about insipid minutia, I am proud to announce that I, Jill Dearman,
have become part of the problem! Archive this post, under "If You
Can't Beat 'Em, Join "em." So let the games begin! (Speaking of which,
I am also part of the brand new Creativity Central Super Blog, care of
colleague: http://ericmaisel.blogspot.com/ My blog is called The Game
of Writing). Now that, I've landed on the former side of the question
"to blog or not to blog", it seems that I can't stop! Ariana
Huffington, watch out! (And by the way, I greatly admire your
fabulosity, darling).
So, my dears, a few words about the title of this blog, a few letters
really. The "BANG" in Bang the Keys! is an anagram for a four step
writing process I have used with great success, as a writing coach,
and as a published writer myself. Here's the story, clean not whore-y:
I once attended a Torah lecture in which the creative process
(according to ancient Jewish mystics) was likened to the process God
used to create the universe. I have adapted what was first
communicated to me in an esoteric way, into an accessible method,
using four easy to remember steps that form the anagram, BANG!
The progression of steps in the creation of the universe, the rabbi
said, was very much like steps in the creative process. Each step was
aligned with a letter in the Hebrew alphabet. Each letter, he
explained, contains deep primordial meaning: Yud, Hei, Vav, Hei.
Yud, the spark that began the universe is now the "B" for "Begin", for
the only way to begin is simply to begin; Hei, the form the world
takes, is now "A" for the arrangement of your ideas into a concrete
shape (whether novel or nonfiction book, screenplay or sitcom script);
Vav, which means "connection" is now "N" for the nurturance needed to
nourish the creation, because if you don't love your work who will?;
and the final Hei is now "G" for go, the final letting go that will
allow the work to live on in the real world.
Step 1: BEGIN with your strongest idea.
Step 2: ARRANGE your work into a concrete shape.
Step 3: NURTURE your project with love so that others can love it too.
Step 4: GO! Finish and let it go so it may live independently in the world.
Since this is the first Bang the Keys! blog, let us begin with a few
exercises that revolve around beginnings:
Exercise #1: Setting the tone and finding the voice or your piece is
often the hardest part. Write one (substantial) paragraph in which you
answer this question: What is the mood or feeling you want to induce
in your reader/audience? Find ONE word that captures your answer and
then riff off that word. Think of the mood you induce when you walk
into a room. Be just as aware of the mood you are setting for your
piece, in this single paragraph. (And no, you can't just cue the
music!)
Exercise #2: Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace may have sucked
(Jar Jar Binks, we hardly knew ye) but Batman Begins rocked (and I
can't wait to see The Dark Knight!) but there is something enticing
about a prequel, isn't there? Write one page, not of backstory, but of
stand-alone story that could serve as the scene that comes BEFORE the
opening to your piece.
Let me know how it goes and please, come again!
--JD
