“The producer’s job: to knock on 200 doors and not just be rejected but insulted and shit upon and yet somehow reach the 201st looking and smelling fresh as a daisy, being warm and welcoming, so that when it opens, you are not only invited in but encouraged to bring more along with you the next time.” -Ted Hope
For the producer…
First, you see it when no one else sees it. You go after it.
Then, you have the courage to start when little to nothing is lined up.
Then, you have the temerity to ask for money or help (often both) to make your vision a reality.
Then, you have the humility to pivot or adapt when things aren’t working out as planned.
Finally, you have the discipline to finish the job. You’re the last to turn the lights off.
“I think the best stories always end up being about the people rather than the event, which is to say character-driven.” -Stephen King, book On Writing
“The first step to consider is who your characters are going to be. For many people setting out to write for the first time, this might feel counterintuitive. After all, the plot or narrative is what many people talk about when they want to indicate that a book is compelling. Yet we care about a story only when it affects characters that touch us deeply in some way. Readers might have only a vague sense of some of the events that happen in Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations (1861) but, once read, figures such as Pip, Miss Havisham and Magwitch are rarely forgotten. Likewise, when we follow Lyra through Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy (1995-2000), Atticus Finch in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird (1960), or Holly Golightly in Truman Capote’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1958), we are drawn into the storytelling because these are people we care about.
The British novelist Ross Raisin describes characters as ‘the lifeblood of fiction’, and observes that because they are the story, they need to be as unique as the work of fiction they inhabit. We want to believe in such people, no matter how fantastical they appear. To make them compelling, you will need to work out what your main character desires – what they want, how are they frustrated (because without this there is no drama) and how they will change to get what they need, which is not always the same as what they want.” -Jason Whitaker, Psyche Essay, “How To Plan Your Novel”
Start with theme or plot and you run the risk of writing flat, one dimensional characters. Even worse, boring your reader. That’s why so many scripts feel like MFA thesis papers.
Start with character (fully-formed, know them inside and out). Give them something they’re fighting for. Put them in a room. Let ’em go.
Do that and you’ll at least get something interesting and propulsive.
And you’re likely to get theme and plot thrown in for free.
“Creativity is a function of all the previous work you put in.” – Robert Greene
“When you sit down to create something…what you create is a culmination of everything you’ve seen and done previous to that point.” – Tinker Hatfield
Hat tip to my good buddy and follower of this blog, Joe, for sending me the below story. I believe it comes via Billy Oppenheimer from a Twitter post. It’s so good and speaks for itself. Thus, I’ve just pasted it in full below. Enjoy!
In 1998, Citibank and The Travelers Insurance Company merged.
They hired legendary designer Paula Scher to create a new logo.
In their first meeting, on a napkin, Scher drew what became the iconic Citi logo.
As Scher got up to leave the room, someone from the Citi team asked,
How can it be that it’s done in a second?
“It’s done in a second and 34 years,” Scher replied. “It’s done in a second [and] every experience and everything that’s in my head.”
Takeaway 1:
As Scher has become a master of her craft, she’s experienced an interesting problem.
“A lot of clients like to buy process,” she explains. “they think they’re not getting their money’s worth [if] you solve the problem too fast.”
This is known as the “Labor Perception Bias.”
It’s an interesting phenomenon: we are generally impatient, yet, we are skeptical if, for instance, we’re at a fancy restaurant and the food comes out only minutes after we ordered.
One of the famous examples of the Labor Perception Bias is the parable of the engineer and the hammer:
A factory owner hired an engineer to fix a broken-down engine. The engineer inspected the engine for one minute, took out his hammer, hammered the engine once, and then started the engine with no problem.
The engineer charged the factory owner $5000. The factory owner was shocked, protested that the engineer had worked for only one minute, and asked for an itemized bill. The engineer sent the factory owner an itemized bill:
Hammering the engine: $5
Knowing where to hammer the engine: $4,995
Takeaway 2:
On my desk, there is a notecard that says, “All success is a lagging indicator.”
The line comes from one of my favorite Ryan Holiday articles. “When a day’s writing goes well,” he writes, “it’s a lagging indicator of hours and hours spent researching and thinking… Receiving a promotion is a lagging indicator of a lot of quality work. Delivering a keynote with confidence is a lagging indicator of a lot of preparation.”
Knowing where to hammer the engine is a lagging indicator of the years and years working with hammers and on engines.
