Acting like you're writing

or writing like you’re acting.

Whenever I watch DVD commentaries, the directors are always gushing over the actors, but it’s kind of cool. The director will say, “There, look at that!” And he or she is talking about a lip curl I wouldn’t have even noticed. “I didn’t even have to tell him to do that. He was just there.”

The degree I’m “there” usually determines how good a writing session I’ll have. I know next to nothing about acting, but I’ve heard the phrase (actors probably consider it a cliché of their art) ‘acting is reacting.’ The same could be said of writing. I usually sit down with an idea of where I’m going, but if I’m not in that zone where I have that heightened awareness of my characters’ thoughts, the story stalls. Whatever is introduced, whether an action or a piece of dialogue, I have to feel everyone’s reaction to it. I’m struggling through a scene right now because I’ve introduced two new characters to a story, and I don’t know them yet. I was thinking I’d be okay, since my main characters would be pushing the action, but until I know these guys well enough to make their reactions believable, the whole scene is going to feel flat.

Often the best shows and movies have a talented ensemble. In fact, the directors in the commentaries will often point out how someone who I barely noticed in a scene gave a subtle gesture or delivery of a single line that really gave the scene its vitality. Sometimes those directors get a little overly artsy in those commentaries, I’ll give you that, but I do think those little moments have an almost subconscious effect on the viewer. With writing, we’re every actor in our play. We sit down and make one act, and make everyone else react until we’re done for the day. Kind of a heavy idea to have that level of control but no wonder, when things are clicking, writing is such a rush.