Category Archives: Tips

Do Your Homework

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Let me be an example to all.  Heed my warning.  Do your research thoroughly before you start writing.

I was polishing my first screenplay, getting it all pretty for submission season, when I discovered I had made a rather large error.  In trying to create a more compelling version of my female protagonist, I did a little research into women’s roles in Ancient Rome and learned something that would change everything.  Ancient Rome was not what I thought.  I allowed my ignorant assumptions, probably based on remnant memories of movies/tv/fiction past to create a world that was a bit on the inaccurate side.  As I have commented (numerous times) before, I have always struggled with the third act.  I have rewritten it so many times, and I’m still sort of displeased with it.  I thought if I could change a few character details, maybe that would give me a different perspective on how to alter the finale.  So I went into research mode.  I’m not sure if I should kick myself now, for not having done this sooner, but nonetheless, here I am…again: major rewrite in progress…*Sigh

Desert

Oh, writing.  Why are you so painful some days.  On Monday at my writer’s group, I did some “reworking” and deleted everything I wrote.  Two hours had passed and I was no closer to solving my dilemma.  I’m going on two weeks with no new developments, and I have a week and a half before I want to start submitting it.  Tick tock.  Tick tock.

There’s this idea that in order to get the story out, you just write.  You don’t worry about it being good or bad, you just get it on paper.  We discussed this on Monday, and I agree, but this isn’t currently where I am on this piece.  It had its days of being “bad”.  Until a few days ago, I loved the first two acts (and I still do).  I just wanted a way to wrap it up nicely.  Stupid period piece and your historical inaccuracy.

My tip of the day: Do your homework.  Seriously.  Don’t follow in my footsteps.  Unless you really know what you’re talking about, don’t rely on fictionalized accounts and a faulty memory, do a little research.  I love doing research, so I’m quite surprised to learn I was not more thorough.  Create special folders on your computer of sites you visit for information as a quick reference tool for each story.  Read up on different aspects (time period, male/female roles, political climate, cultural influences, scientific advancements, etc.) of the story you’re telling, and you may be surprised to learn something that changes your story for the better (or worse, for your characters anyway, depending on your tale).

Now I must go and stare blankly at my script in the hopes “M” will come to life by some sheer force of will.  That picture above is the equivalent of my mind at the moment…

I hope your day goes better.  Wishing you all the best!

Too Much Information

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Earth&TechDoes anyone else find the endless stream of information almost nauseating? For some of you, who may be a little too young to remember a time before the internet existed (yes, I’m going to sound like an old woman reminiscing about the “old days”), we didn’t always have every little bit of information available at our fingertips.  Sometimes we had to wait until the next day to read about some event in the paper or see it on the news.  We had to go to the library for research.  We taped shows and maybe waited a few days, maybe a whole week, to watch it.  Not everything required a “spoiler alert” label, because the time to actually read or watch something before everyone started talking about it could be months.  All the insight and information from so many sources is sometimes overwhelming.  The constant updates about every small detail numb the senses.  And yet, I know more about things because I have access, I have this window.  It’s a catch-22.

This whole rant was sparked because I saw yet another update in regards to the new Star Wars movie, its shooting schedule.  Who needs to know this?  The film hasn’t even begun production and I’m already tired of hearing about it.  And I’m a Star Wars fan.  My sister does not use the internet to the same extent that I do, so for her, most things are still a surprise.  And I try my best to keep the many things I learn a secret to keep her in a state of awe.  At least one of us should be able to enjoy the pleasures of remaining in the dark, to harken back to the days before the endless stream began.  To be surprised.  Ah, those were the days.  The phrase ignorance is bliss is truly difficult to maintain in such times.  Do you know how long I’ve been holding my tongue about Game of Thrones’ Red Wedding?!  Or *SPOILER ALERT* that they killed Brian on Family Guy?  We’re a little behind on everything in our house.

