Time to Write

The biggest mistake made by aspiring children's authors

An agent once told me the biggest mistake would-be children’s writers make is to focus too much on trying to teach a lesson (the second biggest mistake is to write yet another soft, sweet story featuring a mouse).

I was reminded of that when I read a quote by the wonderful author Maurice Sendak. Robert Heller wrote that when he asked Sendak whether it was his intention to convey to kids that its OK to have many different emotions (not just “nice” ones), the reply was:

“I was not a humanitarian or a social worker. Or even someone who understood children. I don’t have children. So I cannot pretend that I set out to help other children. Primarily, my work was an act of exorcism, an act of finding solutions so that I could have peace of mind and be an artist and function in the world as a human being and a man. My mind doesn’t stray beyond my own need to surive.”

If we asked a novelist why she or he writes, probably we wouldn’t be surprised to hear that kind of reply; should it be any different for those who write for children? 

 (For friendly guidance on writing any kind of book, get a copy of "Your Writing Coach," published by Nicholas Brealey and available from Amazon or your other favorite book seller.)

Does the Sound of a Coffee Shop Help You Write?

Some writers find it stimulating to work in the hubub of a coffee shop, others find it distracting. If you’re one of the former but you need to work at home, there’s a website that can help: http://coffitivity.com/

It plays ambient coffee shop sounds and you can combine that with music if you like. 

The site links to research on the effects of ambient noise on  creativity. For instance, a study published in the Journal of Consumer Research reports: “Results from five experiments demonstrate that a moderate (70 dB) versus low (50 dB) level of ambient noise enhances performance on creative tasks and increases the buying likelihood of innovative products. A high level of noise (85 dB), on the other hand, hurts creativity.”

(If you want to be more creative, get a copy of my book, Creativity Now, published by Pearson and available from Amazon or your other favorite book seller.)

A short video on how writers and others can stay creative

Here's a fun short video reminding us all of the many things we can do to help ourselves stay creative: 

 

29 WAYS TO STAY CREATIVE from TO-FU on Vimeo.

i also recommend getting my book, "Creativty Now," which reveals how to cutlivate a creative mindset, 25 specific ways to generate ideas, 25 ways to implement the ideas you have, and 25 inspirational case studies. It's published by Pearson and available from Amazon or your other favorite bookseller.

Is your writing or creativity a victim of common sense?

Could common sense be hurting your writing or other creative project? Inc.com reported a speech by Luke Williams, author of Disrupt, at the World Innovation Forum. He was speaking about organizations, but I think what he says applies to most individuals as well:

“"The only time an organization does change is when they are forced to, when they are backed into a corner and there is no other choice.”

The rest of the time, it feels safer to stick with what we know and especially what has worked in the past. Williams pointed out, "Nothing kills a new idea faster than common sense."

HOW TO ABANDON COMMON SENSE

My favorite way to break out of this is to consider the opposite of what we assume to be true. A useful twist is to imagine that somebody else has proved the opposite to be true and then try to figure out how that could possibly be so.

That removes the immediate doubt that can can crop up that we could ever come up with something so radical. 

NONSENSE ABOUT WRITING--OR IS IT?

For instance, one common sense assumption about writing is that your fiction needs a beginning, middle, and end.

Let’s assume that in June of 2013, M. R. Bixby proved that you can have success with a work of fiction that doesn’t have a beginning, middle, and end. How could that be? What might he have written?

Hmm, maybe he wrote a book of stories that have only beginnings and middles. Your challenge as a reader is to make up or write a fitting ending. There could be a website at which you could post your ending and you could see what others have written. Maybe Bixby awards a prize every month for the new ending he likes best. 

Or, similarly, maybe he wrote a book of only endings, and invites you to work backward and write what might have happened to bring those characters to that point.

Or maybe he provides you with a series of scenes that could take place in any order and invites you to connect them in whatever way you want: A couple breaks up, they make passionate love, they each reveal a dark secret from their past. Which of these happened first, which second, which third? How does it change the story when you switch the order?

As I hope you can see, not only is challenging common sense a good way to come up with new ideas, it’s a lot of fun as well.

