Before I get to today’s blog…

Thinking about doing more with your writing? Why not join me in Paris June 2-7 for my Masterclass in Screenwriting? Come be part of a dynamic community of writers and literary agents to learn, to write, to network, to energize your literary goals—and just to have fun in the City of Light!

The Paris Writers Workshop is the longest running literary program of its kind. This program offers 6 masterclasses by renowned authors, each a specialist in their field—and I’ll be teaching the Screenwriting Masterclass—in English, of course.

The workshop will be held at Columbia University’s beautiful Reid Hall campus in the heart of literary Paris—Montparnasse.

Registration is now open: https://wice-paris.org/paris-writers- workshop

We’ll have a great time getting your story ideas off the ground!!

Coming of Age Films—Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

So from last week’s Mean Girls to this week’s girls who are NOT mean but great friends. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, [2005] by Delia Ephron and Elizabeth Chandler, is based on the young adult novel of the same title by Ann Brashares. And these girls truly like each other.

I remember when I first heard the title of this film. Not being a teen, I hadn’t heard of the book. So the idea that there were ‘traveling pants’ was just too weird to me. I recall talking to friends and saying, “Seriously, magical pants? That travel?”

Needless to say, I didn’t run to see this film. It was word of mouth and the advice of friends that got me to reluctantly see it. And, shocker, I was glad I did.

The premise of the film is that four really close friends who are, for the first time, going in different directions for the summer, decide to stay in touch by sending this pair of pants to each other over the course of the summer. I know, I know, it seems a super bizarre premise, but—amazingly—it works.

So the pants. Their deal is that they fit all the girls absolutely perfectly, no matter their shape. And interesting things happen to each of the girls when they wear the pants.

If you haven’t seen the film, take a look at the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eV1IkLvTe1I

You can feel the energy between these young women. They really DO seem like best friends and we care about what happens to each of them.

The line used to advertise the film was “Laugh. Cry. Share the pants.” It was as if, by watching the film, you, too, could become a friend who could somehow share the magic of the pants.

I have to say, even writing those words, feels weird to me. Magic pants?! Just… weird.

But the film totally works. And you begin to see that the pants are just a way to hold the stories of these four friends together. And that’s the key—their stories. THEIR stories—the stories of these young women.

And therein lies the specialness of this film—it’s about four women. And that is something that made the film so successful—women/girls want films that reflect their lives, their wants, their needs, their desires. And, interestingly, all but one of the remaining coming of age films I’m going to discuss are about women.

So what does that mean to you, the writer? It means that the time is right to tell coming of age stories about women. The stories of half of the people on the planet are worth telling. And guess what, you could be the writer to tell the next story that moves, surprises and/or informs audiences about women’s journeys. So hey, why not take the trip?

Copyright © Diane Lake

17Oct21

Email Diane a question to Diane@DianeLake.com