We, as a whole, are becoming too accustomed to instant gratification.  If an internet page takes too long to load, we become incensed.  If a blog is too long, we skim or skip it all together.  So many creations that are supposed to aid in making our lives easier and in turn giving us more time, only make having more time a waste of time.  And I still never feel like I have enough time.  I have a love-hate relationship with the internet.  It’s a window to the outside world, but also an enormous time sucker.  I love that there are programs that make it extra easy for me to get my story down without wasting reams and reams of paper.  I can edit as I type.  I can find information to help my story in the blink of an eye.  And yet…

How does this relate to writing, you may ask?  Well, there are a few things to keep in mind.  Our audiences are much smarter and worldlier than ever before.  They have access to so much, but are also developing shorter attention spans.  So we have to entertain them.  We have to grab their attention and make them want to invest their time.  As writers, we have a wealth of material to draw from on a regular basis; being exposed to a variety of newsworthy topics, cultural differences, scientific discoveries, and any number of amazing facts about our world.  I recently heard that scripts should be “easy reads” (breaking up blocks of text and giving it the appearance of a quick read) because whoever is reading it already has a lot on their plate, so they’re more inclined to give yours a better look if they think they can fly through it.  Ugh.  Really?  I feel like sometimes we’re dumbing ourselves down.

So my tip of the day: Continue to be passionate about your writing.  Write the story you want to tell.  That speaks volumes, but just be prepared.  You may have to alter a few things so it “looks” better, but who knows, maybe you’ll end up in that endless stream where everyone is talking about you!

Best of luck!

Writer’s Groups – To Join Or Not To Join?

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TypewriterFontWriterLast week I sat down at my computer and planned on writing at least two more posts, but some how, each time I looked at the screen, I lost the spark to write.  The first thing I had planned on discussing was an article I read about why writer’s groups are useless and should be avoided, and the second was the mixed emotions I felt after attending a writer’s social.  I had something planned each day last week, all part of that plan to get “out there” and advance my career, but with each passing day, I felt less and less inspired.  I’m not sure exactly why, but it all culminated on Friday night after the mixer (which ironically circles back around to the article).

First up, the article from ScriptMag and it’s quick synopsis: “quit groups”.  At first I was a little annoyed with this writer’s take on writer’s groups, but by Friday I had partially changed my stance.  As I recently wrote, I like my Monday night group.  2 hours of silence.  It’s really nice and useful for its productivity.  I need (nay, crave) more of these quiet moments.  We may share our work, but the feedback we do offer is that of encouragement and support for just having the courage to write if nothing more.  It’s a different premise from most groups, I guess.  We have published authors and people who are paid for their work, professionals, so there are people in attendance who can offer real world advice.  I recently joined some groups as part of my New Year’s resolutions for a couple of reasons.  I (let’s say “foolishly”) believed they would offer networking opportunities, which they have, but maybe not exactly to the extent I had hoped, but more importantly, as a writer, an opportunity to get out of the house.  Yes, I’m going to say it again – writing is a lonely vocation.  As I do not work outside, how else am I to meet anyone?  Let alone industry people.

So this leads to topic number two.  I attended a writer’s mixer/social/networking opportunity that was not exactly what I thought it would be.  Over 80 people were scheduled to be attending, so I had high hopes of meeting someone who might offer some sound advice or be a potential writing buddy.  The venue was a good space, open for mingling, but the music was too loud, so I had nearly lost my voice by the end, and it was too darkly lit, as if we were out for a night of clubbing.  There was this slightly raised area, where three people fell down the stairs because they couldn’t see.  I guess the part that left me wanting was the fact that everyone I spoke with was in the same boat, maybe even in another boat, further back.  I had a larger portfolio of work, most people had only written one thing.  When I discussed the necessity of multiple ideas, I got dazed look responses.  And I got hit on a little.  Really not why I was there.  On a positive note, I did meet some very nice people.  Maybe it’s the cynic in me, but other than being proud of myself for facing such a crowd on my own, I left thinking I had just wasted my time.  Working writers most likely would not have the time to attend such an event, nor would they have the need to.

