Time to Write

A quick tip for writers on networking

On the Freelance Switch blog, Mark Shead has a post about nine steps towards genuine and effective networking. They’re not radical ideas, but one I like is “take people to lunch.”

Shead says he uses this method when he travels. He keeps track of where people live and offers to buy them lunch when he’s coming through town.

Of course the same thing can work locally. One of the classic marks of the basic introvert is that he or she does better communicating one-to-one than in big groups, so if that’s you, inviting someone who is doing interesting things to lunch might be a great strategy. Who to invite? How about:

* writers you admire

* a journalist who covers your topic

* an editor of a publication you like

* a subject matter expert in your field

Your mission is not to sell them anything, a fact you should make clear in the invitation, just to have a chat and maybe learn something.

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

What makes video trailers for books effective? (5 keys)

 There has been an increasing emphasis on using videos to promote books—“book trailers.” Some are good, some are awful, some are good in terms of entertainment value but don’t help sell the book.

One series that worked was for Chad Kultgen’s novel, “The Average American Male.” These three videos show what men supposedly are really thinking when they’re with women. (I remember when I was growing up MAD magazine had a similar feature—what people say, juxtaposed with what they’re really thinking.)

Harper Collins spent $2500 on the production, and the strategy was covered on CNBC, among others. CNBC reported that the videos have been seen more than a million times.

You can watch the first one below (but don't watch if risque language offends you, and it's not safe for the office). What made these effective? In my opinion it’s because they are:

• funny (so is the book, apparently)
• rude /sexy
• short (under a minute)
• very directly tied to the content of the book
• targeted to the same demographic as the book (young adults--who are the main users of online video)

If your book fits, it’s worth trying a video trailer. I’m just starting work on some animations that will promote a course I’ve developed. Animation takes a bit longer, but when the first one is ready I’ll post it here first for your feedback.

Why should writers blog?

The point of having a blog is to build your platform—to establish a presence in the marketplace. Therefore the blog should be about you and the topic that you write about, rather than just a random selection of observations.

Are you concerned that if you set up a blog you’ll give too much away for free? Dustin Wax addressed this issue on the Freelance Switch blog, and suggested that writers' blogs should add value to their writing, not replace it. He suggested posts on topics such as:

• advice
• behind-the-scenes peeks at your topic
• reviews of relevant books you’re reading
• discussion of news events that impact your readers

As Dustin points out, building a platform is a long-term effort and it benefits from having a presence in a variety of ways.

(Of course a blog may not be your only outlet. My others include the websites www.timetowrite.com, www.yourwritingcoach.com, and www.focusquick.com.)

A writer takes the plunge into uncertainty

On the Huffington Post, film-maker, writer and photographer Lee Stranahan explains why he quit his job to bet on his creativity. A tough call in today’s economic climate, but here’s part of his reasoning:

“There's never been a better time to be a creative person or artist than right now. When I started my job five years ago, the creative landscape was very different. There was no YouTube and social media was in its infancy. The costs of the tools and technologies has dropped dramatically… Now the trick is to integrate art and commerce on our own terms, As creative people, we now have to think like business people. You can complain about this new reality or embrace it.”

OK, but more specifically what can we do? He suggests:

“It's also true that our services as creative people are more vital than ever to companies struggling to survive and needing someone to help them become 'idea rich'. Find those companies [that] are struggling and use your creativity to help them. Maybe it's the restaurant you love but [which] is on the verge of closing. Maybe it's the indie bookstore down the street or your favorite charity. It might even be the company where you work right now. Could they benefit from your knowledge of viral video or ability to design a brilliant poster?”

At my recent "Writing Where the Money Is" workshop we explored options like this. I'll be offering the workshop once more this year, probably in  mid-September--you'll read about it here. I'm also developing a multi-media version for those who can't attend the workshops, again for later in the year. Whether or not it's by choice, I suspect in the days to come we are going to have to be as creative as possible at generating income.

(First notice of my workshops and new products appear in my free monthly Brainstorm e-bulletin--you can have it by sending an email request to [email protected])

Writing: what has changed?

