Friday, February 21, 2014

Syfy Face-Off: creativity techniques and inspired to outline




The other night, I got a bit obsessed with watching Face-off.  As I watched the show, it quickly became clear to me why the winning Face-off creations rose above the rest. 

The thoughts I had weren’t revolutionary. They took me back to the creative process I used when I competed in design contests as a professional florist. They also made it clear that I’d felt a bit stymied by my WIP because I’d moved away from these techniques in favor of focusing on word count and speed. 

Here are the ideas/techniques I was reminded of:

Of course, good technical execution is a must.  And the idea has to be something that will function and hold together. The building blocks need to be solid.

Don’t be satisfied with first, second or even third ideas—take the time needed to brainstorm and push the idea to a new level, make it fresh.  When I competed as a professional florist, I spent a lot of time thinking about what the competition might do, and then purposely took my brainstorming in the opposite direction. There is always a new way to look at anything, a fresh take—this is creative choice.

Stretch your abilities.  I am always more creative when I challenge myself to try something difficult or new.  Successfully doing something challenging brings a great feeling of satisfaction.

Give the audience a new sensory experience. This might seem impossible with Face-off being so visual, but the best designs also used the sense of touch and hints at smell to expand their creations.  Glistening slime, soft flowing lines, rough fabrics, traces of smelly sweat and rotting guts…

Up the creep factor. It’s easy to tone something down, but impossible to get the audiences attention once the moment has passed.  Go large. Drama.

So, hours of TV was just what I needed to make me realize I needed to step back, take time to brainstorm in more depth and outline in more detail before moving forward again.

Guess, I better get at it J







12 comments:

  1. I remember long ago a writer who told me she took YEARS of thinking before she wrote her book, but once she wrote it was all there. This stayed with me through all the exclamation of those who say they revise and revise. Lots of ways to a good story.

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  2. Such wonderful advice. I've tried fast drafting before, but so far it hasn't worked well for me. I'm better off to take the time brainstorming (like you suggest), write a more in-depth outline, then slowly draft. Still, I did learn a lot about my story and characters from the sloppy 30k I drafted :)

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  3. Love what you said about looking at the competition and doing opposite. The idea that "keeping it fresh for you will keep it fresh for everyone" means you have to outwit your own imagination, and that's where it starts to get way more fun, knotty, and slightly schizo... :D Great helps, thanks Patty! --Erica

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    1. I love the idea of outwitting your own imagination--that's exactly what it's like for me. Thanks for stopping by!

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  4. I haven't seen Face-Off (I don't think we get that here), but I LOVE all the truisms you gleaned from the show. Just like you, recently I've been trying to push, push, push... but it's just so slow. And I know why. If I have a plot problem or am going off in the wrong direction, I stall out. I then must to take as much time as I need to identify the problem and fix it. Today I think I figured out my plot and theme problems. Yay! I'm sure you'll figure out your problems soon too. :)

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    1. You should check out more of the clips on the website--especially wonderful for those of us who love creepy and scary. I'm glad that you've narrowed down your issues--that's a buggy. I do think I've got mine (or at least some of them) as well. Yay! for progress.

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  5. What little I've seen of that show I've really liked! Great thoughts, and I love your workspace. It looks so warm and cozy!

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  6. I don't watch reality TV very much, but that one sucks me in every time. But obviously my mind does a lot of wandering, so I'm kind of goofing off and writing at the same time :)

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  7. Up the creep factor - I like that! Although digging deep for ideas rather than running with the first thing that comes to mind is a wise tip.
    Face Off is such a cool show. Yeah, I'm hooked.

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  8. I love seeing what really creeps me out on the show vs what looks familiar. Hooked for sure :)

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  9. I love Faceoff! I also love when something that seems mindless like watching tv spurs your writing in some way. Sometimes I'll get idea sparks from TV and I love Faceoff cause the creations always get my mind going. I also love that you compared it to the writing process because I think no matter what the medium is the process can be very similar, and sometimes watching how others do things can help our own processes :)

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  10. Exactly! And it always amazing me how productive seemingly mindless things can be in reality :)

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