Ask More: The Power of Questions to Open Doors, Uncover Solutions, and Spark Change pdfdrive com

What if the hero shows up late?
What if the bad guy missed his mark?
The questions are designed to get the writers and the rest of the crew peering
around the corner, inventing surprising twists and turns in the story. Ed uses this
technique to foster an atmosphere that’s edgy, highly charged, and fun. He wants
brainstorming and energy. He also wants creative tension. Ed can be a pain in

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the ass, and he knows it. He will send scripts back to the team with corrections
and complaints. He will say something’s terrible. He usually eats lunch alone in
his office. It’s not because he’s shy. He wants to give his team their space. “I
want them to bitch about me,” he told me. “I want them to care enough to be
upset. I tell them all, at some point during the season you’re going to hate me.
That’s okay. It’s like a family. You can storm out. You can be emotional.”
Ed barks questions, not orders, to challenge his writers.
How can you improve the character?
What happens next?
But he also uses questions to make people feel involved and invested.
“Otherwise they will just sort of quietly wait for you to say something, and go
and do it. It’s the same with the crew as it is in a writing room. I can change the
whole direction of the story just by saying something.” Ed believes he brings out
the most creative thinking from people when he asks.
He recalls shooting a scene when an actor playing a cop couldn’t nail the
timing of a critical move. Squaring off in the street against a woman who is the
prime suspect in a criminal investigation, the cop gets his first opportunity to
question her. She is crouched and defensive. The cop studies her through his
sunglasses, sending signals of authority and accusation. At the right moment, the
cop pulls away his sunglasses to make eye contact. After several tries, Ed sees it
isn’t working.
“Take five!” Ed calls out, approaching his cop-actor to discuss the scene. Ed
does not tell him, “On the third line take your sunglasses off….” Instead he asks,
“When do you think this character would want to show his eyes? That’s the
moment the suspect sees into you.” Ed wants his actor to think about his eyes,
not the glasses. “So when do you want that to happen?”
By turning a direction into a question, Ed handed the responsibility for the
answer to his actor, asking him to picture the scene and solve the problem. It
wasn’t just about his lines, it was about the chemistry between two characters
that, in turn, shaped the story. The actor had to feel it intuitively. The next take,
Ed recalled, was perfect.
“Actors are extremely emotional people and extremely sensitive,” Ed
explained. “You can’t just go in and tell them. You have to find a way to ask and
find out what they’re thinking and value.” Once you do that they help answer the
question. Now they can close their eyes and imagine.

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Ed could be talking about anyone in any place. If you’re trying to devise a
new way of approaching a problem, if you’re hoping to get the creative juices
flowing, your question can be an invitation.
How would you do this differently?
What’s your new idea?
These questions are invitations to contribute and create. They send a signal
of respect. They offer a challenge that says, “you are a valued part of the
expedition. Where to?”
Imagined Reality
Creativity questions have an almost magical capacity to transport people to a
different time, place, or perspective. They help us get to that imagined reality.
Like Ed Bernero, we can use these questions to craft a story that’s original and
different.
A publisher friend of mine, Jay, convened an off-site retreat with his top
editors. He began with an exercise. Crunch time had arrived and each magazine
had to cut its budget by 50 percent. He asked: