Lighting Up Stories
Image by Rudy & Peter Skitterians at Pixabay All types of characters are necessary to make a story interesting. The more diverse, the better. Today the light is on the Unfiltered Character. The Unfiltered Character Unfiltered characters are often direct and surprise us by their …
Image by Лера_K from Pixabay What is Burnout? I didn’t know what burnout was until I experienced it in 2017. Before that, I knew what fatigue was. I knew stress, exhaustion and depression but I didn’t know what burnout was. It was so severe that …
Photo by StockSnap @ Pixabay
Two years ago, I wrote a post called ‘Healing with Journaling’. I was a bit naive to claim that we could heal from traumas. What I should have said instead is that writing is a therapy.
So, if writing doesn’t heal traumas, it makes them more apparent. Instead of sliding them under the carpet, we acknowledge our pain, which is the first step to feel better.
Writing is therapeutic.
Our society is contaminated by anxiety.
A lot of people live in fear to be judged, abandoned or rejected. As a result, life can become unbearable.
The source of anxiety is different for everyone:
If not analyzed and expressed, this anxiety will find a way to be released often in an unhealthy way:
Often overlooked, writing is a powerful way to get some emotional release. It’s been proven for reducing stress and physical pain, improves memory and immune system and it also reduces anxiety, which is my point.
By writing down our pain, we honor our authentic self. We can sit down with our sadness or have a conversation with our demons. What if your back pain wants to tell you something? What if we ask our addiction what void it’s trying to fill?
When the emotions come out, our clarity creates room for the change we desperately need.
While fighting cancer for five years, my goddess friend was raising her young children, as well as building a successful business and writing bestselling books. She has my deepest respect.
When she suggested starting a gratitude journal, I was uncomfortable with the idea. She told me that her first times, she was writing things such as: ‘I’m grateful that this day is finally over’. Gradually, she became more open to the beautiful things in her life; it helped her to go through hard times and to fight cancer.
So I tried it myself and I haven’t stopped since.
Gratitude helps to focus on what really matters. It also increases the level of satisfaction with life. It shifts negative moods into positive ones and gets rid of the dark cloud that lingers around our head.
So I invite you to try it too. Write about one thing you feel grateful for today. Try it for a week and see the difference.
Writing is a way to express ourselves and it’s a therapy. It’s not the only one though.
Overcoming our anxieties demands a combination of therapies.
I personally have my own combination, which is my family, my friends, my daily yoga and writing. I’m not past the grief and pain I’m going through but I know that the Universe sends me this combination to continue breathing.
Life itself is pure creativity and we are part of it. Not being creative is against our very nature. Who cares if it doesn’t come out perfectly? The aim is not to suffer while writing as pictured often in the media (the writer who cannot write a line). The writer’s block is nothing less than the fear of being wrong and being judged by others.
Creative writing allows us to connect with our inner self, to fill our potential, to explore our own mystery. Knowing ourselves is a powerful tool which has been discussed since the antiquity as if it was the key that opens many doors…
Take good care of yourself my friend x
If you like this subject, I’d suggest to read ‘Writing as a Way of Healing’ by Louise Desalvo
Photo by Jan Vasek @ Pixabay ‘I have an idea for a film, a book, a play’… ‘Great! When do you start writing your first draft?’ Silence… Usually followed by: ‘Ah, it’s a complex story, I need to do more research’ or ‘Yes when I …
Photo by Jess Bailey @ Pixabay Why would you spend time on a business plan? Probably because it’s the first step to take your artistic career seriously. ‘A goal without a plan is just a wish’ Antoine de St Exupéry If you’re driving, unsure of …
I have never liked January and its New Year resolutions time. I don’t see the point. Each year is what you DAILY make it… for 365 days.
Many times, I saw people making plans and giving them up after a few weeks…
‘Man makes plans… and God laughs’ wrote the Author and Screenwriter Michael Chabon.
Why do we expect so much from ourselves?
Is it to justify our presence on Earth?
I often find answers in Nature.
I love observing Nature around me, trees especially. In shamanism, they are called ‘The Plant people and the Standing People’.
Trees grow tall and strong knowing their purpose. They don’t ask themselves ‘What should I do with my life?’
They just are. They exist and make the world better (by providing oxygen for instance).
Us, the human kind, we have a brain and a heart. With these gifts, we should know what to do. Yet, we probably are the only species on Earth wondering what our purpose is.
Life is chaos.
I know what I’m talking about. Within two years, I lost my home, my beloved country, some close friends, my dignity, and my husband. None of these events were planned or thought. None of these things were part of my ‘plan’. They just happened to me.
Yes, life is chaos and any form of co-creation (coming from the heart) is a way to express or explain this chaos.
