Supportive Cross Training

by Nicole Janeen Jones

I’ve always believed that "cross-training," engaging in other creative endeavors, enhances my writing. As a teenager, I could sit down and write at any given moment, I think because I had other creative outlets as well: played flute in the band, sang in the choir, acted in the school’s one-act play, danced in the half-time dance troupe. I think because my activities were diverse, and my time limited, when I sat down to write, my brain had more to say, so to speak. My synapses connected in ways they wouldn’t have otherwise.

As I got older, I participated in fewer nonwriting related activities as I became more focused on writing. And then, there were those droughts where I hardly wrote at all. After several years of this self-induced isolation, I forced myself to write again. I bought a writing prompt book and a new journal and got to it. Before the first journal was filled, I had material that I wanted to work into “real” pieces, particularly an entry I had about a couple struggling in their marriage due to religious differences.

Despite the length of time it had been since I’d finished a short story, I found that the framework formed fairly quickly. I had a beginning, middle, and after awhile, an end. What I lacked was specific detail. What I enjoy writing is dialogue. My story had five pages of mostly witty repartee intermingled with scene-setting details and a few character details that were placeholders until I really visualized what these characters looked like. The problem was, I knew these characters emotionally, anticipated their reactions and behaviors before writing it, but I didn’t know what they looked like.

I am guilty of visualizing myself as the protagonist. If there’s a male romantic lead, I substitute my boyfriend, etc. Usually this works well enough, but in this particular story, I actually felt uncomfortable visualizing myself in this character’s place because I didn’t agree with the choices that she makes, ultimately being unfaithful to her husband.

During one of my rants to my friend Tim about my problems with shading in the story with physical detail about these characters, he proposed a possible solution. He asked me to describe these characters in terms of their behavior. He asked me what kinds of characteristics I found attractive and unattractive. Using that information, along with the bare bones already incorporated in the story, Tim took to his sketch pad.

A few days later, he sent sketches to me in an e-mail message of two of the three main characters in the story. As I watched these "people" roll out of my printer, I was amazed by several things. I was amazed by the sheer talent and ability he had; I’ve always coveted the ability to draw and paint—the "grass is always greener" syndrome. But I was more astounded by how Tim was able to transform my thoughts and words into a physical representation.

No longer did I fall into the habit of visualizing the characters as me or people I knew. I tacked the printed-out pictures on the wall by my writing desk so I faced them all the time. In fact, visitors often asked me if those were pictures of my friends—and in a way they were, since characters tend to become a very real part of a writer’s life. As I revised the story, I studied the portraits and filled in the blank spaces necessary to impact the reader, both by the plot and the characterization.

From this experience, I’ve amended my initial "cross-training" theory. I still believe it is essential to be involved in diverse activities because it strengthens the writer as a whole. However, I now feel strongly that it is important to have strong relationships with people who are actively creative in these different genres. In this case, an artist helped me to "see" my characters. A musician could help a poet with the rhythm of a poem. A screenwriter could improve dialogue. A dancer could point out areas of a piece that don’t flow or transition well. And of course a writer could return the favor, for instance, attach lyrics to a melody, etc. With artists of all varieties supporting each other, the fine arts will continue to thrive and evolve.

Nicole Janeen Jones is a fiction writer and poet when she isn't building Web sites. She's been published in Echoes Magazine, Ebbing Tide, and Liar Liar Literary Review. Her personal Web site is www.nicolejaneenjones.com.