In a sign of the times, Creativity magazine is switching from being published ten times a year to quarterly. Its target audience has been mainly people working in the advertising, marketing and media sectors. Here’s what the magazine says about those:

“Your jobs have changed. The entire advertising and marketing industry has undergone a fundamental shift. In its simplest interpretation that shift has meant that you, our audience member, have, in a few years, gone from creating and producing one way messages (typically TV and print ads) to maintaining open-ended conversations with consumers that span media, platform, category and time and place. Interpreted more broadly, the shift in the marketing industry has called into question the very notion of what we know as advertising - the juxtaposition of paid brand messages with content.”

The announcement also says their website will be expanded. It’s worth a look:
www.creativity-online.com, even if you’re not in advertising and marketing, but interested in how creativity is expressed in those realms.

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

Dolly Parton on writing music and getting it done

Dolly Parton produced and wrote a lot of new songs for the musical theatre version of “9 to 5,” which I happened to see in Los Angeles last year. It was good fun in an escapist way. Dolly plays up her bubbly image, but she’s extremely smart and talented. The BBC interviewed her about the experience and here are a couple of interesting comments by her:

“I've never done this before so I've just got those butterflies in my stomach, mostly hoping that it does good. I just got in there and gritted my teeth, rolled up my sleeves and did the best I could.”

On writing a musical rather than stand-alone songs:

“There was a little bit more freedom in it. You can just write until you've said what you think the character needed to say. I got a chance to write for different personalities, for the men. The Mr Hart character, I got a big kick out of doing that and performing his part in my manly voice and writing what I think a man would think.”

On becoming an icon for many artists:

“I've always been so busy doing my work that I don't think about what I've accomplished I just think about what I'm gonna accomplish next. I'm very proud and very humbled by everything good that's happened to me. I've worked my butt off there's no doubt, and I'll continue to do that, but it's a nice compliment when people talk nice about you.”

Those thoughts reflect her “just get down to work and do it” attitude that helps explain her success, and I think the last comment works both when things have gone well and when they haven’t gone well—don’t spend too much time thinking about the last thing (unless there are some lessons to be learned)—just get on with the next one, and if people talk nice about you, well, that’s a bonus.

(Combining creativity with productivity is what my free monthly Brainstorm e-bulletin is all about. You can get it just by sending an email request to [email protected] now.)

Ricky Gervais on comedy & writing comedy characters

Ricky Gervais revealed some interesting thoughts about the nature of comedy in an interview with Associated Press writer James T. Chairman, reprinted on the Huffington Post site. On his comedy heroes:

“My comedy heroes are Laurel and Hardy. They nailed it a hundred years ago, it doesn't get any better. It's about the relationship and it's about empathy. And it's about those two characters, the blind leading the blind. One wants to do well, he's got pretensions, he's a gent. And the other, he's blissfully happy in his stupidity, but he's not the one that ends up in the fish pond.”

I share that admiration. One thing I really regret is that I didn’t know that Stan Laurel was still alive and living in LA, pretty much forgotten by the world, when I first went down there to work. How great it would have been to talk to him! Anyway, one more observation from Ricky G on how usually the joke is on the supposedly smart one:

“Groucho, he can do all the one-liners, but he's the one that's getting conned. Woody Allen, he's an intellectual, but he's not getting what he really wants. That's what's funny about these characters and that's why character elevates above everything else. It elevates above lines, story, everything.”

Of course as writers we are also hostage to casting, which is a big part of the equation. Ricky points out:

“If you've got a character, particularly on TV, you can watch him doing nothing if you like him. If you haven't got a great character, you could be delivering the greatest lines in the world, but who cares? There are stand-ups that just aren't likable. They can have the best lines in the world, but you go, (yawn) 'Yeah. Brilliant. Don't like you though.'”

(There are lots of tips about how to write your project, from idea through to implementation, in my book, Your Writing Coach, published by Nicholas Brealey--find out more at www.yourwritingcoach.com)

Good news about creativity and aging brains!

Writing on her Psychology Today blog, Shelley H. Carson, Ph.D. says:

“The aging brain resembles the creative brain in several ways. For instance, the aging brain is more distractible and somewhat more disinhibited than the younger brain (so is the creative brain).

Aging brains score better on tests of crystallized IQ (and creative brains use crystallized knowledge to make novel and original associations).

These changes in the aging brain may make it ideally suited to accomplish work in a number of creative domains.

