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Face Your Fears And Create Amazing Characters

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A story without conflict is a good sedative.

No one wants to read a book or watch a film where nothing is happening in the life of the characters.

But when it comes to conflict or obstacles, writers often get confused.

Many times, I’ve come across scripts where the tension is weak or just expressed verbally like an argument between two characters, but depth is missing.

In The Anatomy Of Story, John Truby wrote: ‘A simplistic opposition between two characters kills any chance at depth, complexity, or the reality of human life in your story. For that, you need a web of oppositions.’

Some writers can be great at creating an external (or outer) conflict, like a car chase or a disaster, but forget to provoke any change inside their characters (inner conflict).

And as Lisa Cron says  in the video below: ‘Stories are about internal changes. It’s about how we overcome misbeliefs. Stories are about the raging mess that we live on the inside. That’s what we want in a story’. Watch the Lisa Cron’ speech here.

And I agree.

When we watch a story, we want to know how others handle their ‘mess’ hoping that in this process we learn something.

As a script judge I can tell you that the winning scripts are always the ones that have both inner and outer conflict in their characters regardless of their plot, structure or concept. And by the way, your character doesn’t need to be lovable.

So where to start? How to add inner and outer conflict to your character?

You give them fears.

Dr Cha-Zay Sandhriel Ph.D., C.H. wrote a book called The 4 Gateways. In this book, she explains that she met a Mayan gatekeeper who said to her that to succeed in life, everyone must go through the 4 gateways in the following order:

1/ The Gate of Fear

2/ The Gate of Clarity

3/ The Gate of Power

4/ The Gate of Wisdom

According to the Mayan Gatekeeper, no one can achieve anything unless they confront their fears.

The gate of fear is easy to recognize: it’s everything that you’ve tried to avoid at all costs. Almost everyone tries to escape that one.

It takes courage to face your demons and most of the time it is not a nice experience.

In her book, Dr Cha-zay quotes Helen Keller who confirms this ancient wisdom: ‘Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved’.

Think about your life.

When was the last time you felt proud of yourself?

I bet you it was a time when you got out of your comfort zone, a time where you scared yourself.

It is exactly what an audience want to see in a character.

We want to see how others overcome their fears because we want to learn from it. And if we watch a film or read a book where the character does that, we feel inspired.

After the gate of fear, comes the gate of clarity.

Clarity is when we finally know what we need to do in order to succeed. When we have a plan.

I would like to quote John Truby again: ‘Action is not possible without some plan, in life and in storytelling. The plan is the set of guidelines, or strategies, the hero will use to overcome the opponent and reach the goal’.

Let’s take the example of Star Wars (1977).
 
To become a Jedi, Luke goes on training with Yoda.
 
Luke looks at the forest and says: ‘I feel cold. What’s in there?’
Yoda: Only what you take with you.
 
Luke goes through gate number one and confronts one of his biggest fears / his dark side: his father (aka Fear of Authority).
 
After his training with Yoda, Luke comes up with a plan to defeat the Death Star (the gate of clarity).
 
Which brings him to the next gate: The gate of (inner) power where he becomes a true Jedi.
 
He can then hope of going through the gate of Wisdom like Yoda.
 
Funny enough, George Lucas wrote another character who has similar fears. Any ideas?
 
Yes. Indiana Jones.
 
Indiana Jones also has the fear of the Dark Side (Nazis : authority).
The genius of George Lucas is to give us a believable compelling character by showing us many layers of the same fear one character may have. Indiana Jones has a problem with authority with the Nazis but also with his dad.
(Lucas also added a fear of snakes which makes us go ‘oh no snakes!!!’ each time we spot one).
 
Do you see now how simpler it is to talk about fears rather than conflict and obstacles?
 
And do you see how we are easily hooked on our character’s fears?
 
Now the reverse is also true. Imagine you have an anti-hero.
 
First thing your anti-hero will do is to avoid his fears (don’t we all?).
 
As a consequence, things get worse – of course your character doesn’t know it’s the reason why. He loses ‘the plot’ and accumulates problems.
 
Let’s take Mr Robot as an example.
 
