Stretch Break 12: Muscles in the Mind

Did you know how important it is to exercise your brain? I've been playing Brain Age and Big Brain Academy for the past year now. I started out as an oldie - in my 60s. But once I played more and understood the nature of each test it was a lot easier and I am now in my twenties (which is, like the body, the best shape to be in according to this game.) They promote a good means to building muscle in the brain.

Such practices include:
- Memorize
- Visualize
- Analyze

Try it sometime. Or just play some games to jog the brain a little.

Stretch Break 11: Writing What You Know

Remember that quirky neighbor you grew up with? Or that health food-obsessed woman you work with? Just look around you and you'll realize just how many different personalities there are out there from which you can draw your inspiration. Lord knows I have a lot of them to draw from... one of them is me!

Stretch Break 10: Write from the Soul

One thing I realized when I was doing this workout was that I had ten minutes left. With this much time I thought to lengthen the scene, but ended up making the scene worse. I thought, "sad endings won't sell in Hollywood." Hence, I wasn't writing from my soul. I was just trying to write to please others. But I've since learned:
1. Don't worry about explaining why to the audience, or if the ending is happy or sad.
2. Deepen the mystery and be cautious what you reveal. The audience will catch up.

And, if you finish the scene before the clock is up, either:
1. Introduce a new character or a new element
2. Go back and edit out what's not necessary
3. Stop where you are and start a new scene

Stretch Break 9: Successful Exposition

Some exposition proves successful, as in Shakespeare's plays. A character enters scene with information and tells about what happened without stopping the story. A few examples include:

- Hamlet - ACT I, sc. ii/iii
- The Tempest - ACT I, sc. ii
- Julius Caesar

Non-Shakespeare examples include:

- Monty Python - cheese
- Merchant of Venice - Shylock

Away... Saving for Another Day

I've been away from the writing blog for a while. In many cases it is wise to put down something you are writing and just take a breather from it for a while... because, if you are anything like me, you get an idea and think it's the best idea ever, right? This, I believe, is why God gave us the gift of time. Set your piece aside for a while. When you get back to it, you'll see what needs to be improved, and you'll jump back to reality and realize that this wasn't the best idea ever. Sorry. But, if you believe it still has potential, pick it back up and maybe it will become a masterpiece!

Stretch Break 8: One Idea Leads to Another

One random moment in your life can spark a whole new idea. When speaking with professional writers, most get their inspiration from random moments in their lives. Many times I get an idea in the shower or a character will speak to me while I'm bored to death sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic. But mundane moments like this may unravel a whole scene for your play. A moment, no matter how minute or vague can unveil inspiration for a masterpiece. Once you get started with this list, you won't be able to stop. Let the mind flow with the moment.

Stretch Break 7: Finding Your Voice

We want to discover how to have a unique voice. We all know Shakespeare when we hear it. Can you tell the difference between a work by Joyce and a work of Moliere?

Richard Foreman comes from a peculiar place in theater. One trademark of his is his dialogue, which is much like nonsense. He forces the audience into self-consciousness, hoping to make the audience aware not of the joke itself but aware of why they laugh. For another example of unusual dialogue read James Joyce's "Finnigan's Wake."

A source of mythology seemed to abound in each of our pieces. We see the stage in peril. It's like the fear of death. How do you go? What will you do when the building's on fire?

Avoid dialogue that is:
- Pithy (brief, forceful, and meaningful in expression; full of vigor, substance, or meaning; terse; forcible: a pithy observation)
- Maudlin (1. tearfully or weakly emotional; foolishly sentimental: a maudlin story of a little orphan and her lost dog; 2. foolishly or mawkishly sentimental because of drunkenness)
[Note: definitions taken from dictionary.com]

Another playwright of note: Eugene Ionesco: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eug%C3%A8ne_Ionesco

Stretch Break 6: The Universal Truth

In doing this exercise, I've learned to be more grateful for the mundane things in life... for we cannot have the interesting without the mundane, and to discover just how interesting the mundane can be.

In writing these odes to such objects, I understand just how much I like to humanize things, to relate a universal truth and a universal meaning to pretty much anything. I had a battle of the sexes between an incense burner and an incense stick. I related blue chips with a subject of worship, a boot with an old flame, air with she who I took for granted, a computer to the sexy mind of a nerd I had fallen for once, the list continues...

It's fun. And I discovered something about my writing which I try to avoid but just can't - and that's the habitual desire to relate universal truths to the human mind and intentions. I just can't escape metaphors, themes, and sadly, exposition. I don't mean to be preachy or didactic, but sometimes I can't help it. I guess that's why I work on a preschool show, also a project from which I can't escape.

Stretch Break 5: Story through Dialogue

It may be difficult to describe something that happened offstage to the audience without using exposition. Just how much should you tell the audience? What are all the facts they need to know?

An example is in Shakespeare's "Hamlet," where Gertrude describes Ophelia's death. We don't know exactly how she died, but we get the truth according to Gertrude.

Another great example of this use of character POV is the playwright Chekhov:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Chekhov

Stretch Break 4: Objective Writing vs. Sentiment

The bedrock of good writing is to keep the author out of the way of story. Detectives only write about the facts of the case. Be objective and avoid the emotional, inner life of your character.

Example:
Sentiment: My wife left me for another man. It hurt.
Vs.
Objective: My wife left me for another man. I went to a bar and got drunk that night. In the morning I woke up in the arms of a another woman.

If you find yourself embellishing your piece or using an abundance of flowery, over-indulgent language, a good rule of thumb is to get rid of every other sentence. You'll find that this is a good means of adding more muscle to your story.

Nowadays, we find it unnecessary to use narration to talk about the actions. An example is the narrator at the beginning of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet." Most directors will cut that out nowadays.
One that uses it successfully, however, is "Our Town," which uses theatrical language. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Town

We watch plays to see how characters interact with each other, not to be told what happens. Again the basics of writing: show don't tell.

This is much like Plot Vs. Story, where the plot is more rich than the story.
Story: The King died, then the Queen died.
Plot: The King died, then the Queen died of a broken heart.
As you can see, story describes the "what," whereas plot describes the "how" of the story.

Stretch Break 3: Lists Create Drama

Lists create drama in a character, especially if the words flow off the tongue easily.

Example:
Buddhist Temple
Shirley Temple
Temple of the Gods
Gods and Monsters
Monster Ball
Belle of the Ball
Ballerina
Dancer
Dreamer
Driver
Steamer
Ironing Board
Wrinkles
No more

You can get a lot of insight into a character through lists... and even get some insight on yourself while you're at it.

Stretch Break 2: Dialogue vs. Conversation

Dialogue should motivate action and progress the story.

Use active language to keep the story flowing. It's okay if the audience has to keep up. They don't have to know every little detail of the character's lives. Oftentimes, the character will reveal the story before you even know what it is.

Avoid argument. In improv, it's the "Yes, and..." theory. Go with what's given you; don't contradict your partner.

Stretch Break 1: Art of being human

As humans we have always been fascinated in discovering the truth about who we are and what we're doing here on this planet. We question the meaning of love, life, death, what it means to be human, etc. We try to dissect every element of our existence instead of just settling for what is.

Writers try to answer the meanings of life and discover the truth not only for others, but for our own curious minds.

We use various genres to play on the emotions of the human soul. Comedy, drama, horror, fantasy, romance... all react with our rooted emotions, which is often embedded with the others. We are comprised of many faces; we are multifaceted human beings.

Writing, nay, storytelling, is the art of being human.