The Science & Art of Writing

Manage Your Message: How To Rewrite Using THEME

2/1/2018

By Jessica Hinds

It’s easy to get lost in a rewrite. Who here has felt lost in a rewrite before? Anyone who is not raising their hand is a liar, or has never written a script.

There are many different ways to attack the rewriting process but today we are going to talk about one way that, in my opinion, is the most important way. This is not the only tool you will use to rewrite your script, you will need to rewrite your script several times, but I always make sure I do an entire draft dedicated to theme.

Why theme? What actually is theme?

Theme is the message you are sending out into the world. Theme is the truth that you see clearly that maybe others don’t. Theme is the call to action for everyone who reads and absorbs your script. Theme is the question you want the audience to walk away pondering. Sometimes theme is the moral. But, most importantly, theme is your message. It’s what your story is really about – it’s the truth in the make believe.

Whether you are aware of it or not, your script has a theme -- and if you don’t choose the theme, a theme will choose you. (And you may not like it.)

If you write a script where a character always does the right thing but in the end they get murdered, you are telling the world that “always doing the right thing leads to your own demise.” Now, if that is what you believe and what you want the audience to walk away with - by all means, write that story! But if that’s not what you believe, or if it is but that's not the message you want your audience walking away with, well...

Perhaps you need a different ending!

Theme is what your story is really about. It’s the heart. And it’s a great compass with which you should navigate your rewrite.

Anatomy of theme - or how to define theme in a way that helps you write.

Theme can be defined in many different ways, but if you are a storyteller there is one particular way to define theme that will help you the most.

Topic + Movement = Result

Topic - something somewhat universal that is embodied by your main character.

Movement - transformation or conflict.

Result - The end of your story (where you choose to end it) the aftermath, the cost, the prize.

If these elements are not present, you have not fully formulated your theme, and it will not be as helpful to your rewrite as it could be.

A few examples of good themes:

The need to be perfect leads to self-destruction
Jealousy destroys the thing one loves most
The desire to listen saves you from hell
Lying murders true love
Honest conquers corruption
Compassion leads to financial reward
Promiscuity leads to artistic success

Theme should have movement - theme embodies the change of your main character.

These themes are the truth reached at the end of your story - but at the beginning of your story, your theme is usually very different.

Let’s take Barton Fink.

Barton Fink is all about listening, it starts with Barton not listening or hearing anyone/thing else but his own words from his own play on stage. It ends with him sitting on a beach trying to listen and hear someone else.

So we see here how your Topic (embodied by your main character) goes on an awesome journey and transformation, resulting in a truth that the writers/directors believe about the world.

But it’s not just two steps. Barton goes from not wanting to listen or hear anyone else, to recognizing the need to listen, to trying to listen but not being able to, to listening but not able to actually hear, back tracking to not wanting to listen, to listening and finally being able to start to hear.

Even though it seems like a small emotional journey, it takes him to hell and back again.

A great example of a HUGE change is Walter White from Breaking Bad, from “Mr. Chips to Scarface” in six years.

It doesn’t matter if the emotional journey is huge or small. What matters is that there is transformation, change, and movement with that topic throughout your script.

In fact, that’s called structure.

Structure!

Great structure comes from the changes your main character goes through in relation to your theme.

This provides the audience with the feelings of change, transformation, and movement that will keep them invested and entertained.

This should happen approximately 6 - 8 times in a feature film. Most characters in order to fully arc need about 6 - 8 sequences to get from beginning to end.

You can think about structure and theme like a traditional relationship. If your goal going out and meeting people is to eventually get married and have kids, you would never (or perhaps should never) continue to date someone for six years who won't even move in with you, or call you their boyfriend. You need to feel the progress. First you casually date, then you become exclusive, then you meet the friends and family, then you move in together, then you get engaged, then you get married, and then you have kids and become a family. (Note: this traditional view of relationships is used as a teaching tool and does not reflect the beliefs or desires of Jessica Hinds.)

If you stay stagnant too long in one of these phases...you're going to get broken up with.

In screenwriting, that means a reader is going to stop reading your script and toss it in the “pass” basket.

So how do you discover your theme?

Yes, discover! The great thing about theme is that you don’t even have to think about it until after you bang out a first draft and guess what? It will be there.

Your unconscious brain has already slipped in the groundwork of your theme. All you have to do is look for it! (Thank you unconscious - you are so cool!)