When you lose it all, you see everything clearly.
First you see who are ‘your allies’, to quote my dear friend and mentor Lucy V. Hay (Bang2Write). The allies are the ones who pick you up when you fall but also help you to fight back. ‘You can’t do without them’, she says. She is right. As always.
My other Friend and mentor, Kary Oberbrunner, wrote it in his life-changing book Unhackable that there are three types of people:
The Consumer, the critic, the creator.
The consumer consumes, probably to feed their emptiness with stuff.
The critic critics. Spotting the mistakes in others reassures them.
And Creators create. To me, this type is never reassured. They try, they test, and stumble often but they know their purpose. When creators let go of expectations, they become unrestricted and inspiring.
When you hit rock bottom, your needs become simple: food, shelter and love.
If you have those three things in your life, it’s a blessing. Millions of people on Earth do not have that.
When you fall, you realised that friends and family are what count in life.
On your death bed, the number of zeros on your bank account or your job title will do nothing for you. People make the difference.
People you love are the ones who are going to make your life meaningful.
That’s why I have changed the name of my website. It used to be called Inside the Writers Bubble but I felt quite lonely inside my bubble.
My friend and Shaman Catherine Maguire (https://www.inlightenment.it/) said to me,’ your gift is to light other people’s light, you’re a pilot light’. From there, another dear friend – the author Sally Bibb and my brother-in-law – Daniel helped me to put the pieces together.
And that’s how Pilot Light Writing is born.
We can’t do it on our own.
I am not interested in consuming or criticising.
I’m interested in bringing love into everything I do, so I can help other people who love what they do, to shine too.
We can’t get rid of the darkness or the shadow in this world. We can only bring light inside it.
So be shiny my friend. x
This post is dedicated in loving memory of my late husband, who will be missed forever.
Photo montage by Daniel Gardiner Dot 1: Books are Magical Things It’s not you who choose a book, it’s the book that chooses you. Have you ever come across a book that matches exactly how you felt? Or answered a question that you had in …
Photo Montage Daniel Gardiner Born Depressed Virginia Woolf, Anne Rice, Paul Verlaine, Stephen King… for many writers, depression is not an unknown guest and often takes its roots in early childhood. The reasons might differ – emotional or physical abuse, abandonment, neglect… the list can …
You might come across them in stories or in real life.
They wear all sorts of disguises.
So who are the mentors? What is their purpose and why do we need them?
Let’s dive in…
In The Writer’s Journey, Christopher Vogler gives his definition of a mentor in fiction: ‘a mentor is often former heroes who have survived life’s early trials and are now passing on the gift of their knowledge and wisdom.‘
Whatever your field (IT, cooking, hairdressing…), you need to know who the experts are.
As Inside the Writer’s Bubble is dedicated to screenwriters and writers, my masters of craft are Yves Lavandier and Linda Aronson, simply because they both know the craft inside out. They have spent their life studying, working, exploring narrative and screenwriting in an almost scientific way. To me, they have WISDOM, KNOWLEDGE and a modern VISION of the craft. Moreover, I find them incredibly humble and approachable considering the level of knowledge they both have.
Who are your masters of craft? What do you admire from them? What can you learn from them?
Why do you need them?
The masters of craft will not only teach you the universal laws, they’ll also help you to breakthrough any barriers you may have.
In fiction, some examples of masters of craft: Dumbledore in Harry Potter, Gandalf in Lord of the Rings, or Yoda in Star Wars.
The mentor-models are the ones who made it at the level you’d like to reach (or your hero would like to reach).
For me, being a Sarah Treem or a Damon Lindelof would just make my day. My life even.
Of course, there are hundreds of screenwriters out there I admire but the ones who make me incredibly jealous of their writing (in a very reverential way) are Sarah Treem and Damon Lindelof. Each time I read one of their scripts, I die with envy, wishing I could write exactly like that.
Why do we need them?
While perfection is totally unreachable, EXCELLENCE should be the goal. I encourage you to study your models, you will learn a lot about your craft.
Example in fiction: Tony Stark (Ironman) with Peter Parker (Spiderman).
The inspirational mentors are the ones you don’t expect. They come out of nowhere. They show up on your path and nothing will be the same again.
In our interview, Geoffrey D. Calhoun explains that: ‘a mentor is someone who has traveled the path before and can take you to the next level’.
It happened to me in 2016. I left my house in Dorset at 4am in the morning, started driving, thinking to myself, gosh, it’s dark! Soon after I realised I was wearing my sunglasses instead of my driving glasses!!! What I didn’t know then, was this event was going to be my metaphor for the weekend.