(Some of the greatest writers of the past and present refused to follow common sense. You can find their advice on writing, in my book Your Creative Writing Masterclass, published by Nicholas Brealey and available from Amazon or you other favorite bookseller.)

The deadliest addiction a writer can have (and how to overcome it)

A while back at one of my writing classes I met an aspiring writer who had an addiction. See if you can figure out to what he was addicted. Our conversation went something like this:

"Can you give me some advice?"

"I'll try."

"The thing is, I have all these great ideas but I just can't seem to find the time to write. I have a job and a family and it seems impossible."

"Could you get up a bit earlier every day or go to bed a bit later every day and carve out an extra half hour or so for writing?"

"Not really. If I don't get enough sleep I get very tense and I don't function well."

"Could you spend part of your lunch hour writing?"

"No, usually a group of us go out and grab some lunch together and I don't want to be out of the loop."

"What about weekends? Could you take a couple of hours on Saturday or Sunday or both?"

"That's family time. I don't think my wife or my kids would appreciate it."

"I bet if you told them this is really important to you and you'd like to take a couple of hours for it every weekend they'd understand."

"Maybe, but how much could I really get done in a couple of hours anyway? My ideas are all for novels, it would take forever to write one that way."

By this point it was clear to me that his addiction was to reasons why he can't succeed as a writer. I was not surprised later in the day to overhear him talking to another participant about how you have to have connections to succeed as a writer, the new writer doesn't have a chance, etc. 

I'm not suggesting that it's easy to make the time to write when you have a lot of other obligations, nor that it's easy to succeed as a writer. However, this man was determined to prove that it is impossible, which clearly isn't the case. J. K. Rowling and many others have shown that you don't need ideal conditions in order to write. 

I'm sure what was at the bottom of this man's myriad excuses was the fear that if he did write something it wouldn't be good enough--whether by his own standards or those of the publishing world or those of readers. In my books and classes I suggest ways to overcome these fears, but he wasn't ready to listen to those. I guess the fear was too great. I hope someday he'll be able to overcome them because I'm sure he does have some good stories to write.

It's a common belief that many writers are addicted to alcohol but I think a lot more are addicted to avoiding facing the fear that what they write will not measure up.

Of course we all feel that way sometimes--at least once in every new project I undertake there comes a time when I think this one will be a disaster and I should stop immediately and start something else. I've been through this often enough to ride out these periods and most of the time it's not a disaster. 

If you find yourself blaming the world for the fact that you're not writing, it's time to look closer to home. Be kind to yourself and gently start unpacking the fears that have been stopping you.

If you're not ready to embark on wriitng that big novel, how about starting with a short story? You don't have to show it to anybody when you're done. If fact, you can tear it up if you like, but you will have written it. Then write another one. Without the fear, the process of writing will be a lot more enjoyable. You'll be on the road. 

(For friendly guidance on the whole process, from idea through to publication, see my book, "Your Writing Coach." it's published by Nicholas Brealey and availale from Amazon or your other favorite bookseller.)

Join us for the next MAD on Saturday, November 9, 2013

Want to make huge progress on a writing project (or on getting your home office organized, or anything else)? Join my online Massive Action Day on Saturday, November 9 (its monthly except for August & December). It will help you make big progress on a goal important to you--build momentum, feel great about your achievement, and give and get support from the others online and from me.

You'll be able to declare your goal for the day in our exclusive chat window and update throughout the day.  I do a brief live video broadcast every hour with tips and to answer your questions on how to get more done.

It's only £5 (about $7.70 or €6) when you sign up for the series of ten. Get all the information here:MASSIVE ACTION DAY INFO.

"I love the MADs - they are always fun and I get things done...I find it fun and productive. Working in the MAD chat is like having an exercise buddy - you can exercise alone, but you'll probably exercise more and have more fun when having a buddy!" -- Susanne Tanner, Zurich, Switzerland

Spend an hour with writer Ray Bradbury

Sadly the wonderful writer and wonderful human being Ray Bradbury is no longer with us, but recently I came across a video of “An Evening With Ray Bradbury” recorded in 2001 when he was 81.  A few of his tips for writers:

• A good way to start is writing a short story per week. That will give you the experience you need in order to write a novel. 