Step 1 - Read your script a bunch of times

You need to get to know what you actually wrote. So read through your script several times, specifically looking for the change and transformation of your main character. Write down all the ways your character has changed. If this is hard to discover, you can also read just the first and last 15 pages back to back - that tends to make more subtle changes in character stand out more.

Step 2 - Choose your topic

Now hopefully you have a list of topics. Choose the one you have the strongest feelings about, the one that has the most to say, the one that is the most universal, powerful etc.

For example - let’s say your character has changed in the following ways:

Confidence: Not confident to totally confident.
Selflessness: Super selfless to selfish.
Seriousness: Silly to serious.
Hair color: Blonde to red.
Job: Dancer to lawyer.
Education: High school to College grad.
Relationship status: Casually dating losers to committed relationship with a good guy.

Don’t choose hair color or job. That’s lame!

A few notes: confidence, selfishness or seriousness are more likely to be powerful universal topics, while education and relationship status might be a result (status and love). Hair color and job are probably just plot indications that help to externalize the change so the audience can see it.

Step 3 - Write down the result

How does your story (in it’s current state) end?

Step 4 - What is the movement?

Write out your theme in its entirety. What is the topic? How does it move, and what is the result?

Taking oneself seriously leads to success.

…or maybe…

Overcoming shyness leads to love.

Step 5 - Decide if this is something you want to say

You may do this and realize that, at the present moment, your current draft is saying something you don’t want it to say. That’s okay! You can easily change that by changing your ending, or by simply letting your film end in a different place in your character's journey.

In Disney’s original Sleeping Beauty - the princess rides off with the prince and the story ends there. The theme is “true love conquers evil.” But if you watched a bit longer and we saw them settle into the castle, and we watched them as work gets in the way of their relationship, sure enough we might see the prince asking the chamber maid if she wants to ‘Netflix and chill’.

Now our theme has changed to “true love eventually fades.” Or if we had ended the film earlier, when the princess was sleeping/dead and the prince was held captive by Maleficent, the theme would be possibly even more depressing.

So, if your theme is not something you believe in, see if you can end the film in a different place -- or if you need to, go ahead and change your ending.

Instead of getting married, Sleeping Beauty and the Prince move to Silicon Valley, create a startup offering nootropic solutions for those suffering from ridiculous sleep disorders. What might that theme be?

How to use theme to discover structural problems in your script.

Now that you have your theme, you want to read through your script and write down when your theme changes. You don’t need to change anything yet, first just see what you have going on.

Example                    Topic: Compassion
                                 Theme: Compassion heals all wounds.

Sequence 1:            No compassion leads to financial success.
Sequence 2:             No compassion causes loss of family.
Sequence 3:             The desire for compassion leads to community.
Sequence 4:             Compassion creates opportunity.
Sequence 5:             Compassion allows others to take advantage of you.
Sequence 6:             Denying one’s own compassion leads to isolation.
Sequence 7:             Compassion heals all wounds.

It is not likely that after your first draft your list will be this polished, in fact it is more likely to look like this…

Sequence 1:             No compassion leads to financial success.
Sequence 2:             No compassion leads to loss of family.
Sequence 3:             Refusing one’s own compassion leads to isolation.
Sequence 4:             Compassion heals all wounds.

“Hmmmm, she went from having no compassion to denying her compassion...I have a few steps to fill in…”

But now you know exactly what you need to write!

1. How she gets that compassion, and then

2. What happens that makes her deny it?

In fact, right now, why don’t you take five minutes and write down your version of this character, whoever you want her to be, in whatever world, in any genre.

How does this compassionless woman find her compassion, and then what happens that makes her deny it?

Write now!

Now that we know how to fill in bigger structural gaps using theme, let's get down to how to rewrite a sequence based on theme.

Rewriting sequences based on theme.

So your big building blocks are in place. You have your beginning, middle, end, as well as change happening throughout that middle section. (Act 2 is too big - it must be broken up.)

You know that by the end of the script you are saying something you believe in, but let’s look a little closer to make sure your structure within each section is doing what it needs to do.

“Sequence One: No compassion leads to financial success.”

You want to take this section out, print it out and dedicate some time to just focusing on it. Don’t worry about anything else - just focus on these pages.

Step 1 - Read the sequence a bunch of times.

