Fix it with fiction
Working towards a goal is a process, and during that process, comes times of discouragement. As a student at the University of Guelph, who is working towards an English major and creative writing minor, the big and small screens are two of my favourite places to turn to when I feel unmotivated. A great show about a writer allows me to truly envision my goals and remind myself what it is that I am working towards. I have compiled my top five shows that inspire my writing due to the success of their main characters.
- The Bold Type (2018)
The Bold Type is a television series that follows the lives of three women working their way up at a fashion magazine. One of the central female characters, tiny Jane, gets her dream job as a writer, and from there on the show follows the hardships and joys that writers will face. Whether it’s unemployment, writer’s blocks, or troubles with editors, The Bold Type displays the dark side of a writing career while still showing the beauty of the art form.
- Sex and the City (1998- 2004)
Fiction is a great place to seek inspiration, but the inspiration is even greater when it’s real. The HBO TV series Sex and the City follows the interesting life of a New York sex columnist, Carrie Bradshaw, based on Candace Bushnell’s real-life column of the same name. Carrie, played by Sarah Jessica Parker, is the ultimate role model for amateur writers as she displays how to find creative influence from the real world, all while living her best life (despite deadlines). While most other films about writers displays the hardships, Carrie shows just how much fun writing can be!
- The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTDSwAxlNhc&t=16s
Protagonist Andy (Anne Hathaway) from The Devil Wears Prada aspires to be a real journalist. This movie begins with Andy interviewing at a fashion magazine for an assistant position. The irony is that Andy is a writer who hates fashion. As she works her way up in the fashion world she undergoes significant character development to the point where she loses her identity. This movie reveals that sometimes to land your dream job, you must be willing to experience change, but that you must ultimately strive to stay true to yourself.
- Set It Up (2018)
The Netflix original movie Set It Up follows two assistants secretly setting up their bosses. Harper lives the life of a wannabe writer, working as an assistant to a successful sports journalist, hoping to get published. This movie underlines the true writing process and shows that you need determination, confidence, and hard work to get the job you’re working towards. It also teaches that the writing process involves failing before perfection, that it’s important to accept that your work can be bad before it’s good, and that’s just a part of the process.
- Julie & Julia (2009)
Julie from the film Julie & Julia cannot teach us about writing as a career, but she sure can teach us a lot about writing. Julie (Amy Adams) writes a blog documenting her challenge to cook 524 of Julia Child’s recipes in one year. In the beginning, Julie is discouraged that no one is reading her work, but that does not stop her. She faces many hardships within the year, but through these hardships she teaches younger writers that a story can take sacrifices. This movie shows that when you are determined to document something, the story comes before everything else.
Photo Courtesy of Jacob Owens via CC0