On Saturday, I listened in on a teleconference about rewriting and discovered I still have quite a bit of work ahead of me on the script I thought was nearly ready.  This knowledge compounded with the “time-wasted” recent events brought everything back to the article I had read.  Maybe joining all those groups is not the best use of my time.  So what if I’m a loner?!  I have friends, none of whom live within a reasonable distance, but who are always just a phone call away.  I have my sister and my furkids for companionship, and who could ask for more than that?  What I learned this week was that as good as my intentions were (although a great opportunity for me to shed any timidity), a lesson of trial and error, did nothing to advance my career.  I wasted a lot of time getting ready and driving to events, I barely wrote anything, and I didn’t meet anyone on “the inside”.

I don’t regret the last week, because I wouldn’t have learned so early on the lesson that not all opportunities are the right ones.  I made the goals, I’m doing my best to keep them, but the point is to learn what you can and move forward.  The goals are meant to be evaluated and rewritten.  My rewritten goal – be more discriminating in regards to the events I attend.   I’m torn at the moment of attending another mixer, part of a series that I’ve never gone to before, or going to my group and being productive.  Yea, when I write it out like that, it’s clear which is the better of the two options.

I hope you’ve been more productive than I have!  Here’s to the start of a better week!  Best of luck!

A Ramble

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Yes, you read that correctly.  I’m going to ramble a bit.  I realized something last night while sitting in my writer’s group…There’s this thing that happens the longer you remain idle…you become even more idle.  It’s a perpetual cycle, and it’s hard to start up again when you’ve been motionless for so long.  Take me, for example.  Until I mentally (and subsequently, physically) decided to do more with my life and my career, I hadn’t realized how much I needed time away from my living space (and the living objects within it) to accomplish some things until I joined a few writer’s groups as part of my New Year’s resolution (one in particular – Writers Blok).  For two solid hours, once a week, I get “me time”.  I can focus without interruption, without constant noise, and me yelling at my dogs to stop play-fighting to just write.  To prove my point – since beginning to write this, I’ve been interrupted at least three times by my very sick sister to make her food or tea, I’ve had to intervene on my dogs’ crazy antics…I’ve lost count, and I’ve been sidetracked by other randomness a few more times.  Most writers like to sit somewhere and work, but as we’ve established previously, my laptop no longer works, so for quite a while now, I haven’t been able to leave my environment to work, at least not on anything new.  Unless I’d like to use the old standard of pen and paper, which unless I’m taking notes or making an outline, does not make for a conducive writing experience, not for me any way.  So, since joining this new group, I’ve been going through drafts of my scripts sent to my iPad in order to review them and make notes.  (Last night, I did learn from another writer about some writing apps that might be useful.)  Then I come home and write on the new stuff, inspired by the solitude and being surrounded by other writers eager to accomplish their goals…except for last night.

Everyone was so relieved I was home; my sister was finally able to go to sleep, after worrying where I was when the writer’s group ran an hour over (this is LA, after all), and the dogs needed dinner and my lap to finally find some peace, which of course meant I couldn’t sit at my computer, so I accomplished nothing (well, nothing further).  We have our routine and when that’s interrupted, everything goes south.  So what I realized is, regardless of my technology-challenged status, I need to get out of the house more.  Not only for my sanity and creativity, but for the randomness that occurs when you’re out and about.  Last night on my way to the group, I saw a man jogging wearing two different shoes.  Why?  A woman waiting for the cross walk, holding her yoga mat, was doing stretches.  Was that the most opportune moment?  A woman driving next to me, who could barely see over her steering wheel, nearly caused an accident because she was driving well under the speed limit and hit the brakes when there was no one in front of her.  Ma’am, please get off the road and save us all the rage.

