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  Finding Your Voice

  “There is nothing new under the sun.” - Ecclesiastes

  There is no magic formula, but there is a secret sauce. The secret isn’t in a clever idea or flawless execution, or in the executives you network with - the secret is YOU. You are the only unique thing you have to offer.

  Yet, so many stop short of leveraging that formidable power. They look for conformity, to follow in the steps of others, instead of getting in touch with their own inner guidance system. Don’t get me wrong, you can have a career and never infuse even one word of your writing with the secret sauce, but, your material won’t last. And you can be swapped out for anyone, any time.

  This book, this method, is for people who want to create something that lasts; striking a deep chord with audiences. Like Desi & Lucy, you’ll discover your voice and your own creative inner guide and you’ll never look back.

  Stay Open

  “Your mind should be like an empty rice bowl.”

  When we audition actors and interview participants for our Virtual Writers’ Room, there is one thing that eclipses all others in importance to us. Far more valuable than experience, is openness.

  I always offer Liz Parish, an IN Studios Advisor, as a prime example of openness. Liz had over 20 years of experience as a professional actor and writer before coming to us. She performed as a member of our Improvisation & Sketch Team, wrote for our shows, eventually taught, directed and became an Artistic Director and Advisor. She grew quickly, not because of her experience prior to coming to us, but because she always left room to discover more. She approached every moment with an open mind and heart.

  When we feel like “we’ve been there, done that” we can miss that piece of advice or moment of inspiration that usually comes as a whisper during a familiar exercise or a routine writers’ meeting; it’s the moment that could change everything, where everything clicks into place. Don’t check out. Don’t become an audience member in your own life. Remain relaxed and electric and avoid auto pilot. This work requires all of you.

  When you feel as if you’ve arrived or you’ve progressed beyond an activity or exercise or experience, your mind is like a” full rice bowl” and no new insight or revelation can enter.

  GETTING STARTED

  Before you set out on this journey, there’s a few things to remember that will help you move forward with ease.

  Creativity is Messy

  If it isn’t messy, you aren’t stretching beyond what you know and what’s been done before.

  If it isn’t messy, you are manufacturing, not creating something new.

  Sculptors never take a lump of clay, plop it on the table and declare it done, or get angry at themselves because it doesn’t just morph into what they want.

  You want to get your hands in the clay and mold and shape and push and pull it, because that’s where the joy is, in the process. You recognize that creativity is messy and every push and pull adds depth and dimension to what you are creating.

  Practice Makes Progress

  Practice does indeed make progress. I grew up with the more familiar notion that “practice makes perfect” and it was debilitating. I didn’t engage in new activities unless I knew I could do them well. This often left me on the sidelines, while others played.

  Two things have helped me overcome my inhibiting pursuit of perfection. First, I’ve redefined “perfect”. I now acknowledge perfection is in the eye and mind of the beholder and as such, I get to define what that means for me. Many of us are attempting to achieve what we believe others consider to be perfect. This is a game that can never be won, because others are no more consistent than we are in their ideas of “perfect.” The bar is always being moved.

  Now, I view perfect as “full”. In other words, a moment is perfect, or a project is perfect if I have brought all of myself to it; thoughts, emotions, focus, etc.

  Secondly, perfection is no longer my primary goal, no matter how you define it. Because, even if perfection = fullness, there will be moments when I don’t bring 100% and that’s okay. It’s more than okay, it’s human. My primary goal is progress and the only person I measure that progress against is myself.

  Run Your Race

  My son loves to run and loves to be chased. He never looks in front of him as he runs but looks at the people chasing him. Consequently, he zigs and zags and runs much slower and less efficiently than he would if he kept his eye on his lane. In fact, he has a permanent knot on his forehead from the time he ran into a glass door, more focused on those around him than his own journey.

  If You Feel “Ready”, It’s Too Late

  If you wait until your work is “perfect” before you put it out there, then you misunderstand the joy of process. Inspiration loves trust and action. While you are endlessly “perfecting” your creation, you miss your moment. The Universe and your audience moves on while your material stays stuck in your head or sequestered to your top, desk drawer.

  Like a parent sending their child off to their first day of school or hugging them as they leave home for good, your creation is ready to evolve and grow long before you are. It’s never finished, but can’t evolve without interactions with others in the outside world.

  WRITING EMOTIONALLY

  How do we bypass our heads? We aim to teach you the easiest, most challenging, most rewarding process for sketch writing you could learn.

  Emotionally-centered writing yields unique material no one else can create and it’s how you get in touch with your unique voice as an artist.

  You learn to write from your heart and not your head.

  Writing v. Editing

  Well, I learned the difference between writing and editing the hard way. Let me save you bucket-loads of blood, sweat and tears by relaying one important principle, you can’t write and edit at the same time.

