Bucknell alumna Juliana Brafa ’05 on writing to shape--and reshape--our culture through film.

Juliana Brafa ’05 is a filmmaker currently living in Brooklyn, New York. Her award-winning film All is Normal, which she co-wrote, co-directed and produced with filmmaker Todd Bieber and starred in alongside actress Linda Blair, will be screening at the Campus Theatre on Sunday April 29th at 1pm, and is also available online. She is currently in post-production of her newest film, a documentary called Turtle Derby.

What writing project(s) are you working on right now?

I'm currently writing the outlines for several feature scripts for new narrative films.

What do you love about it?

I love that writing allows for pure exploration and creativity, especially in the initial stages when really anything goes. When writing for film, it can be challenging because I also have to consider what's realistic for production or what would be within a certain budget. But in the initial brainstorming stages, I try not to let myself think about the practicalities and just let the creative sparks fly. It's great fun.

What about it (if anything) is driving you nuts?

If I let myself think too much about the audience or "will this sell tickets" as I'm writing, it can become stifling. Those considerations are important, but it's also important to not shoot down my own ideas right off the bat before they've had time to develop. When I think of some of my favorite films, I find that the parts I love most are often those quirkier moments that could have easily been second-guessed and cut early in the writing process, but those are the bits that really make the movie special.

How would you describe your writing process?

My instinct when writing is to collect what I lovingly refer to as "scraps" - ideas that float in while I'm not consciously trying to write. These are often the best material. Then I need to balance that type of writing with a more consistent, disciplined practice, which works best when I do it for a small amount of time every day or two. During that time, I will start to look at the "scraps" I've collected and start piecing them together like a puzzle and create more of a structure.

What kind of feedback on your writing do you find most helpful?

In the early stages of a piece, I generally benefit from just plain encouragement. As I start to craft the idea further and feel more confident, then honest, one-on- one feedback and discussion from a variety of perspectives is most helpful for me.

What would you like others to know about you as a writer?

I love that writing, and especially film writing, has the power to reach so many people and either support or subvert our current cultural messages. That's why it's so important that there is diversity among those who are creating the content (yet, unfortunately so few of Hollywood writers and directors are women or people of color). So I see being a woman writer as a huge opportunity to get my own voice heard and try to break through some of that.

For any writer, not just women writers, even small choices can be powerful - by writing the doctor in a story as a woman for example rather than going with your first thought of making the character a man - it can all make a difference in shaping our culture, and all it takes is just simply reminding ourselves to be aware that what we're writing has an impact. There is a very funny, simple test you can give (that unfortunately most films fail) called the Bechdel Test: 1. It has at least 2 (named) women in it, 2. who talk to each other, 3. about something besides a man. As a consumer, I try to support films that pass this test, and as a writer, I strive to pass this test myself. I find this responsibility very exciting and empowering! 

T. Joel Wade, Professor of Psychology, writes about mate attraction, effective flirtation, and factors that affect people’s decisions to end relationships

Prof. Wade tells us about his process in writing about research conducted with Bucknell students.

What writing project(s) are you working on right now?

I am presently working on two manuscripts based on research projects I conducted with Bucknell students. One manuscript deals with mate attraction techniques, specifically, an investigation of which flirtation techniques are perceived as most effective by men and women. The other manuscript deals with male and female differences in mate expulsion decisions.  This manuscript examines how differing amounts of sexual and emotional access from a partner affect men and women’s decisions to terminate a relationship.

What do you love about it?

With these two writing projects I love that I am learning new information since the manuscripts focus on areas of inquiry that are relatively uncharted in my field. Also, because the areas are uncharted I also love that I have to/get to sometimes develop explanations for findings that may not have been predicted based on the sparse literature available on the particular topic and cannot be accounted for by other theories in social psychology. 

What about it (if anything) is driving you nuts?

One frustration is having to do the writing in short bursts rather than being able to devote a significant sustained amount of time to the writing. But, that is something we all must deal with at an Institution like Bucknell, and I like teaching and working in this type of academic environment.

How would you describe your writing process?

Often, the first thing for me is to sort of rehearse things in my head, i.e., how will I open the manuscript, what type of picture do I want to paint with my introduction and with the research findings in general. Basically, I create a type of outline in my head. Then I begin to start writing. There are numerous times during my writing where I walk away from the manuscript/s also.  I find that that can be very helpful since sometimes when I walk away from the process, but still think about the particular piece, I hit upon language or a structure/format that seems to work very well for what I am trying to convey.   

What kind of feedback on your writing do you find most helpful?

The feedback that I find most helpful is feedback regarding the clarity, cohesiveness, flow of my writing, and the level of detail, i.e., is it clear, is it disjointed, is there a smooth progression from idea to idea and point to point, and is enough detail provided.

What would you like your students to know about you as a writer? 

That I enjoy writing. That it is a fundamental part of my identity as a professor, and that I do not view it as a chore.  Also, that the more you write the better you write, i.e., one can improve and grow as a writer.  I hope to continue to grow and develop.

Prof. Coralynn Davis writes about storytelling in Nepal

Our first blog post!  Coralynn Davis, Associate Professor of Women's and Gender Studies and Anthropology, Director of the Women's and Gender Studies Program, and Mentor of Boston Posse #4,  tells us a bit about her book project and her writing process.

What writing project(s) are you working on right now?

I am working on a book project about women's storytelling in Nepal. The book examines the role of storytelling in contexts of cultural dissensus, especially in regard to the persistence of unsanctioned ways of understanding and acting upon reality. In a context where opportunities for self expression are suppressed in conjunction with a range of cultural constraints on women’s mobility and speech, as well as with broader forms of marginalization in the global fields of knowledge production and circulation, the book demonstrates that Maithil women tell their personal and collective truths through the vehicle of the folktale. The book offers an investigation of the complex ways in which agency, virtue and other key aspects of the human condition are constructed through the telling of Maithil women’s tales.
 

 What do you love about it?

The stories that Maithil women tell are incredibly complex -- sometimes sad, sometimes humorous, but always full of wisdom about their social and sacred worlds and about themselves.
 

What about it (if anything) is driving you nuts?

The most difficult thing is finding enough TIME to sustain focus on the project.
 

How would you describe your writing process?

Sometimes it's spotty, and sometimes I feel stuck, but I love the moments (sometimes minutes, sometimes days or weeks) when I am in the groove.

What kind of feedback on your writing do you find most helpful?

That depends. Sometimes I need someone to tell me whether the ideas make sense. Sometimes I need help figuring out how to say what I need to say in a chapter without it being 100 pages long. Sometimes I just need editing help. And finally, there are times when I just need a cheerleader or task master to keep me going.

What would you like your students to know about you as a writer?

Writing for me is one part creativity, one part organization, one part analytical insight, and one part perseverance!