Articles & Essays   Book Reviews Creative Writing

Consciousness, Literature and the Arts

 

Volume 18 Number 2, August 2017

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Creativity in scriptwriting. Flow of consciousness.

By

Ștefan Zaharia

Univ. București

 

During the course of the school year opening at the Doctoral School of the Faculty of Letters, the poet, essayist and journalist Andrei Codrescu spoke about the importance of the translator in adapting a text and not only of his translation from the language in which it was written. Thus, Andrei Codrescu believes that a translator’s work is one that involves a lot of knowledge, by becoming a creative work as well. Translation is "a rewriting of the text". Therefore, very many authors were translators as well. From Goethe who translated texts from French into German, to Samuel Beckett who being of Irish origin, was established in France and wrote in French, later to translate his own work into English. He chose this method because he believed that this way, he would be more careful with the words he used. As it will be pointed out, the technique used by Samuel Beckett, although it can only be considered a trick, is significant because it stimulates creativity. 

The translator becomes a second creator of text. Drawing a parallel with the film script, the screenwriter who is adapting a literary text for a film script, also becomes a creator. Rewriting and adapting the text encounter a whole range of obstacles and needs that can only be overcome by creativity, imagination and technique as well.  

A script has two sides: the technical and creative sides. Even if a literary text is based on an idea, action, dialogue and well-defined characters, its rewriting for the camera becomes a challenge. There are cases in cinematography when an excellent literary text was inadequately adapted and thus less successful screenings were produced. The technical side of a script is widely presented in the chapter dedicated to script. The creative side of a script, either adaptation or original text, has very many personal and hard to measure factors. Art, in essence, is subjective and difficult to quantify.

Imagination and creativity can be stimulated by both internal means of every writer and by stimulation from external factors. There are places like nature, landscapes that inspire. Chekhov wrote his first play, "The Seagull", inspired by the house he lived in during the spring of 1896, amidst a flowering cherry orchard, on the estate of Melikhovo. There are theories that claim that places charge us with energy and other theories that say that in these places, our brain is fooled and transposed in a superior creative state of mind. I believe that a place that can relax the brain  is one favourable to creation. There are situations in which external factors are extremely unfavorable. One such factor was communism. It censored art and the refuge from it was still art. Censorship itself became a part of creation. Because of it, artists had to speak in other ways using parables or humor. The fight against communism took effect in all the areas of art. Surely, all the artists would have had important works without the pressure of communism, but the existence of censorship has given rise to unique artistic products. Thus, external factors can be both limiting and enhancers of creation and inspiration. However, art has become a method of discharge of all the frustrations created by different political regimes. It is scientifically proven that people who have suffered or not had a very happy childhood, who had conflicts with parents during childhood, are more creative in adulthood. Hence, a deepening of creativity and of its enhancement.

Creativity

In broad terms, creativity refers to the phenomenon whereby a person creates something new: a product, a solution or even a work of art that has a certain value. This definition will be also submitted by Michael Mumfor: "creativity involves new and useful products"[1]. Thus, we have two elements: "new" and "value". Alexandru Roşca defines creativity as the ensemble of "subjective and objective factors which lead to the creation of  an original and valuable product by individuals or groups"[2]. "Whereas a product may be original, but worthless, the two terms of the definition can not be separated."[3] The attribute of new can be for both the creative person and for society as well. So as for the value or utility of creation. Thus, creativity becomes the highest form of human activity.  

Short history. Creativity has been defined in many ways. Nowadays, psychologists have concluded that a strictly psychological definition is considered to be simplistic, as this concept is far more complex, immersing in various scientific specialties. Recent psychology textbooks consider creativity to  be "a particular case of problem solving "(Wittig) or "a type of problem solving" (Papalia).

The concept of creativity is rooted in the Latin word "creo - creare" which means conception, building, birth, going through the French channels of the word "créativité"[4].

Creativity was considered divine, especially in European culture. Ever since Greek culture, the Muses were superhuman beings who mediated between man and gods[5]. The Romans had a term used for creator: "genius". Greeks had used the term "Daemon". In Judeo-Christian culture, inspiration and creation are divine graces. Perception has changed with the Renaissance, when the perception on inspiration, talent and creation began to change gradually to the Enlightenment period, when creation was associated more with imagination, especially in visual art. In contrast, in Asian culture, creation becomes a form of imitation of the elements of nature. There is no concept of creating something out of "nothing". William Duff was the first to make a separation between genius and talent. He believes that imagination is a quality of genius. Talent is productive, but it cannot break barriers and create something new, instead genius has a plus[6].

The creative process. In the creative process, there are intellectuals factors (imagination, divergent thinking), but also non-intellectual factors (motivation, passion, will, temperament, etc.). Motivation can be intrinsic (it comes from within the creative person and is linked to his work satisfaction or pleasure of working etc) and extrinsic (eg. the fear of being fired, the need for money etc).

As a process, creation has several stages. These were highlighted, then challenged by psychologists as G. Wallas, E. D. Hutchinson, R. Thomas, Guilford etc. In 1926, Graham Wallas[7] described the five stages of creation: preparation (training for problem solving and its analysis), incubation (the problem is internalized, although apparently nothing happens), privacy (when the creator feels he has the solution), illumination (occurring ideas) and verification (the idea is evaluated, developed and then applied). Subsequently, Wallas has given up the fourth stage, privacy and the four remaining stages were the basis for all psychologists. In the adaptation of a literary text for the film script, the first stage, that of preparation, becomes very important. This is not merely a knowledge of the work to be adapted for film script, but also of the conditions under which this work was written, conditions of the author, of the nuances of the text, but also a special mastering of script writing techniques, of style and its specific rules.

I. Taylor says that, although this step is one of accumulation, of gathering of materials needed at an ulterior stage, it is not strictly limited to early stage. It involves a permanent reporting to information, especially in screening cases where the main source becomes the adapted literary text.

This stage of preparation is dominated by training on three levels: general knowledge, specialized training on a certain area and specific training on a particular problem[8]. For scripts, general knowledge refers to both the knowledge of script writing rules and to writing techniques and vocabulary, while specific knowledge refers both to knowledge of the literary text to be adapted for script and the writer's life experience is required. Dostoevsky was convinced that "the writer must know even the smallest details of reality."

In art, this step has usually as a starting point, the artist’s experience, experiences of relatives, previous work, previous preparation of the author, of the artist [9]. Previous experience can be used by artists but does not fully reflect reality, as it passes through the philosophical and artistic filters of the author. In this regard, G. Flaubert stated: "I’ve always kept away from putting something from me in my work and still I put more". Previous works are important for the author of new creations, as well as for a script writer who needs to document and know the previous works of the author whose work will be adapted for film screenplay.

Stimulation of creativity. Exercises for stimulation of creativity.

If there is talent, special skills, motivation and perseverance, all the above aspects, then there are grounds for a creative personality. If talent can not be explained, creativity can be better understood and stimulated. Description of activities at the hemispheric level, of the lobes of the human brain, is intended to explain the methods of enhancing creativity. This enhancement is all the more significant as the adaptation of a literary text for screenplay has many limitations and it takes creativity to turn a text for script, but keeping the meaning and spirit of the original text is an extremely delicate and difficult activity.

If the right hemisphere is the hemisphere of creativity, then we need to use more of the  right hemisphere. The conclusion is simplistic because it is more difficult to achieve. The right hemisphere can bring new ideas, it can imagine them, but the left hemisphere of the brain is the part that releases ideas, it materializes them or it emits the orders in order to write innovative ideas. The left hemisphere is the center of language, speech and it entails linguistic aspects of writing. Creativity results from the collaboration of the two hemispheres, hypothesis proved by researcher Rita Carter in her book "Mapping the Mind". That is why there is a gap between ideas, flashes, revelations and putting them into a practical plan. The phrase " I know what I mean, but I cannot put into words, I do not know how to put into words " comes from the same rift between the two hemispheres. During REM sleep, many ideas emerge and creativity is enhanced because the right hemisphere takes to operate without limitations imposed by the left hemisphere. Unfortunately, these ideas are lost with wakening to reality from sleep. Therefore, drowsiness, that wakefulness between sleep and reality is favorable to creativity. This "tricking" of the brain is commonly used for enhancing creativity. Leonardo da Vinci is famous for his sleep technique. He slept 20 minutes every 2 hours, that is polyphasic sleep[10]. He discovered that this way he is awake longer and was rested, having more time for his creations. Even if the present researches show that this kind of sleep is sufficient, I consider that this method made Da Vinci more creative, because it gave him that drowsiness, better accessing the right hemisphere.  