  We distinguish between writing and editing in a couple very important ways. Writing, in the emotionally-centered approach, is simply allowing. For all intents and purposes, there is very little manipulation of thought. There is no judgment, there is no criticism, similar to stream of consciousness writing, you want to follow your inspiration, and keep your pen moving at all times. Sometimes inspiration comes as dialogue or words, sometimes it’s images you see in your mind, or even full scenes. In order to be in the moment, in order to follow creative impulses, you have to be completely open.

  The most important thing when writing emotionally is that you don’t judge anything that’s written in your first draft. Just write. Maybe you’ll write 2 pages or 10 pages or 20 pages for one sketch. Inevitably, you will feel inspiration take hold of you, be on the lookout and let it flow.

  Imagine if you were so anxious to see a rosebush bloom, that you ripped a bud open prematurely. You wouldn’t find the bloom you are looking for inside because it needs time and attention to develop. When inspiration does take hold of you follow where it leads, no judgment, no forcing things, only allowing.

  When it’s time to switch hats, and put on your editing fedora, then you simply take out what doesn’t belong.

  What if you like writing your plot points first, or an outline? Great. If you’re inspired to do that, then do it. Follow any inspired action; however, the initial stages of emotionally-centered writing (outline, plot points, script or otherwise) should always feel like discovery, not manipulation or invention. It should feel like receiving or allowing, not forcing.

  You can embrace the writing formats and devices of different mediums (that’s what a skilled craftsman does) without feeling handcuffed by structure. When you are initially writing, just let it flow, with little regard to formatting. You will need to prepare plenty of clay before you mold and shape it. Writing gives you raw materials, editing gives you your masterpiece.

  Sometimes even after molding and shaping (editing) you realize you need more clay. It’s fine to alternate between writing and editing as needed. You just can’t do major writing or editing simultaneously and usually can’t do it
in the same sitting or writing session.

  Discovery v. Invention

  Emotionally-centered writing is quite simply a commitment to choose writing processes that foster discovery over invention as much as possible. The more the writer is in a place of discovery while writing, the more the reader will be in a place of discovery while turning the pages. In order to accomplish this, the writer must focus more on being, than action. In other words, cultivate an atmosphere, circumstances and sense of being that lead to inspired action and inspired writing.

  Every project will have some discovery and some invention. The more discovery, the more memorable and original the final product is. As the author, you get to facilitate the ratio in every project. Again, we’d consider writing from an inventive place editing.

  The most important time to make space for discovery is in the beginning of each project.

  Writer’s Blah-k

  If you’ve ever turned on the spigot attached to a garden hose, you know that there is some lag time before the water spews out. However, you’d never say it’s blocked and your first thought wouldn’t be that the well is dry. You simply know this is part of the process, the ebb and flow of producing a steady stream of water. Allow creativity to flow by first turning yourself on!

  One of the reasons you perceive something as a block (I say perceive because it doesn’t really exist) is you aren’t enjoying the thrill of discovery in your daily life. Writing emotionally is a lifestyle of discovery.

  The secret to eradicating what you perceive as writer’s block is to address it before it even begins. What I mean is the same physics that hold true in every other aspect of our life, hold true here. An object in motion tends to stay in motion. If you are writing every day, even if it’s for five minutes, even if it’s for two minutes, then your creative channel is open and flowing.

  But there are some very practical things that you can do to get the creative juices flowing, or better said to turn the valve on and channel the flow that is always there. Turn off your mind and turn on your emotions. Take a break, exercise, take a shower, meditate, listen to music, and most importantly, schedule a consistent time to do stream of consciousness writing for five minutes every day. It can be gibberish, it can be anything you want, but you want to keep your fingers typing or your pen moving.

  If you are doing things that inspire you, that trigger emotions (some refer to that as LIVING) then your emotional & creative channels are open.

  THE POWER OF SKETCH

  Sketch is a powerful medium, but the power lies in embracing what makes sketch unique. While there are some principles that hold true for every type of writing, there are also important distinctions between mediums. You’ll save yourself a lot of time if you just accept that.

  Limits

  After Julie Taymor’s success as Director of The Lion King, she was given a blank check to develop Spiderman on Broadway. It was the most expensive musical on Broadway and considered a hot mess initially by many, fraught with delays and setbacks.

  You’ve seen movies and even Broadway musicals with “unlimited” budgets that seem like misfires. What went wrong? They had plenty of money. Well, when you can just throw money at a problem, you aren’t challenged to channel your best self and your best work. You don’t have to develop the story or characters or direct the actors or think creatively because there are no guidelines or limits.

