Writers Guild of America (WGA) has gone on strike!

For the first time in 15 years, the Writers Guild of America or the WGA will go on strike, leaving Hollywood movies and shows to shut down production and press releases. The last WGA strike happened between 2007 and 2008 and lasted 100 days. It cost the Californian economy $3 billion. The strike is occurring because the WGA failed to reach an agreement for higher pay from the nine largest studios such as Netflix, which are represented through the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). It is said that this could severely impact the autumn TV season because writing usually starts during May or June. The WGA represents 11,500 writers and other members.

This is an important issue to address because it often appears that writers are not valued enough in the industry. We are responsible for more than most people think. Actors may star in front of the camera but without a writer, they would not have a story to act out. Half of TV writers work at minimum salaries, as opposed to 2013-2014 where only a third were paid that little. The WGA is demanding better pay, expanding protections to cover all television writers, a mandatory minimum staffing required for each episode of television, a guaranteed number of consecutive weeks of work, share of compensation from the streaming revenue and many more reasonable requests that they deserve to have. There is also the fear of AI or robots replacing the writers and a request for safeguards from studios to prevents AI generating new scripts from writers previous works. 

Shows that will currently be impacted are late night shows such as The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Saturday Night Live, The Late Show With Steven Colbert and Late Night With Seth Myers. They have shut down immediately and will air reruns. Network television shows like the Emmy-award winning Abbott Elementary and Yellowjackets have also ceased writing. Streaming shows like Good Omens, Cobra Kai and Stranger Things are also affected and writing has stopped. Many actors have supported this strike. Brett Goldstein, a writer and producer on Ted Lasso told The Hollywood Reporter, "It's time writers were paid a fair wage, it seems a real shame that all this good stuff was made by writers, all these people and there are writers who are genuinely struggling to afford to live. It just seems insane. You need writers,"

While the impact of film and television may not be felt right now, we will certainly feel it if the strike continues for an extended period of time. The Actors Union (SAG-AFTR) and the Directors Union (DGA) are also in negotiations with the studios and their deadline is June 30.

Excerpt From My Book

I have been hard at work creating a solo book that I hope to self-publish soon. While it isn't finished, I can reveal a short excerpt. This is a memory from my main character, Celeste Albus:

It was January 1st and I was nearing seven years old. The clock had struck ten minutes past midnight and I had woken up for a glass of water. I heard laughter as I glided silently down the especially long staircase and creeped to the kitchen. I passed my father’s study and I clearly wasn't as stealthy as I’d hoped because he called out to me.

“Celeste?” he called.

I stopped dead in my tracks, hoping and praying he couldn’t see me and would forget I was there. I closed my eyes and silently counted to ten but I could hear his footsteps reaching the ajar door of the study. The light lit up the dark hallway and illuminated our faces. 

My father looked stressed and distracted and he rubbed his head more often these past couple of days than I had ever seen him. His dark brown eyes, that I didn’t inherit, search mine. 

“Care to explain why you’re awake at this time, young lady?” he rubs his head again.

I feel myself beginning to shrink beneath his blistering gaze but I pull my posture up. 

“I wanted a glass of water,” I defend myself. 

My father sighs, like I’ve insulted him. He always comments on how defensive I am. Says that if I feel no shame, I won’t filter my words or my actions. My mother just says I’m a born fighter. 

Laughter grows louder from the common room. It just annoys my father more. He has dark circles under his eyes and I doubt it’s because of the loud parties occupying every part of the kingdom.

It’s my grandmother.

The Queen, Daphne Corran-Albus, is sick. She has been, for the past couple of months but no one had been amiss. Even now, ignorance plagues the court. Only the immediate family knew and despite my parents calling in favours from every inch of the kingdom and beyond, nothing was helping. Even the Healer Guardians couldn’t stop the sickness, only stall it. 

“Let’s go to the kitchen,” he says. I take that as a sign to grab his hand.

He pushes the doors open and my eyes adjust to the light. Our head chef, Francesco, who is from Rykon, is busy making coffee. I yawn loudly and Francesco registers our presence.

“Your Majesty!” he sweeps into a long and dramatic bow. “What can I do for you on this fine night?”

I giggle and Father manages a small smile. “Francesco, it's the middle of the night. I’m sure my wife and her friends can manage making coffee on their own,”

The chef frowns, “I am more than happy to help, sir,” he assures us.

My father sees no use arguing with him and is about to grab a glass when the chef blocks his path. 

“Anything you want, I give,” his accent giving way. 

“One glass of water,” I pipe up, holding up one finger. “Please,” I quickly add.

Francesco hands it to me with a wink. 

I down it quickly before scurrying to the dishwater and placing it in. I dart back to my father and we leave the head chef back to serving his coffee. 

Father leads me back to his study and closes the door. This is the first time I’m really aware of his study. The chairs are ginormous and his table reaches my neck and I'm just able to peek my head at all the sheets on top. The walls are painted a forest green while the furniture is the colour of tree trunks. I lay a hand on the smooth walls, marvelling at how cold they are. 

“Celeste, take a seat,” Father says, pacing the room. On occasions, he likes to gaze out windows when he’s thinking. There are no windows to be found. 

I place myself down on the chair closest to me and cross my legs, waiting. 

“Who are you?” he asks, taking a seat.

I’m unsure of how to answer. So I don’t. Instead, I wait patiently. 

“Celeste, it’s a simple question,” Father says, leaning forward, hands clasped. “Who are you?”

Still unsure, I say hesitantly, “Celeste Albus,”

“Good. That’s a start,” he nods, leaning back into a more relaxed position. “What are you?”