• Read one short story per night, one poem per night, one essay a night for the next 1000 nights.  He recommends the short stories of John Collier, Edith Wharton, Eudora Welty, Melville, Hawthorne, and many others. 

• Writing is not a serious business. It’s a joy and a celebration.
• Anyone who doesn’t believe in your and your future, to hell with them.

 There’s a lot of good advice, but I think it’s his spirit and his obvious love of his craft that makes this enjoyable. Here’s the link:

 http://youtu.be/_W-r7ABrMYU

PS: If you encounter writer's block, as well as following the advice he gives here, consider taking a few days to watch inspirational videos like this and read some good books in your genre. You'll be feeding your brain so you won't need to feel guilty about not writing for a few days. You may find that's enough to get you back on track. 

Writers and Artists: what does it mean to sell out?

When you start to sell your writing, there will opportunities to make money by changing what you've created. Should you take them? Where do you draw the line regarding how much of your novel, screenplay, or other creative project you are willing to change or exploit?

In the previous post I quoted some of the comments cartoonist Bill Watterson, creator of “Calvin and Hobbes,” made at a graduation address back in 1990. In this post I’d like to share some of his comments about “selling out.”

I think he was unique among successful comic strip artists in not licensing his characters to be used on toys, sheets, cups, t-shirts, etc. (although you’ll see them on bootleg merchandise). It would have brought in millions. Why did he decline? He said:

“The so-called ‘opportunity’ I faced would have meant giving up my individual voice for that of a money-grubbing corporation. It would have meant my purpose in writing was to sell things, not say things. My pride in craft would be sacrificed to the efficiency of mass production and the work of assistants. Authorship would become committee decision. Creativity would become work for pay. Art would turn into commerce. In short, money was supposed to supply all the meaning I’d need.”

This is a tough issue for writers, especially scriptwriters.

Once somebody buys your script they can demand any changes they want.

You wrote a script about a sensitive young girl facing her first sexual encounter? Some studio executive can decide the story would be better if she’s a hooker. Of course you can refuse, in which case they’ll hire somebody else to change it.

Over the years I’ve seen writers handle this in different ways. Some decided they would make the changes but try to save as much of their own work as possible. I tried this once with a TV movie, a romantic comedy that a network exec wanted to change “a little” by having a hit man trying to kill the female lead. It led to a draft that didn’t make him happy and didn’t make me happy, either. 

Another option is to approach the whole thing as a craftsperson with little personal investment in the final product. In other words, just do the job, follow orders,  and move on. Although this can fill the bank account pretty quickly, I think it kills the spirit equally quickly.

The method I finally settled on is to enjoy writing my version. When someone wants changes, naturally I’ll agree to those that make it better and also to those that make it different but not worse. If they insist on changes that make it significantly worse, I walk away and try not to see the finished product. 

Here’s one more selection from Watterson:

“You will find your own ethical dilemmas in all parts of your lives, both personal and professional. We all have different desires and needs, but if we don’t discover what we want from ourselves and what we stand for, we will live passively and unfulfilled. Sooner or later, we are all asked to compromise ourselves and the things we care about. We define ourselves by our actions. With each decision, we tell ourselves and the world who we are. Think about what you want out of this life, and recognize that there are many kinds of success.”

If you didn't read the previous post, please have a look. I hope that these two posts may lead you to the conclusion that you are already successful.

(You'll find writing advice and inspiration from the classic and modern great authors in my book, "Your Creative Writing Masterclass," published by Nicholas Brealey and available from Amazon or your other favorite bookseller.)

The truth about free-lancing, freedom, and overnight success

Do you dream of being a free-lance writer or being able to devote most of your time to writing novels or non-fiction books or screenplays?

Back in 1990 the brilliant creator of “Calvin and Hobbes,” cartoonist Bill Watterson, gave a graduation address at his alma mater, Kenyon College. One thing he pointed out will not come as a surprise to most free-lancers:

“You may be surprised to find how quickly daily routine and the demands of 'just getting by' absorb your waking hours.”

When I first went free-lance full time I had visions of spending most of my days being creative, reading, visiting museums and galleries, sitting in coffee shops having great thoughts. Somehow it didn’t work out that way. I’m delighted not to have a normal job but the daily routines and demands do persist.