You need to get to know what you actually wrote. So read through your sequence several times, specifically looking for the change and transformation of your main character. Write down all the changes.

If this is hard to discover, you can also read just the first and last scenes back to back - that can make more subtle changes stand out more.

Step 2 - Choose your arc!

In the first scene, your character has a little bit of compassion. Perhaps she lets a driver in front of her in traffic and it causes her to be late to work and lose her job.

Then by the last scene of this sequence she shows no compassion and cuts in line in front of a crippled old lady at the lotto counter and buys a winning lotto ticket.

So in this sequence you are creating an arc for this character that goes from a little compassion to no compassion.

Step 3 - Check every scene.

Now every scene in between the first and last of this sequence you can check to see if you are arcing, moving forward, the compassion (or lack thereof) in the main character.

Write down, at the end of each scene, how this scene moved that character one step closer to the end of the sequence.

Step 4 - What if a scene doesn’t move the character one step closer?

Let’s say you read through seven scenes in the first sequence and you find two of them do not have any movement in regards to the main character and her compassion. You now have two questions to ask.

“Can I cut it?”

If you can just cut the scene and the story still works...awesome! Get rid of it, the tighter the script the better!

But let's say the story just doesn’t work without the scene then you need to ask yourself…

2. “How can I make these scenes about my theme?”

Now you know exactly how to approach the rewrite of this scene.

How to use theme to rewrite a scene?

You might think – “Okay, this scene has to stay, because this is when she buys a new car and meets Dave (who is important later) but right now nothing about compassion is happening in this scene. Well what if instead of Dave just selling her the car she sees him getting yelled at by his boss and she feels compassion for him so THAT’s why she buys the car - BOOM!”

Now your scene is structurally important for your theme and the audience can continue to keep the eye on the ball. (The ball being your theme, of course.)

DIY Scene Theme Rewrite.

Below is an open scene, you can use this over and over again to practice rewriting using theme.

...
FADE IN:

EXT. CEMETERY - DAY

A BUSINESSMAN speaks on his cell phone.

BUSINESSMAN
Of course Jerry!

A few plots away, Helen stares down at a headstone.

“HERE LIES BOBBY JUNE: LOVING FATHER, SCRABBLE ADDICT.”

BUSINESSMAN (O.S.)
I told him to shove it up his ass!

Helen takes a deep breath. She places flowers on the grave.

BUSINESSMAN (O.S.)
And that son of a bitch did it. BOOM! ‘Merica
- fuck yeah!

Helen looks over at the Businessman.

HELEN
Please keep it down.

The businessman comes over to Helen, He unzips his pants and urinates on the grave.
He smiles, zips up and walks away.

Helen cries.
FADE OUT.

…

So let’s say the two things that have to happen here are Helen visiting the grave and the man pissing on it. Let's just say, for later in the story, those two things need to happen.

Now rewrite the scene. Anything can happen so long as Helen visits the grave and the man pisses on it, but rewrite it focusing on the movement of one of the following topics.

Anger
Patience
Ego
Shyness
Materialism
Prudishness
Dishonesty

In fact, if you want to really get good at this, rewrite this scene seven times, one for each of these topics. Or come up with more topics and rewrite the scene based off those!

Then all you have to do is repeat!

So now that your first sequence has movement of your topic in every scene, you can go to sequence two and do exactly what you did in the first sequence. Continue this, so on and so forth, until you have reached the end of your script.

Note: this doesn’t mean you are done with rewriting. (Sorry!) But at least now you know that heart of your story -- what it’s really about.

The truth that you are putting out into the world is present and strong on every page.

The Rewriting Rule for Sanity.

“Focus on one thing at a time.”

If you are going to do a draft of your script focusing on theme, focus on theme. Don’t get caught up in every little formatting mistake, or two-dimensional secondary character, or cliché dialogue. You will drive yourself nuts.

Just like cleaning your house, you want to start with the top and work your way down. If you're going to dust, dust! Then when you are done dusting, if you want to wipe down all the surfaces, wipe them down. Eventually you’ll work your way down to sweeping and mopping, in good time.

But if you are in the middle of dusting and you stop to wipe that dust off the floor, you are just slowing yourself down, and making more work for yourself because you know when you wipe down those counters, crumbs are going to fall on the floor. And then you are going to have clean the same spot twice! What a waste!

Accept the fact that when you are rewriting a script what you are focusing on will get stronger and tighter and cleaner. It might make other parts of the script messier, temporarily, but that's okay!