So back to that light bulb moment…now that I’ve started to take part in some events, I have two more this week, I realized how much I’ve been missing out on.  All that time being idle did me no favors.  And to top it off, I’m a bit of a flake.  So when the day of some event arrives, I am easily swayed into not going.  Usually by my own volition.  But, when I decided to change my perspective, the easier it became to do things.  I still have that lingering thought, that little voice that whispers it would be easier to just stay home, not worry about parking, traffic, being on my own and not knowing anyone, and all the other little doubts that make it easy to chicken out/flake.

So why am I sharing this?  Because if I can do it, so can you.  As a writer, and a screenwriter at that, a lot is left up to us in order to achieve our goals.  I have to do a lot of leg work in order to get my work out in the world and seen.  So I can’t be idle.  I can’t stay home because it’s easy, I have to get out, meet people, network.  We must be like the characters we write – bold, daring, adventurous!  If you’re struggling, remember to write down the goals you’d like to accomplish and create a path on how to achieve them.  Don’t let fear, idleness, or doubt hinder you.  A friend told me today that she admired my fortitude.  It’s new for me, to be this determined, but the positive things that are happening because of this mental shift are just fuel to continue forward.

I’m sure I could ramble on, but everyone is finally asleep, so now I can work…I wish you all success as you journey toward your own goals!

On The “Write” Track

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Yes, that’s a play on words.  I’m feeling pretty good right now.  In my continuing effort to take my career more seriously, I attended a meeting with a career coach tonight.  It was a good night.  The primary focus was making one clear and concise goal and determining the best route to achieve it by year’s end.  Initially my goal was too broad, so she helped me narrow it down, and then helped me formulate a plan of attack for monthly progressional hurdles.  And what I learned, other than how to make my goal more attainable, is that my professional “to do list” I’m incessantly talking about, at least has the right things on it.  Yay!  Another boost.

So, what’s great about all those articles I’ve been reading and sharing is that they are indeed good and helpful.  I still have quite a bit of work ahead of me, but I feel better, more determined, knowing that I’m on the right track (or at least was very close to it).  I can continue to move forward, a little more secure in the knowledge that the choices I’m making, although at times a sacrifice, have put me on the “write” track.

*If you’d like any further information in regards to any of the above, let me know.

Wishing you all continued success!

A Little About Character

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We’ve all heard the phrase, “write what you know”.  Obviously, this is not a literal writing tool or we wouldn’t have the vast array of stories we do.  What it all boils down to is character.  Your characters must be real, believable, and encourage our sympathy or disdain (I mean who doesn’t love to hate a character?  Have you all met Joffrey on Game of Thrones?).  And for some reason, this is sometimes hard to do.  We are people.  We are surrounded by people everyday, and yet when writing them down, they somehow lose their substance.

The same for dialogue.  Why is dialogue so difficult to write sometimes when we talk everyday?  Another topic for another day.

I was having a conversation with my younger sister about dating habits.  And it sparked the idea for this topic.  There are different mindsets depending on age.  The teen years are all hormones and angst – Everything is a tragedy.  The twenties are about exploration and self-discovery – It’s all about the chase, the idea of someone.  The thirties are about settling down and grown up responsibilities – There’s little patience for games.  The forties are about finally being comfortable in your own skin…etc.  Knowing the age of your main character and your audience might ease the storytelling process as many factors will already being in place, but obviously, don’t rely on those as crutches.  No two people are the same, even from the same family.  A great variety of personal, societal, and cultural differences separate us and unite us in our differences, no matter our age.

I’ve always been a people watcher.  A trait among most writers, and a useful tool to build an arsenal to peruse come story time.  I used to go to this tourist trap on the weekends with my best friend where we’d sit on the patio of our favorite cafe with our cappuccinos and watch the droves shop.  Sometimes we’d make up stories, back stories, what-have-you for the strangers we found so fascinating; that’s his mistress, they’ve been married for three days, he’s afraid to tell her he gambled away their vacation money, etc.  Experiencing more of life, knowing a variety of personalities adds to your knowledge bank and might help when fleshing out your characters.

