As a writer who watches a lot of movies, I’m always slightly annoyed by the way writers are depicted in films. Why? Because according to movies, if you’re a writer…
You’re British (or at least European)
You’re agoraphobic
You always have a bad-hair day
You eat junk food
You have no sense of fashion
You suffer from writer’s block
You take drugs to fight writer’s block (and you have a bad-hair day)
You have conversations with imaginary people (who look like movie stars)
You’re a loner
You’re uptight
You’d do anything to avoid your agent/publisher/editor
You’re old-fashioned
You’re a sad little thing who needs a hug (and a boyfriend)
Your day job is teaching (and you hate it)
You’re crazy (and you know it)
Your life is a mess (and so are you)
Whatever you do, your manuscript will end up blown in the wind
Does this sound familiar to you? Do you agree with this depiction of writers in movies? Are you like this? Tell me what you think in the comment section!
Movie credits:
Secret Window by David Koepp (2004)
The Ghost Writer by Roman Polanski (2011)
Adaptation by Spike Jonze (2002)
Swimming Pool by François Ozon (2002)
Possession by Neil LaBut (2002)
Stranger Than Fiction by Marc Forster (2006)
Nim’s Island by Jennifer Flackett & Mark Levin (2008)
Midnight in Paris by Woody Allen (2011)
Limitless by Neil Burger (2011)