TECH: Creativity Step-by-Step (Part 2)

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Original posting Sept. 5, 2010

Writer's Digest, December 2007, pages 38-41, has an article with the title "Falling down the Rabbit Hole" by Emily Hanlon.

It's an interesting paean to creativity, to the dance between rational and intuitive, between technique and imagination. Hanlon urges us to get enough imagination into our writing, to avoid getting bogged down by the rational, linear, organizational side of things and miss the cosmic landscape of the imagination. Hanlon suggests we need to fall down the rabbit hole into Wonderland. Let go and freewrite.

I have to admit, I didn't find much in the way of technique, although the exhortation was delightful. There is one exercise provided. Let's take a look at that.

Start by identifying an incident in your life where you are absolutely certain you were the injured party. An argument or fight is a good place to start, since these have built-in dramatic tension. The stronger the tension, the better the story.

Ground rules:

• don't try to re-create the actual incident.
• Don't try to remember exactly what you thought and felt.
• Let the emotions and the dialogue rise up, brand-new.
• Relax, loosen up, and let the characters take on a life beyond your memory.
• See the argument or the fight in your minds eye, just like a scene from a movie.
• If you find it hard to use a scene from your life, make up characters. A mother and daughter, father and son, lovers, spouses, use your imagination.

Two parts.

Part one. Write the scene from one character's point of view. If you're using a scene from your life, start with your own point of view. Inner thought is what defines point of view. The other character can speak and act, but the inner thought comes from you, the point of view character. Use plenty of dialogue.

Part two. Put the first scene aside. Now write the scene from the other person's point of view. In the second scene, it's not your story. The inner thought, motivation, and drama all should come from the other person's point of view. The experience will be different. Let the story change.

"It's not easy for us to see the world from another person's perspective, but as writers, we must do exactly that. This simple but powerful exercise will give you a visceral experience of the power of point of view. Writing from the imagination doesn't mean that you're childish or crazy. In the realm of imagination, you'll find the truths, passions, characters and story your creativity hungers for."

So, the key point here is loosening up. Take a look from the other side, and see what happens.