EXERCISE: from Your Mythic Journey

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

original posting: Fri, 22 Mar 2002 12:03:35 -0500

Your Mythic Journey: Sam Keen and Anne Valley-Fox, page 64

"One way we perpetuate conflict is by making our wars holy wars, our enemies the enemies of God.  A nation declares 'Gott mit uns,' 'in God we trust,' and pronounces its enemies atheistic barbarians who threaten the foundations of civilization.  We often conduct personal battles from a similar stance of self-righteousness.  But when we see our enemies as fallible human beings driven by self-interest (like ourselves), warfare becomes more humane -- a matter of conflicting interests.

"If you look at your life as a drama, what conflicts shape the action?

" -- What Big Enemies have you fought in defense of God, humanity, country, race, or creed?  What happened when the battle was won?  Or lost?

" -- What ideas, causes, or institutions have you championed?  What was in it for you?  Would you do it again?

" -- Who is the enemy on your horizon?

" -- Describe scenes in your life when you were consumed by anger or frozen in hatred.  What did you do?  Did it achieve the kind of result you would have liked?"

Sam and Anne are talking about the very human need for enemies, and the way that we often define ourselves by our opposition.

Now, in writing, we usually have the antagonist, so our story often has a built-in enemy.  But we may want to consider the Greater Enemy that our protagonist (or other characters) has in their mind.  Take those questions above and get your character(s) to answer them.  Who are they fighting, in their own perception.  It may not be the petty human antagonist, it may be the greater inhuman enemy that they struggle valiantly with.

Or, if you like, you can tell the tale of someone who hates the grand Enemy, and then meets one and learns that under that evil abstraction beats the heart of a fellow human, that hidden behind the mask of the Other is a fellow person, smiling, laughing, crying.  It's an oft-told tale, yet always worth telling again.

EXERCISE: Pick Out The Dialogue?

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

original posting: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 13:31:16 -0500

We were watching a short silent movie on the arts channel this evening.  I noticed that lacking the dialogue, I seemed to pay more attention to the props, the background, the hand motions and other parts.

So, here's the trick.  You might use it as an editing aid.

Take a scene (your writing, or someone else's).  Easiest on the computer, but you could also do it using a photocopy (I almost said a X?????, but remembered that word is a trademark, so we'll use photocopy instead).

Delete (or mark over) all the dialogue!  Yes, no one said anything.

Now read through it again.  Is there a viable background?  Do the characters do something while their talking heads ramble (now silently)?

Dialogue is a very strong part of your toolbox.  Be careful to include the other tools in every scene (a dash of description, a healthy splash of action, and a bit of pixie dust, mystery, and whatnot to thicken the soup).

Okay, you can put your dialogue back now.

And imagine how those silent film directors felt when they finally got talkies!