TED Talk (Part 1): J.J. Abrams
In 2007, J.J. Abrams (Alias, Lost, Super 8) gave a TED Talk. I’m sure many of you have seen it. However, like many great presentations, much of what could be valuable as a writer drifts away into the ether. So for the next two weeks, I will be posting the entire transcript of Abrams’ ‘mystery box’ TED Talk.
Part 1
A lot of people ask me in terms of “Lost”… “What the hell’s that island?” It’s usually followed by… “No, seriously, what the hell’s that island?” Why so many mysteries? What is it about mystery that I seem to be drawn to?
And I was thinking about what to talk about at TED when I was talking to the kind rep from Ted. I said, “Listen, you know, what should I talk about?” He said, “Don’t worry about it. Just be profound.” I took enormous comfort in that, so thank you if you’re here.
I was trying to think what do I talk about, that’s a good question. Why do I do so much stuff that involves mystery and I started to try and figure it out. Then I started thinking about why do I do any of the things I do, so I started thinking about my grandfather.
I loved my grandfather. Harry Kelvin was his name, my mother’s father. He died in 1986. He was an amazing guy. One of the reasons he was amazing, after World War Two, he began an electronics company, he started selling surplus parts, kits to schools and stuff. So he had this incredible curiosity.
As a kid, I saw him and he’d come over to me with radios and telephones, and he’d open them up, unscrew them, and reveal the inner workings, which many of us take for granted, but it’s an amazing gift to give a kid, to open up this thing, and show how it works and why it works. He was the ultimate deconstructor in many ways.
And my grandfather was not only the kind of guy who would take things apart, he got me interested in all sorts of odd crafts. Like printing. The letter press, I’m obsessed with printing, I’m obsessed with silk screening and book binding and box making.
When I was a kid, I was always taking apart boxes and stuff, and last night, I was in the hotel, and I took apart the Kleenix box, and I was looking at it, it’s a beautiful thing, I swear to God, when you look at how it works, I’m obsessed with the engineering of paper. But like the scoring of it, the printing of it, where the thing gets glued, the registration marks for the ink, I just love boxes.
Some takeaway from the first part of Abrams’ talk:
- Curiosity: Among the chief instincts a writer must have is curiosity. Every story is a mystery, one into which we must dig, and the chief tool we use in that process is simply to ask questions. Ask questions about each character, ask questions to each character, ask questions about the physical environment of the story universe, ask questions about its history, the local subculture, and on and on. To open up a story like Abrams’ grandfather did with radios and telephones and see what is going on inside.
- Observation: Writers must see what other people overlook. The tiniest details can open up avenues to all sorts of narrative possibilities. Take note of what characters say… and don’t say. Do… and don’t do. The merest gesture or the seemingly hidden clue in the corner. Our eyes must always be open to the story potential within our own universe… and the universe in which our stories take place.
- Mystery: If every story begins as a mystery, then by definition we traffic in mysteries on a daily basis. Indeed the very foundation of what we do — create something out of nothing — is perhaps the biggest mystery of them all.
Here is the entire TED Talk by J.J. Abrams:
Tomorrow: Part 2 of the transcript of Abrams’ 2007 TED Talk.