They can be messy. You’ll clean it up when it's time to do the floors.

If you'd like to learn more about theme and rewriting check out Meditative Screenwriting!

Externalizing Internal Conflict

1/2/2018

By Jessica Hinds

When I was a kid I thought I had Dissociative Personality Disorder.

I always felt like there were three of me; The Innocent Child, The Business Mogul, and the Artistic Genius. I could feel when one of these personalities inside me took over but I didn't seem to have control over it. I was a weird kid. Still am.

I later realized no I do not have DPD but this did lead me to one of my most powerful and effective writing tools for dramatists.

Watching a character "decide" is boring as hell.

Not much to look at. But in a good script or novel a character is making decisions all the time. Often the conflict in a scene is not external but internal. So we must discover ways of externalizing the internal conflict of the character in a way that allows an audience to feel this decision and conflict without using a bunch of stupid words, voiceover or exposition.

This is often a struggle for writers but if you realize that there are many sides to your character that are in contradiction with each other you can simple treat the scene just like you would a traditional scene. Two characters who have conflicting wants persuing those wants until one overtakes the other.

For example, let's say Esther wants to sneak out and meet up with Anna. But she also wants to be a good, respectable daughter and obey her parents. You simply think of Esther as two different characters in this scene and let them take turns persuing their wants.

Let Rebel Esther throw open the window and crawls onto the roof. Then let Obedient Esther take over, crawl back into the room and shut the window. Then let Rebel Ester take over - and so on and so forth!

Now you have a visual, action based scene that truthfully and clearly brings the audience through the internal conflict raging inside the character without having to write a bunch of shitty dialogue like...

ESTHER
(to herself)
Well, I really want to see Anna, but I know my parents would be mad.

STOP THE SHITTY DIALOGUE!

Please, if the conflict in your scene is internal - just rip your character in two and let them take action, going after their tangible wants and the audience will feel it, the story will move forward, and you don't have to sit through 39 takes of the same line because there are very few actors who can believably deliver such a shitty line.

Thanks for reading!

Looking for more guidance? Join our next round of MEDITATIVE WRITING! or Meditative Screenwriting!

Writing Is Like Surfing or Don't Be A Dumb Baby

11/2/2017

by Jessica Hinds

The next time you have a bad writing day, visualize a dumb baby on a beach.

Perhaps I should explain.

The other day I decided there just wasn't enough sand in my ass so I went to the beach. There, sitting on the wet shore, was a chubby little baby digging her hands into the sand, her back to the ocean. I watched as the child's eyes lit up and excitement surged through her entire body when the water rushed up around her. Pure joy.

Then the wave retreated and I saw how devastated she was when the water rushed away leaving her alone in the sand. You could tell that she was scared, that she was sad, that she thought the water was gone forever, that this thing she was enjoying had been lost and lost for good. Pure agony.

I smiled.

The reason I smiled at this child's pain is not because I am a jerk or take delight in the suffering of small mammals. I smiled because this child is almost every writer I know.

One day the writer sits down, and great, connected words flow through their pen onto the paper like waves rushing toward the shore, "I shall be a greater writer! Hazaa!!" Pure joy.

But then the next day, it feels dry, as if all their talent is pulling away from them. The writer panics, fears they have lost their artistry forever, chooses to suffer, chooses to doubt, and possibly chooses to never write again. "Perhaps I am just not meant to be a writer." Pure agony.

Hey dummy - turn around!

If we could all just turn around and realize that our artistry, our talent, our creativity is a vast ocean and it is there whether we wade into it or not. Yeah, it can be overwhelming and uncontrollable but you can ease into it if that feels better. It will certainly feel better than crying on the beach.

Great writers are those who learn to surf - not to control but to ride greatness of the unconscious.

So the next time you doubt yourself, the next time you beat yourself up because your writing that day was kinda bad, the next time you even consider giving up, visualize that dumb kid crying on the beach because they are facing the wrong direction.

Don't be a dumb-dumb - turn around and wade in.

If you would like to learn more process based tools for writers check out MEDITATIVE WRITING.

How To Rewire Your Brain & Banish Abusive Voices In Your Head!

9/6/2017

If you are an artist (or a human being) you have probably had to deal with internal self abuse. That negative voice in your head that says some pretty mean things. Things like...