Every writer has his secrets in order to get out of a deadlock, if he has writer’s block or just to write better. Some psychologists interpret these habits as part of the ambient conditions. For example, when writing, Dali put on his tightest shoes in order to bother him and so his writing would be harsher, more acidic[11].

Some famous writers like Mark Twain, Marcel Proust or George Orwell wrote only lying in bed. That is when they were more creative, either because of the comfortable position, or due to deep relaxation that helped them stimulate the right hemisphere. Woody Allen used the same technique too for his scripts. In opposition to this technique, Ernest Hemingway wrote standing up. Perhaps this way, he was more focused and kept the left hemisphere busy. Virginia Woolf and Charles Dickens wrote the same way. Alexander Dumas wrote using different colors: blue for novels, pink for articles and yellow for poetry. Schiller liked the smell of apples, Ibsen wanted to see trinkets, Kipling wrote only with black ink. When in a deadlock or writer’s block, Dan Brown wrote hung upside down. This usually helps to unblock the manuscript and stimulates creativity. At intervals, the same Dan Brown does push-ups, abdominal crunches or traction. The secret of writer Francine Prose is moving the writing desk next to a wall. She believes that this way, she will have fewer reasons to be distracted from writing, unlike Chekhov who found inspiration surrounded by a blooming orchard. Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin has a more active method to release creativity and write better, he interprets his dialogues aloud. This helps him to better understand the script and he is more creative. Victor Hugo wrote without his clothes on. This method was used only in circumstances in which he was pressed to finish the work. Honoré de Balzac managed to be creative and drank more than 50 coffees daily. He did not sleep at all until he finished what he had written. Voltaire was as passionate about coffee, he drank up to 40 cups of coffee a day[12].

All these work methods of each writer had an effect on everyone, but can not guarantee an effect on all writers, they are not universal. Creativity can be stimulated both by tricking the brain to stimulate the efficiency of the two hemispheres, but also by external factors that help "inspiration", such as nature, natural phenomena or habits such as coffee sweetened with four sachets of sugar or a certain type of music. Although not scientifically proven, routine or routine elements can help create a certain creative atmosphere. Some memories may trigger certain states. For example, Konstantin Stanislavsky presents in his diary different memories that can trigger certain states: if we think about the taste of our mother's breast, we smile. All these must be inked to the time of day. In the morning, when we are rested, efficiency is at its highest. One can write hundreds of pages, even chapters, but lacks inspiration. In the evening, when drowsiness appears, inspiration emerges implicitly.

There are exercises that stimulate creativity, although there are no studies that can prove it. Exercises that use both hands actually stimulate the right side of the brain. Hands are joined and then twisted. We attempt to lift each finger from the right hand and then from the left one. Although it may confuse the brain that will initially give wrong signals, this type of exercise will stimulate the right hemisphere.

Another exercise often used in actor’s art classes is called "gibberish" and is also presented by the creator of exercises for the art of acting, Viola Spolin. This exercise includes two participants. One speaks in an invented language, while the second one will translate what he believes the first one is narrating. Other methods involve meditation, breathing exercises or even  yoga.

Creativity is seen by the authors of "The creative screenwriter", Zara Waldeback and Graig Betty as a "muscle" which must be trained. The workouts consist of exercises that stimulate creativity that made regular, may amplify unsuspected areas. From their perspective, creativity has to do with freedom and playing with it. But it is also related to restrictions. If the writer/the script writer is free to write howsoever, he will follow variants or preset or "classic" patterns for him. If he is limited, then he will find new ways of expression and solutions, to deliver the message. This kind of limitation is specific especially to the screenwriter involved in screening work. He does not have the freedom to write a new story. These limitations and restrictions will stimulate his creativity. The exercises proposed in this book differ from writing a text without the letter "a" in order to create new ways of communicating, to writing the same stories from different perspectives. Another exercise is the ABC story. The screenwriter will tell a story using words that begin with letters in alphabetical order. The exercises are based on important moments for a screenplay from idea, story, characters, relationship between characters, scenes writing, films genres, dialogue, text rewriting and presentation of the script.

