Random Tips: Get Inside Your Characters' Heads!

In my experience, one of the most difficult aspects of creative writing is trying to get inside a character's head. Even if your protagonist is based largely on yourself (guilty as charged!), the likely case is that he/she represents some exaggerated part of your own psyche rather than an accurate or fully-developed self-portrait. So, in that case, anything you can do to involve yourself in the emotional state of your protagonist would contribute to the story and (especially) the character.

Now, you might be asking yourself how this can be done. Well, one method that many creative writers use is to write detailed backstories for the major characters. These serve as virtual biographies for your cast and can help a great deal in crafting and solidifying where your characters are at the beginning of your story. While I did take some notes on the two leads of my screenplay and get a general sense of their pasts, I didn't delve into an intimate Biography Channel-style look at their lives.

On the contrary, I took a more creative approach and made (please don't laugh when I say this...) a mixtape featuring songs that I felt reflected my main character's state of mind... as well as the story's tone. In addition, I imagined at what points throughout the film these songs would fit, and this made it even easier to picture the story. Oftentimes, I would listen to this makeshift "soundtrack" while I was writing, and the vibe seemed smoother than usual.

It's also a great way to keep yourself focused and thinking about your creative work. As we all know, society doesn't quite embarace creativity as much as we'd like (to say the least...), and it's sometimes hard not to forget your labor of love when you have 6 million other things on your plate. During those months when I was unable to make much progress with my script, I would often play this CD, and it would, in essence, grease the creative wheels of my mind and keep me brainstorming. As a result, I devised myriad ways in which to embellish and improve my story and characters, and my script has become infinitely better as a result.

Of course, though this approach may have worked for me, perhaps your sensibility is different. Try a variety of different ways to get in "the zone" of your writing, and please bring your ideas to the Table. How do you put yourself in your characters' shoes?

-Rob

Risk-taking, accomplishing, & the fear of success

“Dreams that do come true can be as unsettling as those that don't.” -Brett Butler

Ahh, the magical world of freelancing!

For most young writers, the concept of freelance writing does seem like nothing but a mere fantasy.

A far-off dreamland that lies dormant in a small corner of our creative minds.

However, thanks to the wonders of websites such as craigslist.com and freelancewriting.com people who have made a serious, life-changing decision to commit themselves to pursuing their creative endeavors now have an opportunity to take advantage of all of the joys that being a full time freelance writer can bring them.

I heard a quote recently about taking risks. It was something along the lines of “most people don’t take risks and then realize they lost more by not taking them than they would have if they had failed.”

Most writers will never even know what it is to fail because they never even try to get their work out there or published.

So many writers will find themselves in paid positions where they are unhappy because they have no creative control and no opportunity to truly show their skills and talent simply because they needed the security of a regular paycheck. This is not to say that writers in staff positions are not real writers, they simply chose to achieve their goals in a different way.

If you are one of the staff writers who desires to spread their wings and truly feel trapped by the lack of creative expression then freelancing is definitely worth looking into.

You still have deadlines.

You still have editors.

You still have to send in submissions and compose query letters.

The difference is it is up to your own time, energy, and willpower.

You have to have enough self-focus to be able to completely dedicate yourself to finding the jobs, researching the article topics, and getting them done on time.

You are in complete control over your work progression, your time frame in getting things done, and essentially, the destiny of whether or not you can pay your electric bill.

Sound terribly frightening?

Indeed.

But the benefits to truly doing what you really want to be doing far outnumber any amount of fears that may arise within you.

“Only the best people fight against all obstacles in the pursuit of happiness.” -Kate Winslet, Heavenly Creatures

Often times, the biggest fear that arises within the freelance writer is the fear of success.

When they finally surpass the fear of failure and rejection, a new challenge to face comes around the corner.

Why is the concept of being a successful, paid, (and maybe even famous) writer so scary to people?

Many feel that young writers get very comfortable with the idea of actually becoming a paid writer remaining a far-off dream.

A place that they will get to “someday” or “after they do this.”

