Time to Write

Have You Considered Writing for the Stage?

I saw an interesting stage experiment in London's West End the other night. The producers have taken over a cinema and used it to stage a production of "Brief Encounter" using projection as well as live action. For instance, at one point a live actress walks through the screen (which is made up of strips) and immediately seems to reappear in the film being projected onto that screen. Thanks to split-second timing, it seems like a bit of magic. They also play fake filmed commercials in a 40's style during the intermission. Additionally, there's live music thanks to a combo made up of the principal actors. One in a while the comic relief elements they've added try too hard, but overall it's a fun evening, definitely offering something different.

If you've thought about writing for the stage but have felt too constrained by its limitations, maybe it's time to consider combining media. A good way forward is to link up with a local theater company to find out if they do readings of new work or might be interested in collaborating with you.

I haven't written for the theater for a while, but I miss the fun of being part of live-action productions. It's enjoyable even when things go wrong--for instance, the press night of my play, "Killing Mother," when the on-stage phone that was supposed to ring, didn't...and the actress panicked and just jumped ahead to her dialogue from the next scene...

(for tips on all kinds of writing, have a look at my website, www.timetowrite.com)

Creating Your Writing Career (interview w/JW)

On the excellent creativity-portal.com there's an interview with yours truly about creating your career in the arts (specifically, in this case, a career in writing). Molly Anderson-Childer posed some questions I haven't been asked before, so have a look here.

(For a monthly injection of ideas about how to be more productive, subscribe to my free monthly newsletter, "Brainstorm," by sending a request to [email protected])

Life After Rejection (yes, there can be...)

The Independent recently ran an article that should cheer up writers who have collected a rejection slip or three or ten (I can relate--for some reason, publishers are not lining up to bid on my novel--surely some mistake!).

The article mentions two writers who self-published: G. P. Taylor ("Shadowmancer") who now gets six-figure advances, and Jill Paton Walsh ("Knowledge of Angels") who was short-listed for the Booker Prize.

It also notes that some authors started with small publishers before hitting the big time. These include Richard Adams ("Watership Down") and John Grisham ("A Time to Kill"). The latter was turned down by 16 agents and a dozen publishers.

There's hope for us yet!

(For creativity and productivity tips and techniques, sign up for my monthly "Brainstorm" e-bulletin, it'll even help you deal with rejection! Just send a request to [email protected]'s no charge and you can unsubscribe at any time.)

Creating Great Characters - Even If They're Rats

One of the things that makes Pixar's animated films so great is that they take characters just as seriously as any Method actor would. Here's proof of that, from "Ratatouille."

(By the way, there are some good tips about writing scripts on my two main websites: www.yourwritingcoach.com and www.timetowrite.com--you could check them out right now.)

It's All About Connections (Look at these two)

One of the standard approaches for getting people to buy your non-fiction books or articles is to connect your topic to something that’s timely. And there’s nothing more timely than the obesity epidemic. So I guess it was only a matter of time before we’d see connections being made between fat and other topics. Two recent examples:

Julia Cameron, author of the excellent “The Artist’s Way,” now has a book called “The Writing Diet: Write Yourself Right-Size.” Her idea is that creativity can block overeating.

Another one: Peter Walsh has a book called “Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat?” His premise is that the same impulse that makes us buy stuff we don’t need also makes us eat food we don’t need.

Making this kind of link can be profitable. The important thing is to be sure there really IS a plausible connection that you can make with integrity. I was somewhat sceptical about Walsh’s premise, but when I read an excerpt of his book, I changed my mind. Here’s what he says:

“Declutter your mind, declutter your home, declutter your relationship to food. Then watch the ripple effect this has on every aspect of the way you live. Clear out the junk, and in doing so clear out the patterns of thought and behavior that prevent you from living the life you want. If you try to clear the clutter by focusing on the stuff, you will fail to get organized. It's not about the stuff. If you try to lose weight by focusing on the food, you'll never change your body for good. It's not about the food. First define the life you want to live. Acknowledge the issues that clutter that vision. Clean up your priorities. Create a world where those priorities can thrive. Learn how to honor and respect yourself. When you do, the ability to take control of your body will follow.”

Sounds pretty good, and it has motivated me to look up one of his other books (“It’s All Too Much: Living a Richer Life With Less Stuff”)—proof that a good connection works.

(To connect with free monthly creativity and productivity tips, subscribe to my monthly "Brainstorm" e-bulletin. Just send a request to [email protected])

Sunday Stimulus

This short ad for BMW shows the amazing kineticmsculpture of Theo Jansen--have a look!

To find out more, you can read an article about him in Wired magazine from 2005.

