Author Archives: Britta Katz (formerly Reque-Dragicevic)
When You Can’t See Clearly
What do you do when you don’t know what comes next? When you can’t see the way ahead?
When you are between where you are now and where you want to be?
David Bayles wrote in Art & Fear that “Fear comes in when vision outruns execution.” When you can’t see the way clearly. Fear that you won’t get to where you want to be. Fear that you don’t know how. Fear that you aren’t enough, that you don’t have what it takes.
When you have a great dream, a deep desire, a wish that resonates across your spirit – when you know how you want your life or art to be, but you are completely blind as to how to get from here to there – what do you do?
You trust. You breathe. You remember that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
You open up to being vulnerable, to accepting that you are in a place right now where you can’t see.
I call it being blind. And I learned early on that blindness is a part of the natural rhythms of life. When you can’t see ahead, you have to trust. You have to surrender to not knowing.
That’s not easy to do, but it’s necessary. We think that we must be in control, that action is always the answer, that it’s wrong to “not know.”
It’s not wrong. It’s necessary.
Because to get to where you want to be, you have to trust that the path does lie ahead of you; you have to put one foot in front of the other and keep walking. Sometimes, you have to stop and rest.
And sometimes (maybe often actually) the Universe needs you to wait patiently, unseeing, while it arranges the circumstances and timing that will take you forward.
Patience and faith. Faith that you are okay when you are blind. That vision will return. That you will see the path clearly again.
You will know what comes next.
Be There
Be there. Go there now and never leave. Imagine that your dreams have already come true. Live your life from that mindset. Predicate your behavior on that reality, not the illusions that now surround you. Filter every thought, question, and answer from there. Let your focus shift and be born again – because dwelling from, not upon, the space you want to inherit is the fastest way to change absolutely everything.
– Mike Dooley http://www.tut.com
How would your life be different if the biggest dream you have right now, already came true?
Put yourself out into the future. Be there. Feel it. Feels good, right?
How will you be different when you are standing on the other side of your dream, looking back?
We grow into our dreams by living them, feeling them, imagining them as if they already happened. Not by striving or hoping or wishing.
Your ability to imagine is the most powerful force you have.
Isn’t it amazing?
Protect Your Work’s Message, Not the Words
Theme, or message, is the DNA of your creative work. It’s not something you consciously add or layer on top of it. It’s where the Story touches the human soul. Message comes from within the work, it emerges organically and exists before the work comes into being. It’s there, though sometimes it takes a bit of gentle digging and patience to uncover it.
As the Writer, you’re the first Trustee of the Story. It’s your job to shape, craft and decide how the Story can be expressed in the most powerful, effective way. If it’s a novel, these decisions are entirely up to you. For a screenplay, this is where you have the most power, up front, to direct how a reader experiences the script and to ensure the Story has the substance to make it through the creative collaboration of nearly 200 people. It is your first and often only chance to lay out your vision for the characters and theme for the other writers who will be tasked with contributing to it.
Which leads to a question: does the Story ever really belong to you? I don’t think it does.
We’re the first Trustees. Charged with caring, nurturing, and writing the strongest Story we possibly can. Giving the Story the best possible chance of growing up into a powerful, self-reliant film by the sheer quality of our storytelling’s framework.
No matter how robust a script is, other people are going to take over caring for it. We have to remember our role as First Trustee and when given the opportunity, be willing to stand up firmly for what we know is sacred to the Story and the characters, and be willing to stand down, as well. And to do that professionally, we have to remember that there is more than one way to get a message across.
When I was starting out as a features writer, one of the first things I had to learn was to “let go” of the story to hand it over to an editorial team. I quickly learned that there is always more than one way to tell a story and still get the same message across. It’s the message you have to protect. Not the words.
When you are driven to protect the message, and not the words or expression, you’ll be able to craft your work to its fullest, and most powerful, potential. And when others are given the task of contributing to it, you’ll know what to measure.
It’s true that once your Story is bought, you may never have another word to say about it again. All the more reason why we have to make sure a script is the strongest, most robust ‘framework’ it can be.
The Good that You Do
Why do you create?
There are as many answers as there are artists. Ultimately, most of us want to inspire a reaction in a viewer or reader.
What reaction do you want to inspire in others?
I’m not talking about whether someone likes or dislikes your work; or critics, reviews, or sales.
I’m talking about the emotional, soul reaction they have. How they will feel after viewing or reading your work.
We don’t spend a lot of time thinking about this, do we? We create because it seems to flow so naturally to us – it’s simply part of who we are. We can’t imagine not creating. But the question deserves some space in our lives. And space in every new work.
When your work goes public, this question becomes essential.
As an artist, you make choices. You have the power, if not to decide what your work will be, then to shape and guide it. I know that much of the creative work we do is given to us by Something Greater that wants to flow and speak and express itself through us. We don’t usually feel as if we have a choice in what our creative work is.
But the energies of your work, the reaction it inspires in a human heart and soul – that is where we do need to pause and think.
We have incredible power and I believe, responsibility.
We have the power to move the human heart toward healing, connection and hope. Or not.
Our work is capable of making someone stop and think, of inspiring someone to make a different choice, to believe or take one thought toward remembering their own power in this life. We have the ability to evoke joy, beauty, a sense of grace and wonder. And, in our darker sides, to release questions that are allowed to bubble to the surface. Questions that may not have been asked if it were not for our work.
I’m not advocating that all creative work has to be beautiful or have a moral point. That is not the question. I am advocating that we stop and think and become aware of the power and responsibility we have toward our viewers and readers. They may tend to take our work for granted as entertainment. They may not be aware of the affect that that entertainment can have on them. But they do know when they’ve been touched.
So why not touch them?
Your work has the potential to do something incredible. Even if it’s only in one viewer or one reader’s heart. And isn’t one heart worth a million?
creative inside out 