I never go to the movies…ever.
I think part of the reason is that I live in Los Angeles. Not only do I live in Los Angeles, I live in a part of town where every single person I happen upon is in the business. This means I can not take in a movie on a saturday afternoon without having to listen to some industry little-wig rambling on about the production. Because he happens to know the assistant to the assistant of something or other. I just want to see the damn movie!
So, it should come as no small surprise that one of the few films I saw this past year was about a scriptwriter who bucked the system, got into a hella hot water (while writing in the tub, no less) and created works that put him head and shoulders above the rest. Whether under an alias or under his own name, Dalton Trumbo was power.
I once thought I wanted to be a coffeehouse writer. I thought I wanted to head off to Starbucks with my laptop in tow to write. If that were to actually happen, I am certain to get zero writing done. I am not a public writer, not in the least. I need solitude as a fish needs water.
I can not help but wonder if Trumbo’s habit of writing while seated in the bath somehow allowed for the flow of ideas. There was a flow to his writing that has resonance today. I readily admit that were it not for my fear of ruining my laptop, I would be seated in my tub at this moment. Perhaps I can work out a compromise and write while soaking my feet. I think it would be worth a try. Either that or find an actual typewriter complete with ribbon and actual paper.
Either way, the Trumbo writing method may be in my future.
just the crust 