Former actress/director Christina Hamlett is an award winning author and script coverage consultant whose publishing credits include 21 books, 112 plays and musicals, 4 optioned feature films, and columns that appear throughout the world. For more information, visit her website.
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FAREWELL TO CHRISTINA HAMLETT'S INKLINGS: Writing Well & Profitably for Books, Film, and Stage
Thanks for five years of great writing!
Since Independent Publisher went online-only with the January 2000 issue, columnist Christina Hamlett gave us INKLINGS: Writing Well & Profitably for Books, Film, and Stage, sharing her experiences as a playwright, screenwriter, journalist and novelist. Christina sent her final Inklings column for our April 2005 issue, and now we’ve collected links to all of her columns for easy access below.In January 2005 she contributed the feature, YEAH, BUT I SAW THE MOVIE... Christina’s nostalgic look at good old-fashioned books and the shrinking popularity of reading for pleasure is typical of her sharp wit, which along with her wisdom, we shall greatly miss. An excerpt:
“Even members of my own generation, of course, are not above the duplicity of attending book club chats just for the Merlot, the Brie and the “smart set” camaraderie, nodding thoughtfully in the right places so as to escape the detection of never having delved past the dust jacket. Oddly, the tradition of reading a book so as to be able to discuss with others its fine points and symbolism has segued to the circumstance of using it as little more than a trendy calling card to gain admittance to relational encounters that provide free food. Vanishing all too fast is the comfort of discovering one’s favorite novel—especially the obscure—on the shelf of a new friend, an unspoken affirmation of common ground and future sympatico.”
Following is a list of Christina’s columns, INKLINGS: Writing Well & Profitably for Books, Film, and Stage 2000-2005:
FILM, STAGE OR NOVEL? Choosing the Right Vehicle to Convey Your Story
GETTING TO HOLLYWOOD VIA THE INDIES
THE ENDANGERED PROTAGONIST: We don't need another hero! Unless the writer makes us care...
THE FIRST ONE DOESN'T COUNT: Or Does It?
HOW YOUR PEN CAN PAY FOR YOUR NEXT VACATION
WORKING YOUR WAY TOWARD THE SILVER SCREEN, or, IT HELPS TO HAVE A DAY JOB IN THE MEANTIME...
THE PLAY'S THE THING: How to Write Scripts for Children & Teens
PLOTS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT: Defining the Difference Between Mystery and Psychological Suspense
AGE IS A MATTER OF MIND: A Young U.K. Filmmaker Shares His Views
What Theater Can Teach You About Film: An Interview with Professor Jerry Abbitt
PACKING YOUR BAGS FOR FILM CAMP: An Interview with Shannon Gardner
HOW TO WRITE A COOKBOOK: Cooking and writing can be a harmonious -- and profitable -- marriage.
What Are Your Characters Really After?
EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN or HOW TO RECYCLE YOUR WRITING & GET AWAY WITH IT
A DRAMA DOWN UNDER: An Interview with Playwright Christina Hamlett by Director Paula Carter
HOW TO BE AN EXPERT: Or Just Write Like One
TIME AS WE KNOW IT. Good timing is an important element of good storytelling.
ISLANDS IN THE STREAM (of Consciousness)
READING BETWEEN THE LINES (Part One)
READING BETWEEN THE LINES (Part Two)
LITTLE PONDS/BIG PONDS: Look Before You Leap
WHERE THERE’S A WILL, THERE’S A PLAY (& probably a film and a novel, too)
CURSE OF THE DEAD CELEBRITIES, Part I
CURSE OF THE DEAD CELEBRITIES, Part II
STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND: Pitching Your Project to Foreign Markets
TEN ITEMS OR LESS (or WHERE THE PLOTS ARE...)
OF GLASS SLIPPERS & GLASS CEILINGS: An Interview with Carolyn Miller
COPS, ROBBERS, & THE WRITERS WHO LOVE THEM
DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL! HOW TO WRITE SHORTS THAT WILL KNOCK THEIR SOCKS OFF
IS IT YOURS FOR THE TAKING? (Pt. 1)
IS IT YOURS FOR THE TAKING? (Pt. 2)
THEY SHOOT INDIES, DON’T THEY? Part 1
THEY SHOOT INDIES, DON’T THEY? Part 2
HOW TO ENDEAR YOURSELF TO THE EDITING DEPARTMENT
SCREENWRITING EXPO 2004 - Interview with event coordinator Erik Bauer
COMING TO A STATION NEAR YOU: THE NEXT TRAIN TO REALITY
THE PRODUCER’S VIEW: An Interview with David Gorder
HOOKING AN AUDIENCE AND REELING THEM IN
STAGE-STRUCK: WHY THEATER ENDURES