There's no problem!

We started watching The Adventures of Ociee Nash (pronounced "oh-see"), a library movie. It had the trying-too-hard earnestness of a TV movie and a sentimental sweetness that made Nate squirm. It was too cute, not in a good way. After ten minutes, he whined, "This is not a good movie." Then he followed up with why:

"There's no problem! A story needs a problem and there's nothing."

The conflict was so softly peddled that you'd have to squeeze through all the lovey-sappy dialogue and utopic setting to find it. That's something we talked about months ago, for a writing assignment: every story needs character, a setting and a problem to solve. It stuck.

I let Nate retreat to his room, but Madelyn liked it so we kept on until bedtime. She doesn't mind lots of talking and meandering and a vague problem to solve. She's happy with fuzzy edges and soft lighting and blacktop paved streets in the supposed 1890s. (Shudder).