Pinar Tarhan, Author at Addicted to Writing

Why You Should Read, Watch and Hear Stuff That Piss You Off

Posted on October 14, 2015 Written by Pinar Tarhan

Don't smash. Write! :) Image via here. — Don’t smash. Write! 🙂 Image via here.

I’ve a short one for you today.

I’m all for reading stuff that inspire and motivate you. They put you in a good mood and encourage you to take action. But sometimes, the best story material lies in stuff that irritate you or make you furious. You can’t wait to write a rebuttal.

I once started an entire blog because a young adult stuck in the middle ages (or his own hormones) was sharing his “wisdom” with a girl on why men and women can’t be just friends. Right…

I recently found articles that vexed me, which in turn became three article ideas: I pitched one to a publication, got this tiny motivational gem, and I’m working on my third. It wasn’t like the idea well was running dry (though it sometimes feels like it might), and I’ve never been so pleased to be mad. I’ll share the articles with you the resulting articles soon.

Stay tuned. Sometimes angry is good. Right, my dear writing addict Hulks?

What has pissed you off recently? And what did you about it?

The Leftovers: On Writing Mysteries You Might Not Explain

Posted on September 23, 2015 Written by Pinar Tarhan

the leftovers poster — Image: HBO. Depressed yet by the poster?

I’m hooked on The Leftovers, and boy, did I not see this coming! When I first saw the trailer, I thought it was interesting, yet TOO depressing. Then I ran out of shows to watch and decided to give it a shot. I’m glad I did.

OK, so it has scenes once in a while that I’m not in love with or characters whose behaviors I find unrealistic. But I stick around because the acting, soundtrack, how everything is tied together, and most scenes are just plain incredible.

And man, can Justin Theroux act! (This is my first Justin T. experience. I was pretty familiar with Amy Brenneman, Liv Tyler and Christopher Eccleston from before). Also, love Carrie Coon’s storyline and acting.

But this isn’t a review for a show that I’ve grown addicted to. It’s about the mystery behind the premise and mystery-writing in general.

So let’s talk about the premise of The Leftovers for a bit:

%2 of the world’s population disappears one day. No one knows what happened or why. The Leftovers deals with the reactions of the inhabitants of one New York town, and mainly police chief Kevin (Justin Theroux) and his family.

Kevin has at best a strained relationship with his teenage daughter Jill who goes to weird parties with her best friend Aimee. He also has a sleeping problem, drinking problem, a former police chief dad in the psychiatric hospital, an estranged young adult adopted son and a wife in a strange cult-like group protesting the attempt to move on from the disappearance.

The church has emptied, a strange man is going around shooting dogs, his cop friends and mayor are questioning Kevin’s sanity. Kevin deeply misses his wife whose “cult” doesn’t have room for even speaking.

The Leftovers is definitely more about the aftermath of the event than the event itself. Still, I’d like to know.

Not everyone feels the same.

When I visit the message boards, some people speculate about the reason behind the reasons. The usuals come to mind: God, aliens, alternative timeline, time travel… Some argue it doesn’t matter because the show is about the aftermath.

I disagree. I think it matters. At least to me.

Have you ever written something, mystery or something else, without knowing the reason behind it? While we might not necessarily know what our characters have for breakfast or whether or not they have a middle name, we know why they do what they do. If we didn’t, we wouldn’t be able to craft the entrie story.

But just because we know, it doesn’t mean we all share it with the audience. Personally, I’m all for sharing. Because as a viewer, I love knowing.

Sometimes it’s not necessary. When you are watching an episode of Castle, you don’t care that much about the killer’s reasons or psychology. You are just more into the banter between the characters. It’s a lot of fun. Hell, during the first seasons I didn’t need a comedy show to make me laugh or smile that much.

Yet I find the Canadian cop show Motive inherently more interesting than not just Castle, but pretty much any other cop drama/mystery show I’ve watched. It might deliver that much humor, but it’s fine. It shows you who did it from the first scene. The cops don’t know the murderer. You do. But you’re as clueless as the cops as to the motive, and you figure it out together. You get to know the killer. And more often than not, you understand. You might not approve or forgive, but you understand. Mysteries are unturned. Reasons are shown. I’m one happy viewer. I wish I’d created Motive every time I watch an episode.

The Leftovers isn’t a crime drama. It’s a mystery drama with the potential for fantasy elements. But we can’t exactly let of the disappearance because every single episode shows us the effects. I frankly want to know.

Now, the storytelling and acting are so fine that I’ll hang around even though it’s never explained. I’d just be more content if it was.

What about you? How do you feel about mysteries left unturned? Please share your feelings as a viewer and/or a writer in the comments.

An Interview on Consulting with LittleZotz Writing’s Lauren Tharp

Posted on September 3, 2015 Written by Pinar Tarhan

One of LittleZotz Writing's many awesome illustrations. — One of LittleZotz Writing‘s many awesome illustrations.