As with any research, if there’s something you want to know about for your character, find the right avenue; speak to someone with the insight, read a psychology book, and definitely read The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell.  Find a family member, friend of a friend, or colleague that might be able to help you.  Go sit somewhere where a cross-section of society might converge and listen, watch.  Just remember, it’s the character that draws us in.  No matter what the story is, no matter where it takes place or when, if we don’t care about the character’s struggle, we won’t care about the rest.  And it doesn’t always have to be a “good guy” we’re invested in.  There are plenty of anti-heroes (Rick from The Walking Dead) and likeable/redeemable “bad guys” we’ll follow (and who doesn’t love a bad boy?  Why else is Loki of the Thor movies (and The Avengers) more popular than the title character?  This would be wonderful opportunity to post another Tom Hiddleston picture, but…).

So explore the variety that is human nature.  There’s lots to choose from.  This might be where that “write what you know” phrase comes in handy.  We already have a wealth of character information at our fingertips (family, friends, exes), and in some ways, our characters are extensions of ourselves.  There is some facet of us in them.  This is what we know.  We just have to be brave enough to put it on the page.

Best of luck and have a great weekend!

A Few Things…

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A long weekend with my sister off from work led to very little progress on the writing front.  We did finally watch some movies on the ever-growing Netflix queue, so a little progress made on the personal to do list, as well as getting the living space more organized.  Yay.  And I’m finally making some headway in the novel, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.  It takes a little effort, because his writing style is very particular, but a definite read for any writer.  Quick overview – it’s about the future and how books are banned.  One of my goals (not to be completed in a year) is to read all the “best” books.  I grew up in a state that ranks at the bottom of education, so I’ve taken it upon myself to read those things I should have years ago.  I alternate a must-read with a pleasure-read, but have been doing rather poorly the last year or so, so, it’s on the list!  Here’s a link to the 100 Best Novels, if you’re up for the challenge.  I was recently asked why I’m doing this, and my response, “I’m a writer.  I should be educated in those that are considered great in my field”.

I wanted to do more with my dot.com (I love saying that), so I’ve started to add “Excerpts” of my work for a little insight into the types of stories I’ve written (all part of the “branding” I’m trying to achieve), a “Calendar of Events” for contests and writing opportunities (there are links for you to explore), and a Pinterest link to see the types of things that inspire me; people, places, castles, clothes, art, etc.  Take a gander if you want to waste a little time –

Hiddles(rugged)

(in adding that link, I still had Tom Hiddleston on the page, so that was a nice, welcome sight…So this is for my fellow Hiddles’ swooners!  Yes, those are both words.  Or will be.)  All of these are a work in progress.  And I’d love if you’d share any writing items (contests, meetings, conventions, classes, etc) of note as well.  I’ll put them up on the calendar.

Today’s post is a little random, as I am, at the moment…LitReactor shared The 10 Weirdest and Most Wonderful Libraries in the World.  I think I could be happy working in a library.  I’ve always wanted to open a little coffee/tea shop and have loads of books that people could take, swap, share.  That’ll be later.

And then not to forget about the writer’s struggle, The Write Life shared the Unconventional Guide to Freelance Writing.  This would be a monetary investment, but sometimes, it’s necessary.  I have a couple of those to make in order to move forward.  This would be one of those catch-22 scenarios where you need a little money to make a little money.

So it’s Thursday and this is my first post of the week.  Shameful.  I hope you’re all doing better than I!

Continued success!

Websites for Writers

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This list will probably take some time to go through, but I wanted to share it.  The Write Life Presents: The 100 Best Websites for Writers in 2014.  I’ll slowly make my way and if anything stands out, I’ll be sure to make special note of it.  And please do the same.

Here’s to a productive week!  Best of luck!

New Look & An Interesting Article

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I’m going to try this new look out for the next week and see how it “feels”.  I’d love some feedback or ways to improve.  What do you all think?  Yay or nay?  I’m not sure yet…

So the article I read, “What to write about when you don’t know what to write about” from ItStartsWith might be helpful for when you’re staring at that blinking cursor upon a stark white, blank screen.  If you need some inspiration to just start writing, anything, this article may help get those ideas flowing.  Sometimes I feel if I’m not working on one of my scripts than I’m wasting time, but writing anything is always good.  It keeps the mind sharp, continuously active and thinking, and ideas come from the most unexpected places.

