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!!

New Year’s Films 6 – While You Were Sleeping

From last week’s stellar romantic comedy, When Harry Met Sally, to this week’s film that centers around how another couple meet: While You Were Sleeping [1995] by Daniel G. Sullivan and Fredric LeBow.

How couples meet is a romantic comedy staple—so coming up with a new and different way can be appealing to an audience, but it can also be hard for the writer. I mean, hasn’t it all been done already? How many new ways CAN a couple meet?

While You Were Sleeping found one. And it centers around our main character, Lucy, who sits in a booth and takes subway tokens from riders of the Chicago trains. Not much interaction with anyone—she’s basically in a glass bubble watching the world go to work, go to parties, meet friends, etc. So how’s she EVER going to meet anybody?

And we soon discover that meeting someone is particularly important for her, because since her father died a few years ago, she had to drop out of college and has had no family at all—dad was all she had. So she’s truly alone in the world.

Think about this dilemma as a writer—how do you get her to meet anyone? A work party with friends? On the street? At a café or something? At the supermarket?

BORING.

Instead, what if the really handsome man she always fantasizes about, Peter, is attacked by a gang and accidentally thrown on the track? Lucy is astounded and runs out of her booth onto the platform and calls to him—but there's no response. Seeing an approaching train, she manages—at the last second—to roll Peter out of the path of the train and thus saves his life.

At the hospital, though, is where the fun begins—because she’s mistaken for his fiancée. Take a look at the trailer for the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=nsJxyUvkB_E

You can see that after the mistaken identity, she has a hard time telling them she’s NOT Peter’s fiancée. She wants to… but as she gets to know this family and begins to feel a part of it, she thinks maybe it COULD work out. And when Peter wakes up and doesn’t recognize her everyone thinks he has amnesia and that’s why he’s forgotten her. And Peter himself is persuaded that he SHOULD marry Lucy… Quelle mess.

And in the middle of all of this, Jack shows up. Jack is Peter’s brother. And Jack falls for Lucy big time, but since she’s his brother’s fiancée, he won’t act on that. And Lucy? Well, she falls for Jack too but just isn’t sure he feels the same.

What a dilemma!

This movie is a fun romp—in which there is a New Year’s party that kick-starts Lucy’s relationship with Jack. Parties can do that…

This movie spans the holiday season so it delivers on the fun and happy ending front, but I remember it most for how the characters meet. If you’re writing a romantic comedy, can you come up with a way that’s as different as this one?

Next week, we’ll head to a new century… and to London…

Copyright © Diane Lake

30Jan22

Email Diane a question to Diane@DianeLake.com