan 22, 2007

alaskamatt17 said:
Good movies I've seen lately:

Children of Men, directed by Alfonso Cuaron
Curse of the Golden Flower, directed by Zhang Yimou (not as good as his other movies, but still watchable)

I've heard Pan's Labyrinth is really good, I hope it gets released where I'm at but I doubt it will be.

Curse of the Golden Flower was a good movie. I'm quite a fan of Zhang Yiimou.

I don't read fiction in the genre in which I'm writing while I'm writing. As for other stuff, I will watch what I can't stand to miss but otherwise like to be quiet when I write.

sfecphory · Jan 22, 2007

A good movie helps relax and recharge me. A good book engages other parts of the brain, but does the same. I have found that limiting my TV viewing has helped not only my writing but my life (I spend more time TALKING to my wife and PLAYING with my son that I do staring at a box plugged into the wall). I've also found that the type of TV I watch has changed. I watch a lot more DISCOVERY Channel than I ever thought I would. Also, and this is a big one for me, I've discovered that the less TV I watch, the more I think TV writing and acting is really quite bad.

One last thought: I also take great solace in really bad made for TV movies (Lifetime on Saturday afternoon) for their ability to make me laugh and for the opportunity to break down why they don't work. Sometimes bad art is more helpful than good art. Good art makes you say, "How'd they do that?" Bad art makes you say, "What did they do wrong?" and then you list how they struck out.

Susan Gable · Jan 22, 2007

I am a story junkie. I like story and characters in all forms of entertainment, which means I watch tv, movies, and read up a storm. Sometimes I watch tv and read at the same time, much to the amazement of my hubby.

It doesn't interfere with my own creativity.

Susan G.

maestrowork · Jan 22, 2007

I don't watch much TV.

I watch movies all the time. I review them professionally; I also enjoy movies personally. I tend to lean toward drama with complex characters and relationships. Movies adapted from novels. Romantic stories. I just saw The Painted Veil with Naomi Watts and Edward Norton -- it fits all three categories, and not to mention the beautiful leading lady. Highly recommended.

I don't think movies, or other books for that matter, interfere with my creative process. In fact, I think they excite and inspire me, in an "I wish I could write something like that" way. It's a good thing.

aadams73 · Jan 22, 2007

Susan Gable said:
I am a story junkie. I like story and characters in all forms of entertainment, which means I watch tv, movies, and read up a storm. Sometimes I watch tv and read at the same time, much to the amazement of my hubby.

It doesn't interfere with my own creativity.

This is me, too. I love stories!

Sage · Jan 22, 2007

I love television. I'll admit that there are times that I get really inspired by a television show or movie. I'll watch a scene that excites me for some reason & think, well, if I took that, tweaked it, turned it inside out, tweaked it again, & applied it to the situation & characters in my WIP, it would be perfect! Of course, by that time it doesn't resemble the thing that inspired me in any way, shape, or form, but I still drew inspiration from it.

Reading, however, can depress me. I'll read a writer who describes better than I do, or who does actions scenes better, or who just seems so much better, & I'll start doubting my own work. As much as I think to myself, "I can learn from this," I still get a little dejected.

veinglory · Jan 22, 2007

When I am writing the TV is always on.

andracill · Jan 22, 2007

When I'm in my rhythm, so to speak, I can definitely watch a movie while I write...and I usually either read, crochet, or do sudoku while watching TV -- it's hard to just watch alone, imo

Paxton · Jan 22, 2007

Susan Gable said:
Sometimes I watch tv and read at the same time, much to the amazement of my hubby.

I do that too! But I end up regretting it if the tv show or the book turns out to be particularly good. In any case, I always have a book on hand to read during ad breaks.

PeeDee · Jan 22, 2007

My wife will sometimes be around watching TV when I'm writing, and it doesn't generally bother me much. If it distracts me when I'm writing, it's because I'm distractable at that moment anyway. anything would distract me, from anything else, even if I weren't writing.

I watch TV and movies almost entirely with her. The only things i watch on my own are Mystery Science Theater movies (and even then, I own the DVDs and have only watched one, once, a month ago) and I'll flip on MTV HIts every now and then, for no good reason.