You're just not smart enough.

People are going to laugh at you.

That's just not good enough.

That's so cliche.

They're going to think you're weird.

No one will ever like this.

Who do you think you are?

You're just not talented enough.

Any of these sound familiar? In no way, shape, or form will listening to these voices help you to be a great artist. So where do they come from and what the heck can we do about them?

These voices are not yours - they are someone else's words coming from a part of you that has good intention.

So sometime, long ago, probably in the first 8 years of your life, something like this happened...

Little Jenn (age 5) draws a picture of her family. She lifts the picture up and proudly shows it to her mother. Her mother begins to cry and runs out of the room, Little Jenn thinks "when I share my work, mom gets upset."

Now little Jenn doesn't understand that her Mom just had a huge fight with her boss and is scared she might lose her job and not be able to take care of her family. Little Jenn doesn't know that that is why Mom is upset. Little Jenn still attaches all effects to whatever happened immediately before it. Because little Jenn is five and has a lot to learn about the world.

Now if this was the only moment when something like this happened then Jenn might not develop an abusive voice but later on...

Young Jenn (12) plays a song she wrote in the school talent show. In the middle of the song she looks out at her best friend sitting in the audience. Her best friend looks totally pissed off. Young Jenn thinks "when I share my work, my friend gets upset."

Young Jenn isn't considering that maybe her best friend is jealous because she also auditioned for the talent show and didn't get in.

These experiences build and build on top of one another until they become the voice in our head. So now when a, supposedly, fully functional adult (lets just admit it - we don't really grow up we just get older) sits down to write her novel, when she imagines it getting published, it kinda makes sense that a voice would pop up and say "This is going to upset people."

Another example:

Little Ally practices a song to audition for the middle school chorus. Her mother, who desperately wants her daughter to succeed and get everything she wants blurts out, "Do it again, you're not good enough yet."

Young Ally gets an essay back from her 8th grade teacher (who knows how smart and capable Ally is). In the top right hand corner in big red ink is written, "D+ Ally, this just isn't good enough."

Adult Ally stares down at her screenplay, she reads over the scene she has just written, the voice pops up in her head "I'm just not good enough."

These annoying little voices have been programed into us since childhood but, most of the time, they are misinterpretations coming from people who had good intentions but flawed executions.

So the first step to us dealing with these voices is to get curious about our past and discover where they are actually coming from. Meditate and write down every single time you can recall an experience that helped build this voice. Often times if you find the very first one you can shift it and all the others will lose their power.

So go back as far as you can and write out this moment. Then you can reframe it. Help your younger self tell themselves a story that does not traumatize them. Jenn can have little Jenn realize that Mom had just gotten off the phone and her being upset was a result of that conversation, not the picture.

Ally can help young Ally to note that her mom's intention was to help her accomplish her dreams but that her Mom used some pretty bad languaging to do so, not because she was a bad mom (necessarily) but because she didn't know any better.

Going backwards is the first step - going forward is the second.

So now that you have an understanding of where these voices are coming from you can begin to change your behavior moving forward in order to create a new neural pathway that reroutes the negative self speak to positive self speak.

This is a very simple ACT!

A - Acknowledge the voice
C - Change the frequency
T - Two-for-one

Acknowledge The Voice

Recognize that this is a voice from your past. Acknowledge that it's intentions are good but it's execution is flawed. You can even speak to it "Hey voice, I know you are scared and want to make sure I don't get hurt but telling me I'm not smart enough to pull this off is doing far more harm than good. I have plenty of drafts to make sure this script is great, It's not going to be perfect the first attempt so please let me work."

The voice is a bit like a screaming child in the back seat of a car. If you ignore it, it's going to keep crying and if you yell at it, it's going to cry even louder. So acknowledge, but take away its power.

Change The Frequency

Taking the power away from the voice is easy. Pretend you have a frequency knob and then twist it up as high as it can go. So high that you only hear this voice as a ridiculous squawk, as if Betty Boop had just sucked on a helium balloon and was then trying to tell you "You're just not good enough." It will sound ridiculous and you will laugh. Because it is a ridiculous voice, and it's ridiculous for you to believe it. Helium addicted Betty Boop should NOT be taken seriously.

Two-For-One

Now the final and most awesome tool in this series is the Two-For-One. Since you heard a voice that said one negative thing about you, you have to replace it with two positive things about yourself that you truly believe in that moment. If you don't actually believe the positive thing, it won't work.

