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May
31
Does the artist have to be tortured?
Filed Under book love, creativity | View Comments
I’ve been reading Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity lately. Originally, I was looking to see if I could incorporate it into this self-exploration phase I’m putting myself through, but I can’t escape one thing. She keeps going back to the artist as a tortured soul who had things withheld from them throughout life.
lately. Originally, I was looking to see if I could incorporate it into this self-exploration phase I’m putting myself through, but I can’t escape one thing. She keeps going back to the artist as a tortured soul who had things withheld from them throughout life.Well…most people agree that I’m a designer, that I’m creative, that I’m an artist. I don’t feel particularly tortured. My life hasn’t been perfect, but it’s been a fairly good mix of good and bad, just like most people. I had an enabling childhood. My parents are both creative, artistic people, and I was just as likely to get any art supplies I wanted as get the science toys I craved.
My creativity was encouraged. I was welcome to pursue whatever art form I wanted. I gravitated toward chances to express myself in some artistic medium.
Sure, there are people out there who have to talk themselves into allowing themself to express their feelings and thoughts artistically, but I don’t think one has to be a tortured soul with a bad past to become creative or artistic.
If you’re truly feeling blocked, then I’d recommend the book. If you aren’t, you’re probably okay passing this one up.
May
31
Thanks to some helpful readers, I think I’m starting to put a finger on the problem with my main characters. By and large, they lack self-reflection. The reader never gets a chance to connect with the main character, and therefore never gets the chance to develop any sort of sympathy for her.
What’s odd about this is that I am a very self-reflective person, almost to the point of crippling myself sometimes. I thought I might have addressed it somewhat with the manga script, but in looking back over it, the self-reflective character isn’t Satchiko, the main character who is telling the story. It’s Kazuki, an important character who isn’t telling the story.
I’m not sure why I’m afraid to allow the readers to crawl inside my main character’s head. It’s something I’ve enjoyed as a reader, and it seems like it should be a natural part of the story’s development.
If nothing else, it’s something to be mindful of as I continue writing and editing.
May
30
Word choice is confidence
Filed Under writing | View Comments
I’ve been working with a friend to help her prepare applications, and she recently sent me a cover letter to review.
It was a good thing, too. Her entire letter was full of taken-back statements and thoughts expressed half-heartedly. That’s fine, except it wouldn’t land her an interview.
Your writing is an extension of you; it’s an attempt to show who you are through words. When you pick weak words, you’ll come across as weak. If you pick stronger words, you come across as confident.
Consider the following:
I am interested in applying for the job you posted.
I am applying for the position posted to this job search site.
Which person would you feel better about talking to, the first person who can’t seem to commit to applying, or the person who comes right out tells they want the job? You’d take a closer look at the second applicant. They know what they want and they aren’t afraid to tell you that.
Regardless of what you write, strong word choice will always make you stand out. Before you send out any business writing, read over it and look for weak words, weasel words (words that don’t actually say anything), and waffling sentences.
May
28
The nature of the gun in the first act
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There is an axiom in writing (usually referring to plays and screenplays) that if you show the audience a gun in the first act, you must fire it in the third act.
I’d never really given it much thought until I was watching something last week. I guess I’ve become more of a critical viewer/reader, because I noticed something that eventually became the “gun” of sorts later on. I hadn’t really thought about it, but it makes sense that the “gun” doesn’t have to be a gun in the actual sense. It just has to be an object that part of the tension hinges on.
Perhaps the axiom needs to be changed to say, “If you show the audience a critical item, you must bring that object to its resolution by the end of the third act.”
I’m pretty sure I haven’t done this properly throughout any of my work (even if I’m finally hearing that I’m getting better at unfolding my stories.), but I can definitely think of examples where an object has followed this formula. A vial of holy water. A doll. An oddly-shaped, unidentifiable object.
So…along with tracking characters, I guess I now need to start tracking critical items, too.
