Metta.magazine is keen to develop a series of workshops which we can offer to interested writers, film-makers, artists and students interested in communication. An example of the kind of work we are developing includes the following potential workshops.
The beautiful flower, the ugly dog and the great movie – separating
observation from evaluation
Our language is littered with evaluations. Many of them pass
unnoticed, as if the flower itself is beautiful, or the dog is ugly. When we
stop to think, it is obvious that saying that the flower is beautiful describes
us and our feelings rather than the flower as it is in the world.
Learning to separate what we see from how we feel about what we see can be difficult. At first the world and our
opinions about it seem to arrive at the same time, or even to be the same
thing. But with practice we can develop the ability to separate what we see
from our reactions to it. This potent practice can help us see and communicate
with more clarity, and listen with more empathy and insight.
Drawing on Marshell Rosenberg's theories of Non-Violent
Communication and Buddhist and yogic principles, this workshop will sharpen
your writing, but will also open a door to a deeper awareness of your
relationships with yourself, others and the world around you.
Writing (and rewriting) conflict – a workshop on story structure
Conflict is the engine that drives story-telling, but how
does this narrative structure set us up to promote and prolong conflict? And
how can that process be untangled, to create a space where conflict in not the
only path and power with our partners, rather than power over our enemies, is
both possible and desirable?
Part 1: Story as story.
Read any book on storytelling and it will describe the
building blocks of story. Character is formed and revealed through moments of
choice, when there is a conflict that has to be resolved or an obstacle
overcome. Plot is the journey through these choices, leading up to a final
climactic confrontation, choice and resolution. Each scene within that journey
is a mini-battle, and within each scene is a series of beats, which are
themselves struggles for status and power. This interplay of action, reaction
and motivation drives good writing, and good dialogue in particular.
Drawing on the work of Marshell Rosenberg and the language
of Non-Violent Communication, as well as a wealth of scene and dialogue theory,
we create and examine scenes where conflict occurs.
We look at ways to extend and heighten the conflict,
creating more dramatic stories.
Part 2: Story as life.
In life, we rarely want to extend and heighten the conflict
or create more drama-filled stories. We want compassion and connection to
underpin our attempts to face the challenges we are drawn to. So we turn this work around and look at
how we can resolve conflicts, both in fiction and in life, by
(1) identifying the needs involved and learning to listen to
others’ and our own needs more clearly, and
(2) giving up our attachments to particular strategies and
being willing to embrace other ways to meet our needs.
Part 3: The return: rewriting the story as story.
Finally, returning to the world of fiction, we look at
traditional narrative closure and try to find a way that goes beyond the idea
that violence – i.e. achieving power over the “enemy” – is the necessary climax
of every story that does indeed aim for resolution. We attempt to find ways to
create a narrative closure using power with rather than power over, a
resolution that uses peacefulness, synthesis and inclusion as guiding
principles rather than domination and either exclusion or submission of “the
dark side.”
This workshop is a guided collaborative exploration, not a
prescription.
The questions this workshop asks are these: is it possible?
Are these kinds of stories worth reading? And what would happen if these were
the kind of narratives we used to imagine our lives?