Years ago, I used to hear a voice, and even say outloud to myself "Because you're a terrible person Jess." What a useless thing to say to myself five times a day. But after a few weeks of acknowledging, changing the frequency, and then practicing two-for-one (usually starting with something shallow like, "I have great hair" because I felt silly doing this exercise, but then I'd feel the negative voice release and the self-loathing run away, allowing my second two-for-one to be much more meaningful, something like "I am extraordinarily compassionate towards my friends and strangers.") that negative voice just went away. I went from hearing it five, sometimes thirty times a day to hearing it maybe twice a year.

Self abuse will never help you, it will only hurt you.

If you continue to indulge in self abuse eventually your brain will get so sick of the abuse that it will start to tell you you don't like writing because it only brings you misery and then you will stop writing (or painting or singing or whatever). If you want to become a successful writer, (whatever that means to you) if you want to become a better writer, you have to ACTUALLY BE WRITING. So keep the dopamine flowing and get rid of the cortisol during your writing time so you can accomplish your dreams already.

Plus no one wants to work with a writer with low self-esteem. Ew. Part of being a professional artist is marketing, promotion, connection and community. You will succeed far greater if you have a healthy relationship with your inner artist.

The tortured artist is so last century. The mindful high-functioning artist is here to stay.

So be kind to yourself. The next time one of those nasty voices shows up remember to ACT and soon you will have rewired your brain to be a more mindful, higher functioning you.

Stay curious .

Looking for more guidance? Join our next round of MEDITATIVE WRITING!

Truth vs Logic: Where Will You Find Your Story

7/8/2015

Logic is a wonderful tool that we humans sometimes choose to use, but Logic and Truth are two different things. When we confuse logic with truth....well...no bueno.

For example, I am a tall, lanky woman. Logic might lead you to think I do yoga and live a vegan lifestyle. Snooze. The truth is, I hate yoga and I eat meat almost every day, in fact, I grew up a bow hunter. Growing up, I rarely did anything "girly" like yoga because my stepfather wanted a son.

Logic often leads you to stereotype and cliche. Seeking out the truth leads to novelty and, most important, story.

I will write more about this in the fall but right now I just want you to practice differentiating between using logic (to build one possible option) vs seeking out truth (to discover the story.)

Remember, we are not logical or rational beings automatically. Logic and reason are tools we are capable of using but our nature is rooted in the emotional. So if you are writing a screenplay, focusing on the logic or the reason of the plot and the character will not lead you to the Truth the way that following the emotional journey will.

Stay tuned for more on the neuroscience behind human (and therefore character) behavior and how it can help you in your life and your characters in their story.

Looking for more guidance? Join our next round of MEDITATIVE WRITING!

The Super Amazing Secret To Eliminating Distractions While Writing

6/26/2015

Do you often find yourself easily distracted?

If you are a writer the answer is YES! Don't worry my lovelies -- there is a way to make sure you are never distracted again. No, not snake-oil. You will have to practice this technique but after a few times of doing so...you will laugh at how silly you were before.

Visualize yourself in your favorite movie theater. You look up and watch as an amazing film plays on the massive screen. Then it happens...some asshole in the row ahead of you stands up and begins to scoot to the isle. This big moving silhouette blocks your view, grrrrr!

The world is split into two kinds of people. The first kind will start yelling "Hey you, down in front!" Huff, puff. "You are ruining the film!"

The other kind of person just stays focused on the movie screen and pays no attention to that silhouette. A silhouette can pass on by and you can still watch and enjoy that film.

That's it.

Distractions are only distractions if you CHOOSE to pay attention to them.

If you try to fight them you give power to them and you are choosing to be distracted. But if you treat them like the silly silhouettes and shadows that they are and stay focused on the film....meh, no problem.

A small shift in mindset creates massive results.

Too many artists waste time and energy fighting silhouettes. Let them be there, pay no heed, just do your damn job and let the fools fall to the side.

When you are writing just keep your eyes on your character. Watch them like a hawk. Watch them and follow them as if they were a kidnapper who has your baby and is running away.

If you were chasing a kidnapper who has stolen your baby you would NOT stop to say hello to an old friend, or go do the dishes! No! You would chase after them with such focus you would give no fucks about anything else.

