I am packing a bowl, frothing a protein shake, and taking my approxiamtely 50th puff of the day on a Sakura Grape Elf Bar. That might be lowballing, actually.
My plan is to write intensely over the next six months until my book comes out. I’m working on a second novel as well as some screenplays, and if I know anything I know this: if you want to write, you have to be in the practice of writing. So I’m going to use this space as needed to get the juices flowing, share a bit about my process, my life, my interests, whatever. I can’t promise stability or any kind of schedule, this might end up being the Substack version of morning pages. I hope we both get something out of it.
One of the things I’m working on is a screenplay for a movie I’ve been thinking about for a while, unrelated to Best Woman. I’ve read Save the Cat but otherwise have very little experience with proper screenwriting. But I also had never written a book when I started writing a book, I’m figuring it out as I go along.
It’s so different to write for a visual medium. The thing I love most about writing fiction is the ability to step into a character’s head and understand why they make their decisions, good and bad alike. It’s a really pure form of empathy. But with film, you can’t be inside someone’s head the way you would in prose. It’s challenging, but it’s a challenge I need.
Earlier tonight I watched The White Lotus finale and obviously I have a lot of thoughts, but I’m mostly thinking about it right now in terms of the masterful storytelling. Piper’s admission that she couldn’t handle monstery and it’s non-organic food (the horror!), her realization that she is exactly as materialistic and jaded as the rest of her family, unwilling to give up her creature comforts even in the face of spiritual enlightenment and doing good in the world. Parker Posey’s triumphant joy is so satisfying: she clocked her daughter hard on that trip to the monastery. Victoria knows the girl she raised, and revels in this opportunity to bring her daughter even more deeply into the arms of capitalism.
And of course the three blondes, who do the thing every group of friends must do at the end of a trip: you rally and get sentimental and pretend you had a much better time than you actually did. Laurie’s confession of her deep sadness leading to the epiphany that the time she has with her friends is enough to build her life around was genuinely touching, the kind of catharsis you can only find with the people who have known every version of you.
I want to create things that inspire this kind of reflection in people. It’s corny but it’s real. Sitting here at my dining table next to stack of Best Woman gallies, I have actual proof that it’s possible If I really sit down and get to work.
More soon…
This read like a quiet moment shared over something warm, where the smoke swirls and the words just land. There’s so much softness and strength in how you talk about their shift to screenwriting—it doesn’t feel like a career move, it feels like a calling. That image of lacing ambition into the night air? Gorgeous. Felt like a little spell in itself.
And your shoutout to their White Lotus take—especially the Parker Posey capitalism smirk—was perfection. It’s clear you see not just the craft, but the care behind their work. That line about wanting to create things that spark reflection? Yeah, that’s the whole heart of it.
You hyped them up while staying grounded and real. Felt like encouragement they’ll actually feel.
Can’t wait for Best Woman