Inside Thinking: Cloverfield the Movie

I haven't yet seen "Cloverfield," the movie that created a huge buzz on the internet, but there was an interesting article in the (London) Evening Standard that revealed the thinking behind the film. (Which opened big in the US but had a huge drop-off after week two of release. Still, since it cost only about $30 million, it will be a financial success.) Here, according to director Matt Reeves, are the main features of the film:

* hand-held camera work that apparently records the experience of one of the characters on his video camera. Reeves points this will resonate with a generation that is used to recording every minute of their lives on their camera phones;

* imagery that evokes the scariest events of recent years: 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, the London bombings;

* a length of only 84 minutes, to conform to the attention span of a young audience;

* cryptic elements that will encourage viewers to return to find more clues;

* a conclusion with (as Reeves puts it) "far less closure than you'd usually have in a major studio film."

All this confirms my own feeling that a lot of movies increasingly are more like video games. Whether or not you welcome this (to be honest, I don't--and Reeves admits that Cloverfield's ending is likely to infuriate a lot of people), this trend is not going away, and if you want to write for films, it's good to be aware of it.

(Want more writing tips? Check out my book 'Your Writing Coach,' published by Nicholas Brealey--there's lots of information on it and free tips at www.yourwritingcoach.com.)

Going Against the Tide With Innovative Books - Chris Rea

Guitarist and singer Chris Rea may seem an unlikely person to become a champion of a new form of book. But back in 2001 he was given only a one in three chance of surviving a cancer operation, and his brush with death reinvigorated his creativity and sent it in new directions--which include issuing some unusual books.

As David Smyth recounts in an article in the (London) Evening Standard, the first product of this new drive appeared in 2005. It was "Blue Guitars," a collection of 11 CDs, 130 new songs, and a DVD, all bound in a hardback book featuring Rea's paintings. It was priced very reasonably at £34 (about $60) and sold 165,000 copies (Rea says they had hoped only to break even at 30,000 copies).

Rea's new project is packaged in a similar way, with a hardcover book augmented by two vinyl records, two CDs that look like records, photos, and more paintings. It tells the story of two fictional bands, the 50s style Delmonts and the 60s blues band The Hofner Bluenotes (it's Rea and company playing both bands, of course).

Rea now plans to start a music book company and says his new music will not be downloadable: "There are enough people in the world who still want album culture," he says.

(For a free monthly e-bulletin about how to be more productive and creative, just send an email request to [email protected])

Chinese New Year for Writers

If your New Year’s resolutions have already petered out, here’s a great chance to start over: it’s Chinese New Year! This is the year of the Rat, the first of the 12-year cycle of 12 animals appearing in the Chinese Zodiac. Xinhua, the Chinese news agency, says that sign is associated with "a time of hard work and renewal in many ways" that marks "a good year to begin a new job, get married, launch a product or make a fresh start."

What new writing ventures do you plan to launch? What’s the first step you could take today? (Mine is to get back to working on a new novel. Today I will make a mind map of the various plot ideas I have, as one step toward deciding which one to work on next.)

The traditional Chinese New Year dragon parade represents scaring away evil spirits for the year. What limiting beliefs or habits did you have last year that you’re now ready to scare away? (Mine is scaring away the clutter-compulsion, an evil spirit I there ever was one.)

Technology that Will Impact Scriptwriting

Ad Age reports a development in how soap operas a produced. Soap ratings have been in decline for years, and producers hope that this change will not only save them money but also change the look of the soaps. Ad age says:

"To tape an episode of their venerable soap opera, the cast and crew of "Guiding Light" did it the old-fashioned way: with bulky 300-pound cameras that shoot the action from a distance. Most soap operas are produced in similar fashion.

On Feb. 29, however, "Guiding Light" will have new flicker. The crew is dumping the $1 million pedestal cameras and outfitting itself with 8-pound digital minicams that cost anywhere from $10,000 to $25,000 each. That will enable Ellen Wheeler, the show's executive producer, to shoot over characters' shoulders or across a table and follow people as they descend stairways or walk around town."

This is the part that is of particular interest to writers:

"Research showed that audiences were turned off by the old production methods, said Brian T. Cahill, senior VP-managing director of Televest Daytime Programs, which manages "Guiding Light" for Procter & Gamble's P&G Productions. 'Some of these soap-opera production conventions were distracting for people, and it's because we live in an age where prime-time programming is very authentic.'"

Soap writers will be affected first, and will now be able to write in a more movie-like ways, but this technology also makes it easier for low-budget film-makers to compete, and especially to create high-quality material for niche markets for distribution via the Internet.

(Interested in writing for the new media? There's a whole chapter about it in my YOUR WRITING COACH book, published by Nicholas Brealey and available online and in book shops. Also see the www.yourwritingcoach.com website.)

From Writer to Superwriter (Is This a Market for You?)

Brian K. Vaughan, executive story editor at “Lost,” is also the writer behind the popular comic book series, “Y: The Last Man.”

In an article about him in the Wall Street Journal, Jamin Brophy-Warren points out, “Mr. Vaughan is part of a shift in the entertainment industry that is seeing stars from the comics world jump to other media. Frank Miller's 'Sin City' and '300' became successful films, while a comic-book sensibility is fueling popular TV shows, such as 'Heroes' and 'Smallville.' Writers are moving the other way, too: Last year, novelist Jodi Picoult, whose 2007 book 'Nineteen Minutes' focused on a school shooting, wrote for DC Comics' 'Wonder Woman.'"