Many will ignore or miss opportunities to be successful because they choose to put their focus to the side and get to it after they take the “necessary steps” that will enable them to achieve their goals “in the future.”

Often times, writers who are stuck in places they don’t want to be in, will find themselves to be very self-critical.

They will beat themselves up and feel as if they haven’t accomplished anything but in reality they are just not seeing or giving themselves credit for their accomplishments.

They are so stuck on the thought that because they are not yet in the place they want to be in their writing career that they feel they aren’t working hard enough.

The truth of the matter is the fact that they have acquired so much self-discipline to actually work on becoming a successful freelance writer is an accomplishment in itself.

Truth be told, writing as a career is a tough market. There will always be ups and downs and there will always be bursts of creativity followed by bouts of blockages.

The key to being successful lies in taking a leap of faith. Surrendering completely to your passion for writing is the first step in the process that needs to be taken.

This is often the most difficult of the steps and that is why we are all not raking in the benefits of freelancing.

Writers need other writers sometimes. A support team of fellow freelancers who are taking the risks, jumping and hoping the net will appear, and accomplishing great things everyday. It really helps to be surrounded by fellow creative people so that during the times of the downs you will feel like you have someone to relate to.

The Crooked Table was set up to be a networking tool and an opportunity for writers to have a place to discuss writing topics at. A place where writers could turn to other writers for help and a way to get your name out there. A place full of support and valuable information to ease your success rate.

With enough support and contributions our goal with this blog, and also your personal goals can be accomplished.

We just have to know, as struggling, young writers, that helping each other out is very important.

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

So, don’t be afraid to take the risk and jump into freelancing. Even starting out small is a huge step in the right direction. And never be afraid of what you can create because holding on to that fear is usually the main thing that’s holding you back.

Press Pass

I love the phrase press pass! Am I the only one? Is this wrong of me? A buddy of mine told me just before I left my corporate position to use my press pass to get into everything. He said, "You never know if you can or can't get in until you try."

This got me to thinking, is trying to get into everything abuse of power or is it simply a chance to possibly get a new story or a new angle on an old story that I might not have thought of. I think that as writers we need to try to go to events and immerse ourselves in the things that interest us most because who knows, maybe we'll get a story out of it.

No longer will I go to the grocery store without thinking of angles and leads. There’s a story around everywhere about tons of subjects and if it matters I want to report on it!

Writing Wisdom - Lesson #1: The Writer's Arch-Nemesis

In my experience, the hardest part of being a writer is getting into the mindset to actually accomplish something. The world is full of distractions, some more important than others, but while family, friends, work, and school are legitimate excuses for postponing work on your latest writing project, there are a number of other, less than constructive ways in which to spend the spare time you should be using to get some writing done. And in today's day and age, where seemingly everything we do is tied to technology, one in particular manages to monopolize our attention. Yes, folks, I'm talking about the worldwide web a.k.a. the Internet a.k.a. the arch-nemesis of writers everywhere.

Although the Internet is an invaluable resource, considering it is virtually a limitless jumble of information, I have found it to be the most troublesome distraction when I'm trying to work on a project. While the television, radio, and cell phones can easily be turned off and set aside, the Internet is omnipresent. Unless you write by hand or are one of the select few to stubbornly cling to your twenty-year-old typewriter, chances are you spend several hours a day in front of a computer screen, like you are right now.

The fact of the matter is that there is no way to escape the Internet. After all, when you're writing, the web is only a double-click away. Even the slightest inclination to check your e-mail, browse a site, or IM someone can be rewarded in a matter of seconds. You tell yourself that you'll only go on for a second, but deep down, you know signing on to your ISP is a bad idea. However, nothing is more intimidating than a blank page waiting to be filled with your brilliant prose. So writers (myself included) often find themselves killing precious time meandering around the corners of our favorite website.

And in the last couple of years, this problem has gotten SO much worse. With the inception and massive popularization of social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook, the general public is encouraged to spend even more time online customizing their profiling, contacting friends (or total strangers, for that matter), or researching whatever happened to their high school crush. YouTube is another huge offender, seducing us creative types away from our respective projects to revel in the ridiculous (but often very entertaining) videos that users have uploaded.

So, while there is no denying that the Internet has revolutionized the way we obtain and share information, it has also become a problem for writers, especially those stricken with "writer's block" (though I don't believe such a thing really exists...but that's a topic for another post. In fact, look for that as a future lesson). And because most of us rely on the computer to do all our writing, we must always struggle with the urge to surf the web rather than focus our energies on our writing. Since there's no way to completely avoid the Internet and therefore the temptation to wander from your work, the only option is to mentally train yourself to stay in the zone.

I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on this issue. How do you combat the constant distraction of the Internet when you're trying to get some writing done? Please let me know!

Thanks for reading...

-Rob

It's Been a Long Time...

Wow, I honestly cannot believe how much time has passed since my last post. The past six weeks have seen loads of progress in the writing portion of my life so I suppose that, in some small way, compensates for my absence from my humble post as blogger. While the Table has never been far from my thoughts, I have somehow managed to let my young site fall by the wayside, but thankfully, other projects have managed to inch towards fruition.

Since 2000 or so, I've been flirting with the idea of writing a screenplay. However, high school, family, friends, etc. always interfered. I had lists of story ideas, and pages of notes on one particular story idea. However, while I certainly had the aspiration to put this tale on paper, I only found the time (and the nerve) to actually start writing once I graduated college.

So, in January 2006, I set forth laying down scenes for my initial screenplay. The whole process involved extensive outlining, character development, the creation of scene-corresponding index cards, and a whole mess of notes. While I still pursued academic and professional endeavors, I managed to maintain a tenuous grasp on my screenwriting dreams, never completely allowing this project to escape from my thoughts. Whenever I could muster the time and motivation (In my opinion, the true task for any writer is pulling yourself together enough to get something - anything - done.), I found myself sitting in front of the computer, even if it meant I only got a single scene done. Every little bit helps, I guess.

Throughout the day, I would carry my notes and notecards with me, gradually developing the plot and characters of my masterpiece-in-progress. There were times where I became disgusted with the project, when I questioned my own sanity, and thought that any attempt at creating a screenplay was a futile effort. However, all of my hard work was (somewhat) validated when, right before July 4, I finally managed to complete the first draft of my screenplay.

While I remain mum on plot details (Somehow I don't think posting uncopyrighted material on the world wide web is a smart move.), I will divulge that the story is semi-autobiographical in nature. If writers should write what they know, I figured a tale vaguely based on myself couldn't be too hard to manage. After all, I can assure you that no one knows me better than myself. Although the first draft is, of course, still very rough around the edges (Much of the dialogue is stilted and awkward, character arcs need tweaking, and my themes aren't nearly as clear as I would like.), I now have something to work with. For the first time, I can say that I am revising my first screenplay.

I may be far from where I want the project to ultimately be, but the completion of this first crucial step has made me feel a bit more confident about my future as a creative writer. Aside from a few poems here and there, this is the first wholly original creative work I've made even remote progress on. I'm already loving the revision process, and I look forward to the continuing evolution of my story.

On another front, I have enthusiastically enjoyed my experience as editor of one of the sections of my college newspaper this summer. Although my tenure as editor will shortly be coming to a close, the skills I've acquired there will undoubtedly prove invaluable in the future. While my class schedule will preclude me from returning to head the section, I will remain as a staff writer in the fall, and I'm certainly open to stepping up to the plate again next summer.

Meanwhile, there's plenty of writing plans and opportunities on the horizon which I fully intend to explore. So, hang in there, fellow writers. Keep plugging at your side projects, and eventually you'll get there. At last, I'm making progress on my goals, and you can do the same too... Stay vigilant and remember what Ray Bradbury said: "You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you."

Thanks for reading...I'll keep you all posted on my future projects. As always, if you have comments, bring them to the Table!

-Rob