Some believe that the Big Bang Theory claims that the universe just came from nothing. There was something before the Big Bang, we just don’t know what it was or exactly how it brought about the universe we know and love. The amazing Web telescope is getting us closer to understanding, though.
It seems like the last chapter I wrote came from nothing. The book has lots of action, so every so often I have a breather chapter that lets the characters and the readers catch their breath. I sat down to write this chapter with no idea what was going to be in it.
Normally, I have everything pretty well mapped out. I know what is going to happen and I just have to fill in the details. Here I had nothing. I had used a conversation between Grace and her long-time friend and compatriot Brian for exposition earlier on. It had worked well before because these are two characters who know each other very well.
I just started writing them having a conversation. They would discuss the previous mission and what went wrong and what to do going forward. What they would say I had no idea, so I just improvised the scene.
I have found that my years of acting and improv training have proven invaluable in writing and understanding characters. Part of an actor’s job is to bring a character to life, which is also a writer’s job. Many of the skills overlap.
In this case, as in an improv scene, I just let them go. Of course, in this case I am playing both characters. I try to get into their heads. What do they want? What do they fear? What is motivating them right now? I have an advantage in having had time to learn these characters, so it is much easier for me to get into their heads now than it was in the beginning.
The scene not only seemed to write itself, I was more than happy with the results. In fact, it might even be the official excerpt.
The scene did not come out of nowhere. I knew my characters. I knew the story and what plot points needed to be moved forward. The writing seemed somewhat effortless, but it took a lot of effort to get to that point.
In acting, you spend a lot of time in preparation, learning about the character. There is a lot of intellectual work ahead of time, but what I learned as an actor is that while you need all that prep, when you are actually performing, you draw on it but also come more from the gut. You can’t be thinking about the scene as you do it. You have to know it so well that all of your focus is on being the character. I think writing scenes with characters is not that different. You prep with your mind and write with your heart.
What is Up With Us
Our cat is looking much healthier and is doing better. She now has full access to the house while our other cat does her best to ignore her.
We had a cat when we first moved into our current house, Nix, who was similar in disposition to Lily. She loved to run manically and was a great fetcher of balls and rubber bands. She also did something I have never seen any cat do- door surfing. She would manage to get on top of an open door and push off, stopping the door with a paw before it fully closed. Then she’s push off the wall, and ride the top of the door back and forth. She was fearless. A little too fearless, as she got out shortly after we moved in and was hit by a car.
Lily is also a natural fetcher, and we have been having great fun shooting large rubber bands that she retrieves. She also loves to chase wadded up plastic bags which she runs back with. Who says they are not a toy?
My overall health has been quite bad, giving me maybe three productive hours a day. So frustrating, but at least I feel like the writing quality has been quite good. My approach to these big projects is to just keep the ball moving. Even a little progress each day will eventually get me to the finish line.