The other great thing about letting your characters lead you when you write is you don't have to make a bunch of decisions. You only have to make one -- follow that character. Write down everything they do as they race after their goal.

So stop CHOOSING to pay attention to the silhouettes and start following your character.

Looking for more guidance? Join our next round of MEDITATIVE WRITING!

Get Free Creativity Tools

Why Being Selfish Is Good For You (and everyone else)

6/13/2015

Just remember - doing only what you want when you want and being an asshole are two different things.

How often do you feel the painful drag of obligation? If you are anything like me five years ago -- Too Fucking Often.

Do you find yourself feeling resentful of people you love when doing kind things for or with them?

Do have the unending need for freedom screaming from your bones?

Do often beat yourself up for feeling selfish because, even when you do put others first you feel you would rather be somewhere-anywhere else?

Guess what -- you need to get selfish.

That's right. You need to throw everything down and commit to only doing what you want to do when you want to do it - fuck everyone else.

Five years ago, filled with anxiety, depression, self loathing I decided to do this, and you know what I discovered? The moment I decided I would only do things I wanted to do...I started doing a lot of awesome new stuff. But more importantly I did a lot of the same stuff. Only this time I didn't have that drag of obligation, there was no resentment. Most importantly I realized I really actually am a very selfless person by nature...when I allow myself to be selfish.

In fact the first thing I did was start teaching for free and outline a scholarship for artists from my hometown.

That's how I got rid of that nagging "you're so selfish" voice that would ruminate round my head fifty times a day.

Most people are not selfish, we become that way (and miserable and cold) when our reasons for doing things come from obligation rather than true desire.

So go forth - Be Selfish - only do what you want -- and see who you really are.

NOTE: If you are a psychopath, please disregard this blog post. Please do contact me as I would like to ask you many questions. No judgment - just curiosity.

NOTE NOTE: If you do this and discover you truly are a selfish dick....good. At least now you know and if you want to you can do something about it.

Looking for more guidance? Join our next round of MEDITATIVE WRITING!

Change One Word - Change Your Life

6/5/2015

You don't HAVE to do anything. You CHOOSE to do things. You choose to get out of bed. You choose to not work out. You choose to go to work. Stop saying you "have to" do these things.

Stop lying.

Granted you may not like what happens if you chose not to go to work. But it is still a choice.

Why the hell does this one little word matter?

A lot of crap comes with the words "I have to". It makes you feel as if you have no control. Yuck. It reminds you of when you were a child and you were told where to go and what to do all day long. Saying "I have to" is confirming for yourself that you have a life that is not what you want it to be, it breeds discontent.

So stop lying and making yourself feel like shit.

Replace "I have to" with "I choose to".

It's the truth. Even if a thief has a gun to your head you have the choice to hand over your wallet or not to. Aside from your body's automatic systems you choose everything you do.

Say the following two sentences out loud; "I have to go write." then "I choose to go write." -- Feel the difference?

"I choose" makes us feel in control. It reminds us that we do indeed have a choice. It also allows us to feel proud that we are making the right choices.

When you say "I choose to go to work today" you feel good knowing that you are being a responsible adult and a reliable co-worker and a dependable employee or boss.

Wouldn't you rather feel powerful, proud and in control rather than immature, disgruntled and out of control?

Try it for a week. Every time you catch yourself saying "I have to..." (either out loud or in your head) - stop - and replace it with "I choose to" and watch how one little word changes your story, your emotions, your energy, your choices, your life.

Namaste Bitches,
Jess Hinds
The Crass Shaman

Your Ego Is An Idiot With A Label-Maker

5/29/2015

Know yourself - don't define yourself.

Labeling is the addiction of your Ego. Defining is like drawing a circle around yourself and saying I can not go further.

We are constantly changing. Our blood, our brains, our memories, our experiences. Every moment we are a new self. Every day we aren't who we were but who we are, and by the end of this sentence you will be a different you.

Remember the moment, the phrase, the re-frame that you heard and instantly you were different and seeing the world through new eyes...

Defining yourself puts imaginary limits on real possibilities.

Instead, commit to knowing yourself. Knowing yourself is investigatory, it requires curiosity. Since we are changing every day - we must do this every day to be able to say I know myself.

Defining is the ego saying I am a writer. I am a woman. I am young.

Then you don't get the writing fellowship. You develop cancer and your lady bits get removed. You turn 40. (I personally have only had the first one happen to me.) You suffer, you are traumatized and then you make big life choices when you are depressed, detached, and fearful.