The article also offered some insight into Vaughan's starting points: "Mr. Vaughan's stories often stem from a single 'what if' scenario. 'What if your parents were super-villains?' asks the teen comic 'Runaways.' 'Ex Machina' imagines what would happen if a superhero ran for public office."

Furthermore:  "Dialogue in Mr. Vaughan's comics is typically crisp and witty. His page turns are pregnant pauses -- cliffhangers like the devastating 'after these messages' of Sunday morning cartoons. 'He understands how to use the medium to exploit its abilities in ways that other writers don't get,' says Diana Schutz, an executive editor at Dark Horse Comics."

If you're interested in writing for TV and film, it makes sense to have a look at some of the best comics and graphic novels to see what you can learn from them.

(If you would like to get my free monthly creativity and productivity Brainstorm e-bulletin just send a request now to [email protected])

How to Mine Your Mind

One of my former workshop participants contacted me recently and said she needed to submit an application for funding for a film and was stuck on what to say about why she wanted to make the film. I sent her a couple of ideas, and it struck me that these probably could help you generate ideas that may be hiding in your mind, too. Here's what I suggested:

1 - Draw a mind map with the word "reasons" in the middle and the various reasons that pop into your mind on the branches that come out from the centre. First jot down as many as you can think of.

Then go over them again, one by one, and ask "Why?" and "So what?" Jot down new ideas that come from that. For example, "It hasn't been done before" -- So What? Why should it be done at all? and Why? Why hasn't it been done before? This should yield some additional useful material.

2 - Relax, close your eyes, and in your imagination go forward to a time when you've made your film and it has reached the desired audience. Imagine you are being interviewed by a friendly reporter. Imagine the questions they might ask you,and your answers.

Questions might include: What gave you the idea for this film in the first place? Who did you hope to reach with it? What is the overall message of the film? Why is the important? What makes film the best medium for this message? etc. To make sure you don't lose any ideas, you might want to answer the questions out loud with a tape recorder running. If not the, stop every few questions and jot down any new ideas.

Can you think of a way these two approaches might help you?

(If you'd like to get a free monthly creativity & productivity Brainstorm e-bulletin, just send an email to [email protected])

Lifehack Live Interview With Jurgen Wolff

My interview with Dustin Wax for Lifehack Live is now available. We had a good time in a 45-minute conversation that focused on creativity, including practical tips and techniques you can use immediately to come up with great ideas. Have a listen here (the podcast is dated 1/31/08, so if you're seeing this much later than that, you may need to scroll down).

(For more tips and techniques, sign up for my free monthly Brainstorm creativity newsletter, by sending a request to [email protected])

Oh yeah? I’m getting Spielberg to do mine! (Is this any way to sell a book?)

The director who goes by the name of McG and who directed “Charlie’s Angels” and “We Are Marshall” has a new project: promos for a book.

Promos starring Autumn Reeser (“The O.C.”) and Wilson Cruz (“Rent”) and Mike Vogel (“Cloverfield”).

Promos that play on YouTube. What is going on?

Let’s see if the authors' names offer a clue: one is Amanda Goldberg. Daughter of film producer Leonard Goldberg. The other is Ruthanna Khaligi Hopper, daughter of Dennis Hopper. The promos are dramatizations of scenes from the book, "Celebutantes." I’ve seen only the first one and it’s glitzy, sexy, and fairly amusing.

But does it make me want to read the book? Not especially. I might catch the film, though…

You can see it for yourself here.

(There are several non-glitzy, non-sexy, and only sometimes amusing videos on my website, www.yourwritingcoach.com, offering tips and techniques for writers. I had to direct them myself.)

The Creative Genius of N. Tesla (Roaming Reading for a Sunday afternoon)

As an admirer of bold thinkers, I’ve always been fascinated by scientist and visionary Nikola Tesla. He pioneered alternating current, wireless communication, and developed the remote control and radar before anybody knew how to apply them. But he died broke and alone, and now most people only know his name from the Tesla Coil, that thing you build for the high school science fair that makes your hair stand on end when you touch it,

On National Public Radio’s Studio 360 web site (here), you’ll find several fascinating podcasts about this creative genius. One is a multi-part interview with Samantha Hunt, author of “The Invention of Everything Else,” a novel featuring Tesla as the protagonist. She tells how Tesla gradually turned into a Dr. Strangelove-type character.

There are also three monologues by Mike Daisey, who does a one-man show about Tesla. Daisy talks about the battle between Tesla and Thomas Edison, his salons (attended by Mark Twain among others—Tesla cured Twain's constipation by running an electrical current through him), and his Death Ray.

Go spend some time with this weird, fascinating man and then if you want to find out more, there’s plenty at www.teslasociety.com.