May
28
Build authentic relationships
Filed Under personal development | View Comments
One of the things that has often amazed me as I’ve navigated the social networking waters is how many people seem to collect other people. They indiscriminately send out friend requests (and for some reason, these people respond). I’ve talked elsewhere about this, but that behavior doesn’t make you look popular (and one would think those of us who are adults would be past this phase in our lives), it just makes you and those who have supported your behavior look desperate.
The point of social networking online is much like the point of real-life networking. You’re supposed to connect with people genuinely through similar interests or career development or something. Ideally, you should be building a relationship with them. You introduce them to someone who can help them or get them information they need, and they help you back similarly. You discuss important issues related to what connects you together. You actually make a point of getting to know the other person.
Without creating an authentic relationship with people you’re socially networked to, it doesn’t matter how many “friends” you have.
May
27
Channeling energy
Filed Under personal development | View Comments
There are days when I feel I’ve missed my calling and should be a coach instead of (or maybe in addition to) begin a teacher.
I seem to run into a number of people who are wrestling with a behavioral issue, and either don’t see a problem with this or genuinely want to break the habit. (I see more of the first than the second.
When you keep doing something you know you shouldn’t, regardless of how you feel about it, there are generally negative consequences that result from it, and because you’ve done nothing to create a more positive situation, you’ve lost your right to complain about what happens to you.
What I’ve been trying to encourage each and every one of these people to do is to take the energy they would have put into the destructive behavior and channel it somewhere creative. They don’t have to make art, but they do have to create something. So far, no one has told me how it’s going, but I’ve just started promoting this technique, and I hope to find someone having a breakthrough before too long.
Are things going poorly for you? Identify behaviors that might be self-destructive, and every time you see yourself trying to do that, stop and channel that energy into creating something. You’ll find it’s a far better use of your time and energy, and something positive might even come out of it!
May
26
I always have cards lying around
Filed Under creativity, writing | View Comments
Up until I moved to Seattle, I seriously always had a standard deck of cards on me. You never know when one will come in handy.
My favorite deck actually lives on my window sill next to my bed and desk, never far from reach, and even closer to the deck I actually want to talk about- one of my tarot decks.
I know what you’re thinking, but tarot decks are actually fairly useful little beasts. I have two. My first was given to me when I worked in a game shop. A friend bought it for me as a birthday present because it was Lord of the Rings and the artwork was very Celtic in nature. I thought it a bit odd at first since I’ve never actually expressed an interest in owning a tarot deck. I didn’t really see the point in owning one.
Shortly after that deck came into my possession, a favorite blogger gave me a great idea for using a tarot deck, which in turn led to another favorite use. He uses it in his coaching to help people focus on things. It’s a great idea. The art on these decks tends to be very vivid and full of symbolism. Find one that speaks to you and reflect on what it makes you think about, or how it makes you feel.
Very quickly, I realized that deck was also great for breaking through writer’s block. If I needed to write, but just couldn’t, I’d pull out a random card and tell a story about some aspect of the card’s art. I actually have some interesting short stories that came from drawing a tarot card.
I have a second deck now, and I use it for the same things. I write stories with it. I just think on the art. I think I’ve actually thrown tarot a couple of times for friends who seriously didn’t get it. (I also made one of them use it for reflection…I don’t think she got that, either.)
Oddly enough, the tarot was actually designed as a deck of cards…just like my standard decks right next to it. I could eliminate roughly twenty cards from it and start up a great game of Egyptian War or Crazy Eights with it. Actually…that would be rather fun with the LotR deck…
The tarot deck…more than a new age divining device. Who knew!
May
25
Reading in chunks
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Usually when we think about reading chunks, we think about bite-sized information. Apparently, though, this terminology is now being used to describe a way of presenting text.
The concept is an interesting one. Because our eyes can actually only see a certain area, a method has been developed that essentially uses white space to break up text into chunks that can be seen by the natural range of the eye without moving. Studies are showing that this method of presenting text has positive results on comprehension, which is always a good thing.
