Time to Write

Why he returned his iPad (and how it relates to your creativity)

Peter Bregman posted an essay called “Why I Returned My iPad” on the Harvard Business Review site recently. It’s not that it was bad, it was too good! He found himself on it constantly, watching TV, social networking, reading, etc. He wasn’t bored once and that was the issue. He writes:

 “Being bored is a precious thing, a state of mind we should pursue. Once boredom sets in, our minds begin to wander, looking for something exciting, something interesting to land on. And that's where creativity arises. My best ideas come to me when I am unproductive. When I am running but not listening to my iPod. When I am sitting, doing nothing, waiting for someone. When I am lying in bed as my mind wanders before falling to sleep."

"These 'wasted' moments, moments not filled with anything in particular, are vital. They are the moments in which we, often unconsciously, organize our minds, make sense of our lives, and connect the dots. They're the moments in which we talk to ourselves. And listen.To lose those moments, to replace them with tasks and efficiency, is a mistake. What's worse is that we don't just lose them. We actively throw them away.”

I wouldn't call those moments boredom. They're only boring if your mind doesn't wander, if it doesn't land on any random interesting thoughts. But I agree totally with his diagnosis. I look around and see people obsessed with filling every available moment talking or texting on their phone. It's long been usual for people to do this while they're walking, now I see it more when they're shopping (sometimes briefly interrupting their phone call to say 'thanks' to the cashier but as often as not, not). Maybe we're gaining something from this 24/7 connectivity but we shouldn't forget we're losing something, too.

How to get Unstuck

"Unstuck" reviewed by Jurgen Wolff, author of "Focus: use the power of targeted thinking" from jurgen Wolff on Vimeo.

Meet two prolific writers

I posted about the "Leave it to Beaver" show yesterday, on the release of a box set of the 234 episodes of that series. Most of them were written by the show's creators, Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher. This was it the days when a TV season meant 36 or more episodes per year. 

A 1957 New York Times article about the then-new series mentions their previous credits, that included 1,200 scripts for the radio and TV series "Amos 'n Andy" over the course of ten years (and at the time of the interview they were still writing a radio version). They also got an Academy Award nomination for the film, "The Private War of Major Benson" (they must have written it in their spare time...).

A useful antidote if we ever feel too precious about how much we're writing!

(If you want to write sitcoms, see my book, "Successful Sitcom Writing," published by St. Martin's Press and available via Amazon and other retailers.)

A look back to where sitcoms started

One of the series that defined the sitcom format was "Leave It to Beaver"--I grew up with that show and I'm sure at least some of you did as well or caught up with it in its endless reruns. 

Now there's a new box set out of the entire run: all 234 episodes from the six years it was on the air (they produced more episodes per season in those days). Neil Genzlinger writes about the series in the New York Times:

"...television comedy was a much slower animal back then. You have to detox mentally to watch these shows, to lay aside your caffeine and BlackBerry addictions and be prepared to wait for your rewards."

He quotes Tony Dow, the actor who played the Beaver's older brother: “Jokes get in the way,” Tony Dow, who played Wally, said in a telephone interview, talking about the “Beaver” writers’ reliance on more placid, observational humor. “They get in the way of your concentration when you’re trying to get at a story. We would throw jokes out at the table reading.”

It's tempting to say those were gentler times but I think it was just gentler television. As the article points out, the problems that the Beaver and his friends encountered have been taken on again by every family sitcom since and will continue to pop up. Now often they're surrounded by one-liners and the Moms don't wear pearl necklaces around the house and the Dads don't wear a coat and tie while reading the Sunday papers.

I don't know whether I'll get that box set. Maybe I've been spoiled by the pace of my more recent favorites like "Arrested Development" and "30 Rock." 

Yes, I think I'll leave Wally and the Beaver  where they belong--somewhere in middle-America, circa 1960. 

They might not like it here.

(Want to write sitcoms? See my book, "Successful Sitcom Writing," published by St. Martin's Press and available from Amazon and other retailers)

Changing the size of your thinking can solve writing (and other) problems

One problem solving and brainstorming method I've been playing with is changing the size of the problem. For instance, let's say the problem is that you can't find a publisher for your novel. First, let's make it larger:

I can't find a UK or US publisher for all my writing.

I can't find a publisher anywhere in the world.

I can't find a publisher anywhere in the universe.

I can't find a publisher anywhere on the time-space continuum.

Now let's make it smaller. I think it's important to do both of these before you start seeing if they bring up anything useful--otherwise the voice of Judgment comes in too soon!

I can't find a publisher for my full-length novel.

I can't find a publisher for my novella.

I can't find a publisher of my short story.

I can't find a publisher for my article.

I can't find a publisher for my leaflet.

I can't find a publisher for my postage stamp.

OK, that's the silly part done. Now let's go back and see whether this brings up anything useful. 

Publisher anywhere in the world -- investigate whether a foreign publisher might acquire the book (do they do this, or do they only acquire translation rights once a book has been published in English? I don't know--worth checking.)

Publisher anywhere in the universe -- investigate possibility of publishing on the web first.

Publisher anywhere in the time-space continuum -- can the book somehow be tied into an upcoming major event? (Olympics, elections, impending doom of planet?)

Publisher for short story or novella -- is there a literary magazine that might take part of it to get some exposure?

Publisher for article -- would it help to get a factual article related to the main topic published? Or a non-fiction book? Could it be possible to pioneer a new format--the factual book & the novel packed together in one volume? Could work for a book that takes place in a major city--half the book is a guidebook, half is the novel. Might be easier in ebook format...you read the novel while you're on the plane... [As you can see, I'm getting away from the 'article' idea but the point of all this is just to get your thinking flowing.]

 Publisher for a leaflet / postage stamp: Would it makes sense as a graphic novel (the postage stamp suggest an image)?

If you're stuck, try changing the size of your thinking!

(Other methods for being more creative are in my most recent book, "Creativity Now!" as well as in the recent second edition of "Focus: use the power of targeted thinking to get more done." Both are published by Pearson and available from Amazon or your other favorite online or offline retailer.)

You're never too old to start writing

Who is Robert McCrum writing about in this paragraph in The Observer?

When, at the age of 36, the poet first self-published the collection for which he would become famous, it received just two reviews, both written by himself under a pseudonym, but otherwise fell stillborn from the press.

Well done, if you said Walt Whitman. McCrum offers Whitman as an antidote to the current trend to try to find the best writers under 40 or even under 30. He points out:

"The ruthless cut-off of 40 does not address the complex trajectory of creative growth: for every novelist or poet who explodes skywards with a first or second book, there are many who only achieve mastery as they reach the shady side of the slope. The onset of middle age, or the approach of oblivion, is perhaps as sharp a spur to literary effort as the intoxicating self-belief of youth."

He cites Daniel Defoe, who finished "Robinson Crusoe" at 59, Mary Wesley ("Camomile Lawn," 70), and Karl Maianes ("Matterhorn," 33 years in the works, published recently to great acclaim, in the author's 60's).

The headline of McCrum's article is "You're never too old to start writing." 

Amen.

(If you need help getting started, see the free "getting started" guides at www.jurgenwolff.com)