Time to Write

Why not keep a journal of this extraordinary time?

Someday we'll look back on this extraordinary time, and perhaps the people who come after us may find it hard to believe...hard to believe we were so poorly prepared when we had ample warning that such a thing was likely sooner or later...hard to believe that our leaders dithered while people died...hard to believe that weeks before, the prime interest of much of the populace was the comings and goings of a forgotten family named Kardashian...

And they may wonder what it was like to live in this time, day-to-day.

Well, you're living through it, why not keep a journal of what's happening, how it affects your daily life, and your fears and hopes?

It could be a fascinating account for your children or grandchildren to read someday.

FOLLOW IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF DANIEL DEFOE

In 1721, Defoe wrote "A Journal of the Plague Year," about the events of the Year of the Great Plague in London. I'm running some excerpts of it on my Facebook page (sample below) but you may want to read the whole thing. It's available free to read or download at Project Gutenberg.

How People Found Out

"We had no such thing as printed newspapers in those days to spread rumours and reports of things, and to improve them by the invention of men, as I have lived to see practised since. But such things as these were gathered from the letters of merchants and others who corresponded abroad, and from them was handed about by word of mouth only; so that things did not spread instantly over the whole nation, as they do now. But it seems that the Government had a true account of it, and several councils were held about ways to prevent its coming over; but all was kept very private. Hence it was that this rumor died off again, and people began to forget it as a thing we were very little concerned in, and that we hoped was not true."

London Was Soon Changed

"The face of London was--now indeed strangely altered: I mean the whole mass of buildings, city, liberties, suburbs, Westminster, Southwark, and altogether; for as to the particular part called the city, or within the walls, that was not yet much infected. But in the whole the face of things, I say, was much altered; sorrow and sadness sat upon every face; and though some parts were not yet overwhelmed, yet all looked deeply concerned; and, as we saw it apparently coming on, so every one looked on himself and his family as in the utmost danger."

Physicians Could Not Heal Themselves

"I shall not be supposed to lessen the authority or capacity of the physicians when I say that the violence of the distemper, when it came to its extremity, was like the fire the next year. The fire, which consumed what the plague could not touch, defied all the application of remedies; the fire-engines were broken, the buckets thrown away, and the power of man was baffled and brought to an end. So the Plague defied all medicines; the very physicians were seized with it, with their preservatives in their mouths; and men went about prescribing to others and telling them what to do till the tokens were upon them, and they dropped down dead, destroyed by that very enemy they directed others to oppose. This was the case of several physicians, even some of them the most eminent, and of several of the most skilful surgeons. Abundance of quacks too died, who had the folly to trust to their own medicines."

Yes, everything old is new again, but there is hope for a different ending.

[image Creative Commons courtesy of National Portrait Gallery)

A mantra for when you're depressed (or even when you're not)

I'm always on the lookout for tips that can help those of us who suffer from clinical depression--or just bouts of lack of motivation.

One I was reminded of recently is the mantra, "Just do one thing."

In better times, the one thing might be writing a few pages, or researching a story, or contacting an agent. 

In harder times, it can be as simple as getting out of bed.

Focusing on a small chunk of what needs to be done usually creates momentum. Even when it doesn't, at least that one thing will have been done. 

If it may be helpful to you, keep "Do just one thing" in mind. Even better, jot it on a note that's visible by your desk or by your bed. 

If it's not you but someone in your life you care about who has this issue, help them to identify one thing and praise them for doing it rather than focusing on all the things they're not doing.

Most likely, they're doing their best.

 

How to Give Yourself a Procrastination Allowance

Once we start to procrastinate, we tend to keep procrastinating.

A common refrain is, "I don't have much time left today to work on that task, so I'll make a fresh start tomorrow."

Of course, tomorrow we may find ourselves saying the same thing, and on and on.

Instead, try giving yourself a procrastination allowance: a certain amount of time you will avoid doing that task, after which you will make a start.

For instance, if you plan to work on writing a report between nine and eleven AM, give yourself a procrastination allowance of fifteen minutes per hour. Use it for anything you want--looking at Youtube videos, checking the news, or staring into space.

