Tag: acting

Categories
Becoming an Author

Acting Techniques to Deepen Your Writing – Part 1: Characterization

Over the years, I’ve studied the craft of both writing and acting, and I’ve been amazed at how the two art forms can feed off of each other.

This year—thanks to extra time provided by quarantine—I’ve taken my study of acting a step further by enrolling in virtual classes. And you know what’s crazy? I’ve noticed an increased depth in my writing as well. These acting techniques have helped me to, 1) Bring readers deeper into my character’s POV, 2) “Humanize” my characters, and 3) Portray authentic emotion.

And now I would like to share these tips with you!

For this series, I’ve compiled a list of tips so that you, too, can deepen your writing.

These tips are succinct; however, if you’re serious about deepening your characterization then I would advise doing your own research. Trust me: These techniques will add a layer of authenticity to your writing! (See the end of this post for recommended reads.)

Acting Tips On Characterization…

1. Develop the inner life of your main character: backstory, worldview, ambitions, needs, fears, etc. This will shape who they are today. Thus, their behavior, mannerisms, speech—external life—will be influenced by this inner life.

2. Understand how your main character’s relationships with various people exposes different sides of them.

3. Find the small connection you have with your POV character and portray that with all your might. You might not be a competitive person by nature, but perhaps you can recall a time when you were competitive. Then, if your POV character is a competitive person, bring that connection out as much as possible. Uta Hagen suggests that actors “Play within the territory of you.”

4. A character’s dialogue, emotion, and behavior are triggered by a specific stimulus. Find this stimulus, and then create the authentic reaction for your character at that time. This will keep readers from claiming that they didn’t understand why the character behaved in certain manners, because it will make sense within the context of the scene.

5. Layer your character by assigning mannerisms and styles of speech that reflect who they are. How do they dress? Stand? Walk? Enter a room? How does this reflect who they are?

6. How does your character’s bedroom, “prop pieces,” and wardrobe say about them? Do they have memories attached to specific objects? How is this reflected in the way they interact with the environment/props?

7. Our character’s decisions should be justified. Even if the choices seem ridiculous on the surface, readers should understand why the character reacted/behaved in that manner. The choice should make sense for the character at the time.

8. Bring humanity into stereotypical roles. Yes, stereotypes exist in real life so it’s okay for them to exist in our writing as well. But stereotypes are only a label. As writers, let’s go deeper by rounding out the character, giving them desires, fears, needs, etc.

9. Physical choices can highlight various aspects of our characters. In Natalie Portman’s Master Class on acting, she uses an example of a scene in The Deer Hunter. As Meryl Streep’s character walked down the street in this scene, she took a moment to stop at a shop and fix her hair in the reflection. Use any opportunity you can to show who your character is rather than to simply tell.

10. Your character existed before the story began, so bring your fully developed character into the circumstances of your scene. The character development you do ahead of time will enable them to come across as human rather than a caricature. You will know your character so well that their responses, emotions, and choices will come more naturally and quickly to you since they have already been formed in your imagination.

In the following posts I will share further acting tips that will help you convey emotion, break down scenes, etc. In the meantime, if you would like to do your own study of acting, here are books I would recommend:

Any other characterization techniques we can learn from actors? Let me know in the comments!

Tessa Emily Hall is an award-winning author who writes inspirational yet authentic books for teens to remind them they’re not alone. She writes both fiction and devotionals for teens, including her upcoming release, LOVE YOUR SELFIE (October 2020, Ellie Claire). Her latest devotional, COFFEE SHOP DEVOS, encourages teens to pursue a personal relationship with Christ. Tessa’s passion for shedding light on clean entertainment and media for teens led her to a career as a Literary Agent at Cyle Young Literary Elite, YA Acquisitions Editor for Illuminate YA (LPC Imprint), and Founder/Editor of PursueMagazine.net. She’s guilty of making way too many lattes and never finishing her to-read list. When her fingers aren’t flying 128 WPM across the keyboard, she can be found speaking to teens, decorating art journals, and acting in Christian films. Her favorite way to procrastinate is through connecting with readers on her blog, mailing list, social media (@tessaemilyhall), and website: tessaemilyhall.com.

Categories
The Picky Pen

Editing Like a Director

Hello! How’s your editing been going for you? I hope you’re seeing great improvement, but if you’re at a loss for how to edit or even what it consists of, take heart.

Editing is as much an art form as writing, so the more you practice, the better your results will be. Last month, we looked at three way to think like an editor. This month, we’ll switch gears and look at how to edit like a director. Rather, we’ll transform our story into the stage and our characters into actors. You enjoy a well-done performance, don’t you? Consider what makes up a stunning stage performance . . . and we’ll incorporate a few tips for how to edit like a director.

