Writing with others: Finding your muse

It is my opinion that no great work of art was ever created simply by the hand of any one person. True, many great artists have painted a many picture and poets many sonnets.  However, before the first brush stroke to the canvass or pen to paper these same artists or poets pulled from things around them for inspiration. Some may even call it a muse. 

Inspiration is what drives you to complete your project no matter how big or small.  Trees were a big inspiration during the time of William Blake and Robert Frost as seen through some of their most famous works. They used the things around them to produce some of the greatest poetry of our time.

All of Edgar Allen Poe’s works were based on a lost love or the longing for a loved one. He used those real relationships and turned them into art. Now people find comfort within his prose and some maybe even healing or closure.

Today’s post is not meant to be a historical lesson of any sort. Instead my point is to show that we are able to produce great things when we lean on others for insight or inspiration.

As I type, I am about 70% done with a spec script that I started writing in January along with a writing team.  We've all played a vital role in the success of the script thus far.  Over the course of a few months we've been able to identify the strengths and weaknesses of our partners and play off of those in order to make the script the best that it can be.

I’m not sure I would have been as successful writing my first complete script on my own. I've written a first ACT, however, I've never sat down to really worked through each character to give them life and a personality.  We spent countless hours working on scene cards; adding, deleting and rearranging scenes to fit the overall theme of the play.

We have been each other’s muse. We've pushed each other unconsciously to go the distance. I can hardly wait to see our finished product at the end of May.

Writing with others has been a huge learning opportunity for me. Will I always write with a team? Maybe, maybe not.  I will definitely use things, people, and places around me to inspire me to write the next great screenplay or novel.

Happy Writing! 

Eureka

I host two blog sites, “Surviving the Disturbance” (writer’s blog) and “Reflections: God’s Divine Order” (spiritual blog). This morning as I read a few pages from The Screenwriters Bible, I realized for the first time that although intended for separate audiences both blogs originated from the same source.  In Book II, of the Screenwriters Bible, David Trottier provides concepts to get the “creative juices flowing.”  Step 1: “Put your mind in a relaxed state through meditation or deep breathing.” 

Julia Cameron, author of the Artist’s Way, recommends that the reader begin each day writing morning pages.  This is a technique suggested for all types of artists. Painters, dancers, musicians and writers can find success using this method. The instructions are simple. Write three pages of whatever comes to mind. Don’t think, just write. The interesting takeaway for me here is Cameron’s following statement, “It may be useful for you to think of the morning pages as meditation.”

I am on week three of Phase 1 of the Maker’s Diet by Jordan Rubin.  My overall motivation is to no longer diet, but to incorporate a lifestyle of healthy living that is pleasing to God. Rubin provides a list of instructions throughout each phase of the 16 week program.  The program requires participants to perform Healing Codes every morning and every evening.  This activity is nothing more than deep breathing exercises or meditation.  Seeing a trend yet?

Joshua 1:8 says: This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it.  For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

Psalm 1:2 states: But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 

I have been trying to keep my writing life and my spiritual life separate and all the while God has been showing me that they are one in the same. They both begin and end with meditation. 

This writing thing...

Dear fellow writer,

I've taken a few months off from writing.  I spent a great deal of time writing and rewriting my premise, writing and rewriting my central characters background, and writing and rewriting the overall plot of the story.  I don't know about you, but when I write I try to imagine seeing the scenes played out on the "Big Screen."  If it feels like crap while I'm writing it, I stop and start again.  Ask any screenwriter or novelist and they'll tell you that the worst thing that you can do is write and rewrite when you're only on your first draft.  My thoughts quickly go back to my Screenwriting 101 instructor's direction.  He said, "What is the story really about?" And we'd answer him.  Then he say again, "What is the story really about?"  Then he say another time, "What is the story really about?"  By the third try we usually land on what we are really writing about which should be the premise of the story.

So, what I'm really writing about?  After a few drafts, I realized that my central character had several problems, but no real goal that would push her into Act 2.  Again, I've put away my pen and pad and put on my thinking cap.  As a companion I have a copy of The Screenwriter's Bible by my side.  I feel pumped and ready to get back to the basics and to call on my inner creative genius to concoct a story that will have any middle-aged male on the edge of his seat by the end of Act 1.

Here it goes...

To be continued...

Write Now

Okay, so I have to admit that I have been neglecting my laptop, notebook, and legal pad.  I haven't written anything in a few weeks. I blame my lack of writing on work and traveling, but honestly the root of the problem is really having a clear idea of what to write about.