Of course I also dreamed of overnight success. Now I know the truth of another thing Watterson pointed out:

“..it’s worth recognizing that there is no such thing as an overnight success. You will do well to cultivate the resources in yourself that bring you happiness outside of success or failure. The truth is, most of us discover where we are headed when we arrive. At that time, we turn around and say, yes, this is obviously where I was going all along. It’s a good idea to try to enjoy the scenery on the detours, because you’ll probably take a few.”

In fact, looking back, so far it’s probably been more detour than planned route! Watterson didn’t find success for quite a while:

“To endure five years of rejection to get a job requires either a faith in oneself that borders on delusion, or a love of the work. I loved the work...Drawing comic strips for five years without pay drove home the point that the fun of cartooning wasn’t in the money; it was in the work.”

Some of you may have been writing for five years or more without pay. The same things applies. I think a prescription for happiness is making sure you enjoy the process; if the outcome is the one you want--best-seller status or a movie sale, for instance--that will be the bonus.

Next post: Watterson on selling out.

(Are you interested in the writing advice given by the classic and modern great authors? You'll find it in "Your Creative Writing Masterclass," published by Nicholas Brealey and available from Amazon or your other favorite bookseller.)

If you write fiction, this lawsuit is scary!

A lawsuit has been filed that should alarm all writers of fiction. 

Actress Scarlett Johansson is suing the French publisher of a novel for “breach and fraudulent use of personal rights.” She is also demanding a ban on “future transfer of rights and adaptations” of the book and seeks damages and compensation. 

Why? Because the book, a best-seller in France, features a character who is mistaken for Johansson.

The Hollywood Reporter writes, “In the novel The First Thing We Look At, a woman shows up at the door of a mechanic in the northern village of Somme seeking help. At first the mechanic believes she is ‘Scarlett Johansson,’ though sixty pages later it is revealed she is not the actress but simply a doppelganger named Jeanine Foucaprez.” 

The author is said to be “stunned” by the lawsuit, saying “I wrote a book of fiction. My character is not Scarlett Johansson, it is Jeanine Foucaprez!" The novel also mentions Ryan Gosling and Gene Hackman. So far, no word from their lawyers.

This lawsuit strikes me as bizarre and misguided at best. Let’s hope it gets the quick dismissal it deserves.

How to flesh out the characters in your novel or screenplay

Looking for a fun way to get to know the characters you're writing about in your novel, screenplay or short story?

A self-help book called Adulting, how to become a grown-up in 468 easy(ish) steps could be useful. I’m kind of afraid to look at it because I’m pretty sure I have more steps left than I care to know. However, seeing some of the sample steps made me think using the book could be an amusing way to get to know your characters better. For instance, here are a few:

• Don’t mention how tired you are.
• Your intentions are important--to you. Your actions are all the world experiences.
• Buy toilet paper in bulk.
• Be fine with being alone in a public place, as no one notices or cares you’re alone besides you.

 So how about that character you’re creating for your novel or screenplay:

• Does he constantly try to get sympathy by mentioning the long hours he works?  Or does he pride himself on working 80 hours a week?
• How big are the gaps between his intentions and his actions? Is he aware of the gaps? 
• Does she buy toilet paper in bulk...or is she an extreme couponer?
• When he’s alone in a public place does he pretend to talk into his phone so people will think he’s waiting for another person?

Another approach is what I call the NSA View:

• What web sites do you think your character would visit? Why?
• To whom does she send emails? About what?
• Whom does he call? Who calls him? 
• If you tracked her movements for a day, where would she have gone?

These are questions you can think about at odd moments of the day; when you actually start to write you'll find you know your characters well.

(Want more tips? Get a copy of "Your Writing Coach," published by Nicholas Brealey and available from Amazon or your other favorite bookseller.)

How to be more productive by pretending you have a clone

Want to be more productive? To do the things you really should be doing, in the best order? Maybe the solution is pretending you have a clone.

On a blog comment I came across this:

"I imagine I've been paralysed and I'm having to pay a clone of me to do exactly what I do every day, which quickly leads you to say "Why the hell are you wasting my money doing that" - works wonders for proritising."

(I believe that comment was by Chris Webb from compelling.tv).

