Friday, June 22, 2012

Aspiring Advice: Eliminating The "Just"

 
Surprise! There's one last guest post that deserves to be shared, thanks to Libby Heily. She's quite to prolific writer, tackling stage and screenplays on top of novel writing, and she has an excellent post about a little word some of us in the writing community find evil.

Again, I wish to thank everyone who was kind enough to volunteer their posts for the last few weeks. If there is any way I can return the favor, you know where I am (In a totally non-creepy way, of course).

Take it away, Libby!

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One of the best bits of writing advice I ever received was given to me while I was studying acting in college.  After a sloppily delivered monologue I was grilled by my acting professor.  He asked me questions about my character like who she was and what she did.  That was easy, I had all of that information from the play.  Then he asked about her background, her childhood, her relationship with the other characters and how she viewed them.  Okay, I had those answers.  I did my homework, wrote my character journals.  Then he asked about my character's body and I said she had arthritis.  He asked me where and I looked at him blankly. 

“She just has arthritis.”

He smiled in that “gotcha” kind of way.  We had a conversation in front of the class about how any person that has an ailment can tell you all sorts of information about it, at least how it relates to them.  Where it's located will adjust how I move, how I move develops the character.  Do I mask the pain or do I exaggerate it?  How do I, as the character, interact with my ailment?

This degree of specificity is important.  I call it “Eliminating the Just”.  It really means making a conscious effort to remove arbitrary thought.  In writing, things can't just happen, even if your plot needs it.  Any event has to be motivated.  Your characters can't just do anything, it has to fit them as individuals.  This doesn't have to be explained thoroughly in your story, but you as the writer have to know the motivations and reasons. 

Say you have a character that has a cold.  Okay, what are their symptoms?  You write down a list of possible symptoms and then you choose a few.  How do those symptoms change the scene you're writing?  If she's on a date, is she struggling mightily to suppress a cough so her date won't hear her hacking?  How does she manage to blow her nose inconspicuously?  Are her ears blocked up, can she not hear the other characters well?

This applies to more than illness.  Where do they work?  What type of office?  Who do they have lunch with?  How do they entertain themselves when they're not busy?  What's their favorite office snack?  Coffee or tea?  You don't have to know everything of course, but if their job is prevalent in the story, then you'll want to know as much as you can to give those scenes life.

This is more easily said then done.  A good way to pick up on it is if you are asked about your story and in the explanation you use the word “just”.  That word is an excellent indicator that you're thinking in general terms. 

This is a lesson that has greatly informed my writing.  I have no idea if it's useful for other writers.  We all have our own process and our own way of arriving at the story we're trying to communicate. This is just something to think about while you work on your next piece.

I'm Libby, and remain in doors.

24 comments:

  1. Big fan of Libby! Thanks for hosting her DPK.

    "That word is an excellent indicator that you're thinking in general terms." Wonderful point. I think in writing we tend to focus so much on 'the big picture' we often neglect the razor-focus every word and sentence must have. And in turn, the story.

    It is very true that each word must serve a purpose. If it does nothing more than move us to the next thought, then that's what it must do. If it does nothing, it's worth nothing.

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  2. Oo, I love it! :) Thanks for sharing your lesson, Libby!

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  3. Now that's a good idea! Everything has a reason and explanation.

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  4. Great advice. Just isn't always good enough:)

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  5. Oooh attention to details. I like this approach. It's a solid reminder for me to know everything about my characters.

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  6. Thanks guys and thanks David for hosting me! Also, I LOVE the clip!!!!

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  7. I love this approach. Knowing every little detail is so important to bringing the story to life.

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  8. I was theatre kid in high school, so I have found that it's easy for me to really know my characters just from how much "character work" I had to do back then. Thanks for the reminder :)

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  9. yep the devil is the details--i made that up ;)

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  10. That evil word "just". I used to use that word all the time. One of my betas told me to hack them and only keep ones that are ABSOLUTELY necessary.
    I like your advice to pay attention to the details. It can be exhausting work, but making sure scenes are developed well with description of what characters are feeling is so important. This is where writers cross the line of telling to the limitless universe of showing. :D

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  11. Majorly helpful tip here. Seeing things for what they are and not "just blah, blah" really can open the door to the way a character behaves, reacts, or otherwise inter-plays with the other characters and/or setting.

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  12. It's a good point. As a storyteller, you have to have a vastly more expansive knowledge of the world you're creating than you actually put on the page. That authority provides plausibility, but not using every iota of it provides pace.

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  13. This is such a perfect way to think of this. I love the idea of the illness. It really does affect a person and how they relate to things. And if you translate that into other things like relationships (although some relationships are like a sickness) you can focus in on the details.

    Thanks Libby!

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  14. Great post! And I think the arthritis bit hits the nail on the head. Definitely something to think about. Everything having its motivation is something I need to work on.

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  15. It's amazing how much we need to know about our characters, stuff that may never even hit the page, but it still informs their behavior and motivation. Just fab, Libbs. :)

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  16. Yep. I rarely keep this unless it's something said in dialogue, and even then with caution. To me, it's a lot like "at least".

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  17. Great tips. Thanks for sharing them. I try to eliminate just but you've given me more ideas on how to avoid it.

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  18. Being more specific and going deeper was something I had to learn. All those things you mention color the character's world, and should shade the words we choose. Great post.

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  19. These are all great questions to ask about our characters, and they're great writing prompts. I do something similar to character journals; I write character sketches as a way to figure out how the characters are different from each other. Also answering questions like the ones you described is a good way to come up with more ideas for the plot.

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  20. Aloha Libby,

    I'm just a bit late in seeing this, but I just loved it.

    I got the "just" speech a few years ago and it has definitely helped me.

    Just sayin' :)

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  21. Such a great thing to remember when building a character from the ground up. This can be my eliminating the "just" speech, so I can begin examining my writing more closely. Thanks, Libby and David!

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  22. So true! Everything in a story from the biggest to the smallest must have a reason, even if it doesn't get into the draft. Because the effects of those reasons must always be seen. Even if the reader doesn't overtly realize where it's from.

    If this doesn't happen, the writing feels shallow.

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  23. Great advice, what an enjoyable post to read. I plan on applying some of your advice starting in my writing session tomorrow morning. Thank you.

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  24. A brilliant lesson to keep in mind! Thanks for sharing, Libby!

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