I get a good amount of work done because I don't watch movies, TV, or play video games when my wife's not around. We genearlly do all three together.

If I could get a similar restriction set up on these forums, then I would be aproductivity champion, instead of accidentally losing a whole day on these forums now and then...

Chasing the Horizon · Jan 22, 2007

After I started writing I found that TV no longer really interested me, with the exception of Third Watch and an occasional Discovery Channel special. Before I started writing I use to always have the TV on, because I couldn't stand having it quiet. When it was quiet I didn't have anything to block out all the terrible thoughts running through my head. Now the only thoughts running through my mind are about my stories and I want to hear those.

I still watch movies and read. I don't hesitate to take inspiration from books and movies. I know by the time I adjust a scene to fit my characters and my world it won't look much like the original.

I do listen to music while I write, both to set the mood and to block out all the random distracting noises outside.

RG570 · Jan 22, 2007

I write in front of the TV, and always read after my writing is finished for the day. The TV doesn't bother me at all. I guess it's because I was basically raised in front of it. It's not that there's much on there I actually like, but it's just always been there. I'm not a big fan of movies though.

scribbler1382 · Jan 23, 2007

I think this is a myth created by writers who needed some scapegoats. I mean, I've never picked up a book and said "I thought that guy's roommate was named Kramer not Caulfield" or flipped on the tube to watch a flick and said "I wonder when Ethan Hunt is going to bite that guy on the neck?"

PattiTheWicked · Jan 23, 2007

I don't watch much tv because honestly, not much of it interests me. There's maybe two or three shows I watch regularly, and I periodically catch stuff on the History and Discovery Channels. I guess I feel like I spend my time better if I'm doing other things.

What drives me insane is when my kids and hubby walk into a room and feel the need to turn the tv on -- not because there's something they want to watch, but because they just want the damn thing on. I'd be perfectly content to not have one, but I've been outvoted.

ink wench · Jan 23, 2007

I think it's a personal thing - what do TV and movies do for you? If they drain you, avoid them. Otherwise you might as well enjoy. I can't speak for TV since my husband and I don't watch it, but I got the inspiration for the MC in my next novel while watching The Libertine. (Sadly, that's the only good thing I can say about that movie.)

The more you're exposed to, the more likely something is going to resonate. The same is true with reading, which is why it always amazes me when writers say they can't read fiction while they are writing it. But that's just me. Everyone has to find what works for themselves.

J.S Greer · Jan 23, 2007

alaskamatt17 said:
I've heard Pan's Labyrinth is really good, I hope it gets released where I'm at but I doubt it will be.

It's in limited release right now, but it will go wide. Ive heard amazing things about that movie.

I cant miss heroes, Stuidio 60, or family guy each week...and of course hockey...

I cant write all the time, I need breaks, and my shows provide that.

Jenan Mac · Jan 23, 2007

Not a TV watcher, other than a disturbing addiction to Boston Legal. I can find plenty of other ways to avoid writing (case in point-- this).

uina · Jan 23, 2007

Definatley a tv watcher. i just sit and watch with my head resting on one of my hands. or my arms crossed. that's what your asking for right?

thepainpasses · Jan 23, 2007

I can't watch TV while I write (barring the obvious need to point out that while my eyes are concentrated on the screen or paper, such a feat is near impossible). I find the images far too distracting.

However, if what you're expressing is the idea that, even on down times of your story, you find TV distracts you from your own story and drains you, I actually disagree. I always seem to be in the miniority here, but I actually find TV stimulates the creative side of my brain. Having tried my hand at graphic designs and image manipulation, I tend to look at television shows with a more artistic eye, cropping individual shots on the screen as they flash by, imaging what they'd look like with a few color layers. And the writer in me often extracts bits of dialouge and analyzes them, even looking for patterns in certain speakers dialects.

But I think that's pretty much just me. I find TV actually makes me more creative, inspires me. Considering my stories usually play out in my head as a movie (I sometimes act out isolated scenes on my own), I find such a medium rather stimulating.

So I'm afraid I'm really no help.

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