It’s been over a month since I’ve posted something here. I’ve been busy [vegging] over the holidays–as good of an excuse as any to explain why I haven’t blogged, I suppose. 🙂

For want of a discussion topic, I’ve been watching some great movies that have come out since November. I’ve fallen in love with one particular movie almost to the point of embarrassment: Disney’s “Frozen.” The music and songs are wonderful, the storyline is lovely, and I can’t get the characters out of my head.

[link missing]

For writers/story-makers out there, I found this cool interview with the songwriters for “Frozen” about how that story came to be and how they decided what songs to include. I think it’s very insightful, not only into Disney’s process for creating fabulous animated films but also for the general toil and process of story creation. Whether you’re on a tight-nit professional team or a lone first-time artist, a lot of the process and sweat required to create something beautiful is the same. And a lot of what is created may not end up in the final product!

This interview also appeals to the musician side of me, reminding me that there are many mediums through which a story can be told. In a multimedia project, each medium plays a significant part in conveying the mood, flow, and message of that story. I’ve always been particularly fascinated with the role sound plays in movies and stage productions of all stripes, and how much emotion can be communicated from the simple tone in which words are said to the background music to sound effects. Many movie segments and dance sequences would be pretty boring without music. Even documentaries need good background music. Music is an emotional experience. Stories are an emotional experience. Art is an emotional experience. Yeah. Good stuff.

What stood out to me in particular from a story creation perspective in this interview was the discovery process it took to find that anchor point in “Frozen’s” story–that central thing (which in this case culminated in a song) around which the rest of the plot pivoted, where the characters and their conflicts finally fell into place. It also gave me a lot of courage to hear that even Disney crews don’t feel like their product is completely finished until their work is finally out with the public on release day.

Keep writing, and keep creating!

Also, happy New Year! Looking forward to all that 2014 has to bring. 🙂