Mr Robot (or shall I say his son Elliot), refuses to acknowledge the ghost of his father (authority) and tries to avoid him by any means necessary.
Elliot goes deeper into drug addiction and of course, things get messy.
(By the way, you can see that Freud was so wrong blaming it all on mothers!).
 
As a consequence, Elliot loses clarity. He accumulates mistakes and we expect a negative outcome at every corner.
 
These four gates work both ways.
 
One is for a positive outcome (comedies, adventure, fantasy), the other for darker stories but they both work.
 
And guess what, from there, you’ll get the skeleton of your structure.
 
And if your next question is which fear to inject into your character, think about some of your own.
 
Every one of us has at least 20 fears. So dig inside and find out what they are. (it will take you a few days or weeks even).
 
Another thing, as we have so many fears, why not share some with your antagonist too?
 
It will only make them more real and appealing.
 
Your characters are pure fiction but they are part of you, they suffer and succeed like you.
 
Good luck !
 

Dealing With Rejection

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So here is the situation:

You have sent your polished CV with a nice cover letter to a company that you’d love to work for OR you have sent your manuscript / spec screenplay to people you’d love to work with. You wait patiently and here it comes: the big fat NO.

Although it’s fair to say that everybody experiences it, it doesn’t make us feel any better. It hurts.

Rejection triggers old feelings of low self esteem, chronic self doubt and unworthiness.

It’s even harder when rejection becomes a repetitive habit. It can easily lead to depression.

There are 3 types of rejection:

1.The Silent Rejection: Silent But Deadly

That’s the most hurtful one.

No one takes the time to write a line to say that you are not the appropriate candidate or that your manuscript doesn’t fit their criteria.

They are so busy or overwhelmed by the number of applications that they have other priorities than letting you know. Hum…

Although it’s not right, it’s understandable. Nowadays it is very common to see one person doing the job for 2 or even 3 people. Those employees are crushed under tons of pressure at work.

My advice: Don’t take it personally. If you haven’t heard anything from them, give them a gentle nudge with a short email or phone call.

If you are still unsuccessful, move on and try somewhere else. Do not stop.

2.The Humble Rejection: When Timing Is Not Right

This one is not as harsh.

They send you an email saying that unfortunately they can’t employ you at the moment or they can’t take anymore projects this year. Well, in life, my friend, everything is about TIMING.

Years ago, I was desperate to work for a big company that was offering at the time stability and good salary. It was the best company to work for in the city I was living. It took me 5 attempts (5!!!!) until I succeeded. Why? Because the fifth time, the timing was right. So sometimes it’s worth to say don’t give up, patience is a virtue.

3.The Useful Rejection: The One With Feedback

This one is my favorite: the ‘blessing in disguise’ rejection.

Years ago, I wrote a novel I was so proud of. It took me ages to write it and meant so much to me. I sent it to a well known publisher. A month later, I received a letter saying that they would not consider my novel at this stage but amazingly they actually made the effort to tell me why. And that is PRICELESS because it gives you the chance to get better at your craft.

When I first read the letter, I wanted to cry. I slept on it and the following day, I sent them  the nicest thank you card I could find (yes by post!).

Moreover they finished the letter by saying: ‘once you have finished rewriting your novel, we are looking forward to hearing from you again’. You wouldn’t believe the boost that those words gave me.

So sometimes rejection is a door that closes and opens another one.

And at other times, the door doesn’t shut completely, it stays slightly open.

 
 

So what to do when facing rejection and how to keep going?

Let’s remind ourselves that J.K Rowling has been rejected many times with her Harry Potter book. Her agent told her that she shouldn’t expect to make money out of her writing.

Another famous one is Sylvester Stallone. I can hear you laughing from here but the guy sold more than 30 screenplays and made millions out of them, so he has all my respect. He also wakes up every day at 3am to write (that is sheer determination at work!). In an interview he said something that has always stayed with me: ‘You must fail 100 times to succeed once. That’s part of it. No one succeeds the first time. You only learn when you fail, you don’t learn when you succeed’.

Did you know that Henry Ford failed and went broke 5 times before he succeeded? Louis Pasteur was considered by some of his teachers as a mediocre pupil. Albert Einstein was refused admittance to the Zurich Polytechnic School. In 1933, Fred Astaire was judged by the patron of the MGM in those terms: Can’t act, can’t sing, slightly bold , can dance a little.