  Frustrated by the news reports of the price tag of the musical, an improviser in New York, Justin Moran, decided to create and produce his own Spider Man Musical. He did it within 4 weeks, with a budget of $0. He actually debuted before the Broadway version finished its previews.

  I’ve learned to embrace limits. They are like those traffic ridges on the side of the road that make your car vibrate when you drift and keep you from going off into the weeds.

  As an exercise, we often challenge our writers to take their 9 page sketch and distill it down to one page. Having this artificial limit forces the writer to decide what is absolutely essential. Inevitably, after the exercise, the writer realizes half the script can go away and nothing will be missed. In fact, it’s usually much stronger.

  Writing Mediums

  Each medium (TV, Film, Theater, Books, etc.) has its own means of consumption/distribution and its own production requirements. Therefore, each medium is written differently with its own guidelines.

  For instance, books allow you to step forward and backwards in time at the speed of thought and there are no limits to what the imagination can conjure. Every location, every costume, every character is at your fingertips. No need to consider budget or any other constraint. The narrative dictates the law of the land. The author of a book will go into great detail to describe interactions with every sense and every nuanced emotion. Words are indeed King here.

  Screenplays, on the other hand, are a visual medium. Something described in 3 pages of dialogue in a book can be shown in 3 seconds on film. Dialogue is important, but not primary. If it can be shown visually, then please don’t talk about it. In fact, narration is often considered to be a weakness in screenplays. I know what you’re all thinking, Morgan Freeman has made a living from narrating films. Know the guidelines first, before you break them. You are the writer and can do anything you want, but please make motivated choices in telling your story. It’s the difference between being a skilled electrician and flipping switches and pushing buttons until something happens.

  Stage plays are all about the dialogue or monologues. In fact, acting students are taught that the playwright’s words are sacred. Even though theatrical shows are now sometimes visual spectacles with bigger and bigger budgets, pure theater completing relies on the words of the author and the delivery of the actors to bring it to life. If the audience leaves and all they remember are the sets, then you’ve got a problem. I don’t think the author intended for the sets to be the star of the show.

  And so where does Sketch fall? Let’s consider it akin to stage plays, but with its own unique set of guidelines and writing considerations.

  Know Industry Standards

  I know there is a rebellious part of you that wants to just write and create your own genre or just do it the way you want. Initially, you should do exactly that. Just write and keep writing. Don’t censor yourself or edit yourself. That’s how you keep your creative channel open.

  However, eventually, as you develop and hone the craft of professional sketch writing, you’ll want to at least “know the guidelines before you break them.” Inspired, deliberate, creative choices are the difference between artistic vomiting and craftsmanship.

  You can still write with ease, freedom and flow. You will just be pouring the water of your creativity into a vase instead of all over the floor.

  Instead of resisting structure, make friends with it. Structure is your bestie. It truly is. You’re on the same team. You both want to communicate your story and your message clearly and memorably.

  In addition to Improvisation and Sketch Writing, we teach Marketing for the Actor Classes at IN Studios. You can tell when an actor has not taken the time to learn how to professionally format an acting resume and when she knows the format, but has chosen to deviate for the purpose of highlighting something. One gives the impression that she is a beginner or amateur (which indeed she might be) and the other shows she is a professional with a brand.

  Let me reiterate, even if you don’t know how to “properly” format a resume, put something together and get out there. You can’t move forward unless you moved forward. Almost immediately after taking that first step, if acting professionally is your goal, you’ll discover what a professional resume looks like and you’ll evolve from there. Knowing sketch writing conventions should be approached similarly.

  Why Sketch?

  Sketch writing is an art form in its own right. However, people are drawn to it for different reasons. For some, it’s a means to an end. You want to write for late night TV and you know you need sketches in your portfolio, for
instance…

  “It’s a good means of being critical of the world around you and a positive outlet for your rage. Through sketch you can have your critical point of view but use the sweetness of comedy to make people more willing to engage with you. It’s a positive tool.” - Michael Coyne

  “I love sketch writing because it allows me to communicate with people. We all have something to say, with sketch you can say it in a entertaining way. You can make your point (without beating people over the head with it), while making people laugh. What could be better than that?” - Frank Logan

  Personally, I enjoy the immediacy of it. Unlike a screenplay that can take years to see the light of day, you can create a sketch and put it in front of an audience in a matter of minutes.

  “We think the world needs sketch writing because of the effectiveness of the format. A series of short scenes can often convey as much information as a full play. String together several and an effective sketch writer can use them to incredible effect, telling several stories that entertain and make people think in very little time. We love it for the rapid-fire nature of the beast, which is not at all mitigated by its ability to make an audience think. We love sketches that stay on someone’s mind after they’ve left the theater, that inspire people and make them reflect on their place in the world every bit as much as making them laugh.” - Joe DiNozzi and Darien DeMaria