In the meantime, I have been watching several movies trying to determine what genre I love best and which suits my writing style. I am a fan of musicals (Grease, Hair Spray, The Wiz, Mama Mia, etc.), but I also enjoy my share of romantic comedies (27 dresses, My Best Friends Wedding, Bridget Jones' Diaries, etc.).  I enjoy television series like Weeds, Grey's Anatomy, and Private Practice.  I've watched Pride & Prejudice (both versions) at list five or six times within the last two months (twice last weekend).  I  enjoy action and adventure movies like The Goonies, Indiana Jones, and the Bourne Trilogy. My colorful array of genres makes it all the more difficult for me to settle on what to write about.

Like most new writers I pull from real life experiences because those are the things that sparked my desire to write in the first place. It never fails. Every time I take a seat at my desk, turn on my computer, and open a new word document fear creeps in around the back of my neck like sweat on a warm Louisiana day.   My mind wonders to what my mother will think of the words that I write or if my ex-boyfriend will find the similarities between my male leading character and his own personality traits. I wonder if the fight that I had with my best friend years ago feels too much like the fictional fight between the two leading characters in my story. What will people say? How will they respond? What if they laugh? What if no one wants to read it? What if? These are the thoughts that constantly run through my head. This morning as I passed my writing table and prepared for another work day, I said a quick and silent prayer. "God, remove the fear so that I can write."

There will always be people with opinions whether you want to hear them or not.  Fear can either motivate you or deter you. The longer you delay, the further you will be from achieving your goal of writing a script, a novel, or a stage play. Right now is the time. So, write now.

Happy Writing!

Christy

Now what?

I don't know about you, but somewhere between "The Disturbance" and "The Plan" I lost my writing momentum.  I was super pumped at the end of January during our first few weeks of screenwriting class. Now, I find myself drifting through the day with little or no creative energy.  So, what do I do?

Option 1: Rent a few Redbox DVDs and complain about the crappy writing or
Option 2: Find a muse or creative approach and start writing again.

Here's my solution:

- Write even when I don't want to.
- Set aside a specific time to write every day.
- Write whatever comes to mind.
- Avoid editing my writings.

Now, before you think that I am some type of writing genius that has just solved the problems of every writer. I have to admit that I receive these instructions from my "Basics of Writing a Novel" instructor.  She suggested that we read, "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron. In this book, Cameron provides a 12-step program to awakening our individual creative spirit.  One of the first techniques Cameron suggests is the idea of "Morning Pages".  This concept is pretty clear and straight to the point. Find a time with the least amount of distractions before you become bombarded with work, school, or other activities to write. The idea is to write three pages without stopping to think about what it is you're writing.  What you write during this process is private. I have been keeping a journal for several years now, so writing in the morning or throughout the day is not foreign to me. Before trying Cameron's approach, I would write a few lines or a few pages depending on my mood. Now, I place a book mark between page 1 and page three. Some days I write some pretty interesting stories. Some days I simply complain about not having enough information to fill the three pages, but no matter how much complain I still find myself at page three.

So, try morning pages (or evening or night whatever your preference) for a few days to see if the exercise wakes up the creative writer within you.

Happy Writing!!

Welcome!!!

Today is officially the last session of my Screenwriting class. Although I am happy to have my Friday evenings back again, I am somewhat sad.  I met some pretty amazing writings as well as an extraordinary instructor over these last nine weeks.  My goal coming into the class was to learn the basics of writing a screenplay.  I have learned so much more.  Our first assignment was to write the premise or theme of our story.  Honestly, I had no clue what I was going to write about.  I thought about a dream that I had a few months ago and kind of turned that into a story.  I didn't realize that by attempting to uncover the premise of my work of fiction I would also be uncovering some underlined truths in my own life.

This blog is called "Surviving the Disturbance" after the seven plot points presented by my instructor.  He divides the three Act play into: The Balance, The Disturbance, The Plan, The Obstacles, The Crisis, The Climax, and finally The New Balance. The Disturbance happens earlier on in the play (around page 25 or so). While writing my story I was extremely confident in my Balance.  I simply showed how my central character lived her life.  The trouble started around page 21 or 22 when it was almost time for "something to happen." I thought of so many scenarios that would cause a break in my central character's daily routine, however, nothing was good enough.  "If I could just make something happen..." I thought to myself "then perhaps my character can achieve her goal and the overall premise could be revealed."

As writers we can be viewed as our worst critics.  We write and write and then delete and sometimes even burn our work because the little voice in our heads tells us that what we've written is crap.  "Sometimes you have to write a lot of useless information in order to get to the creative story inside of you."

Surviving the Disturbance of the story is only the beginning and actually its the easy part.  The remaining plot points are really the meat of the story. I plan to write through the fear.  I haven't a clue where this journey is going to take me, but I'm all packed for the trip!

You should join me!

Happy Writing!!!