Movie Reviews for Writers: The Medusa Touch

We all know that writers change the world, but not like the writer Morlar in this thriller played by Richard Burton. A writer with a talent for psychically causing accidents, Burton is a dangerous man that not even death can stop. Lee Remick plays his psychologist who gradually comes to believe the impossible. 

The first thing I acknowledged while watching this movie is that as writers, we all suffer from the same problem Burton does — we will disasters. Granted, we only make them happen on paper and digital screens, but we will tragedies into being regardless. 

Without them, our fiction would suffer. 

I’ve often said in panels at conventions that if my characters ever came to life the first thing they would do is shoot me in the back without a second thought. I mean, honestly, I make their lives hell. I have too. When they have a good relationship, it’s my job to put it through the proverbial wringer for the sake of a compelling story. When life is going well for them, it’s time for me to throw a dead body or a monster or a debilitating disease at them, again, all for the sake of an interesting read for the readers.

Without some kind of life or death (emotionally, psychologically, or physically) on the line, who would care to read the book? We read because we want to see people overcome obstacle, or at least try to and fail. 

So it’s my job as the storyteller to will disasters into being. My love for my characters, my literary children, be damned. The story is king. So, here comes the potential tragedies, kids. 

Read the full review: 

https://seanhtaylor.blogspot.com/2022/07/movie-reviews-for-writers-medusa-touch.html