Time to Write

On keeping a journal (good promo video)

This is a short video promo for Tamara O'Shea's book, "Note to Self: On Keeping a Journal and Other Dangerous Pursuits." I think it's a good example of a relatively simple but entertaining and effective way to promo a book with a video--although she has the advantage of a clip from the boyfriend she cheated on...
(for tips on how to be more creative and productive, sign up now for my free monthly Brainstorm e-bulletin. Just send an email request to [email protected])

And a 'rule' of screenwriting I don't agree with (plot)

In the previous post I quoted an observation that screenwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce made about characterization (as part of a longer article he wrote for the Guardian on how to write successful films). Today, here’s one I disagree with:

 “Do a favourite bit - No one leaves the cinema saying: I loved that character arc. They come out saying: I loved the swordfight, or the bit with the bloated cow, or whatever. The manuals emphasise the flow of a narrative, but it's better to think of a film as a suite of sequences. That's where the pleasure is. 

"I'm working on an animated feature at the moment. Traditionally, these films had no script at all. Teams built up a series of set-pieces and sequences around the story and characters. This is a great way to think. 

"If you look at the first Godfather film, it's really an accumulation of anecdotes held together by the moral decline of Michael. Kes also works like this: the football match, the taming of the hawk, the careers officer and so on. Try breaking your script down into a series of chapters and giving them headings. If you want to see this not quite working, look at the Mission: Impossible films. Terrific action sequences marooned in quagmires of soggy exposition.”

Well—up to a point. Yes, it’s important to have some great sequences, but far too many films have been ruined because somebody insisted on a great sequence or two that have no relationship to the story, or made a movie with a weak story because they'd thought of a few strong sequences. I think the first Godfather film is a masterpiece because it has great sequences and superb plotting that is far from just an accumulation of anecdotes. 

What do you think?

(If you've been thinking about writing a screenplay, get a copy of my book, "Your Writing Coach," published by Nicholas Brealey. It'll give you guidance on plotting, characters, and much more.)

A rule of screenwriting to consider (characters)

Frank Cottrell Boyce (“24 Hour Party People”) recently shared his thoughts about screenwriting in the Guardian. It’s worth reading the whole article, but here is worth one point that I think is especially worth noting:

 "Don't write excuse notes -- Sympathy is like crack cocaine to industry execs. I've had at least one wonderful screenplay of mine maimed by a sympathy-skank. Yes, of course the audience have to relate to your characters, but they don't need to approve of them. If characters are going to do something bad, Hollywood wants you to build in an excuse note. If you look at Thelma and Louise, you'll see it's really just one long excuse note with 20 minutes of fun at the end. The US cop show The Wire, on the other hand, gives you characters you couldn't possibly approve of, or even like. Then, when it needs to, it gives you another glimpse of them. In one heart-scalding scene, a nasty, hard-nosed young drug-dealer from the projects finds himself in a park and says: "Is this still in Baltimore?"

PS: He also notes, “In Sunset Boulevard, the screenwriter says: "Maybe you saw my last movie. It was about Okies in the dustbowl. Of course, by the time it went out, it was all set on a submarine boat." Screenwriters famously kvetch about the rewrite. I don't get this. One of the glories of being a writer is that you get so many chances to get it right.” 

Yeah, but the problem often is that what started out as a good movie about Okies in the dustbowl is turned into a terrible movie about a submarine boat. If he's had at least one wonderful screenplay ruined "by a sympathy skank" then I'm surprised he doesn't understand what William Holden was talking about.

(for lots of useful information about writing screenplays and other forms, take a look at the free material available at www.timetowrite.com)

What's Your 80/20 Success Formula?

I've written before about the 80-20 rule (Pareto's Principle), which says that usually 80% of your results or gains come from only 20% of your efforts. If you can figure out what that 20% is, and do more of it, and cut out some of the low-producing 80%, you will be more successful. 