You would start the first hour by procrastinating between nine and nine-fifteen. Set a timer to go off when the 15 minutes are up, then get to work.

At 10 you get another 15 minutes to goof off or do a more pleasant task. Again, use the timer so you won't spend more than your allowed time.

Idealists may say, "Wait a minute--that means I'm wasting 30 minutes every two hours!" That's true. But isn't that better than wasting the whole two hours?

Three Dark Writing Moments More Common Than You Thought

Most writers would agree that while writing can be a great joy, it also carries its share of dark moments. When we're in the middle of one, it's easy to assume that we're alone feeling that way. Members of a panel of screenwriters discussed some of the darker moments they've experienced:

Noah Baumbach (writer/director, "Marriage Story") said for him it's starting each new project feeling overwhelmed and like he's forgotten how to write.

Rian Johnson (writer/director, "Knives Out") said it's the moment on every project when the initial excitement for the idea wears off.

Taiki Waititi
(writer/director "Jojo Rabbit") said it was when he was pitching "Jojo Rabbit" and nobody understood the tone he was going for.

Hmm, dark moments when you're starting to write, in the middle, and when you're done and trying to sell the script. One for each phase of the process!

So what's the solution?

I don't think it's trying to fight these feelings.

It's accepting that they are normal.

That it's not just us. 

That they'll pass.

...if we just keep putting down the words. 

 

Don't give up on your dumb idea

Dana Terrace had an idea for an animated magical comedy-horror TV series. She told the LA Times, "I was working with someone at that time who kept discouraging me from working on it."

Her colleague called it a dumb idea.

Named "The Owl House," it has already been renewed by Disney for a second series before the first one has even aired.

Terrace says one of the things that motivated her was proving that former colleague wrong. It wasn't the first time she was out of step. She says, "When I was a kid, and I think a lot of kids feel like this--especially if you're artsy or creative or have any kind of offbeat hobby--you feel a little left out."

I'd add that this still is true for a lot of adults.

However, often it's the oddballs who come up with breakthrough ideas. You know, the kind that are called dumb before they catch on.

Naturally, sometimes a "dumb idea" actually is dumb, but if you believe in yours, stick with it--as Dana Terrace has proved, it can pay off.

          "The Owl House" (Disney Channel)

Write Like Nobody's Watching

Actually, nobody IS watching. So for your first draft, feel free to be as clumsy, daring, or crazy as you like.

Put it aside for a while.

Then look at it.

    What were you thinking!?

    That's TOO crazy!

    Or it just plain sucks.

The good news is, STILL nobody's watching.

You get to rewrite it as often as you want.

Or maybe more times than you want, but you keep going because you know it's not quite as good as you can make it yet.

Then, finally, when it's ready, you send it out. 

NOW somebody's watching.

They may still say it's too crazy or wonder what you were thinking or that it sucks.

If they have constructive criticism or you suddenly see another way to improve it, great, back to the desk with it. 

If not, keep sending it out until it finds a champion.

Meanwhile, write another thing like nobody's watching.

The man with 21,000 rejections

A man who's collected 21,000 rejections? What a loser, right?

Nope, very, very wrong.

Jacob M. Appel is a doctor, lawyer, bioethicist, author, professor, and tour guide. He has seven master's degrees, a JD from Harvard Law School, an MD, and is a practicing psychiatrist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.

His short fiction has been published in 215 literary journals, his debut novel won the Dundee Prize in 2012 and raves from Philip Pullman and Stephen Fry. He's published 16 books and written ten plays. Next month he's making appearances at literary events in Connecticut, Virginia, New York, and Ohio. 

Can we agree this guy must be a genius? 

Maybe, then, you'll be surprised to hear that in addition to all his awards and accolades, he's had 21,000 rejections.

That means he's submitted work 21,000 times (actually more, because not all were rejected). He's 46 now.

I don't know at what age he started submitting work but let's say it was early, at 16. That's 30 years. That's 700 submissions per year, about two per day. And he still had time left over to become a doctor, lawyer, teacher, and tour guide. 