And Paula Scher’s ability to create an iconic logo in a second is a lagging indicator of 34 years spent honing her craft.
“There is a deep relationship between the inner revolution of prayer and the transformation of social structures and social consciousness. Our hope lies in the fact that meditation is going to change the society that we live in, just as it has changed us.” Richard Rohr
“Perhaps the biggest tragedy of our lives is that freedom is possible, yet we can pass our years trapped in the same old patterns…We may want to love other people without holding back, to feel authentic, to breathe in the beauty around us, to dance and sing. Yet each day we listen to inner voices that keep our life small.” ― Tara Brach, book Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With the Heart of a Buddha
Richard Rohr, who I’ve quoted many times in this blog shares an excerpt from Tara Brach’s book, “Radical Acceptance” (she’s a terrific meditation teacher and the book is great as well). Tara shares the following myth about the Buddha and his interactions with the shadow god Mara. The passage is so good, I’ll just let it speak for itself….
You may be familiar with images of the Buddha [Siddhartha] meditating all night long under the Bodhi tree until he experienced full liberation. The shadow god Mara (who represents the universal energies of greed, hatred, and delusion) tried everything he knew to make him fail—sending violent storms, beautiful temptresses, raging demons, and massive armies to distract him. Siddhartha met them all with an awake and compassionate presence, and as the morning star appeared in the sky, he became a Buddha, a fully realized being.
But this was not the end of his relationship with Mara!
In the five decades following his enlightenment, the Buddha traveled throughout northern India teaching all who were interested the path of presence, compassion, and freedom.…
And as the Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh tells the story, Mara sometimes appeared as well…. [The Buddha would] stroll over to Mara and with a firm yet gentle voice say, “I see you, Mara…. Come, let’s have tea.” And the Buddha himself would serve Mara as an honored guest.
This is what’s possible for us. Just imagine that Mara appears in your life as a surge of fear about failure, or hurt about another’s neglect or disrespect. Now, what if your response were to pause and say, “I see you, Mara”—Recognizing. And “Let’s have tea”—Allowing. Instead of avoiding your feelings, instead of lashing out in anger or turning on yourself with self-judgment, you are responding to life with more clarity and graciousness, kindness and ease.
(1) a setting that is automatically given to a software application, computer program or device
(2) the way in which someone normally behaves and reacts
What’s your default state? (Or default setting.)
For many, it’s fear or pessimism. Some of that’s wiring. As not so long ago (about 10,000 years), being devoured by a sabre-tooth tiger was still a real threat. Fear served us well then.
And the media does a phenomenal job of preying (pun intended) on that primal fear.
But what happens if we choose courage or optimism as our default state?
How would we feel?
How would we treat each other?
How would we respond to another person’s behavior?
How would we view and then react to the external events (of which we have no control) that occur?
What changes would we make?
What could we accomplish?
If pessimism is your default state, try switching to optimism. Do it for a day. Or a week. See what happens. (I promise, no sabre-tooth tigers will get you.)
Wanting to do some good, but not sure where to start?
Here’s something…
Think of a person or organization you care about.
Get out a pen and paper.
Write them a note of gratitude.
Mail your note.
That seemingly small gesture has tremendous impact.
P.S. – While a text or email technically communicates your message, the fact that you took time to handwrite a note, acquire the address, buy a stamp and mail it to them, says everything.
“We need very strong ears to hear ourselves judged frankly, and because there are few who can endure frank criticism without being stung by it, those who venture to criticize us perform a remarkable act of friendship, for to undertake to wound or offend a man for his own good is to have a healthy love for him.” – Michel de Montaigne
“He has a right to criticize, who has a heart to help.” – Abraham Lincoln
“Don’t criticize what you don’t understand, son. You never walked in that man’s shoes.” – Elvis Presley
t’s easy to compliment. It’s hard to criticize.
But there are times when the people or organizations we love the most veer off course. They need us. And it’s because we love them, that when they stray, we’re courageous enough to help get them back on track. (Think of a parent and child.)
Second, see them. Clearly and openly. Understand what THEY’RE going for. Not what you wish they were after…“I see YOU and the project or change you’re trying to make.”
Last, be generous with your time…“Let’s together figure out how we can get back on track. How we can make this work the absolute best it can be.”
If you can’t do the above things and aren’t coming from love, then you’re not ready to criticize. Best to wait and remain silent for now.
And if you find yourself on the receiving end of someone’s criticism, no matter what, first assume positive intent. That will help you listen and not immediately get defensive.
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