I tried a couple of times to read material presented in this method, and I just couldn’t do it. I can see where it’s useful, and I’m betting that it’s very beneficial for those who have a hard time staying focused on textual material, but my mind just can’t wrap around it yet.
Is this the future of online material? Broken into small phrases so our eyes can better process them?
May
24
Character-Goal-Obstacles
Filed Under character development | View Comments
I have this recurring problem with my writing. I can’t write a main character. I’ve been told this repeatedly. My supporting cast is great, while my main character does little more than drive people to wonder why I bothered telling their story.
I got to thinking about this the other night. What are my main characters lacking? I try to create “human” characters- ones who are just average people trying to live out their normal lives, and we’re supposed to see a moment in their life. That doesn’t really work where writing is concerned. You have to be very specific in the moment you pick. Very few people want to read about someone eating breakfast in their normal routine. They want to read something that tells them who this person is without having it all laid out for them.
I then got to thinking about one of my favorite manga/anime- Yu-Gi-Oh. Honestly, it’s not a cartoon a thirty-one year old should be watching. It’s just not. It’s a teenager story that was (heavily) watered down for tweens. People look at me a bit funny when I admit to enjoying the show, though. At first, I couldn’t explain the attraction, either.
After a lot of reading and watching and trying to figure out why I refused to walk away, it occurred to me that what initially pulled me in was why I stayed. I started watching, quite by accident, because I was completely intrigued by one of the characters. He was arrogant and fairly transparent…except he wasn’t. He had this depth that caused his character to do some very human things that forced the story line to keep moving along. In time, I realized that he wasn’t the only character with this hold on the story.
Yu-Gi-Oh is by and large driven by characters who follow a character-goal-obstacle format. When one goal is met, another is quickly assumed because of the story line, and there’s no real disconnect moving between the goals. All of these characters pursuing their goals through various (or sometimes the same) obstacles weave together to create this story. You feel badly walking away because you want to see a character reach his goal, and you’re grateful to see a character complete their goal and move on. In some ways, it’s really how life out here in the real world works.
I’ve never put much stock in character guides because they often want me to explore aspects of a character I wouldn’t be interested in as a reader. I do, however, need to figure out who my characters are and what they want, and then throw obstacles at them that actually test whether or not the character really wants the goal and what they’re willing to do to reach it.
May
23
American education needs a revamp
Filed Under education | View Comments
My reading lately has had an interesting theme showing up over and over- We aren’t teaching students well.
No, that’s unfair. It’s not that we aren’t teaching them well. It’s more that we aren’t giving them the full set of skills they’ll need to survive once they move past their schooling. We make them sit in seats quietly and take notes, read dry (somewhat inaccurate, highly outdated) textbooks, and teach them how to regurgitate information in response to familiar situations.
And this somehow is supposed to enable them to apply what they learned when they walk out of school.
Our total knowledge is more than just the facts we cram into our heads to pass a test (those same facts that fall out a day or three after the test because they were never given a fair chance to sink in). It’s what we do, what we apply in situations because we recognize patterns. We should be teaching kids to see pieces of a puzzle, and recognize what bit of gained knowledge would best help them fill in the missing bits.
That should be the point in most classes, enabling students with what some teachers call a “toolbox” of skills to tackle a problem. That’s the point of cumulative research projects that have become so popular in the local high schools. The point of group work is to put students into teams where everyone’s gained knowledge can interact to figure out how to best approach a problem. The point of internships, volunteer work, and work studies is to help students both gain new knowledge and to learn how to apply their own knowledge.
Are you seeing a pattern here? We shouldn’t be teaching students to regurgitate. We should be teaching them how to recognize the patterns that would suggest when to use a particular skill or combination of skills. Rote learning is so twentieth century, so let’s move into the twenty-first by encouraging students to connect what they are learning to practical applications, to solving problems, to thinking critically.