Very few will ever match Appel's abilities and achievements, but I think there are four things we can learn from him:

1. You have to produce.
2. You have to get it out there.
3. You will get a lot of rejections.
4. You can't let the rejections stop you.
   

I'm an info addict. Are you?

Science proved what we probably suspected all along: you can get addicted to information in the same way you can get addicted to junk food.

ScienceDaily reports: 

"A new study by researchers at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business has found that information acts on the brain's dopamine-producing reward system in the same way as money or food.

'To the brain, information is its own reward, above and beyond whether it's useful,' said Assoc. Prof. Ming Hsu, 'And just as our brains like empty calories from junk food, they can overvalue information that makes us feel good but may not be useful -- what some may call idle curiosity.'

''The way our brains respond to the anticipation of a pleasurable reward is an important reason why people are susceptible to clickbait,' he said. 'Just like junk food, this might be a situation where previously adaptive mechanisms get exploited now that we have unprecedented access to novel curiosities.'

I've read articles about people going on a digital diet and recently I was forced to go on a digital semi-diet for a couple of weeks. The place I was staying didn't have wi-fi, you had to go to a clubhouse to access the internet. It wasn't a far walk, but a lot more effort than picking up a close-at-hand iPhone or iPad. 

Now it made more sense to actually finish the task I was doing before going to the clubhouse to check email and headlines.

I didn't have withdrawal symptoms, but I did notice one big effect: I got more writing done.

Lots more. 

When I was able to get back on the internet there was a definite "Ahhh!" once I was able to snack on all the unimportant information featured on my favorite sites.

Yep, it's time for me to consider one of those apps that lets you shut down your access to the internet for a length of time you set. 

What about you?

 

 

 

The Writing Payoff You May Not Be Expecting

We tend to think the payoff for writing a book is getting it into the hands of readers, and the payoff for writing screenplays is seeing your work on a screen, small or large. That's not wrong, especially if you're hoping for a financial payoff. 

But novelist Anne Lamott has another angle to consider, one that I feel more connected to these days:

“I just try to warn people who hope to get published that publication is not all that it is cracked up to be. But writing is. Writing has so much to give, so much to teach, so many surprises. That thing you had to force yourself to do — the actual act of writing — turns out to be the best part.” 

I know exactly the reaction I would have had to this quote before I had anything published or produced: "Easy for you to say, Anne Lamott! You've had books published and you're famous(ish)! Don't worry, I'll deal with the disappointments if they happen, just let somebody produce one of my scripts--or at least buy one!"

I'm not suggesting that you should lose any of that drive or ambition--it's necessary for a writing career. I only want to say there's more than that, and the joy of writing can get lost if you're putting all of your focus on worrying about what happens to it afterward.

The reason I feel more connected to the rewards of writing for its own sake is that over the course of a difficult 18 months, health-wise (much better, now, thanks), I still had the drive to write, even if only short films and scenes that I wrote without thinking about whether they would ever be submitted anywhere, much less produced or published.

Now I'm getting back to writing scripts for which I have commercial ambitions, but with a greater appreciation of what a friendly, healing presence writing can be.

 

 

 

Screenwriters (and others): Reject Rejection!

Getting rejected is a normal part of every screenwriter's life but it can make it difficult to stay motivated. 

Fortunately, cognitive therapy offers a lot of useful tools for making sure we don't let rejection affect us negatively.

Here are three distortions that are very common among writers when their work is rejected or they have other setbacks. As you read them, ask yourself whether any of these reflect your thinking.

Overgeneralization: the tendency to think that one event represents a pattern.

Example: Your screenplay is rejected, and you think, “This script is never going to sell!” Or you read an article about how a producer ripped off a writer, and you assume, “All these producers are out to cheat writers.”

Disqualifying the positive: the tendency to ignore or discount positive developments.

Example: You get a rejection but it includes an encouraging comment on it, and you think, “Who cares about positive comments, it still didn't sell.”

Or someone wants to produce a script for a short film you’ve written, and you think, “Yeah, but it isn’t for a feature script, so it doesn’t really count.”

Mind reading: the tendency to assume you know what someone else is thinking or their motivation.

Example: A producer says your script isn’t right for them, and you conclude, “They obviously think my writing isn’t good enough.”

