I apologize in advance as I may be a little absent this week. That looming deadline I have mentioned is fast approaching and I still have quite a bit of work ahead of me. Like an actor, I am trying to stay in (writing) character. So in the interim, enjoy this:
Have a great week!!
More often than not when I tell someone I’m a writer I receive the response, “I have a great idea for a story!” And sometimes they add, “Maybe we could talk about it…” Why? Have I mentioned something about running out of my own ideas? Has my well run dry? This may indeed be one of the first lessons every writer learns…everyone has an idea. I’ve had old friends, people I hadn’t spoken to in years, call to ask if I wanted to write these interesting ideas they had because they had learned that I was now a writer. I understand their enthusiasm for wanting to share their story, sometimes it is indeed interesting (I mean, we all have stories…you tell them at parties while standing around the kitchen with a glass of wine), but (and that’s a big but), I feel almost like they’re trying to validate not just what I do, but themselves as well for having lived with this glimpse of a story for as long as they have.
Maybe this sounds a bit callous, but in the end, I think their eye is on the possibility of money. Novels can have hordes of followers and then can be turned into movies, and writers have a level of celebrity now that I don’t think existed prior to the internet. I write because I have to. I don’t want to do anything else, I’ve tried other avenues and this is it for me (and what would my poor brain do if I didn’t do this? Hmm…), and hopefully, in time, the money will come, but that’s not why I do it. This is my lot in life.
I was reminded of this pet peeve when I read an article about The 6 Things Only Writers Understand About the Writing Life on the site The Write Life. Here’s a snippet from this particular pet peeve:
I always feel a little disrespected when someone brings up their story like we have something in common. Do they think my job is just me wistfully going about my day with big ideas?
If you find yourself cornered by someone else’s half-baked dreams, try to steer the conversation toward the reality of your career and lifestyle to help them understand that you’re more than fantastical ideas. Explain what your day really looks like, and the deadlines and commitments that drive your work toward the finish line.
And usually we have to try to find time for our passion in between family, work, friends, and other commitments. So stay strong fellow writers!
I wish you all the best of luck and a productive weekend (if you’re working and not “taking the weekend” like I’ve suggested)!
*Image from DL Koontz site
I’m not sure if all writers are like this, but I find that being an artist (yes, that is what we are no matter how snooty that may sound) can sometimes be all consuming; I’m always thinking about my writing, that I should be writing, that something random might work well in my writing, etc. and that can lead to burnout. There are two given days at the end of the work week that are meant to be taken and enjoyed. I, myself, have found this very hard to do, but gave it a try this weekend by undertaking two big projects that would be too distracting and exhausting to leave me creative. Side note: what I’ve learned about most writers is that we all have a little crazy about us. I am borderline OCD when it comes to being organized, so I decided to reorganize the garage and this storage/crawl space in my apartment (and my body is thanking me for it). Another side note, I still felt guilty that I hadn’t done anything with my writing for two days…baby steps.
So here is my tip: Take the weekend! Recharge your creative battery. A little distance from your work might actually be good for both of you.
*These pictures are just reminders that I don’t live near either of these places, but need to get outside more.
Good luck and have a good week!
I know it’s a phase, but I’m in a rut. I’m in the middle of a major rewrite and I find myself lacking emotionally as I’ve had a lot of negative things weighing on me recently, my romantic sensibilities have been sapped. As I write love stories (in part), the lack of emotion is a bit of an impediment, so I’ve been looking pretty much everywhere in order to be inspired; music, movies, video games, pictures/artwork, and yes, quotes. I thought I’d share a few things and hopefully, in a few days, I’ll get the love back.
I’ve read so many times that as a writer you should write every day, and I agree, to an extent. Depending on what you’re working on, your emotional state could have either a positive or negative influence. In my current frame of mind I should be writing something angry, sarcastic, and dark. And I don’t write that kind of stuff. So, until this mood passes, I will continue the rewrite from a technical stand point, and continue to stare at these in an effort to lighten the mood — maybe I just need a hug…as writers we spend a lot of time alone, so maybe I just need to be around some people. I will test this theory and get back to you.
“I love it when I catch you looking at me, then you smile and look away.”
“Kiss me as if it were the last time.”
And a few of my favorite book quotes —
“Dare not say that man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you. Unjust I may have been, weak and resentful I have been, but never inconstant. You alone have brought me to Bath. For you alone, I think and plan.” — Persuasion by Jane Austen
“I cannot fix on the hour, or the spot, or the look, or the words which laid the foundation. It is too long ago. I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun.” — Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
“Be with me always – take any form – drive me mad! Only do not leave me in this abyss where I cannot find you! Oh, God! it is unutterable! I can not live without my life! I can not live without my soul!” — Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
“I sometimes have a queer feeling with regard to you – especially when you are near me, as now: it is as if I had a string somewhere under my left ribs, tightly and inextricably knotted to a similar string situated in the corresponding quarter of your little frame. And if that boisterous channel, and two hundred miles or so of land some broad between us, I am afraid that cord of communion will be snapt; and then I’ve a nervous notion I should take to bleeding inwardly.” — Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
*First image is Romance by Claude Theberge. Second image is of Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen of Pride & Prejudice. The others I came across while searching the internet. I do not own these works.
