Standing up (and not falling down)

Catriona writes: "In a particularly fine episode of that particularly fine cultural flowering Buffy The Vampire Slayerthe scooby gang find their worst nightmares coming true. Buffy's father rejects her and tells her she's the reason her parents divorced; Xander is chased by a circus clown; and Cordelia has bad hair and a membership of the chess club. It's the usual effortless mix of slapstick, horror and real emotional heft - Joss Whedon does it so well.

But's it's Willow's nightmare that resonated most with me:

She found herself backstage, in full make-up, about to go on and perform an unknown duet with a notable opera singer. To a full house.  ARRRGGGHHHHH.  I don't know about you , but that's pretty much the basic plot of most of my worst dreams.

But not today's guest, Clare O'Donohue.  Oh my goodness me, no.  Because Clare is here to tell us that she deliberately sought out just that kind of terrifying ordeal - deliberately! - and honed her writing craft that way.

Ladies and gentlemen, please - a warm Femmes Fatales welcome for tv-producer, quiltmaker and crimewriter, Chicago's own . . . Clare O'Donohue."

Years ago I performed improv in a club in Chicago. (For those of you unfamiliar with it, it’s getting up on stage with a group of people and making it up as you go along. And usually trying to be funny.)

I’d been urged to take classes by a friend of mine (the dangers of peer pressure) and once I started, I found I liked both the approach and the lifestyle. There’s lots of funny people who perform improv (not surprisingly) and a huge percentage are men. So for a single girl in her 20s it wasn’t a bad way to spend my time.

One of the things I learned early on when I was studying and performing improvisation, is that, surprisingly, there is structure – there are rules. They are designed to help performers get out of their own way, and actually create something amazing out of thin air. It’s been years since I set foot on a stage, but I still carry the rules with me, and I think in a lot of ways they are the biggest influence in how I write.

First and foremost, I make it up as I go along.

Catriona interrupts: I first knew Clare as the writer of the Someday Quilts cozy mysteries and - being a literal kind of mind, I assumed that a quilter would be all about structure and patterns when it came to plotting a mystery.  Show what I (don't) know.

(Back to Clare) I don’t start a novel with a strong idea of where it’s going or who the killer will be. I just write the first draft and see what happens. The worst improvisers I knew were the ones who got on stage with a joke in their heads, or a direction for the scene. Their scenes felt forced and their jokes didn’t match the rest of the action. In a novel, you can either let plot lead the story or you can let character lead. When plot leads, as far as I’m concerned, it’s like the guy coming on stage with a joke in his head - things feel artificial, as if no one would ever say or do what’s written. When character leads, you may have to change story lines here and there, but it always feels true.

Another big rule of improv is “yes and.” Basically it means that if I say, “Wow it’s cold.” Then you, as the other person in the scene, agree with and add to what I’ve started. You say, “You were the one who wanted to vacation in Alaska in February.” You’ve agreed that it’s cold, and you’ve added a location and given us a reason for being there. Nicely done. However, if you had said, “Are you crazy? It’s 90 degrees in the shade,” we’re at an impasse. I can either abandon my initial statement or I can argue with you. Whichever I choose, we’re confusing the audience and not building a scene together.

In writing, I try to “yes and” whenever possible. In Missing Persons, my main character Kate doesn’t feel well at breakfast, which leads to her late husband’s girlfriend, Vera, offering her a ride to a shoot location, which leads to Vera meeting the crew, which leads to a friendship with Kate’s camera crew… and more. Having Vera invade Kate’s work life is some of my favorite stuff in that book and it came unplanned by simply “yes and-ing.”

And finally, improvisers focus on the here and now. What people are doing in this moment is more interesting for an audience than watching two people discuss an issue from the past, or plans for the future. It’s more interesting for a reader, too. There are lots of ways to get information about the past, the future, and the character’s inner life into a scene without that becoming the focus of the scene. While there’s some leeway in a novel, and room for reflection, it should still move the character and/or story forward. It should pay off at some point.

These are the tools I carry with me into every novel, and struggle with sometimes. At the moment I’m finding them very helpful in the early stages of a new book. I’m just writing and seeing what happens, adding to each moment as I go, and trusting . . . always trusting.

Catriona again: how scary does that sound?! I'm brave enough to jump off the cliff when I'm writing, but standing up in a club in Chicago . . . gives me the collywobbles just thinking about it. How about you?

 

 

Comments

[Karen in Ohio]

Yikes. I've done loads of public speaking (I made my living that way for close to 20 years), to groups large (500 people) and small, but generally had a "track to run on" when I did so. That improv thing is a whole 'nother, as they say. Clare, I'm in awe.

Collywobbles, indeed.

So interesting, to see how each author approaches books in such different ways.

Scissors Karen

[Lori]

I could NEVER do improv. Isn't that funny? I can read from my work in front of an audience (practice) but I would never sign up to improvise in front of one. You're a brave one, Clare!

Collywobbles, Catriona? How cute are you?

[Elaine Viets]

Improv would definitely give me nightmares, especially if I had to be funny.
Loved the "yes and . . ." technique.

[Clare O'Donohue]

It was a very fun experience for a natural smart-ass. I don't know if I would do it now, but it is something I think every writer could benefit from.

Funny enough I find reading my own work in front of an audience to be more daunting than just winging it.

[Mary]

I'd never have guessed that improv could help so much with writing. Such good advice! All good, and I especially like the 'yes, and ..." too.

I'm definitely, firmly in the Improv Scaredy Cats & Collywobblers group. Clare, you are one gutsy lady. :)

Thanks so much for being with us today!

[Bob's Juice]

I can take a speech in front of an audience by having the speech clearly in my mind,but i wouldn't have great results if i must improvise in front of one.You're great!

[Hank Phillippi Ryan]

I've often had the dream about being supposed to go on stage, usually a dance number in a musical, and am panicked because I have NO IDEA hat to do.

Recently though, I had the dream--and in the dream I said--Hank, this is a DREAM. And even if it wasn't a dream, you know the steps so you'll be fine.

I never had the dream again.

Strangely, I have been on TV for almost 40 years, and I am TERRIFIED every time I go live.

Clare, I was already SUCH a fan! But now--even more. Improv--that's gutsy!

[Hank Phillippi Ryan]

No idea WHAT to do, not no idea "hat" to do.

why is there ALWAYS a typo?