             Consciousness

In 1890, the philosopher and psychologist William James introduces the concept of "stream of consciousness" in his book The Principles of Psychology: "Consciousness, then, does not appear to itself chopped up in bits. Such words as ‘chain’ or ‘train’ do not describe it fitly as it presents itself in the first instant. It is nothing jointed: It flows. A ‘river’ or a ‘stream’ are the metaphors by which it is most naturally described. In talking of it hereafter, let us call it the stream of thought, of consciousness, or of subjective life"[13]. It was first used by Dorothy Richardson in her book Pointed Roofs (1915) and it is also called interior monologue or the moment when the character speaks to the reader or audience in the 3^rd person. This stream is actually a narrative mode, a writing technique. The stream has been used by writers such as Dorothy Richardson, James Joyce and Virginia Woolf. This narrative method describes into words the flow of ideas, thoughts from the mind of the writer, narrator, character. These thoughts are written beyond punctuation or grammar. Every thought is noted without reason censoring the flow of ideas. Therefore, using this method, the thoughts of the characters are shown, an interior monologue that flows ceaselessly and without barriers of grammar, punctuation, logic etc.

Although this technique has been released and used in Modernism, it is still popular for some contemporary authors. Script is clearly defined. The rules of writing a script are well defined. Therefore, the reasonable question is: Can a script be written using the stream of consciousness? The immediate answer would be no, because this method ignores the basic rules of grammar, much less the complex rules of drafting of a script that must contain numbering of the scenes, location, dialogue, character, didascalies etc. So, in theory, it is impossible to write a script using this method. However, there are cases of script writers who have used this method or still write using this method like Charlie Kaufman, who won an Oscar for Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind in 2004.

Before analyzing the link between consciousness, conscience, script and creativity, we must first define our terms. This definition is extremely important because very often the translation of the term consciousness from English is wrong. There is a confusion between conscience and consciousness in English language. A definition of consciousness was given by Robert van Gulick: Consciousness is the state or quality of awareness, or, of being aware of an external object or something within oneself.[14] Consciousness is defined as the feeling of understanding personal existence and its integration in the universe. It is the most advanced, human-specific form of psychic reflection of objective reality through sensation, perception and thought, as representations, concepts, judgments, reasonings, including emotional and volitional processes (Florin Marcu)[15]. So, consciousness can be understood as a state of awareness of an object, condition, situation from the outside. Although the etymology of the word consciousness is based on conscience, these terms are different. Consciousness comes from the Latin conscientia meaning knowledge. The term of consciousness occurs even before 1500 and the term of conscience is first attributed to John Locke who used in his work from 1690: Essay Concerning Human Understanding.

Script represents the written work that underlies the making of a movie, video game or television program. The script has a well-defined format, written in a 12 (font size) Courier font. The most important parts of the script are action and dialogue. The director’s indications (didascalies) are very few and the size is usually between 100 and 120 pages, because the acception is that a script page is a minute of filming. As we notice, script format is very strict. Unlike short story or novel, script does not allow digressions, phrases or free expressing of the writer. Thus, the question returns: how can the stream of consciousness be used in scripts and, more importantly, were such films made using this technique.

We can distinguish three separate situations with films. The first situation is one in which the script is written using this method. The second situation is where the film is made using this method or wants to convey a state of flow of consciousness. And the third situation but also the most common, in which moments of the film convey the state of a character.

The first situation is that of screenwriters who use this method. Screenwriter Gina Van Name[16] describes in an article the advantages and disadvantages of this method. The first advantage is the speed with which one begins working on the script. There is only a starting idea around which one writes directly, without too many obstacles, discovering many interior aspects of the characters. Writing becomes spontaneous and creative, managing to effectively use the right hemisphere. Many lines come without too much concentration, in a natural way and manage to amaze the writer himself. In the end, there will be a better understanding of what was conveyed through that script. Only in the end, the story will emerge. The disadvantages are quite obvious. First of all, the script will be rearranged, settled and systematized according to directions. Most of the dialogue will be deleted because it will not matter in the script and does not bring anything new about the character. The story structure is weak. It often lacks the element of surprise. Self-censorship is difficult because it is hard to deleted the scenes the script writer loves. This method often takes more time due to script rewriting than writing a new script from scratch.