So instead of promoting retirement at age 65, perhaps we as a society should be promoting transition at age 65: transition into a creative field where our growing resource of individuals with aging brains can preserve their wisdom in culturally-valued works of art, music, or writing."

She adds: “Both older individuals and creative types are more willing to speak their minds and disregard social expectations than are their younger, more conventional counterparts.”

She finishes with this: “I challenge each citizen, whether you are currently a senior citizen or a senior-to-be: first, consider one life lesson that you would like to pass on to future generations. Second, decide upon a creative medium in which you could embed this lesson - perhaps a novel or a painting or a musical piece. Then make it the work of your post-retirement years to grow proficient in that medium and to produce a work that embeds your message.”

I think that’s a good challenge no matter what your age. Why wait for your post-retirement years?

(Your brain can benefit from a monthly free injection of tips and techniques on how to be more creative-via my Brainstorm e-bulletin. Just send an email request now to [email protected])

PS for UK authors: come hear about self-publishing

A quick note to UK writers: if you have ever considered self-publishing but need to get full information, come to the SP4UK (Self-publishing for UK) event on Saturday, May 30, 2009 in Chelmsford. It's an all-day event from 10am to 4pm, and I will be one of several speakers. I'll cover how to be more productive in your writing and how to overcome any blocks. Before April 15 the price is only £15, thereafter £25--still a bargain! I'll be there all day, so come and say hello! Get more information and sign up at www.sp4uk.co.uk.

Did this writing teacher go too far?

Authorities in West Yorkshire having suspended a teacher for writing a self-published book featuring some of her students. She’d asked her pupils what would motivate them to read and they said a book in which they appeared. She gave them copies of the book at the end of term.

 According to a report by Matthew Taylor and Mark Piggot in The Guardian, more than 250 students staged a walk-out in favour of their teacher, Leonora Rustamova.

The excerpt from the book, “Stop! Don’t Read This!” published in The Guardian was about how a teacher enters the classroom: "like a stranger enters a saloon, like he's expecting loaded guns under the tables … When he comes in chin down, looking at you from under his eyebrows you can expect a list of swearwords like he's got them belted into an AK47."

 OK, we can rule out the Pulitzer Prize, but did she go too far? Unfortunately the article doesn’t say whether her portrayal of the students included personal details but to me it sounds like she’s a caring teacher willing to spend a considerable amount of time and expense to encourage her students.

 As of this writing, the campaign for her reinstatement continues.

 (Want to get monthly tips on how to be more productive and creative? You'll do that when you sign up for my free Brainstorm monthly e-bulletin. Just send an email request now to [email protected])

The solution to writer's block is...pigs?

Playwright and director Jezz Butterworth told The Guardian’s Mark Lawson that "If we'd done this interview four years ago, I would have been saying that I couldn't think of any stage plays and that I was teaching myself the craft of screenwriting. I think the problem was that, when I lived in London, I was just too distracted. Looking back, I spent a lot of time sitting in pubs when I should have been perfecting my playwriting."

 He credits his move to Somerset, where he runs a small farm and raises and eats his own pigs, with prompting a burst of creativity.

 I’m not sure pigs need to be involved but it does show that a change of scene and routine can jar you out of a rut.

(My monthly Brainstorm e-bulletin can jar you out of a rut, too, and it's free and there's not mud involved. Just send an email request now to [email protected])

A Tweet Too Far! (One time NOT to write...)

Maybe this post makes an official curmugeon but come on, folks, can’t you disconnect for the duration of a play? In her Guardian.co.uk column, Ruth Jamieson discusses whether it’s OK to Twitter (that is, send a brief text message to people who are “following” you on the internet service called Twitter) during a theatrical performance.

 Here’s part of the article:

  @ianedgar says: "No. Interval." Which seems fair enough. But I'm an all-or-nothing kinda gal and if my friends can send me, and everyone else, instant micro-reviews then I want them now, not in half an hour.

 …Dusty old traditionalists are predictably against it on grounds of rudeness to fellow audience members and to the actors. And I'm almost inclined to agree... Twittering in that sense is a bit like whispering in class. It's disloyal to the other people in the room. But it's also what the cool kids do. How can I justify it? Well, what about the people out of the room? Not twittering is so rude to them. There's more of them. Our relationship is more permanent. So they are my priority.

