My Little Lady Brain

What does it mean to live your life fully? Have the most fun everyday? Do well by others? Fulfill your artistic dreams? I think that each of us has a mission to do and that when we realize that purpose, we can really begin to live fully. Now I know that sounds like a bunch of crap from The Secret, but bear with me a second.

Nicholas Kristoff ( @NickKristof) is one of my role-models because he puts his life on the line over and over again to report on the worst travesties that are happening across the globe. He has a family and probably a comfortable life, but he is driven to tell the stories of the forgotten people of the world. Very few people live with as much integrity, and I greatly admire his dedication.

My mission is quite different. I am determined to write stories that make women feel important, create agency, and inspire confidence and self-love. I’m deeply troubled by how the media has chipped away at our self-worth by parading unrealistic female body types with stereotypical characters that only revolve around men. These repetitive images slowly work their way into our subconscious creating havoc with our self-perception.

I’m here to change that. Every day I sit down to write strong, funny, vulnerable female characters who are surrounded by other realistic women that support each other. None of this Real Housewives bullshit. It is more realistic for a friend to hold another friend while she cries over a break up than it is for two friends to fight over a man! But what images do we see over and over again? It has to stop. Female friendship is real and it is powerful, and I’m determined to make it a part of mainstream culture again.

My good friend Brandi Sperry (@ouibrandi) wrote an amazing piece about this phenomenon (http://celeberrimous.wordpress.com/2012/02/22/ruminations-on-fictional-female-friendships/ ). In the coming months, I will be posting websites about my scripts that showcase strong female friendships and the hilarity that ensues. Until then, please e-mail me at Shannon.bowen@gmail.com about your experiences and insights into female friendships.

I love hearing everyone’s stories, because after all, I’m writing for all of us.

In honor of the amazing Lavina/Edith slash fiction that we discovered in the last podcast,

listen here:
http://downtongabby.tumblr.com/post/17328363294/podcast-6-season-2-episode-5-who-the-f-ck-is

I decided to write a slash* about two Downton Abbey characters who I feel have an unrequited love that is set ablaze each time they catch each other in an abandoned room.

CARSON/JANE!

*Slash is a type of fan fiction where someone writes a love story about two unlikely characters. They are often quite racy — Enjoy!

Carson/Jane Slash by Shannon Bowen:

He took pains to brush her delicate hand every time he handed her the wine bottle during dinner service. Maybe having house maids in the dining room wasn’t so bad after all. The candle light perfectly illuminated her vacant azul stare, which sent his heart (and loins!) a flutter. Maybe he would have to ask Bates what is the best way to catch her in the hallway.

Listen to me read it aloud and hear what the society ladies thought of it here: http://downtongabby.tumblr.com/post/17696247638

This is an amazing breakdown of the hilariously bad cliches in The Vow trailer!

http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2012/02/09/146635663/thirty-eight-cliches-in-the-vow-trailer-other-than-romantic-amnesia

My favorites are:

7. Man picks up woman and she shrieks (I have never done this past age 16!)

11. Man wears understanding cable-knit sweater (ha!)

22. Woman sits on table to denote feeling scattered (Anne Hathaway’s entire character in Love and Other Drugs!)

27. Woman walks in slow-motion in the snow wearing adorable fuzzy hat (pictured)

What are your favorites?

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/P7PWQNK

Please take my anonymous quiz about how crazy your life was from age 22 to 24!

I’m using this survey to gather people’s real life experiences for a script I’m writing about surviving your early 20’s. This quiz is anonymous, but please keep in mind that the purpose of this quiz is to gather information for a movie script. So please do not include anything that you would not want to see on screen someday.

As a screenwriter, I truly believe in drawing inspiration from many people’s lives not just my own, so I would greatly appreciate you sharing your experiences. Thanks!

Sarah Haskins’ Target Women videos from a few years ago … here are my favs:

Doofy Husbands
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7vtyheqPVU

Yogurt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMRDLCR8vAE

Birth Control
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oDyCx3A6Ao

Your welcome!

My first week of 2012 has been one of the most inspired, creativity-fueled weeks of my life. Besides my flurry of screenwriting, I have collaborated with some of the most passionate, motivated, talented, and downright fun women. We connected through Twitter over our love of the BBC show, Downton Abbey. In just five days, we have created a Tumblr, a Twitter account, and a Facebook fan page while concurrently figuring out how to record a podcast with us in three different cities across the county. The process has been surprisingly easy and more exciting than I could have imagined.

I am reminded of class projects from elementary school where the delegation of work was never fair. There would always be at least one complete slacker in the group along with half-hearted attempts by others, leaving the brunt of the work for one poor soul (usually me). Not in this case. Each woman has stepped up to create this project with a vigor that I haven’t experienced in a long time.

As adults, most group projects come through our work situations where people usually feel pretty drained. Having a creative project with a group of like-minded artists outside of work has completely invigorated a part of my self that has lied dormant in my adulthood. I am sharing my experience through this blog in the hope that it inspires you to reach out to your community to find a group of individuals who share your passion. I guarantee that you are not alone in your hobbies. Hell, we are bonding over a Masterpiece Theater show!

Start 2012 inspired and connected!

No idea is dumb. You are not alone in your passion.  Reach out. Create art together.

Follow our podcast at http://downtongabby.tumblr.com/or on Twitter @DowntonGabby