I'm working on a new conceptual short-film, and unfortunately, have hit a pretty terrible case of writers' block. I've got an extremely basic concept, but I've yet to flesh it out. The concept is this: Two people are sitting at opposite ends of a long table. One of these people can only communicate through writing letters, which she pushes across the table into the hands of the other person. The other person doesn't understand why she is doing this, but plays along with her game. After this point, I'm sort of stumped. I need a reason that this person can only communicate through writing, and a solution. She doesn't necessarily have to be "fixed", but any ideas where to take this story would be greatly appreciated!
This is pretty vague, IMO. Who else is sitting around the table? why are they there? where does this take place? when? what is the purpose of this meeting? how long is the film supposed to be and what do you wanna say with it? I don't know what conceptual short films are like, please explain further.
I think you need to do some brainstorming here. make a list of possible reasons and choose the one that sounds the most interesting.
I can think of two reasons why she'd be writing instead of talking. 1. She's deaf. 2. She doesn't want anybody to overhear their conversation--which can open up a whole list of possibilities as to where you might take the story. Given that you're blocked as to where to take it from there, I agree that you should do some brainstorming. Go over a list of possibilities. I (personally) suggest taking some long walks, listening to some good music, and waiting for the right idea to come. If you end up having to let your story sit for a while, it's not necessarily a bad thing. Just wait for the inspiration to come, and when it does, don't lose it. : ) Be sure to write it down.
A woman has gone through a terrible ordeal, having lost her husband, an operatic tenor, to throat cancer. As he lost the ability to talk, his wife was heartbroken. After his death, she vowed never to speak again in honor of his memory and his lost golden voice. She is sitting with her therapist who is working with her to convince her to let go of the necessity to only write and never speak. During her sessions, she always smokes the entire time, but therpatist, although he hates smoking, allows it to make her more comfortable. Also, out of respect for her and in order to bond with her, he in turn communicates by writing on a paper to her, and this is how their sessions run every week. But there therapist has a history of baggage all his own. He was a member of a church and very active. But when the church members found out he was having an affair with a married woman (although he was single) they demand that he leave. As the therapist and the woman get to know each other, she eventually tells him (in writing of course) that although she still refuses to speak, she gets a lot out of their sessions and can't imagine not seeing him on a weekly basis. She says that the very idea of missing one of their sessions makes her smoke for hours without stopping, out of anxiety. After reading those words, the therapist is flattered and begins viewing the woman in a softer, gentler light and begins seeing her affliction as one of endearment. As time goes by, the therapist falls in love with his patient, and as he gets to know her, she eventually tells him about her husband's beautiful voice. He mentions to her that he used to sing in a choir at a church. She is intrigued by his experience there, but he is embarrassed to tell her why he left even though she asked. When she confesses that her husband had had an affair one night, after having given her heavy criticism about something although she refuses to tell him what, and that she had forgiven him, the therapist also confides that he had had an affair. She tells him that she would have forgiven him as well if they had been married. At this point they're sitting right next to each other and kiss. The woman says out loud, "I've been wanting to speak for a long time, but only now have I had something to say." But when she speaks, she has a raspy voice like someone that has smoked for 20 years. The therapist is shocked and sits and stares at her, unable to think of anything to say. She confides that her husband had been emotionally abusive to her because of her voice, but that she had stayed with him out of codependency. She finally admits that she was not in love with him after all those years of abuse, but loved his voice and stopped speaking because she was humiliated by her speech impediment. She tells the therapist that he was the first man she had met that had not judged her for her voice ever since it had become offensive, but now that he has been so kind to her, she felt better about using her voice again and not worrying about others judging her. The therapist is delighted with her progress, but has lost his feelings for her because her voice disgusted him. Out of awkwardness, he picks up her pack of cigarettes and offers her one. She refuses, saying she's just not in the mood to smoke then and might even give up the habit. He feels even more awkward and says their time is up and asks when she would like to make her next appointment. She tells him that no further appointments will be necessary. She is finally happy with herself. As she walks out of his office, she takes her pack of cigarettes, still half full, and throws them in the trash.