I’m not going to go on and on today, like I sometimes do, because I’ve been playing around with themes all afternoon, it’s now 11:45 pm, and I haven’t written a word (except for what you see here).

Best of luck everyone and have a great week!

Keeping The Promises You Make To Yourself

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There’s this phrase, a joke really, about how “you’re not really a writer unless someone sees you doing it”.  Family Guy had a cutaway once of two guys writing in a well known coffee shop where one of the guys asks the other to watch him as he writes.  There’s a bit more to it, but you get the gist.  The reason I bring this up is because I don’t go anywhere to write, but after attending my first writers group tonight, I can understand the appeal.  I don’t need the outside validation to prove to myself that I am in fact a writer, but the two hours of solitude I was able to partake in tonight was wonderful.  I sat in a little restaurant with about 20 other writers, put in my ear buds, and just focused on my work.  I don’t want to say that I liked the fact that I had no dogs or sister demanding my attention, but the little respite was welcome.  When I came home my sister told me to take two hours everyday and go to said well known coffee shop.  But my laptop is now ancient, and I suppose I could use a pen and pencil the old fashioned way, but I actually type pretty quickly, fast enough to usually keep up with my train of thought, except when my hands are cold, like they are now, and I keep shivering and hitting the wrong keys, and having to go back and fix every other word…

So attending a writers group was one of the many items on my new to do list.  A way to meet people and network and be held accountable.  As I’ve mentioned, time sometimes gets away from me and I don’t get any screenwriting done.  So I joined a handful of groups in an effort to find multiple slots of time each week to get out of the house and work.  Doesn’t that sound strange?  But, when dirty dishes are staring at you, or a Netflix marathon seems inevitable because it’s a little cold and gloomy outside, and you’d rather snuggle on the couch with your dogs or significant other then sit at your desk and “work”, getting out may be the only answer.  I think a laptop might help me as well.  Then I could snuggle and work.

One of the other  items on my list is to be more creative, in any capacity.  I’d like to learn to draw, more than balloons and stick figures.  I’d like to learn to sew, more than stitching my dogs chew toys because they are aggressive chewers.  I used to decorate cakes, so this weekend, for my sister’s birthday, I made this — IMG_0887

I don’t have any of the proper utensils to actually decorate cakes, so I’m pretty proud of the results.  My friends were impressed, so I’ll probably give this another try.  Valentine’s Day is around the corner, as is my birthday…perhaps I’ll make my own cake…

So my point is this.  Those resolutions, whatever they are, try to keep them.  Start small.  Let them build upon each other, and when you look back in three months, six, the end of the year, you will be so impressed with the progress you made and you can be proud of your accomplishments.  If you’re a fellow writer, I would recommend small page/word counts to start.  1,000 words a day or 10 pages, etc. may sound easy enough, but there’s a lot of life that could get in the way, and if you don’t hit that mark, you might be disappointed.  So start a little lower, build momentum, and add to that word count/page count every month or so.  If you get on a roll, you may write more one day, then you can celebrate.

One thing I’ve learned along the way is to celebrate your achievements, great or small.  You finished that chapter you were struggling with…treat yourself to something.  Finished the first draft on your novel…treat yourself to something big!  Your treats could be anything; a celebratory walk around the corner for a bit of fresh air, and to revel in the moment of your success.  Maybe it’s a new keyboard, or a pen, whatever.

It’s easy to let things slide (I know this better than anyone), but come the end of the year, you want to be able to look back and feel good about it all.  This is what is propelling me forward this year.  I don’t want a repeat of the last one, or two.  Remember to write down those goals and post them where you can see them.  The constant reminder helps.

Wishing you all the best!  Continued success!  And be sure to look around in the coming week as I make changes to the blog…another item to check off that list.