One of my favourites of
the new films is Clint Eastwood’s “Gran Torino.” It was written by Nick Schenk.
AP writer Jeff Baenen writes, “Working at a liquor store or a
construction site, Nick Schenk developed an ear for realistic dialogue.
Eventually he wrote a script on scrap paper while sitting at a blue-collar bar
in northeast Minneapolis.”
The story concerns the relationship between a retired auto worker and a Hmong family next door. Baenen writes, “Schenk had worked with Hmong families in a factory job and visited a Hmong cultural center in St. Paul. He also got authenticity from the veterans he ran into on the job. Shenk says,"I had guys tell me their stories, their war stories, because they could trust me or I was sympathetic and respectful. So they would tell me stuff that they could not tell their wives and would not tell their kids."
Soaking up information like this makes for authentic scripts and novels—and makes it easier to bear crappy jobs, too.
(If you're interested in writing a screenplay or a novel but not sure how to get started, see my book, "Your Writing Coach," available on Amazon and in book stores.)