If you’ve been writing for a while, chances are you thought about consulting. It’s a terrific way to help others, as well as to increase your authority and income.

That said, like all worthy ventures, several important questions come to mind before starting:

Which areas are you going to offer consulting/coaching on?
Which methods are you going to use?
Will you be offering phone, face-to-face and/or e-mail support?
How much will you charge?

And

How did other successful freelance writers who you’ve been following for a while get around to it?

Today, you’ll be getting the answer for the last (but maybe the most inspiring) question on the list from the lovely Lauren Tharp.

Lauren Tharp is the face behind the award-winning writing blog LittleZotz Writing, associate editor and community manager of the amazing BAFB and the new Editorial Assistant the famous of CopyBlogger.

Enjoy!

What inspired you to offer consultancy to other writers? Character traits, certain experiences, your mentors…?

In 2013, I had partnered with a freelance editor with the plan of offering a class to writers and editors looking to start their freelancing careers. The editor ended up going in a different direction; however, I still thought the idea was fantastic and wanted to pursue it on my own. So I decided to start offering one-on-one mentoring.

I was fairly confident I could do a good job because I had worked as an English tutor when I was younger, and was briefly a children’s martial arts instructor. If you can control a room full of kids throwing punches at each other without anyone getting hurt, you can command pretty much any crowd. [laughs].

When did you feel ready to offer this service? How long had you been writing/blogging?

This is a difficult question to answer. I’ve been writing for pay since I was a teenager – and I’m in my thirties now – but I didn’t make it my sole source of income until I was twenty-five. So I had been writing for over a decade; however, I had only been in business for about three years.

What was your biggest challenge as a consultant, and how did you overcome it?

Over the years I’ve become a bit anxious about talking on the phone. I do well in writing and when I’m interacting with people in person, but I find exchanges that are purely voice-based to be a bit nerve-wracking.

So, since I couldn’t visit every mentee in person, I ended up utilizing Skype’s instant messenger function. That way, I’m able to do what I do best: Write. And, that way, my mentee is guaranteed to get me at my best.

They even get a PDF transcript of our conversation to refer back to when we’re done!

Do you have any favorite resources on this topic? (Links to your own posts will be appreciated too:))

Well, since you said I’m allowed to link to my own posts, I do have these two…

“5 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Mentor”

“5 Things to Expect When You Become a Mentor”

What advice would you give writers who are thinking about offering consultancy services?

Practice answering questions elsewhere first. Either find ways to get yourself interviewed, or answer them on your blog, or do a video series. When the time comes to actually mentor someone, you’re not going to have time to carefully think over your answers – so it’s good to have practice answering questions elsewhere as training to prepare for that moment.

You should also think about what you’re good at and who would be the best client to teach. For me, I decided early on that my favorite type of mentee was someone just about to start their freelancing career. My own mentor, Sophie Lizard, prefers to teach people who are a bit further along. It’s going to probably be the toughest decision you make – next to the decision to mentor at all! – but it’s worth putting a lot of thought into.

I hope you enjoyed the interview. Don’t hesitate to spread the word if you found this helpful.

A Brainstorming Activity That’ll Help You Sell Your Screenplay: Make Your Protagonists More Active

Posted on August 30, 2015 Written by Pinar Tarhan

OK, you don't literally have to make them more active, though, depending on the genre, you might have to. :D — OK, you don’t literally have to make them more active, though, depending on the genre, you might have to. 😀

It’s a rational idea, isn’t it? Make your protagonists active, and the audience will be more engaged.

Generally, it’s not a problem for me. My characters tend to be lively, ambitious and passionate. Even the ones who aren’t ambitious about their career, they’re big on their right to party, live and love freely and to the fullest.

But some characters aren’t that easy. What if there are mental or physical blocks? What if they are in a place in their lives where they lack the energy or the will to live more ferociously? What if it’s more natural for them to just react?

I hear you.

I was recently (rightfully) challenged by several readers to make my protagonist more active. And even though she did a lot of major things, most of those happened off screen, making her seem passive.

So I rose to the challenge and realized there are many scenes where I can shake things up, without going against the heart of the story.

Making my severely depressed character more active (from another story) is, however, more difficult because he already does something huge that affects everyone, but I’m brainstorming ways to increase his activeness.

As much as I resisted this after I first read the notes, when I imagined him pursuing things, I was more hooked by the story as well.

So while you don’t literally have to make your protagonist run toward things (or escape from things by running), it makes sense to show them as taking charge.

What can you do to make your protagonists more active?

Don’t worry, though. If you have already created a Bryan Mills-type character (Taken) who starts getting active even during his conversation with his about-to-be-kidnapped daughter, you just might be okay.