Writing Lessons From... Poms aka The Joy of Keeping it Simple
Listen to the blogcast of this episode:
It’s been established in a previous Writing Lessons From… and generally in the writing world that simple can be a winner.
You should be able to sum up your story’s main plot in one sentence.
For example:
Denying treatment for her cancer, Martha moves to a retirement village to die and rediscovers a childhood dream: to become a cheerleader.
That’s the storyline for Poms, a film I stuck on one day when I was home alone and tired, and just wanted to relax.
We’ve been here before, haven’t we. And look where it led last time.
This time I think we’ve got a great lesson every writer should absolutely read, especially if you’re feeling the pressure or increasingly overwhelmed.
Tissues at the ready! From here there are spoilers.
(Poms used to be available on Netflix, but now appears to be behind a wall of some sort – it might be available if you pay them more than I do? Otherwise, just keep an eye out for it.)
Martha (played amazingly by the late, great Diane Keaton) has been diagnosed with cancer and has decided against treatment. She’s ready to die.
So, after selling most of her possessions, she moves out of her apartment and into a house in a retirement village filled with people who wave. At everyone.
This is a film about older people.
And I love those stories.
One of my favourite novels is about a gang of older men going on one last quest, with aching backs, failed marriages and lots of baggage.
More of those stories, please.
But I digress.
This retirement village is one of those places where people ‘have to’ join a group, make friends and be part of the community.
If you don’t want to join any of the groups, you can create your own.
Martha doesn’t want to join any of the groups. She just wants to be left in peace.
Which makes you wonder why she moved to this place. There are quieter places to die.
Her neighbour is the incredible rule-breaking Sheryl (Jackie Weaver) who runs illegal poker nights, knows how to get free food and makes too much noise – basically everything I want to be when I get older. The best kind of a best friend.
Sheryl helps Martha to open up and remember her childhood dream of becoming a cheerleader, which gives her an idea for a ‘group’. Cue a wonderful story of Martha finding other women in the community who want to become cheerleaders, despite their aching joints and backs, and mobility problems.
Helped by two youngsters (including Charlie Tahan, who I last saw as Wyatt in Ozark!), the women beat the odds to take part in a cheerleading contest, full of young, nimble, athletic, erm, young people, throwing themselves around at speed.
Don’t worry, Martha and her friends don’t win.
Because that isn’t the point here.
The point is to do what makes you happy.
Take the risk that people will laugh at you.
Make friends along the way.
Because age and illness do not define you.
Wow, we’re on to the writing lesson already. This is a quick one.
Yes, this is a quick one, because the story is simple and the lesson is simple:
Sometimes simple is the best.
Writing doesn’t have to be clever. It doesn’t need a deep message or a world changing theme.
It can be kind and gentle. Your story is allowed to be just a bit of fun for people to relax to.
Sometimes that’s what we need. Something gentle to curl up and watch when we’re tired or the world has beaten us down.
Sometimes we need a simple message of empowerment and joy.
Think how powerful your story could be if you embrace that.
Don’t run away from the simple, gentle story because you think it makes you less of a writer. It takes a good writer to create something that people can just enjoy while they switch off their brains.
The joy of Poms comes from the simple storytelling, but also the well-rounded characters, the well-designed plot, how everything seamlessly moves together, the realism, the different viewpoints.
Each woman in that group has a different experience of being or becoming a cheerleader. Whether it’s being sexually empowered in their relationship or finding their independence from a husband or son.
Each character has their story to tell, whether they’re the main character or not.
And simple stories allow you to explore those characters further.
The main lesson I want you to take from this, though, is to stop worrying about your writing.
Simple is good.
Don’t panic.
You don’t have to overthink.
Just do your best.