 Imagine I have tickets to see David Tennant do the Hamlet of the century. You're eagerly waiting by Tweetdeck to hear if he lives up to the hype. Is he doing the "O, that this too too solid flesh" bit yet? Is it spine-tingling? Is he up to the fight scene? And, most importantly, does he look as roguishly sexy in real life? You hit refresh. You hit refresh again. Nothing. I don't tweet about it, so you miss out. Normally we tweet all day, but now I'm at the theatre suddenly I'm too good to speak to you? Tsk. What snobbery.

 At first I thought the article was totally tongue-in-cheek, but she actually ends it with rules for how to twitter during a performance (silent mode and hand over the bright screen)—as though that will not distract your neighbours.

 For my sake, I hope she never sits next to me. And for her sake, she should hope I never sit next to her. But if she does and things happen, I’m telling my lawyer to make sure all the members of the jury are over 35.

(For a free monthly Brainstorm e-bulletin full of tips and techniques for being more creative, please send an email request to [email protected])

A unique writing collaboration

I wanted to pass along this message from Maya Pool, about a unique collaboration:

Thanks for an inspiring blog. As a work at home/stay home mum, it's nice to have a community of creativity and writers, even if they are only virtual!

 I wanted to let you know about a project that might interest your readers, and lend itself to being a unique story for your site. The Worldwide Book Collaboration Project involves 16 writers (me being one of them) from around the world writing a novel in one year. The nature of the time zones and the communication solely via postings in the private forum renders this a project that works 24/7 and presents all sorts of challenges.

 In addition to the geographical diversity, there is a wide breadth of experience in the project ranging from complete novices to successful published authors and other literary professionals.

 The sponsors, Book Awards site, www. AmazonClicks.com, recently announced they were delighted to count amongst the team people who had never written before but who expressed a strong desire to be part of something so inspirational. They will be guided by the more experienced working together in virtual ‘writer’s cells’. They may never meet however, as each cell will comprise individuals from around the world.

 The project kicked off officially January 2009 when all the important decisions about the genre, characters and plot were made. By December 2009, the final version will be ready to send to the publishers for a final edit.

If you are interested in following along on the progress of the novel and get to know the writers, the blog and web portal are located at www.AmazonClicks.com/portal. Any inquiries for interviews and further information may be directed to Project Director, Peter Lihou at [email protected].

A new way to use words

On the How blog, they featured a few examples of the work of Craig Damrauer, who uses math equations to define concepts that aren’t mathematical. Here are two:

 MODERN ART = I COULD DO THAT + YEAH, BUT YOU DIDN’T

 PIRATE = THIEF + BOAT + BANDANA – LEG

 Just goes to show there are always some new ways to use words.

(Want to stimulate your creativity? Sign up for my free monthly Brainstorm e-bulletin. Just send an email request now to [email protected])

More encouragement for late-bloomers

The same Independent article by Jerome Taylor I mentioned in a previous post concludes with descriptions of three other later-blooming writers:

"Mary Anne Evans Known by her masculine pen name George Eliot, Mary Anne Evans was 40 when her first novel, Adam Bede, was published. Crippled by self doubt... it took her years to get the courage to write a novel. Adam Bede met instant success and over the next six years she churned out four more novels before releasing her most famous work, Middlemarch, in 1872. She is regarded as one of the Victorian era's literary greats.

Mary Wesley An MI5 worker during the Second World War...She once said that "60 should be the time to start something new, not put your feet up", which would explain why she decided to publish her first adult novel at age 70. She had tried to get her work published many times before but her belated achievement later became her unique selling point...In the last 20 years of her life she went on to publish nine more books and is thought to have sold at least three million copies of her work worldwide.

Diana Athill A mover and shaker in the publishing world for the past 50 years, Athill is not technically a late bloomer but her Costa Book of the Year win this year for her autobiography about old age, Somewhere Towards the End, shows that age is no barrier for producing prize-winning work. Aged 91, she is the oldest winner of the Costa (formerly the Whitbread) awards."

 Heartening reading for any writers no longer in the first blush of youth!

(What's stopping you? Maybe you're not sure where to start? Start by getting my book, "Your Writing Coach," from Amazon or your other favorite online or offline retailer.)