No bueno.

The ego is what produces anxiety and fear. Fear of reality conflicting with your ego labels. You are a Writer so you have anxiety about writing because if you don't you are not a writer.

If you do not label yourself a painter you will not have fear about painting because fuck it, you're not a painter, nothing is at stake, go ahead throw some paint on the canvas.

That's when you produce your best work.

If you want to create great art you must know yourself because all your characters/ painting/poems are fractured parts of your identity, your identity that is in constant development, and it is yourself you are putting on the page or canvas. The deepest universal truths of you, the dark shadows of societal repressions that perhaps only you are brave enough to throw up onto a screen so that others might look up and think I'm not the only one.

So stop limiting yourself.

Screw your ego and it's label maker.

If I wake and I sing, I sang. If I wake up and dance, I danced. If I paint, I paint. Then when someone asks are you an artist I can answer...this morning I sang, danced and painted. Let them label you if their ego needs to. But don't let other peoples label makers guide your actions.

Looking for more guidance? Join our next round of MEDITATIVE WRITING!

ABL: Always Be Learning

5/22/2015

Waiting is what boring people do while smart people are learning.

That's right folks there are 24 useable hours in a day. Here are 4 "dead zones" where I find time to do some of my best writing, research and continuing education.

1. Morning Routine

From the moment you open your eyes till the moment you leave your home for work (or play) you have minutes, possibly hours of free time.

Your morning routine is automatic. Get up. Pee. Brush teeth. Shower. Make toast. Pour coffee. Put on pants. Take off pants, put on underwear, put pants back on. Do hair. Put on Sunscreen (you should be wearing sunscreen, skin cancer sucks) Phone/Wallet/Keys. Exit.

These actions are unconscious habits, meaning you can actually pay attention to something else that does require your cognitive focus and get BOTH done. For example, I listen to my German For Beginners audio while I shower. You wouldn't think just 8 minutes a day of German is a lot but it has added up, es ist fantastisch!

Podcasts are a great way to not only expand your mind and knowledge during your morning routine but anytime you clean your home, do your laundry, organize your closet etc.

My personal favorites are The Psychology Podcast, The Tim Ferris Show, Wake Up with Sam Harris, Write Your Screenplay, and The Brain Science Podcast.

2. Commute

I LOVE my commute. I love it when the train gets stuck, because that means I get to listen to more of my audio book. I used to hate audio books because my mind so easily wandered but I stuck with it and have since fallen in love. I usually choose one educational text, perhaps from The Great Courses and one novel that I consider research for whatever script I am working on.

So if you are writing a story that takes place in the in early 1800's England, put on some Jane Austen and suddenly your dialogue and tone will naturally morph into awesomeness.

3. Sleep

That's right, always be learning, even when you are catching some z's. If you spend the last five minutes before you fall asleep and the first five minutes you wake up journaling (about your story, character, teleportation device construction, ways to silence your mother-in-law, deconstructing those inner voices that cycle around and around in the back of your head all day) you will accomplish a lot of problem solving while you sleep.

Also, you will most likely see this information in images or metaphors (rather than thoughts) which is the most powerful and memorable way to learn (that's a whole other essay so stay tuned, I'll be writing about that later this summer).

4. Wake

This one is my favorite. Many of my writers complain, "But Jess, I don't have enough time to sit down and write." and you know what - they are right. Many of them can hardly find three hours a week between their two jobs, two dogs and Instagram addiction. But you don't need to be writing to be working on your story.

Your characters are always with you...helloooooo, they live in your head! So every moment of the day you can see and hear your characters. Next time you are at a boring meeting invite your character John who lives alone in the woods and hates everyone. Watch him react to this months sales decline, not only will you get to know John better but you also are less likely to fall asleep mid meeting and loose your job.

Yes, occasionally you will laugh out loud and people will think you are crazy....but you are a writer, if there are people out there who don't already think you are crazy then it's only a matter of time before they find out the truth.

So ABL! Always Be Learning.

The next time you groan and think "ugh I hate waiting" replace that sentence with "Woo hoo, now I get listen to my podcast on cross-stitching with my character Hannibal Lecter jr."

Looking for more guidance? Join our next round of MEDITATIVE WRITING!

<<Previous

Forward>>

CREATIVITY TOOLS