In an attempt to switch things up from my usual routine of writing and reading, I was invited to talk on Nate and Kamara’s podcast about movies! I had been on once before as a guest and I was happy to do it again as a means to watch some cinema that I wouldn’t have otherwise encountered. For this episode, we watched The Never-Ending Story, a fantasy movie from the 80’s. It was really interesting to watch something so far beyond what I was writing and the screenplays I was used to seeing. However, in this particular case, I was not a fan. For me, the movie truly felt like an eternity, much like its title suggests, and the characters were never relatable or likable enough to hold my interest. The plot seemed to evolve almost independently of previous story elements, making it feel like many of the events and challenges throughout the film were ultimately pointless and non-essential. Unfortunately, everything that would have made the film stand out or garner the movie entertainment value had been done more successfully in other movies or books I knew. However, it did teach me about all the things I wanted to stray away from in my own writing and gave me a better sense of how to make characters more important, and their challenges more impactful.