Uncovering Secrets: How Writers, Readers and Film Buffs Discover the “More” in a Story

When actors are asked how they avoid depicting characters as clichés, many respond, “It’s there in the story.” When writers want to develop their characters, they often reread what they've written to uncover opportunities that already exist in the work.

When I write a scene, I begin by trying to get all my thoughts onto the page. While doing this, I can’t view the scene from all perspectives at once—all the people present plus the setting, which usually functions as a character. It’s only after time has elapsed that I can go back and observe the scene from a bird's eye view. It’s like turning the cylinder of a kaleidoscope and seeing a different image, a different perspective, with every turn.

The same is true for movies. When I view a film I love but haven't seen in a while, I find elements I missed the first time. This isn’t the same as aspects of the movie I didn't remember. These are actually things I couldn’t see before because no one can see everything the first time. Only by viewing the story with the benefits of time, distance and a fresh perspective do I notice what I didn't before.

For writers, distance is important because it not only gives us time away but also an emotional buffer so that when we return to the story, we’re looking for more than what we need to fix. We’re looking for the story to speak to us, tell us what it wants to be now. In essence, we’re going back in order to discover what the story already contains so that we can use these elements to deepen individual aspects of the work and the work overall.

One way writers deepen their work is to ask questions of the characters. (I thought this was weird the first time I heard it, too.) The questions usually take three forms. What are you not telling me (the writer)? What are you not telling the other characters in the scene? What are you not telling yourself?

 It’s in these liminal spaces that writers often find deep truths about the theme of a story, what it’s really about. We also discover elements of our characters that make them fully realized, individual, memorable. Similar to all conversations, an added benefit of asking questions is that we get at the underlying story elements organically, without imposing anything on the work. Rather, we enable what’s already there to speak.

This doesn't mean every character is developed to the same degree. Neither does it mean every character is good. What it means is that they’re more true to life because in getting at who they really are, we enable dimensionality and layers. This is the complexity actors aim for when portraying a character. Paraphrasing Konstantin Stanislavski, we can learn a lot from our cousins the actors, when writing, reading, or watching a film.

So the next time you go back to a novel or film you love, look for the hidden gems. Pay attention to what you're seeing. Not to what you remember. But what is actually in front of you. And don't discount those things that don't seem to fit. If they’re there, they have a place in the story, just as they do in everyday life.

 

Adele Annesi’s bestselling cultural heritage novel is What She Takes Away (Bordighera Press, 2023). Adele is also a curator for the Ridgefield Independent Film Festival. Her MFA in creative writing is from Fairfield University, and her long-running blog for writers is Word for Words. Adele’s podcast is Adele Annesi on Writing.

Lace Cap Hydrangea

 This beauty blooms underneath the deep shadow of a saucer magnolia. It always reminds me to slow down and not miss the hidden beauties in life.

Brrr! So Cold!

 

The pond frozen and dusted with snow. 

(I'm so thankful after I take the photo, I can run back into a cozy house. I'm very tempted to stand on the ice and see if it will hold me up. But the thought of plunging into deep, icy water keeps my feet on frozen ground.)

Ice Storm

 The other day, we had snow, rain, and ice. Thankfully, I didn't have to venture out and could enjoy the ice, captured by the photo on the crepe myrtle.

Book Review: My Parents' Marriage by Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond

 

I heard Nana read aloud a passage from My Parents' Marriage in a writing group I belong to, and my first thoughts were “The writing is so beautiful” and “I have to read this novel.” When the novel was published, I read it quickly because the plot was engrossing and the writing lyrical.

One theme in the novel is plural marriage. Because I know several women who have had their lives affected by plural marriage, I wanted to find out how Nana handled it in her book. She explored the pain and reverberating effects of plural marriages on the wives and their children with deftness and compassion. In the end, I enjoyed this novel and I came away from it a changed person.

A five-star read.

 Here’s the novel’s blurb:

 Determined to avoid the pain and instability of her parents’ turbulent, confusing marriage, Kokui marries a man far different from her loving, philandering, self-made father—and tries to be a different kind of wife from her mother.

 But when Kokui and her husband leave Ghana to make a new life for themselves in America, she finds history repeating itself. Her marriage failing, she is called home to Ghana when her father dies. Back in her childhood home, which feels both familiar and discomforting, she comes to realize that to exorcize the ghosts of her parents’ marriage she must confront them to enable her healing.

 Tender and illuminating, warm and bittersweet My Parents’ Marriage is a compelling story of family, community, class, and self-identity from an author with deep empathy and a generous heart.

Snow!

Earlier this week, I woke up to beauty on the other side of my bedroom window. 

(As former New Englanders, we love the snow and don't mind it doesn't happen too often.)

 

Thanksgiving Day! We didn't have any children or grandchildren home for the holiday--they're coming at Christmas. But we did have a lovely mix of relatives and people who feel like relatives. 

Book Review: I Worked Hard on That!

I've read a LOT of children's books over the years—everything from Tikki Tikki Tembo to The Stinky Cheese Man to Dr. Suess’s poem “The Pale Green Pants.” So, I thought there weren't any new ideas left in children’s books. But Robyn Wall proved me wrong. Her new children’s book I Worked Hard on That! takes the reader on a delightful journey with a spider named Kiara as she spins her webs and learns about beauty and creativity. 

When I began writing, I wish I’d known how the journey of creativity goes. How each experiment in making something new leads you on an exploration that hones your skills and voice. But don’t think the creativity journey is only for writers and artists. The same principles apply to writing a mathematics proof, programming, even engineering.

And  I must mention the illustrations by A.N. Kang are gorgeous—they tell the story in pictures as Kiara’s webs grow more beautiful along the way.  

 I’d encourage you to pick up this book for a child you love. Or, buy it for yourself--you’ll love it.