Applying this idea is harder than it sounds, but I had one realization about it recently that might be useful to you, too. This example is about fitness but you'll see how it can apply to writing or anything else as well. 

One of my goals is to go to the gym to do some cardio exercise three days a week. Now, deciding what time of day to go is a pretty small part of the process, but in fact I realized that whenever I defer the exercise until the afternoon, there is a much greater chance that I will skip it. By later in the day there are more interruptions, more things have come up that I have to deal with, and it gets harder to motivate myself to leave the desk.

By changing that 20% or less--the decision about when to go--I am successful at going at least 80% more of the time.

If there is something you want to do more of (like writing), but often you don't, what 20% could you change in order to do it more often? Could you change the time? The location? The person/people around you? What do say to yourself or what do you imagine the times you actually do it? The clues are in the process, you just have to find them.

(for more tips and techniques for being more creative and productive, sign up for my free monthly Brainstorm e-bulletin. Just send an email request to [email protected])

A New Way to Get Your Book Published?

On the Harvard Business Publishing ‘Conversation Starter’ blog, Dave Balter suggests a new model for publishing. If you’re an author, you probably won’t like it. Here’s the core:

Authors self-package their book entirely on their own.

Authors distribute digital copies of their books for free to attract readers and to identify a market. They use self-distribution tools to sell as many books as they can.

Based on the response, the publisher determines which books to pick up, and pays a licensing and distribution right and uses their relationships to distribute a product that has developed an initial marketplace of buyers.

Publishers take the completed product, make tweaks as author and publisher feel necessary, print more and distribute them through the strength of their partners.”

(If you want to write a book but are not sure how to start, my book, Your Writing Coach, published by Nicholas Brealey will soothe your fevered brow and get you started in the right direction. You can buy online and from bookshops. And for an extra injection of creativity, subscribe to my free monthly Brainstorm e-bulletin--just send an email request now to [email protected])

At least Balter is putting his money where his mouth is. This is what he says he’s done with his own novel:

“I wrote and produced the book entirely on my own. With some help from my good friend, John Butman, I hired a book packager in NY who helped ‘produce’ the book to our vision (just like they would for the major publishers) 


We set up our own Amazon page where we’re selling the real thing. 


Then the big kicker: as of Monday, June 16th, the entire book is available in PDF form for free from 20 ‘Big Thinking’ bloggers like Seth Godin, Guy Kawasaki, Tom Peters, and including HarvardBusiness.org’s own Bill Taylor.”

Hmm, I might go for that—if the publishers agreed to increase the royalty payments now that they are taking less of a risk that a book will not find an audience. Do you think publishers will agree to that? No, I don’t either.

 

What happens to older creative people? (Good news)

From Teachers College, Columbia University, comes a summary of an in-depth report on aging artists. The study was done by Joan Jeffri, Director of TC’s Graduate Program in Arts Administration and is full of inspirational case studies.

Her conclusions: Armed with creativity and devotion to their craft, artists are remarkably good at adapting as they age. Even if they're not so good at the practical stuff—“setting up wills or passing on their spaces”—they tend to stay active and plugged into networks of friends and colleagues. Even more important, they continue to hope and dream.

Contrary to the stereotype, Jeffri has found that artists are not typically depressed or suicidal and are, in fact, a better bet than most to stay out of nursing homes. “Older artists have a great deal to offer us as a model for society," she says, "especially as the workforce changes to accommodate multiple careers and as baby boomers enter the retirement generation.”

The full report (216pp) is available to download here.

(Many of the psychological angles of creativity, such as how to overcome fears and get the support of your friends and family for your work, are covered in my book, "Your Writing Coach," published by Nichoals Brealey and available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online and bricks-and-mortar retailers. It would also make a great present for your creative friends.)

What to do when you feel you can't write

For a writer, feeling that he or she can't write is very upsetting, and that's true whether the reason is a case of writer's block or just a lack of time. So what should you do?

Write.

