Dispatch From The Quest: Sandy Leviton
Over the course of the 24 weeks I am working with the writers in The Quest, each will write a weekly dispatch to share with the GITS community. There are several reasons for doing this, the main one educational: Hopefully you will learn something of value for your own understanding of the craft from the experiences of the Questers. I should also add they are a great group of people, so I expect you will enjoy getting to know them.
Today: Sandy roams all the way from Pablo Picasso to the Disney World’s EPCOT Center with this week’s dispatch:
“Every child is an artist, the problem is staying an artist when you grow up.” — Pablo Picasso
This week was an intense one — we brainstormed. It was windy, but we made it rain, thunder, and then there were some beautiful strikes of lightning for all of us Questers. During our lengthiest session so far, we got on the topic of tone and fun for many of our stories. (Paul touches on this in his dispatch this week as well.) During brainstorming we were all so focused on character that the elements that make our stories fun may have gotten a little lost. And when the fun is lost, particularly in a story like our’s, it is hard to understand the tone; a fair point that Troy brought up on the call. Interestingly enough, this is a note Miranda and I often find ourselves giving to young writers. A writer spends so much time living in the world and they see all the wonderful things going on in it — they see the rainbows and circuses that pass through town. Writers see their characters go on dates and enjoying concerts as they fall in love. However, unless it is explicitly in the script, a reader does not.
After the call, I was drained but woke up on Friday morning with one song stuck in my head and 3 days later, still won’t leave! It is a song that will come as no surprise to anyone that’s been following our journey — “One Little Spark” from the Journey Into Imagination ride in Disney World’s EPCOT Center. I will try to attach an mp3, but in case we cannot post — here are some the lyrics:
One little spark, of inspiration.
Is at the heart, of all creation.
Right at the start, of everything that’s new.
One little spark, lights up for you.
Two tiny wings, eyes big and yellow.
Horn of a steer, but a lovable fellow.
From head to tail, he’s royal purple pigment.
And there, Viola!, you’ve got a Figment!
We all have sparks, imaginations.
That’s how our minds, create creations.
For they can make, our wildest dreams come true.
Those magic sparks, in me and you.
Imagination, imagination.
A dream, can be a dream come true.
With just that spark, in me and you.
“One Little Spark” is sung by a character, aptly called THE DREAMFINDER. He is accompanied by a little dragon-ish character (a character The Dreamfinder is actually creating in the song), named FIGMENT. Figment is the child-like creator in all of us. He’s excited by all the fantastical possibilities of the world.
A little cheesy? Sure. But there is so much truth in it. All we need as writers to create is that one little moment that gets the imagination flowing. Which is what brings me to the Picasso quote — as children, we all have constant creativity and fun flowing through our veins. We bring that energy to everything we do. As we get older, it gets lost and it takes work and practice to remember how to bring that out in our characters and stories. Picasso is basically saying that we need to be Figment.
I hope that we all continue to find our sparks in our stories. Though at this point, I think it’s safe to say we’ve spent so much time sparking, I think we are all ready to turn those sparks into fire!
Last week was a big challenge for the Questers as I gave them dozens of brainstorming prompts. And while this part of the process can be a pain in the arse, I find it is critical in getting the writer fully engaged with their story.
The thing about brainstorming is it involves both aspects of the Picasso quote. On the one hand, the writer is very much like a child, basically play acting with the characters, engaged in make believe conversations and speaking in monologues from the character’s perspectives, imagining any and all types of moments, scenes and events in an attempt to explore and have fun. There is a kind of artistry to that, to giving one’s self over to a story universe and its characters, and seeing where it takes you.
On the other hand, once the bulk of the brainstorming is done, we don our adult masks and go about the process of trying to wrangle that content into a coherent form.
The sheer amount of time and energy required to do that, plus our three hour plus teleconference last week helps to explain the tenor of this week’s Dispatches. Writing is hard work. But I am encouraged by the insights that are emerging among the Questers and their stories. I nor they should expect perfection in this first draft. As I keep reminding us, The Quest is a journey of discovery. My biggest hope for each of these fine writers is for them to find the heart and soul of their respective stories, surface as many entertaining narrative elements as they can, and craft some semblance of a structure that feels like it can work.
Hopefully each will find their “one little spark” to keep them enthused and on target during their first draft process.
To hear “One Little Spark,” go here.
Tomorrow: Another Dispatch From The Quest.
About Sandy: Bostonian that learned how to pronounce “R’s” upon moving to LA. A lefty that loves the unusual. Dreams of owning a taxidermy dodo bird. @scriptchix & @lil_sjl.
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