The 1960s TV series Batman has sunshine and blue skies. Batman and Robin have a clean bat cave, sweet bat-mobile, and hysterically labeled tools and gadgets-- Shark repellant, anyone? My little boy loved the 1960s Gotham. The first time I allowed him a glimpse of a modern Batman movie, he grimaced and said, “Who wants to live there?”
The modern Batman movies are dark in setting and tone. While characters remain in the same categories as the 1960s show, the viewer is exposed more to the traumatizing background leading to the traumatized individuals and their struggles that surface in their artful disguises, moody theme music, and muddied approach to distinguishing good and evil in the anxiety-filled Gotham world. While perhaps an interesting study in character and psychology and artistic portrayals of both, a child could detect that no one would want to stay long in this dark, gritty Gotham.
It is true: There are times and places that are dark, terrible or confusing. The child’s advice is also true: Do not live there.
Acknowledging injustice or the struggle between good and evil in art does not necessitate a full immersion focus on the struggle that fosters anxiety. Likewise, acknowledging struggles or fears during the writing process is unavoidable, but writers do not have to stay in a writing anxiety state for long. They have a choice.
In a writing anxiety state of mind, words seem hard to find, and writers can feel trapped. With a paralysis of words or even in in a state of fear, a few things can help writers: a walk, a change in tools or techniques (tip/trick: try green font or handwriting instead of typing), a decent meal, a nap, a prayer, upbeat music, time to review notes, and a visit with a friend --yes, especially a friend who happens to work in the Writing Center!
These and several other techniques can help writers navigate the darker places inherent in the writing process when writers struggle to process and communicate new ideas.
While a dark, worrisome Gotham may be an artistic interlude for a time, do not dwell there; look at the beautiful sky, talk with goofy friends, and feel free to hilariously label your room and tools to help you write.
