I see a lot of motivational posters featuring somebody climbing a mountain.
That's great, but some days the mountain is too high.
Some days taking one step is all we can manage.
Some days getting out of bed and putting your socks on is a win.
Even if the socks don't match.
Probably this is most relevant to those of us who battle with depression, but my guess is everybody feels this way at least once in a while.
This is my motivational poster for those days:
I've already posted about using the free Oberlo Business Name Generator to come up with the names of fictional businesses in your screenplay or novel, and for coming up with titles for a non-fiction book or newsletter. It's also a useful brainstorming tool if you write for kids.
For instance, I was thinking about writing a story in which a young child explores a pond and encounters magical versions of all the type of creatures that hang around ponds. I wanted to come up with fun personalities or identities for each creature. To start, I typed "frog" into the Generator. Here are some of the combinations it came up with:
Rock Frog
Frog Chef
Daydream Frog
Sidekick Frog
TopDog Frog
Singular Frog
General Frog
Thunder Frog
Hip Frog
Everlasting Frog
Frog Doctor
Covert Frog
If those don't give you some ideas for the kind of frog the child could encounter, you're not a writer! And I'll bet you can think of other ways that the Generator can fit into your brainstorming as well.
"You have about ten minutes to act on an idea before it recedes back into dreamland so when you're excited about an idea, start writing about it immediately." -- Buckminster Fuller
This is especially important if you have an idea just as you are waking up or falling asleep. Often those ideas are the most creative because they carry a little of your dreaming self.
If you keep a notepad by your bedside you'll be less likely to let an idea escape. Some people prefer to use their phone to record their thoughts, either in a notes app or by recording a voice memo.
Remember not to judge your idea as soon as it pops up--that stops the flow. Sure, many of these ideas will not be worth pursuing, but if even one out of ten has value, that makes the process worthwhile.
PS: If you're not familiar with Buckminster Fuller, check out his Wikipedia profile. Born in 1895, he was an inventor and visionary. Long before most people gave it much thought, he advocated using renewable energy and doing more with less. He hoped for an age of "omni-successful education and sustenance of all humanity."
It's easy to feel overcome with anxieties these days, and often that leads to writers block or just a lack of motivation.
Arianna Huffington has a method that's worth trying. She called them joy triggers. Those are pictures, words, or memories that give you joy. They remind you of the positive things in your life, or those you were privileged to have in your life previously.
For ease of use, you can make up a little joy triggers scrapbook in which you paste photos (print them out from your digital files) and key words or phrases. They can represent things that gave you joy in the past, give you joy now, or things you're looking forward to.
It's easy to forget to use them, so it may be helpful to get in the habit of starting and ending your day with them, and also to set a timer to remind you to do it a couple of times a day. Or, if you find yourself feeling low, that can be the trigger.
Below is one of my joy triggers, the lovely Great Dane named Audrey who we have had the pleasure of dog-sitting over the past three years. She's now ten, which is quite old for that breed--I think of her as the Maggie Smith of Great Danes.
Give your own joy triggers a try and feel free to let me know how you get on, either in the comments are at [email protected]
How annoying is it when people tell you not to worry?
Very, right? It's almost like saying, don't be so tall or so short.
Simply willing yourself to stop sure isn't enough. However, I ran across an idea that might help:
Therapist Jenny Taitz tells her clients to schedule a 30-minute or two 15-minute sessions of worrying. You can worry about several things or focus on one. You can list the worries and jot down ideas for how you might deal with each one, or you can just review the worries.
I tried this quite a while ago and I did find it helpful. It doesn't totally free you from worrying the rest of the time, of course, but I found it easier to dismiss the worries when they came up outside of the appointed times. I found that one fifteen-minute period was enough, and I set a timer so that I wouldn't get lost in thought and go over the time limit.
There's certainly enough to worry about these days and if you find yourself being overwhelmed, give this a try. Feel free to let me know how you get on, either in the comments or at [email protected]. Good luck!
Decisions, decisions! They can be difficult any time, but is there a best time to make them?
