Writer's Yearlong 5-11-05: You can run out of clever...

Some of you think that I haven't been supporting the year-long writer's program. Hah! Read between the lines, people. There is Art, and there is Craft. Craft has been addressed rather thoroughly on the structural level--the Hero's Journey, which comprises the best, and most universal story structure that has ever existed in this world: becuase it mirrors the course of our lives. Please note that you aren't supposed to simply line up your story elements, one for each of the ten steps, and think you have a story: no more than you can jsut play the 88 keys of a piano in order, and think you have a composition. But Once you understand the emotional resonance each of these steps has, you are free to create.
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If I were you, I wouldn't listen tot he cynics who blame the Lucasfilm prmo machine for "creating" a link between Campbell's work and Star Wars. If promotion machines could create a hit, no movie would ever fail. Believe me, the studios would love to believe that all they needed to do to make a profit was promote. What happened to most of the American Idols? What happened to the synthetic pop groups created by reality shows? What happened to Gigli or Cleopatra or any of the countless high-profile studio films that just flat tanked? They didn't catch the public's eye and ear and heart. And they bombed. No. Lucas didn't create the link. You can look at any film that has earned over 100 million dollars, and you will see, quite clearly, the mark of the Hero's Journey. Because it is life. And when film, book, or story does not reflect life, all you have left is some individual's philosophical or conceptual position, which appeals to a much smaller audience. Nothing wrong with that--but jsut understand that that is what happens.
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The Chakras are the most comprehensive model of human psychology known t man. For six thousand years, they have reigned supreme. Jung believed that in comparison, Western psychology was only half-way to the top. All you need to do to create an endless source of stories is look at every single human being around you. All are flawed and damaged. None are perfect in every chakra. "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." Now...ask yourself which chakra seems to hold the most damage for them? this will be an arena where they react with fear and anger. This may also be an arena where they have achieved unusual levels of excellence. For instance, I know several martial arts masters who had a stunningly horrific home life in early childhood. Where they were physically and emotionally threatened almost daily. What else would motivate them to achieve such advanced levels of lethality? Organisms are quite parsimonious. They do the minimum necessary to get an effect. When you see someone who has invested huge amounts of energy, do the math.
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Sexuality? Rape, abuse, and premature sexual awakening leave clues and scars. I know several men and women who engaged in sex quite early in life. Sometimes abuse, sometimes seduction, often representing the betrayal of an older authority figure. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM is having enormous problems, or had enormous problems, creating that conservative, one-on-one bonded relationship. Every one. Most have stormy, short-term relationships, are serial cheaters, or reject such relationships altogether. Many are obese and emotionally dysfunctional. Some became predators themselves.
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Power issues? That's my arena. Being raised by my mother and sister, my father not being there, and the culture telling me I was garbage, I became obsessed with the "what is it to be a man" question. The added burden of my skin color made it difficult to accept the cultural answers. I went into the martial arts, but my geekdom and blackness combined in some really poisonous ways, such that I was never able to simply enjoy the give-and-take of sparring like normal guys. It always impacted emotionally on me as if it was actual combat, and took an enormous toll, anchoring massive pain to what shouldhave been a pleasurable activity. One of the great regrets of my life. Yeah, I stuck with it long enough to get two black belts, but as my confidence in my ability to defend myself rose, my internal motivation to continue putting myself thorugh the grief was harder and harder to sustain. Like I said: one of my life's great regrets, and those who have worked out with me over the years know exactly what I'm talking about. Just being honest here. By the way, in actual confrontations I actually have LESS adrenal overload response than in "play sparring."! Go figure.
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Heart/emotion? Who hasn't taken blows here? Who hasn't blown relationships, or had them blow up around us in devastating ways? Those kinds of hits create scar tissue, and as our emotions become less flexible, we lose our spontaneous joy in living, and start building small, careful, joyless lives.
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Communication? Who ever feels that the world really, truely, deeply, understands us? That is an existential delimma that cult recruiters and abusive husbands play on to vast effect.
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Intellect? Who doesn't struggle to understand the world, to gain that elusive sense of "having it all together" and grasping the total meaning. Who isn't intimidated by someone's intellect, or hasn't dealt with the world being intimidated by our own?
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Spirit? Who does not fear death? Who does not wonder about the ultimate destiny of those parents, friends, and mentors we have lost? Who does not want to knowo where we fit inthe overall structure of Things?
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The road from one of these chakras to the next is the Hero's Journey, a process of accepting responsibility, moving forward (or inward) , gathering allies and abililties, facing our limitations, finding our faith, and teaching others. Identify the wounds in the people around us. Heck--identify your own frigging wounds. Design a series of events that would force that person (or yourself!) to grow, or give them a chance to fail tellingly. And then write the story, ladies and gentlemen. Don't worry about being clever. Just be honest. You can run out of clever, but you can never run out of the truth.