The reality may be that it’s well-written but too close to something else they have in the works, or not in a genre they’re interested in at the moment.

Or you submit a query letter and don’t get an answer, and assume, “They must have hated that idea, probably it’s no good."

Unfortunately, not answering is the new “no” but that doesn’t mean they hated it, just that it wasn’t right for them at this point.

The solutions

By the way, you may have noticed that these are mistakes we make about rejection of all kinds, so knowing how to deal with it can come in handy in many contexts. Here's how to do it:

Notice it's happening.

It's hard to think clearly when you're upset, so start by sitting down, taking a deep breath and noticing what you're saying to yourself in response to the rejection.

Write down those thoughts. Then use the following methods to challenge the statements you've written down.

Overcoming overgeneralizations

If you’re thinking something “always” happens—does it, really?

Can you think of times when it didn't happen?

If you can't (because your thinking is clouded) ask someone close to you whether they can think of counter-examples.

It's unlikely, but what if it DOES always happen--every time? Then think about what you could do differently in order to get a different outcome.

If you tend to be so excited about what you've written that you send it out immediately to agents or producers and they consistently reject it, try holding back. Put it aside for a while. Get outside feedback. Rewrite as necessary. Repeat. Only when you're sure it's as good as you can make it, send it out.

Another example: If people never respond well to your spoken pitches, get some feedback on whether you're doing your ideas justice with how you present them. If necessary, get some coaching in public speaking or storytelling.

How to avoid disqualifying the positive

If you’re discounting something, ask what is genuinely positive about it.

Again, you may need to get someone who is more objective to help you with this.

An encouraging comment is a good sign that you're on the right track, even if it came jotted on a rejection slip.

Getting a short film made is great--many short films have attracted attention for their writers or even have become the basis of feature films.

If you absolutely can't think of anything positive, commit to withholding judgment. The positive element may become clear in time.

I'll give you a personal example: when my house burned to the ground years ago, I had a hard time finding the silver lining. Especially because not long afterward I found myself hospitalized with a blood clot. But those two events led me to re-evaluate what I wanted from life. I decided to move from Los Angeles to London, and I'm happier here than I was there.

Without a major wake-up call and not having to worry about all my possessions (since they all burned up), I don't know whether I would have made that move.

How to stop mind-misreading

If you’re mind-reading, come up with at least three other things the other person might be thinking. That's still mind-reading, but it opens you up to the fact that we can't know what's on another person's mind.

NLP guru Richard Bandler once said he likes to practice pronoia: the idea that the universe is conspiring to make him happy. Even if you don't go that far, I'm sure you can think of times when you assumed someone was thinking something and it turned out that wasn't it at all.

But even if someone did think, for example, that your script stinks, so what? That's one person's opinion. Almost every script or book that was accepted first had a bunch of rejections.

The bottom line

If you remind yourself that rejection is part of the process and not a catastrophe you'll find it much easier to move on.

 

Unleash your Creativity by Writing from Within

Drawing from Within: Unleashing Your Creative Potential is a book by Nick Meglin that has a lot of great thoughts about drawing that apply equally to writing: 

"We make the mistake of looking outside ourselves for validation of what is, in fact, an inner experience. We look to others for approval, for them to tell us how good our work is before we can feel good about having done it!"

Of course, we want to sell what we write so eventually others will have to think our work is good, but worrying about that too soon can cripple your creative process.

Meglin adds, "The wonderful paradox is that the work that is sincere, personal, and created for one's own satisfaction is what is most often celebrated by both critics and the public alike."

"People learn to draw through the experience of drawing."

"The goal is not to make a pretty drawing, a neat drawing, a good drawing, etc., but just to draw." A good thing to keep in mind when doing your first draft.

AND IF YOU'RE TOO CRITICAL OF YOURSELF:

"We must focus our energies on identifying that part of ourselves that 'finds fault' with or 'disapproves' of our own work--that voice which tends to be self-deprecating, insecure, and negative. And we must learn how to cognitively reframe these negative voices and turn those destructive energies around."

 

Will your screenplay or novel be a hit?