I just read a long article in the newsletter of the Urban Monk, and the research-supported bottom line is:
He points out that the makers of infomercials can attribute a lot of their success to the fact that people's decision-making tends to be worse at the end of the day, and probably terrible at 2am (bartenders can attest to this, too...).
THE ZOMBIE EXCEPTION
That all sounds logical, but for me, the most appealing decision first thing in the morning is to go back to sleep. I think some of us need adequate time (and in some cases, caffeine) before we're in prime decision-making mode.
THE DRUNK / SOBER EQUATION
According to Herodotus, the ancient Persians came up with a decision while drunk, then considered it again while sober. If the decision was the same both times, they implemented it; if not, they put the matter aside.
Obviously, even though it seemed to work for the ancient Persians, if handling alcohol is an issue for you, don't try this method!
My version of this is to hold off on acting on decisions I make late at night (not usually drunk!) and reconsider them in the morning.
If the two are the same, then full speed ahead.
If they're different, I'll check again in the early afternoon--that one's often a good balance of the totally rational and the emotional. Although the coldly rational decision may seem ideal, some aspects of life aren't just about logic.
Recently I used that method to decide whether or not to quit a project that I felt was heading in the wrong direction. Both my late night and early morning selves thought it was a good idea, and I sent the notice the next afternoon. So far, no regrets!
Various types of writing can help us get through these tough times. Here are some things you can do:
If there's somebody in your life who might benefit from these ideas, why not share them (along with that note of support)?
I love the old screwball comedies like "Bringing Up Baby." The characters in those typically were fast-talking, witty, and playful.
Even if your script or novel isn't populated with those kinds of characters, often it's easy and fun to slip in at least one.
If you'd like to be inspired in terms of their dialogue, a great resource is the 1913 edition of Webster's Dictionary, which is easy to access online here:
A conventional character might call someone a crook.
One who expresses himself or herself in the screwball tradition, however, might say, "You, Sir, are knavish, fraudulent, and unjust. You have made a U-turn on the path of rectitude."
Even if there's no room for such a character in your project, spending 30 minutes randomly browsing 1913 definitions will give you more joy than an equivalent period on Facebook!
I had an email saying, "I've done several screenwriting workshops and gained a lot from them. Are there any other courses you think are beneficial for writers?"
Yes! The more you have an understanding of the other aspects of filmmaking, the better. Here are the four I recommend:
ACTING: For finding out what actors look for in a role and what challenges they have saying somebody else's words, nothing beats taking an acting class.
Try to find a beginners' class, ideally one that includes others who want to learn about the craft without necessarily becoming actors. That will make you less self-conscious.
IMPROVISATION: You'll get something different from this than you'll get from a straightforward acting class.
Improv teaches you to think on your feet and quickly immerse yourself in a character. It also stops you from being too precious about any one idea, because you learn that ideas are endless. And it's fun!
EDITING: Find a course that teaches the basics of editing--not the software, but the effects of juxtaposing two things, of short scenes vs. long ones, and of the importance of reaction shots. Filmmakers know the extent to which editing determines whether a movie works or not.
Once you appreciate the basics, you'll find that you're reflecting them in the way you structure your scenes on the page.
DIRECTING: Just as it's helpful to experience what actors look for, the same goes for stepping into the shoes of a director, even if you never intend to direct. You might even discover you have an affinity for it and become a writer/director.
That's a lot but there's no need to rush into learning it all.
If you can do only one, I'd go for an improv course. To get a taste of how relevant the principles of improvisation are for any of the theatrical arts, read Keith Johnstone's book, Impro: Improvisation for the Theater (one of my favorite books for its insight into human nature).
If you're low on creative energy right now, you're not alone.
As I write this, we're in the middle (?) of the pandemic and everyone I've talked to says they're feeling lethargic. Most are finding it hard to be creative.
I don't know whether that's the effect of prolonged anxiety, the lack of stimulation because we've all been penned up so long, or something else. Probably it's a combination of factors.
