Editors note: I'd just like to say it's a pleasure to have author Raul Ramos y Sanchez on this blog as part of his virtual book tour promoting his latest effort, America Libre. The book is a tale set in the near future involving the immigration crisis exploding into violence. Cities burn, white vigilante wage killing sprees, and laws make it legal for barrios to be walled off into "quarantine zones." It's an apocalyptic page turner that speaks to many issues confronting us today.
Raul has been kind enough to craft an essay for this blog so without further ado, I give the floor over to him.
Thanks for inviting me as a guest blogger today, Ricardo. I hope you don’t mind if I break with the convention of the previous Latino Virtual Book Tour stops with the special essay I’ve created for your blog. Given your acting background, I thought you and your readers might appreciate some observations on the many similarities I think exist between actors and fiction writers.
Character
Creating a character is an essential part of an actor’s craft. Most actors prepare for a role by immersing themselves in the character they’ll play. They imagine the life of their character beyond the lines they’ll read, often creating an extensive backstory to help prepare emotionally for the role. Many writers do the same. I usually create an entire bio for each major character in a story. Although never used in its entirety, this backstory is my touchstone when I begin to write a scene. While actually writing the dialog, I try to put myself in the character’s skin, drawing on the character’s memories, experiences, aspirations, past pleasures and old pains. Sounds a bit like Stanislavsky, doesn’t it? I think James Lipton would be proud.
Dialog
Just as there’s more to acting than simply memorizing lines, there’s more to writing dialog than putting words inside quotation marks. With an inflection of the voice and a deft gesture, an actor can completely change the emotional context of a line. A writer can also reveal a character’s inner thoughts feelings through the physical description accompanying the dialog as well as the pacing of the lines themselves. Leo Tolstoy was a master of this as you’ll see in this excerpt from WAR AND PEACE:
Davout, spectacles on nose, sat bent over a table at the further end of the room. Pierre went close up to him, but Davout, evidently consulting a paper that lay before him, did not look up. Without raising his eyes, he said in a low voice: "Who are you?"
Tolstoy’s description and dialog let the reader experience the characters’ attitudes toward each other. Just as actors can over-act, writers can over-write. Telling the reader what the characters are feeling rather than guiding the reader to discover it on their own makes for very uninspiring reading. This kind of writing reminds of the swell of the organ music on soap operas that tells the audience THIS IS DRAMATIC! True confession: In search of the right gestures, I have at times gotten up from the keyboard and read the dialog aloud, noting what I naturally do with my hands and body. Of course, I do this when no one is around. You have to keep this a secret.
Drama
Illusion is the foundation of all art. Plays, films and novels all rely on the willing suspension of disbelief on the part of the audience. We know it’s not real. Yet, when it is done well, it can touch us as deeply as if it were. That’s the power of drama. In the words of Pablo Picasso, art is a lie that tells the truth. Actors and writers consciously create a false reality. But like the stage magician, the secret to their tricks must remain hidden to satisfy the audience. An actor who is obviously “acting” destroys the illusion. A writer whose style becomes overbearing corrupts the story in the same way. The trick is to make the artificial seem natural.
The BIG difference
Despite all these similarities in craft, a huge difference still exists between actors and authors. At the top of their respective games, actors and authors are on different planets when it comes to celebrity and influence. The actors come out way ahead. No contest. There’s an old joke in Hollywood that illustrates the point. “This starlet was so dumb, she slept with the writer of the movie hoping to get a part.”
Raul, this last difference might have been why I put my screenwriting aspirations on the hold for a bit. The rest is dead on also. Never show them you're acting. Play it true and the audience will be rewarded every time. I can go on and an about this stuff and you definitely know yours.
The book is America Libre. You can pick up a copy on Amazon or drop a comment here for a chance to win your own signed copy. Be sure to Check back on August 15th when I announce the winner.
Raul, thank you so much for stopping by. This was some great insight.