To finish I would like to share with you an amazing Ted Talk with Jia Jiang (What I learned from 100 Days Of Rejection), it has totally changed my perception on rejection.

Yes, rejection can be challenging but it can also be positive. Rejection is an awakening gift in disguise. It makes us question ourselves and allow us to grow.

So don’t take rejection personally. Martin Luther King once said : We must accept finite disappointment but never lose infinite hope.

Do you want more inspiration, watch this:

Sylvester Stallone’s Top Ten Rules For Success

7 Ways To Boost Your Writing Session

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OK. You have a few minutes ahead to write something. Great!
Except that you don’t know where to start and you are staring at a blank screen.
Not good.

So today, I have put together some tricks that could give you the little push that you need to get that writing done.

1- Write In Front Of Your Audience

Robert Cialdini, who wrote the excellent Pre-Suasion, A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade, explains that his best writing is often produced when he sits behind a window watching people passing by, rather than at his quiet desk.
 
Bernard Werber (French novelist), who writes a bestseller a year, always starts his day writing at his favorite café in Paris. Not only does it keep him away from procrastination but it also inspires him to write for the audience that he has in front of him.
 

Watching people passing by (i.e. your target audience) is far better than writing on your own. It also increases the chances of your book, screenplay or play being bankable. 

2 - Match Your Writing With Music

In Pre-Suasion, Cialdini also explains a marketing experiment: When supermarkets play French music, French wine sales increase. Strange? Not so much once you know that everything around us influences our subconscious.
 
Knowing that fact, why not use it to your advantage? Are you writing a drama? Have you tried writing while listening to Max Richter?
 
If Fantasy is more your thing, have you tried listening to mystical forest music?
 
Find the music that works for you and you’ll definitely notice a change in your writing.
 
Music increases the level of dopamine in our bodies and also taps into the deepest emotions held in our subconscious. And as writers, that’s exactly what we need: feel and create deep emotions.
 

3 - The Zeigarnik Effect

Another tip that I have learned from Cialdini (and this one is priceless), is The Zeigarnik effect:
Never finish a writing session at the end of a paragraph. Why?
 
Because the brain doesn’t like unfinished tasks.
Finish the paragraph half way through, it will nag you until you get to the end.
So don’t allow yourself to finish it until your next writing session, it’s the best way to get back on it the following day.
 

4 - Don't Wait For The Inspiration To Come

 
I got this tip from one of my favorite anti-self-help book: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson.
 
When the task is huge, we don’t even know where to start. And often, because of that, we don’t start at all (and beat ourselves up for it).
 
Mark Manson offers the best formula against it:
 

Action → Inspiration → Motivation

If you have no inspiration, don’t sit and think about it, start writing. Start typing. Do some research, work on it.
 
Even if you don’t know what you are doing. The simple fact of working on it will generate the right ideas to show up in your head.
 
So forget inspiration, start without it. Trust me, that’s when it shows up!
 

5 - The Power of Mini Goals

The brain is not good with long term goals. The further it is set in the future, the more likely you’ll become demotivated. I am not suggesting you shouldn’t have long term aspirations, I am simply saying pave your long term plan with small, easy and achievable goals in between.
 
After the achievement of your mini-goal, celebrate and reward yourself. Even if the world around you doesn’t find it impressive. Who cares? The most important thing is what you think.
 

6 - Do Something Else

It’s very often when we decide to give up temporarily that great ideas come to us. Doing the washing up, playing guitar or walking the dog are great for writer’s block. Reading about different topics from your story is also a great way to feed the project that you are working on. Although it may seem unrelated, your brain will make a way to establish a connection with your writing and unlock a new set of ideas.
 
So read this book on the origins of Jujitsu or binge watch The Leftovers, Peaky Blinders or The Affair. Even though you think you are not working, don’t worry because your brain is!
 

7 - Don't Put Yourself Down And Don't Aim for Perfection

It’s always when we are ready to write that comes this nasty little voice inside our head telling us that what we are writing is irrelevant, useless or pointless. Don’t listen to it. Don’t. Because if you do, you’ll get nothing done. Overcome it by telling yourself that surely, somewhere on the planet someone will like it and keep writing.
 
Good luck!