Three tips for how to edit like a director

  1. Captivating dialogue

I understand. Dialogue is hard to craft because as in life, there’s emotion, nuance, and subtext in our characters’ dialogue. When crafting my own dialogue between my characters, I must reflect on the general goal I want my hero and/or heroine to accomplish. And whatever that goal is the dialogue should mirror that goal. For instance, if my amateur detective heroine wants to get admission into the exhibit so she can scoop up clues from last night’s painting theft, but no one will let her in because that section of the museum has been closed off, she’s got to convince the ticket master that it’s important to let her in. What might that dialogue consist of?

Amateur detective: “Sir, I’m with the police. I’d like to be let inside the exhibit hall, so I may conduct my search.”

Ticket master: “I’m very sorry. Only the private investigators are allowed in there.”

Amateur detective: “But I am a private investigator.”

Ticket master: “Hardly, miss. Where are your credentials?”

  1. Strong character actions

Outside of dialogue, strong character actions is the most important element on the stage because it connects the audience with the actors and endears them to the entire story. Likewise, giving your story characters specific movements throughout each story scene will entice our readers to want to engage with the story. Let’s take the dialogue we crafted between the amateur detective and the ticket master and incorporate some strong character actions.

Lily Nash stepped inside the museum’s expansive lobby, searching for the ticket counter. Ah, there, near a huge marble column. “Sir, I’d like to be let inside the exhibit hall, so I may conduct a search from last night’s robbery.”

“I’m very sorry, but that’s closed to the public. Only private investigators are allowed in there.” The ticket master stamped a few papers and filed them.

Gripping her handbag, she said, “But I am a private investigator.”

The ticket master cast a scorning glance down at her over his thin metal spectacles. “Hardly, miss. Where are your credentials?”

Did you notice yourself envision the scene, what the characters might look like, and how their voices might sound, based from this scene? Does it seem like Lily isn’t as prepared as she should be, and the ticket master is a stern fellow? Do you hear the desperation in Lily’s voice and the disbelief in the ticket master’s? Can you see the lobby’s high ceiling and the large, stone columns? We have not included anything but character actions and dialogue, and perhaps you are connected with the scene already.

  1. Strong transitions between scenes

Incorporating strong transitions between your story’s scenes will help your readers connect the dots and stay on track with the story as it ebbs and flows, leading to the climax and the ending. Now, we’ll take the last scene, with dialogue and character action, and create transition scenes before and after.

Looking up at the front of the art museum, Lily Nash clutched her stomach. Her first assignment alone.

She stepped inside the museum’s expansive lobby, searching for the ticket counter. Ah, there, near a huge marble column. “Sir, I’d like to be let inside the exhibit hall, so I may conduct a search from last night’s robbery.”

“I’m very sorry, but that’s closed to the public. Only private investigators are allowed in there.” The ticket master stamped a few papers and filed them.

Gripping her handbag, she said, “But I am a private investigator.”

The ticket master cast a scorning glance down at her over his thin metal spectacles. “Hardly, miss. Where are your credentials?”

“I have them, sir.” Lily dug through her handbag. Fear gripped her throat. She’d had it at the station. Without another word to the ticket master, she turned and fled the building.

Transitions don’t have to extend to several sentences or even paragraphs. Just mention enough to get your characters from one place to the next so it will be clear to your readers how your characters are moving throughout the story as it progresses, hopefully, from good to bad to worse to a climactic ending with a satisfying end.

Just as each theatrical production has its own style, theme, and tone, your story has its own style, scene exchanges, dialogue, and tone so that the message truly reaches the reader’s heart. The bottom line is to make sure your writing shows an entire story being acted out as if it were a theatrical production. Now, take a small scene from your current WIP and see how you can transform it into a scene that fully engages readers in dialogue, character actions, and transitions.

Please join in the discussion! I’d love to hear from you!

Take a few minutes and ruminate. How do you edit like an actor?

Tisha Martin writes historical fiction and nonfiction but also edits and proofreads for beginning and best-selling writers, professional editing agencies, and publishing houses. She has a BA in Professional Writing, an MS in English Education, and an editing certificate from the PEN Institute, affordable continuing education for editors. Active in American Christian Fiction Writers and The PEN, she appreciates the writing and editing communities. As Assistant Director of PENCON, a conference for editors, she enjoys travel marketing and updating PENCON’s Facebook Page. Connect with Tisha on her website www.tishamartin.com and engage in the conversation.