The second situation is much more rare. In the history of cinematography, there are many films and directors who have made films which transpose a state or a stream of consciousness. The best known example is Andrei Tarkovsky and his film made in 1975: The Mirror. This semi-autobiographical film has a totally unconventional structure. It sets forth poems written and read by his father Arseny Tarkovsky. It is an almost organic enchainment of memories of a dying poet. Other examples of films with a non linear narration and which use this method: Alain Resnais’s L'année dernière à Marienbad (1961). Terrence Malick is known for his monologues in dubbing. One of his most notorius films is The Tree of Life (2011). Director Spike Jonze collaborated with screenwriter Charlie Kaufman for the film Adaptation[17] (2002). The film begins with a monologue of the main character who bears the name of the screenwriter Charlie Kaufman. The monologue presents the screenwriting block of the character. Film director Louis Malle directed Zazie dans le métro (1960), an adaptation of a novel by Raymond Queneau, which has elements of stream of consciousness. This method was used by the comedy band Monthy Python in their humorous scenes with great success. An example of this matter is the very beginning of the episode Monty Python and the Holy Grail, when a discussion moves from one topic to another because the characters say what they think, even if sometimes the dialogue does not make sense.

Interior monologue is quite common in literature and in cinema as well. It is sometimes well structured and linear. But there are cases of interior monologues that will follow the stream of consciousness. Examples of such monologues could be films like: Sin City (2005) directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez or Waking Life (2001) directed by Richard Linklater. Another example is the film The Weather Man (2005), directed by Gore Verbinski, in which the main character played by Nicolas Cage narrates his lines explaining why he goes to buy tartar sauce, a method used to explain the action of the character . The most powerful example comes from the television comedy series Scrubs (2001- 2010) produced by NBC tv station and conducted by Bill Lawrence. In this tv series, the audience is constantly hearing the thoughts of the main character. Just as the natural thoughts in a stream of consciousness of every man. In addition, very often the imagination of the characters is put forward.

This method of writing is difficult to use in screenwriting, but the results are amazing. Although the work volume is greater, the films are memorable and have made history. Beside this technique, we mention the flow of the unconscious or automatic dictée used by surrealists or the oneiric flow which is based on dream. Syd Field considers that these techniques, used in scriptwriting by the new generation of screenwriters, will bring something new and revolutionary[18].

 

 

Conclusions

          All key concepts that define creativity are found in the scriptwriting process. A screenwriter needs divergent thinking, flow, flexibility (especially for screening), originality, sensitivity, convergent thinking, redefining and apprehension. Therefore, a careful consideration on creativity and its stimulation in the scriptwriting process was needed. The examples brought forward are specific to each author individually, but we can reach the conclusion that the exercises for stimulation of creativity and for the stimulation of the right hemisphere of the brain, can have significant effects in screenwriting. Also, the work space, atmosphere and work ethic are very significant. 

Even if we can trace and train creativity, we can have intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, talent and specific skills can not be acquired through work, but only by that divine "grace". But specific skills, talent once discovered and untrained, becomes dormant and does not evolve. Practising skills leads to their development or, more accurately, achieving performance in that area. Thus, we cannot speak of creativity without grace, of grace without motivation or work ethic. There must be a congruence of all these factors to make an artistic product of a higher level.

Originality is a key factor in creativity. To consider that the adaptation of a literary text for script can be deemed as a task lacking imagination is a false conclusion, because originality in these circumstances  occurs when situations, scenes, characters of text must be transposed and adapted for film. This process requires a lot of imagination and originality in the manner the screenwriter chooses to implement each of these elements in the script and later on, to bring them to life in the film.

The screenwriter should search for his own way. He should explore all the creative methods and exercises, in order to discover what suits him the best. The flow of consciousness is the most complex method. Although it will take the longest, it will offer the most complex scripts, which can convey on a more intimate and profound level than a classic script.

 

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