I arrived in London. I didn’t know it yet, but I was about to meet the woman who was going to change my career. Graceful, mysterious, and fascinating, in one weekend, the screenwriting goddess removed the sunglasses I was wearing all my life. Suddenly, I could see clearly.
This is what inspirational mentors do; they bring CLARITY. She blew my mind with her knowledge, her strength, her character and her public speaking skills. She was the inspiring mentor I desperately needed and I didn’t even know it. (I couldn’t believe it when I found out we were sharing the same master of craft: Yves Lavandier!).
Why do we need them?
They will bring clarity on your next step. They will help you to get to the next level. They will warn you of the pitfalls. They will introduce you to a community that will bring you more friendships, collaborations, support and inspiration.
Example in fiction: The Godmother in Cinderella.
The peer mentors can be your work colleagues, family members or friends. They guide you on a professional level but also on a spiritual path too. There is no ego involved. They want you to succeed.
Why do we need them?
They keep you safe. They watch over you. They catch you when you fall or defend you when you are being unfairly attacked. Lucy V. Hay calls them ‘the allies’.
Cherish these people. Always.
Mentors like this in fiction: Hermione Granger in Harry Potter or Sam in Lord of the Rings.
One of my mentors always says it: When the student is ready, the teacher appears…
After meeting my inspirational mentor, I realized I still had a lot to learn about my craft. Humility hit me. I was ready to be a student again and other teachers appeared.
I cannot hide the fact that one of my biggest influences these past years is my co-writer. He calls mentors ‘truth tellers’ because they often are authentic. They can see through you, they know what you are capable of and will push your limits. My co-writer is mine.
He taught me to ‘take imperfect actions‘, ‘to scare myself every day’ or ‘to ignore the haters because they make you lose your focus‘, his support is priceless.
Why do we need them?
These mentors will give you INSPIRATION, ACCOUNTABILITY and ENCOURAGEMENT to keep you going. They won’t tell you what to do though, they will only suggest possible paths.
Mentors like this in fiction: Genie of the lamp in Aladdin.
The mentor challenger is not there to massage your ego. He/she is here TO SHAKE YOU UP but in the most positive way.
I call them the Ace cards.
One of my mentor-challengers is ruthless with me but I am not playing any game without him.
He tears my writing apart, gets me at every single wrong turn and sends me back to my script when it doesn’t hit the mark. However, he does it with kindness and with the desire to make me to be a writer better. And frankly, I wished I had known him earlier.
In fiction, Linda Aronson calls them the ‘Mentor antagonists’. Their function is not to please the hero; but to make her/him react. Often a mentor Antagonist will be mysterious or sinister, he/she will make a nasty comment and it will fuel your hero to prove them wrong.
Walt Disney once said: ‘You may not realize it when it happens but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you’.
Why do we need them?
They will point out what you keep doing wrong, place you in the right direction and give you the push you need to go further in the game.
Examples in Fiction: Brad Pitt in Fight Club or Paris Geller in Gilmore Girls.
Came the day where I had to stand in front of my own students. I remember having the urge to give them everything I knew and to warn them about all the traps they needed to avoid.
Once, we talked about this young American man called George. He wrote a story about evil and good and a force within each of us. The filming was chaotic, the budget kept shrinking.
When the filming was done, some people even laughed at him when he showed them the first footage. George was feeling very low. When the film was finished, the distributor released it on the day where no one went to the cinemas.
The world was against him… yet he felt the force, telling him to TRUST.
Against the odds, millions of people rushed to watch George’s movie.
Forty three years later, the film is a cultural phenomenon. George was right.
Trust yourself. You have the answers to your questions. Mentors are here to enlighten the possible paths for you, but you are the one who decides. Of course, you’ll make mistakes along the way, as well as I’ll make mistakes and your mentors will make mistakes but it’s the only way to grow, to learn and to become better at what we do.
Example in fiction: Luke Skywalker once hero… then mentor, just like you.
Good luck my friends!
To my mentors: Lucy V. Hay (writer and goddess), Kary Oberbrunner (my amazing and inspiring co-writer), Sally Bibb (friend and Ace card), Phil Clarke (Ace card), Sara McDermott Jain (Ace card), Elinor Perry-Smith (Ace card), my soul sister Joy, my brother-in-law Dan (who catches me when I fall), my accountability partner Anne, my great students, my lovely children, Yves Lavandier (master of craft), Linda Aronson (master of craft), Sarah Treem (model), Damon Lindelof (model), and of course Yoda (favorite character).
Thank you all for inspiring me and guiding me on my journey.
Phil Clarke (aka Philmscribe) is a UK-based script consultant and screenwriter with over twenty years service to cinema. After years working at the coal face of film on such features as Sleepy Hollow, Enigma, The Beach and two of the biggest box office franchises: Star Wars …