What Watching "The Walking Dead" Has Taught Me About Writing

Super Bowl weekend, while the guys were out in the country and my granddaughter was on the road back to college, I did something I never expected to do. I decided not to watch the Super Bowl -- too much senseless violence (the joke was on me - keep reading).

While flipping through channels, I stumbled onto "The Walking Dead" marathon. I’m not a fan of guts and gore, so I was surprised at how much I liked the program. TWD has lots of gore and graphic violence, but I usually look away at those parts.

As soon as the guys returned, they started watching too. Much to my surprise, my husband, who prefers listening to political programs, became hooked. Monday morning, he suggested we turn on Netflix and watch previous episodes. While binge/watching episodes of TWD last week, I puzzled over why the show is so good. My answer is -- the writing. The actors do a great job, but without the well written scripts or direction there would be no story for the actors to portray.

 

Here's why I think TWD works so well:

• The writers are masters at suspending disbelief. (A zombie apocalypse, really?)
• The writers are masters at suspense/cliffhangers.
• Each episode starts with action, draws me in, and keeps my attention.
• The characters are well drawn and realistic, ditto for the dialogue.
• The writers make me care about the characters. (Although I get angry when a character I like gets killed.)
• Most of the characters don’t have fancy names. (How refreshing!)
• They are everyday people thrown into an extraordinary event.
• The heroes have flaws.
• The villains (most of them) have some redeeming qualities.
• Every episode has a surprise.
• The program makes me feel more than think.
• The story gets to the heart of the human condition. (What does it mean to be human?)
• The writers skillfully weave in the themes of courage, sacrifice, survival, resourcefulness, family, and loyalty.

While I'm a recent TWD fan, that's my take on why the program works. Any other fans out there? If so, what are your thoughts?

Notes from the Erma Bombeck Workshop - Plot, Character, and Self-Hypnosis

 Anyone who knows me knows what a note taker I am. Maybe it's because my first full-time job out of high school was as a clerk-stenographer for the Army then later as a secretary-steno for the Air Force, where I was a transcribing fool. Or maybe it's because I retain more when I write it down.

Any rate I have pages of notes from last month's EB Workshop, and going over them is like reliving my experience.

The first session I attended on Friday was Katrina Kittle's "Which Comes First: Plot or Character?"

Here's some of what I jotted down:

Get to know your character by asking relevant questions (not ones like what's her favorite color)

The point is to get to the character's motivation (her yearning, need, what is she fighting for?)

Understand character's motivation by asking questions:

Name of character?

What does she want?

If she doesn't get what she wants what will happen?

Make it matter more

Make it matter more

Create conflict to prevent her from getting what she wants

Example of Story versus not a Story:

The cat sat on the mat (not a story)

The cat sat on the other cat's mat (Story because of conflict)

Avoid predictability.

Life is never either/or; it's and, and, and, and, and/but, and/ or . . .

Avoid relentless pace. Give the reader time to breathe.

Make the ending inevitible, but take the reader by surprise

Show motivation right away, but don't state it. Make it clear by actions.

Don't overexplain.

Start with Change

Don't include a lot of back story up front.

Ask yourself: Does the reader need to know this? Does the reader need to know this right now?

Knowing your character means knowing your structure; therefore, Plot is Character.

Kittle recommended the book The Heroe's Journey to learn more about structure.

The next session I attended was "Hypnotic Recall fills the Creative Well" with Suzette Martinez Standring (on left).

Martinez Standring is the award-winning author of The Art of Column Writing and the TV host of "It's All Write with Suzette." She also is a formerly certified hypnotherapist who applies guided imagery techniques to writing.

At the beginning of the session she explained that because the conscious mind gets in the way of our creativity, by delving into the subsconcious, writers can be more honest, brave, and authentic in their writing.  Then she took us through a self-hypnosis exercise to tap into our creativity and emerge with vivid, five sensory details to use in our writing.

Some ways she suggested to unleash (no pun intended) creativity are taking the dog on a walk, meditating, daydreaming, listening to music.

Here are some notes I jotted down:

Don't own any negativity that surfaces

Gain from your memories

We remember what we know best

Mine your subconscious

The subconscious won't take you to a place if it's too painful

Surrender and let go; be open and be present in the moment

When an image or thought comes to the surface, ask, Why are you telling me this?

Writing has a healing ability.

Humor has a powerful healing ability (Tragedy over time can lead to humor)

Savor "Holy Ghost" moments when inspiration hits

Suzette's workshop was a powerful experience. While I don't know if I was hypnotized, I felt extremely relaxed. At one point I felt my head droop, but I became alert when someone behind started to cry and the back door in the room opened and closed a few times.

By the end of the session, my sister Kathleen discovered her shoes had fallen off, but she didn't feel them fall. The relexation exercise did work because afterwards I wrote down some vivid images that came to mind.

Question: Have you ever been hypnotized? If so, how was the experience for you?

P.S. In future posts I'll share more of my workshop notes and experiences. Because, note taker that I am, I need to type out my notes somewhere, so it might as well be on my blog.