It's easy to expend a lot of energy worrying about whether what you're working on will be a success.

I've done it and I'm sure I'll do it again, but it's wasted energy. It can even lead to writer's block.

In his book, Drawing From Within, artist Nick Meglin writes:

"I once asked a writer friend what he was working on and he said wryly, 'I'm writing a hit play.' He knows what all playwrights know: You can't write a hit.

You can only write a play and have it performed. The public will then determine if it's a hit. 

Neil Simon wrote more commercial hits than any other living playwright, but even he would be the first to tell you he never knew which of his plays would be a 'hit.' It's totally out of his control. What he does control is the time and energy he devotes, and the personal statement he makes in his writing. When he writes 'The End,' the curtain goes down on both his play and his control of its success."

That's worth repeating: The only thing we control is the time and energy we devote to our writing and the personal statement we make with it. If we find ourselves fretting over whether the world will judge our writing to be any good, that's a cue to focus on those three elements instead. 

What's the best place to write?

The best place to write is wherever you feel most inspired and productive, but there's a good case for trying writing or brainstorming in your nearest nice park. According to Science Daily:

"Taking at least 20 minutes out of your day to stroll or sit in a place that makes you feel in contact with nature will significantly lower your stress hormone levels.

That's the finding of a study that has established for the first time the most effective dose of an urban nature experience.

Healthcare practitioners can use this discovery to prescribe 'nature-pills' in the knowledge that they have a real measurable effect." [The study was published in Frontiers of Psychology] 

Especially now that we're on the verge of friendlier weather in many places, why not take your favorite notebook or even your laptop to a park bench, spend the first ten minutes just breathing deeply and enjoying the scenery and then have thinking or writing session. When people are blocked I always suggest a change of location, and that could be another benefit of writing in the park.

If you try it, let me know how it works for you, in the comments here or via email to [email protected] And if you can't get out to a park today, stare at the picture below for a minute...

 

Four mistaken beliefs about writing

There are a few bits of writing advice that I run across a lot that I think are bogus and may be damaging your confidence:

"You must write every day."

It's great if you do write every day, but there are plenty of successful writers who don't. Some have periods during which they research and periods during which they write. Some write a lot for a few days, then take a couple of days off. Whatever works best for you is right.

"You're not a real writer until your work has been published."

Was Charles Dickens a real writer the day before his first book was published? I'd say yes.

It may be fair to say you're not a professional writer until you've been paid for your writing, that's just how we define "professional."

If you're writing, you're a real writer. Anybody who doesn't think so just has a different definition of real.

"Your success as a writer is determined by how many books or scripts you've sold."

You get to set your own definition of success.

Is the best-selling writer automatically a better writer than someone who hasn't sold as many copies? Obviously not. The former may just be a better promoter, or have a more powerful agent, or a big publisher pushing his or her book.

My definition of success for myself as a scriptwriter was (and still is), "Am I making a living from this?" That's because I devote full-time to it.

The first three years I wasn't successful because I didn't make enough from writing to support myself. Ever since, I've been successful--although of course there are many, many scriptwriters who have made more money and had more projects produced. I respect and, in some cases, admire them, but I've never found it helpful to spend much time comparing myself to others.

Another definition of success is, "the things I'm writing these days are generally better than the things I was writing a couple of years ago--by my own standards."

"You're an imposter and will be found out."

This is one a lot of people tell themselves. Not only in the arts, although it's likely that it's more pervasive in the arts than in, say, accounting. The odds are that you're not an imposter and if you are, probably you won't be found out.

A belief of mine that may be more useful: "I'm not as good as I think I am on the days I think I'm really good, and not as bad as I think on the days I think I'm really bad."

A couple of useful questions:

When you find yourself worrying about issues like these, ask, "Says who?"

Literally, who says that?

What makes them the expert?  

They may be an expert on what works for them, but does that makes them an expert on what will work for you?

Might the opposite be true?

If so, which one feels more constructive?

Try operating on the basis of that one.

 

 

 

 

 

What to write about

"Don't try to figure out what other people want to hear from you;

figure out what you have to say.

It's the one and only thing

you have to offer."

Barbara Kingfisher