Wait, I'm not being flippant. An article in the (Texas) Midland Reporter-Telegram cites psychology professor James Pennebaker: "He says the task of writing about traumatic experiences or even life stressors forces people to organize their thoughts and has shown in studies conducted since the late 1970s to improve overall health and allow people to connect better socially, among other things."

The article goes on: "When writing, he said, it's important to write for the full 15 minutes without worrying about grammar, spelling or other fundamentals. It's not the same as journaling, according to his research summaries, in that it doesn't ask people to dwell on the topic and doesn't require them to keep the thoughts or to ever look at them again."

Many such studies are done with college students, but Pennebaker did one with engineers who had lost their jobs after 20 or 30 years with the same company. According to the article, "Half the group wrote about time management and half about their feelings in relation to being fired. Both groups sent out an equal number of resumes and went on an equal number of interviews, he said, but the group who had written about losing their job found new jobs much faster."

So if you're stressing out, pick up the pen--even if the reason you're stressing out is that you are having trouble picking up the pen.

(There's a lot more useful information about overcoming the fear of writing and writer's block, as well as how to get your family and friends to be more supportive of your writing, in my book, YOUR WRITING COACH, published by Nicholas Brealey and available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other online and retail outlets now.)

A different approach to networking (no crowds)

Yesterday I shared a couple of thoughts from pitching expert Stephanie Parker (from this interview). She also had a great thought about networking:

“Traditional networking is generally a quantity-based approach. The idea is that if you meet enough people, accumulate enough names, you will eventually find people who are a good fit…It's a bulk mail strategy, sending out a lot of letters and seeing what comes back. The bulk mail approach doesn't work so well in establishing genuine relationships because we only have so much time.

 Therefore, instead of spending small amounts of time with lots of people, I suggest spending more time with fewer, carefully chosen people. Use a quality based approach. Upgrade from bulk mail to a handwritten letter with a first class stamp.”

(for free monthly tips on how to be more creative and productive and communicate more effectively, sign up for my Brainstorm e-bulletin. Just send an email request now to [email protected])

The secrets of pitching well (3000 meetings later)

Stephanie Palmer heard more than 3000 pitches when she was at MGM and she says the process taught her the secrets of effective presentations. She’s now written a book about it, called “Good in a Room.” In an interview on the Tom Peters site, she shares a few of her ideas (you can listen to it here). Two of her tips:

“The most common mistake that people make is talking business too soon. What I recommend asking the person you're meeting some questions that demonstrate that you have done your research about them and that you understand where they're coming from. Make the questions specific—not generic, broad questions that they've been asked a million times before. Also, don't ask them anything that you could find out on the Internet, in the newspaper, or corporate papers.”

“If you focus primarily on building the relationship and learning from your experience, more than on getting a particular result, you are much more likely to achieve what you want in the long run. That's as opposed to someone who's only concerned with quick-response outcomes.”

One more tip from her coming up tomorrow. And if you'd like to get tips for being more creative and productive and communicating more effectively, sign up for my free Brainstorm e-bulletin. Just send an email request now to [email protected].

Truth stranger than fiction dept.

OK, this is a rare post that doesn't have anything to do directly with writing--other than to prove the old adage that truth is stranger than fiction. When I first heard about chessboxing I assumed it was a hoax. The premise was that the opponents play chess for four minutes, then box for a round, and so on until checkmate or a knockout. Ridiculous, right? Well...

CHESSBOXING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2008 BERLIN

Chessboxing World Champion Frank Stoldt defends his title as slumbering Russia awakes!On 5 July 2008 the nationwide chessboxing tournament 2008/2009 throughout Germany will be inaugurated in Berlin. The evening will climax with the fight Frank Stoldt vs. Nikolay Sazhin. Frank Stoldt won the first light heavyweight world championship title in chess boxing after defeating American David Depto (San Francisco) on 9 November 2007 in a dramatic fight. This time he defends his title against 19 year-old Russian Nikolay Sazhin.

...Anybody up for knittingwrestling? The first person to finish their scarf or pin the other person to the mat wins.