There is nothing like the panic that strikes you when you think something is submitted and complete and then you receive an email saying “Incomplete”. Sheer panic. Especially when five weeks have passed and it could be one of the biggest breaks of your career.
I submitted an application for a fellowship at a major studio that I am truly, wildly hoping to be accepted for. I still have a month until they start reaching out to the hopefuls, and I received that terrifying email last night. Two sentences that dangled on a previous page of their legal document needed to be included, and I had missed them. I didn’t need to initial or sign by them, but they needed to be included none the less. Pushing that send button was one of the most tense moments in my writing career so far. There were so many components to be gathered and I had reviewed each item multiple, multiple times, so I was horrified that something went amiss.
I have no words of wisdom to offer today. I’m not sure if this is an omen or if there is some lesson to be learned. Actually, strike that. I think the lesson is that sometimes you are so invested in something that you may fail to see the smallest of errors. That’s why having as many people read your work before sending it out into the world is so important; to catch typos, grammatical errors, dangling sentences, etc. Stepping away from a project for a short time may help you regain some perspective, that is of course unless you’re on some deadline, to which I suggest finding an amazing proofreader you can really rely on!
Too often I see errors on legitimate (magazine, informational, newsworthy) sites and even writer’s pages that make me cringe that people are not taking the time or necessary steps to provide accurate information. The “information age” and the speed at which people expect information to be processed and delivered is making for sloppy work. Everyone needs to take a breather (and not rely on autocorrect).
I apologize for the little rant. I’m still a little shaken from that email. And now I will send out the good vibes — Hope everyone is having a great week!
In yesterday’s post I mentioned that one of the reasons for writing this blog is to help other writers. Another is to remember what’s going on (what was going on – hopefully one day I’ll be reading these for my memoir) in my day as I navigate this treacherous terrain. I have a horrible memory. The script I’m currently working on is a sci-fi/spy piece and I was a little lost on it’s direction. I keep a journal of tidbits (ideas, dreams, fractions of dialogue or scenes, images, and what-have-you) and I couldn’t trace the inspiration behind this current script. I hadn’t written anything down. Then, while listening to YouTube, I heard a song, the theme from a Japanime series called Elfen Lied. (*Side note, this is not for children. It’s bloody, violent, and contains nudity.)
That was it!
I remembered watching it and loving the opening sequence. A young girl with her face covered in a special helmet is quietly walking the hallways of this facility while the military men around her are being torn apart by some invisible entity. There’s blood and violence, and yet she appears serene or in a trance. I’m not going quite in this direction, but it was nice to remember why I started this script in the first place, tentatively called Projection. I got the spark back!
Today’s tip: Write things down. Write down that snippet of an interesting dream you can barely remember. Write down that odd conversation you unwillingly overheard. Use Pinterest (I love Pinterest!) to keep images that inspire you all in one place as you surf the web instead of writing (it’s okay, I do it too). These are a writer’s arsenal. You never know what might spark that next burst of creativity.
Good luck!
I came across these two quotes recently and in light of my last post, felt they deserved a share.
You are never given a dream without being given the power to make it true. – Richard Bach
A writer should have another lifetime to see if he’s appreciated. – Jorge Luis Borges
Best of Luck!
So, I’ve been absent for a little while. I received another rejection, this time from a job opportunity, and then went on a mini-vacation (literally – this is not a metaphor for what has happened to my brain). It was good timing. I’ve been wanting to get out of Los Angeles, if at least for a few days, and regain some perspective. I haven’t been away since last Thanksgiving and the walls have been closing in.
On the drive in and out of town there is such darkness and calm; there are stars enough to resemble a layer of glitter across a vast expanse and for miles in all directions you can feel like the only one in existence. Those moments allow you to reflect on your life, your choices, your present course and remind you how small and insignificant you are in the face of such infinite wonder. It’s not as if I had some grand epiphany, but I did reflect on my current situation and come to terms with the fact that there is truly nothing else I’d rather do. I don’t always know where the story ideas come from, but they keep coming (fingers crossed/knock on wood)…so what else would I do?
The life of an artist, any type of creative, is a difficult one. We not only have to produce the work but then try to make everyone else take notice of it and hopefully pay us for it so we can survive a little longer in order to produce another work. I don’t think we, artists, choose this life willingly. We have no other option. For who would choose to be poor, take menial jobs to survive, spend hours upon hours alone, have your family continually tell you to find a “real” job, have naysayers demean your value, etc? This is the hand we were dealt, and without us the world would be a very different, boring, lacking in imagination, and colorless place.
So take heart, have faith in yourself and your work, and continue on! Surround yourself with people who encourage and support you, for they are the ones who make this journey bearable and help you retain any amount of sanity. