Day 3
1 hr free-writing + getting notebooks
If you have read books about writing – and especially screenwriting – you will recognise what Jacqui’s saying here: they predominantly focus on plot and structure. In Jacqui’s view, an over-reliance on these can inhibit creativity – especially when it comes to starting a work. If a writer feels that they cannot begin until they have worked out the story, they may be blocking themselves. Why?
First, a story develops organically through the writer spending time in the world and with the characters; it’s only by wandering around that they can develop their instincts. Second, for those who have a problem putting words on the page, the idea that the story must be fully-formed before being written is a prohibitive obstacle.
Jacqui’s main point is that you need to have faith: embark on your journey, even if you do not know where you’re going and how you’ll get there. It will become clearer as you move.
Writing is a leap of faith and involves near-constant uncertainty; this is not a reason to avoid starting or continuing.
Plotting and structure do not have to be concerns for the beginning; they can come later.
Daily writing immerses you in the world and allows plot ideas to come more naturally. Letting go of the need to plot can lead to some great plot ideas!
Having a notebook available for stray ideas is important for recording those insights which come when you are “not writing”.
Exercise
- notebooks: get some, and keep them in places where you can record your thoughts
and
- 1,000 words: continuing your work in progress
or
- 1,000 words: focusing on your characters in a situation of conflict – put them in the scene and let them act out the drama
My response
- My “notebooks” are various – phone, daily diary, small notepad, scraps of paper . . . I think it’s good to get ideas out, both in case they are useful, and to calm the mind. I’m glad to have already developed this habit. In fact, my experience is that “not writing” periods are ripe for dramatic insights; once the mind has had time to chew over story questions and is in a semi-focused, exploratory state, happy to connect the dots. Practically, I think it’s best to allocate the random notes to their relevant projects / pages on a regular basis. Otherwise, the thought can lose its context and seem confusing on a re-read, or the number of notes becomes intimidating. I try to do a “random notes tidy” once a week for this reason.
- Some people will obviously be happy plotting in advance, and find that is the best way to shape their story. If it enables them to start writing it, then it serves their work. This lesson is for those who feel too discouraged by plotting to start writing, or who can’t seem to get beyond the plotting stage. Perhaps it is also for those who are used to plotting and writing, but find it hard to be spontaneous, let their story breathe, or follow curious but valid instincts.
- I am used to planning and plotting beforehand. Traditionally, I have not “trusted” in the creative process; I have probably mistrusted it. When it’s gone right, I have created something coherent, where characters act consistently. When it’s gone wrong, I have over-worked a story; suspected that my instincts were puerile and that I needed to do something “better”. This has led me to plots which seem objectively more interesting, but have been hard to write, straying as they did from the initial story impulse.
- I think about some recent, widely-popular novels, which have dominated or inaugurated a genre: the Harry Potters and Twilights and 50 Shades of this world. Harry Potter was carefully plotted, but the creative instinct was still there; it wasn’t mechanistic. Moreover, Twilight and 50 Shades seem to run almost entirely on instinct; plot is not what’s celebrated about those stories. To me this is evidence that plot does not have to come first for a story to be embraced.
- I did the second version of the exercise, and put my new characters in a situation of conflict, then let them act it out. I got the two main characters arguing on a bench. I cast around for a topic and the first one that came to mind was quite serious; certainly enough for a plot point. I think this was a smart exercise for Jacqui to set while teaching us not to stress over plot: situations of conflict are often plot in themselves, or a response to plot. Yet the focus of the exercise is on building character, not getting object x to location y. If plot comes, it is because the characters have generated it.
- A character-building exercise is usually a worthwhile exercise, in my opinion. When they are in opposition to each other like this, the characters build more quickly, as they are contrasted by defending their positions and ways of seeing the world.
all course content copyright Jacqui Lofthouse thewritingcoach.co.uk