Bela Lampert

Optioned Screenwriter / Yoga Instructor

Listen And Repeat

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Listen And Repeat

Let’s see if you know one of those people:

There are people, if you ask them a direct question they give you an answer, just that the answer has nothing to do with the question you asked.

Then you ask them again – the same question – and maybe this time their answer fits your question. Or maybe not.

Sometimes I have to ask the same question three times to get an answer that corresponds.

Happens to all of us. On the question side as well on the answer side.

Another example.

I don’t know how many classes and courses in different areas I’ve done until now. A lot.

And a lot of what I learnt has become everyday knowledge and experience for me.

But almost always, when I go back to a course I did a while ago and I re-listen to it, or re-read it, I discover something new. Something I missed the last time I went through it.

That’s because everything we perceive is filtered through the knowledge and experience we have accumulated up to this point in life. And we’re seeing everything through this filter and try to make sense of it. (I’m sure, psychologically speaking there’s a lot more going on, but that’s how I would explain it.)

So, when we learn new things, our brain makes new connections and a new sense of things can emerge. A new way of seeing the world, of seeing our work, of seeing and interpreting people and situations around us.

So, when I went back to older courses I did a while ago, I’m seeing them from a different perspective than I did the first time round. And different things now make a different sense to me and I can add them to knowledge and experience I’ve acquired meanwhile.

Back to the question example: when someone asks us a question maybe we make a different sense of it than the person who asked the question. So we might answer a different question than the one that was asked.

Trying to change our perspective and imagining what the other person intended with the question not only can improve communication a lot, it’s also what we do when we’re writing. 

We’re trying to change our perspective and discover how our characters see the world from their point of view and how they act and speak out of that.

Next time you have a misunderstanding, see it as a character exercise and try to see the world from the other person’s perspective. You might have some great insights that you can use for your writing.

Changing perspective is a great way to help free up inspiration because it takes your ego out of the equation.

Looking for more “inspiration-inducing” techniques?

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