Don't forget those demons.

Old news now, but Hurricane Dorian was a real threat at the time I sat down to write this - Sitting here, looking out at a perfectly beautiful blue sky with a few gentle, white, puffy clouds…who would think a Category 5 hurricane is likely to hit (or just miss) this idyllic setting within hours? Perfect conditions for writers! All cut off and isolated, prepared and waiting for the lurking storm, waiting with time on our hands, no intrusions for the moment. So what do writers do? We write! I was writing ahead incase of the inevitable loss of power so my blog would be on the platform cloud and would go out as scheduled. Fortunately we dodged the bullet.

So on to why we’re here. Who doesn’t love stories? I can bet even the most hardened criminal loves them, probably good at spinning yarns himself or herself. That’s going to extremes I know but I did say ‘even.' So many of us were lucky enough to have had parents who read to us when we were little. In a broader context, predating language as we know it, there were cave drawings telling stories. Be sure though that this is not an academic tome on the subject. You’ll never get that from me. 

This blog is a continuation of last month’s blog where we dipped into CHARACTER. Characters are the root of all stories. From Odysseus to Iron Man, characters are the engines of story. It can be the most outrageous of stories, yet however outrageous, if your characters are believable you will have a story and your audience will follow you. This happened, and that happened, but to WHO? And why and to what effect? The ‘who’ is the all important that colors and shapes the telling of stories.

Speaking in general terms there are certain gender attributes beyond the obvious. The female: mystery, creativity, intuition. The male: assertion, aggression, initiative, drive. Looking at it in practical terms, let’s say you are commissioned by producers who give you the basic idea and premise for a story and want you to write a screenplay based on it. How do you go about it? First, you do a lot of research on and around the idea they gave you, at the same time, you hover over story possibilities. You might also have been given a rough sketch of the lead character, but you won’t find your story until you find who character really is. The character who will be central to the telling of your story. So you continue to hover. More often than not, you will find that it is the dark sides of a character type, or the simple picadilllos of a character, where the triggers lie, which in turn lead you, the writer, to a full blown character. Only when you uncover the inner crevices of that character will you find your screen-story. And indeed, why not a hurricane, which could be the perfect backdrop for your character’s demons to emerge. 

So let’s talk about the dark side. The demons, our demons. Our character’s demons. It takes digging deep into ourselves and our imagination to find those demons. Writing is not comfortable, there is a constant conflict of ease and difficulty. James Dickey, the author of the novel Deliverance, which was adapted for film in 1972, said the best writing comes when the writer is "ready to commit suicide." Metaphorically speaking of course. In plain language meaning being ready to go to the places we generally avoid that are OUR secrets, our FEARS. Those demons are a writers buried treasure. Writers who are able to uncover the layers of their own dark side are generally better writers. You don’t always have to go that far, you can find them in the stories you’ve heard about others you know, or know of; I had an aunt who is said to have an obsession with bathing. I find two likely influences there. You find yours.

I don’t believe I need to say this but idea of the dark side is not for the obvious - the villains of your piece, or the disaster or horror genre - those are no brainers. Quite the contrary. The sweet, kind, helpful librarian but he’s actually a serial rapist. Too easy. Derivative. Dig into those places of yourself for ALL your characters in ALL your screenplays, including in comedies, one character with a quirk is a very effective part of the mix. Add to it, the most important gift of a writer, your imagination.

Alright so relishing the concept let’s stretchhhhh.

Take three clearly different characters and place them in a situation, it very well could be they are facing the threat of a hurricane, or any other dire situation, and play with it in your head. Then WRITE it - not in your head but on the page - how each character responds, the responses that stem from the demons buried in her or his innermost self. Do this in conventional compositional form. Give them something to say if you want.

The second part of the exercise is to WRITE - not in your head but on the page - what is the underlying trauma, or influence, that manifests in the behavior of each of these characters. Flesh it out. Take your time. Try not to go for the obvious.

The trauma could be of when the character was a very small child. The child’s mother left the child in a bathtub with the faucet running, the tub was overflowing and the child struggled to climb out but was too small and scared to manage and almost drowned. The trauma has left the child scarred for life. Or, someone recovering from injuries, in a hospital with their leg in traction, unable to move, left stranded for hours during Katrina (as many were) now reliving that horrible experience and feeling abandoned and powerless. Perhaps the story comes from a more simple trigger. You could have a beautiful woman, long blonde hair, highly accomplished, who when in conversation, picks her scalp! Ugly I know, however it could be the indication of a deep seated need to be ‘the best’ to be “perfect’ instilled in her by a demanding parent. So there you have it…a few gifts from me.

We are screenwriters so look for triggers and insights that lend to the VISUAL. The leg in traction, an example, a hoarder, another example. Push yourself past the obvious. Your palette is as varied as your imagination.

The incredibly gifted and innovative choreographer Merce Cunningham used to tell his dancers, '‘Push yourself to your physical boundaries (in our case the boundaries of self exploration and of our imaginations) and go to where you have not been before. Give me something no one else has.”

There’s a lot to grapple with here but if you spend the time find your trigger and really hook into your characters, they will speak to you, and I promise you a worthwhile journey.

Thank you for reading my blog. Send me your exercise if you like. And don’t forget to leave a Comment if you want, I’m open to, and welcome all and every points of view.

Happy digging!

See you next time.