Playing with Words
Our subconscious knows what we need to create. We need to get out of the way and give it an outlet to do that.
There is a fabulous scene in D.A. Pennebaker’s documentary film on Bob Dylan called Don’t Look Back. A young Dylan is standing in front of a storefront in 1967 UK, reading out loud the many signs of services the business offers. The content, as is, is amusing. Most artists would stop there. A photographer would take a picture. But Dylan, being Dylan, goes further. He plays with the words. He takes one phrase from one sign, another from another sign, and mixes them up so they are even more humorous. Then, he goes further, mixing the words. He keeps going and going as the phrases become even more surreal, nonsensical, and profound. He laughs, obviously having fun. He is playing.
The lesson, for me, is that playing with the words never gets old. It’s fun and it’s a way to find the truths you’ve been seeking. Masters of the arts know to play with the elements. Our subconscious already knows what we need to create. We need to get out of the way and give it an outlet to do that.
I’ve been playing with the premise of my current novel work in progress. I’m years into the writing of the novel. It’s gone through many drafts. I’m at a point in the process that I savor. I now know my characters and their setting well enough that I can take them to an even better story. The only question is where do we really want to go.
A premise can help discover and define that. A premise is only a few sentences, describing the book. It’s much easier to play and change a few sentences versus whole drafts of novels. This is like a sketch instead of a painting, or a model instead of a bigger structure for more visual artists.
I challenged myself to write 20 premises for these characters and settings just to see how much fun I could have with it. The first three attempts were like birds circling closer and closer to the heart of this current draft. After the third, after having defined what I have been writing, the premises are now getting more outlandish, and yet somehow, they reveal more, too. I’m learning about what I’ve written and where I can take the story if I choose. Plus, I’m having fun.
Are you playing with your Art this week? Can you find enough joy that it makes you laugh? Can you be silly with it, not take it too seriously? It might respond with a truth you’ve been holding back.
Step out of the way and have fun. And please, let me know if you do.
This Is Not About is written by Ada Austen, the author of Better Late Than Never, a multicultural second-chance romance set on the beaches and boardwalks of the New Jersey Shore. It is the New Jersey Romance Writers 2021 Golden Leaf Winner - Best Book by NJ Author.
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