I did a little informal survey for tips on overcoming this ennui and here are the top ones that came up:
If you've found any other methods useful, let me know in the comments or to [email protected].
Our creativity is one of the most useful tools we have for getting through these tough times, let's not abandon it!
In the time of the Caronavirus, it has never been more obvious that we crave certainty.
The uncertainties of the creative life aren't at the level of life and death (except in some totalitarian societies, and we're not there...yet). But anybody who wants to make a living from their writing or other art constantly faces uncertainty, including:
Is this thing I've created any good?
Will anybody want to buy it?
If it's put out there, will people like it?
How long will it be before I have a breakthrough--if ever?
Am I wasting my time?
Even when a writer has a success, the doubts remain:
Will my next work be as good as this one?
Was this a fluke?
LIVING WITH UNCERTAINTY
I don't think we can overcome uncertainty, and maybe it's not even a good goal to have. We've all encountered people who are convinced that everything they produce is great and that they are god's gift to humankind. That kind of overconfidence can succeed for a while but usually leads to a downfall eventually.
Perhaps the most appropriate goal is to learn to live with uncertainty. Here are a few things I've found useful:
If you have other strategies, let me hear about them in the comments or at [email protected]. When a few have accumulated I'll share them in another post.
Most of us can identify one or more turning points when we redefined who we are or at least who we want to be.
I think we get one free shot at this in our early 20's.
After that, it usually happens when we are confronted with some kind of crisis.
One of mine was when my house in LA burned to the ground and shortly thereafter I ended up in the hospital with a blood clot in my leg that could have traveled and killed me. I decided to leave behind a reasonably successful career in LA and move to London.
More recently, it was when I had open-heart surgery. That rethink wasn't as dramatic, it was more of a mindset switch to being less hard on myself.
What these have in common is that the usual situation stopped and the future was uncertain. That pretty well describes where we all are right now. Maybe that makes it a good time to take another look at where we are and where we want to be, and what we can do to bring ourselves closer to the latter.
I'm not clear yet what that means for me. Maybe for you it means you'll finally write that book or screenplay you've been intending to write or take a course to gain a new skill, or find another creative outlet.
It does seem that this is another time when a crisis also is an opportunity.
As Gabriel Garcia Marquez wrote in Love in the Time of Cholera, "He allowed himself to be swayed by his conviction that human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mothers give birth to them, but that life obliges them over and over again to give birth to themselves.”
Dana Terrace had an idea for an animated magical comedy-horror TV series. She told the LA Times, "I was working with someone at that time who kept discouraging me from working on it."
Her colleague called it a dumb idea.
Named "The Owl House," it has already been renewed by Disney for a second series before the first one has even aired.
Terrace says one of the things that motivated her was proving that former colleague wrong. It wasn't the first time she was out of step. She says, "When I was a kid, and I think a lot of kids feel like this--especially if you're artsy or creative or have any kind of offbeat hobby--you feel a little left out."
I'd add that this still is true for a lot of adults.
However, often it's the oddballs who come up with breakthrough ideas. You know, the kind that are called dumb before they catch on.
Naturally, sometimes a "dumb idea" actually is dumb, but if you believe in yours, stick with it--as Dana Terrace has proved, it can pay off.
"The Owl House" (Disney Channel)
Actually, nobody IS watching. So for your first draft, feel free to be as clumsy, daring, or crazy as you like.
Put it aside for a while.
Then look at it.
What were you thinking!?
That's TOO crazy!
Or it just plain sucks.
The good news is, STILL nobody's watching.
You get to rewrite it as often as you want.
Or maybe more times than you want, but you keep going because you know it's not quite as good as you can make it yet.
Then, finally, when it's ready, you send it out.
NOW somebody's watching.
They may still say it's too crazy or wonder what you were thinking or that it sucks.
If they have constructive criticism or you suddenly see another way to improve it, great, back to the desk with it.
If not, keep sending it out until it finds a champion.
Meanwhile, write another thing like nobody's watching.