I answer that almost immediately, with no hesitation in my voice, “The heir,”

Father’s face curls into a smile. I silently take that as a win. “You will be the most powerful person in the kingdom. The most privileged,”

I sit up, wondering where this is going. 

“You will have everything,”

“Like new weapons,” I perk up. I had been begging my father to finally start my sword-fighting lessons but he refused to give me a sword. 

“Yes but not just that. You have food, clothes and a roof above your head. You will have everything at your fingertips Celeste. Not everyone in the kingdom has what you have,”

I wonder why he’s telling me this. In fact, I wonder why he brought me to his study and not tucked me back into bed. “Mama always tells me to mind my own business,” I remind him. 

“Yes that’s true,” Father nods. “But as rulers, it's our job to make everyone’s life a better place. If someone is sick, we have the medicine. If someone needs a home, we find them one,”

“So it's our job to make everyone happy?” I question, uncertainly.

“If we could make everyone happy, we would. But it’s not that simple. When you grow up, you’ll understand how hard it is. But our job is to make sure everyone survives,"

#2 Forced Proximity in Romance

This trope can be very complicated and thrown together in a way that doesn't work or a scenario that is magical and is the core of the story. It is rarely used as a singular trope in a story, instead its used to combine different tropes together. Nevertheless, it moves the story along quicker and always creates excitement. Most people, when they think of forced proximity, they think literally. Being stuck in an elevator together or having to live in the same holiday cabin for a certain amount of time. But it can also mean other things, such as taking a job together, being reluctant allies, etc.

Logically speaking, this trope takes two people away from the comforts of their own world, forces them to be in a position that they wouldn't normally be in and add a person who they either never thought they would have to be stuck with or never thought they would talk to, period. This trope is more flexible than others and it can throw two characters into the same position over and over again until they realise their feelings for each other. 

Forced proximity also moves along a plot point. If conflict arises, putting those two characters into forced proximity, it allows the plot to move along quicker. A book doesn't have to be limited to just forced proximity. In fact, this trope usually intertwines with other tropes. It works best with enemies to lovers or an office romance. 

Examples of forced proximity in film is: 

• The Hating Game (starring Lucy Hale)
• The Proposal (starring Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock)
• What Happens in Vegas (starring Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz)
• Purple Hearts (starring Sofia Carson)
• Leap Year (starring Amy Adams)

Examples of forced proximity in books is: 

• From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata
• Happy Place by Emily Henry
• Final Offer by Lauren Asher
• A Court Of Thorn And Roses by Sarah J. Maas

If you want to read about another trope, love triangles, click here.

HARRY STYLES; SYDNEY NIGHT 2

I SAW HARRY STYLES! 

Harry Styles did a tour of Australia last week, starting at Perth and ending at Sydney. He performed two shows at Sydney and I was fortunate enough to attend the second show with my mother. It was his final show in Australia, making me even luckier as it was a special one.

The show was on Saturday and we bought the tickets on Wednesday. We weren't planning to go because I was waiting for another concert but my mum has listened to As It Was and really wanted to go. So we looked to see if there were any tickets left and there were! They were Level 6 but you could still see him on the big screen. 

I live an hour and a half away but because we had seats, we only needed to be early for the merch. The doors for the stadium opened at 5pm so we left the house at 1pm. We arrived at Accor Stadium at 2:30pm. We walked around, trying to find merch. I wanted the blue jumble crewneck but it was sold out from the first night so we tried to find the yellow one. At the first merch stand, they only had it in the small so we walked around the whole stadium, trying to find the other merch stands. They finally had it in a large, so we bought that. 

We waited around for a bit and then went inside when the crowd had died down a bit. We had to climb a long ramp because we were right at the top. Then we sat down and waited for two hours before Wet Leg, the opening band, started playing. The crowd was electric and when they finished, "Best Song Ever" by One Direction started playing and the crowd just grew louder. By the time, Harry actually came on, everyone was so impatient.

He was ethereal on that stage. None of us could believe he was real. He started with Music For A Sushi Restaurant and the crowd lit up. I was standing up and screaming. Then he did Golden, Adore You, Keep Driving, Daylight and Woman. I sat next to this girl who was two years older than me and during Matilda, she sang the whole time that everyone kept giving her bad looks. I felt so bad. Then Harry sang Little Freak and that was one of the songs I was desperate to hear and the lights looked so good. 

Satellite was one I was looking forward to hearing but it turned out to be one of my most favourites, live. The chorus was so good with everyone else screaming along. Then Cinema came along but my iPhone storage had ran out. I had checked my photo storage but had completely forgotten to check my storage as a whole. Luckily, I quickly deleted some apps that I didn't need and managed to continue filming and dancing along to Cinema as well. I had taken a glimpse of the setlist but I was surprised that TPWK was so early but everyone was up on their feet and dancing along. Then WMYB and everyone knows that song. Late Night Talking and Watermelon Sugar were quite popular as well because they are singles and even those who don't really like Harry Styles know them. Love of My Life, the second song I was desperate to hear, came up next and again, the lights in the stadium were gorgeous. Sign Of The Times was next and that song is so beautiful and iconic. Then, as a special treat, Harry brought Daryl Braithwaite onstage with him to sing "The Horses". Then he said a massive goodbye speech and sang As It Was and Kiwi. Then he sprinted away and the whole stadium went silent for a brief second as we all registered the fact that we wouldn't see him again.

We decided to drive back home so we left at 11pm and arrived home at around 12:30am. The whole drive, I was looking back at the videos while trying not to fall asleep. The concert didn't seem real and I can't believe I got to see Harry and he breathed the same air as me.

This is a video I took from Matilda. (video is owned by me):