I don't want to imagine I've been paralysed--I'd rather imagine I'm in a hammock on a beach somewhere sipping a cool drink and giving directions to my clone via Skype video. I will be a firm but fair boss...

Of course even better would be figuring out how to outsource the stuff you don't want to do to a real person. Then you and your clone can both spend time in that hammock on the beach, or more time writing.

(You'll find innovative right brain time management methods in my book, Focus: use the power of targeted thinking to get more done. It's published by Pearson and available from Amazon or your other favorite book seller.)

 

Related articles

Are you a Tough Writer?

The one word that will skyrocket your creative output

How to write in your sleep

You can't fail, unless you do this. (Last in a series of ten)

This is the tenth and final post in a series of ideas about creative success. The good news is that there's only one way to fail:

10: THE ONLY WAY TO  FAIL

You can fail only if you stop.

If on the last day of your life you still aren’t on the N. Y. Times best-seller list or your blog has only 99 passionate followers, or you never quite got the hang of rhyme scheme, so what?

If you believed in what you were doing, you probably had a hell of a ride.

That’s what it’s all about.

Isn't it?

I welcome your comments about this or any of the other ideas in this series.

(My book, Creativity Now, helps you develop a mindset that favors creativity, shows you methods for generating more ideas, gives you tools for translating your ideas into action, and inspires you with case studies of how others have achieved their creative goals. It's published by Pearson and available from Amazon or your other favorite book seller.)

 

 

Failing is not fun. But it (usually) won't kill you.(9th in a series)

This is the penultimate of ten facts about the creative process that I think are worth knowing. This one is about failing:

9: FAILING FEELS CRAPPY

Motivational speakers make it sound like failing is noble.

It sure doesn’t FEEL noble.

They claim Edison said something like, ‘I didn’t fail 1000 times to find a workable light bulb filament, I just eliminated 1000 ways not to do it so that I could find the one that worked.’

That quote worked only after he'd found the way that did work. I bet around the 700^th try he threw that bulb to the ground, stomped on it, took a stiff drink and yelled at his wife.

Yes, we have to deal with disappointing results and rejection, but we won’t like it.

On the other hand, most of the time it won't kill us (experimenting with explosives might be an exception). 

Knowing that failing sucks is good. It still won't be any fun but at least it won't be a surprise that you don't feel noble. 

You may feel like retreating to your bed for an extended period of time. A man I knew did that for six months. No kidding. His wife took him his meals but he didn't talk to her. One day he got up and made his own breakfast and started talking again. The next day he went back to work. 

My version used to be to start planning to move to a Greek island. Ideally a sparsely-populated Greek island. I'd plan to be a hermit.

By the time my plans were coming together I'd start to feel better. Eventually I'd feel ready to think about whether I could do something different to try to achieve whaterver it was I'd failed to do.

So far I haven't moved to a cave. Probably you won't have to, either.

(My book, Creativity Now, helps you develop a mindset that favors creativity, shows you methods for generating more ideas, gives you tools for translating your ideas into action, and inspires you with case studies of how others have achieved their creative goals. It's published by Pearson and available from Amazon or your other favorite book seller.)

If at first you don't succeed with your writing, don't try, try again! (8th in a series)

This is the eighth in a series of ten ideas about how to bring your creativity into the world. What if your first attempt doesn't work out? That's OK but forget about the old "try, try again" adage. Here's why:

8: IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T SUCCEED, DON’T TRY, TRY AGAIN

At least don’t try the same thing again and again.

Hit yourself on the head with a hammer (you may imagine this instead of doing it if you prefer).

How did it feel?

Do you think it will feel any different if you do it again?

If you do, go ahead. How about now?

If at first you don’t succeed, try something different.

Continue until you find the method that gives you the results you really want.

Hey, it's  a formula for success that really works!

Why don't more people do this? Probably because whatever we've done before is familiar. It's easier than trying something new. Sure, it doesn't work but we know how to do it, so let's try it again. You never know.

Except that you do.

(My book, Creativity Now, helps you develop a mindset that favors creativity, shows you methods for generating more ideas, gives you tools for translating your ideas into action, and inspires you with case studies of how others have achieved their creative goals. It's published by Pearson and available from Amazon or your other favorite book seller.)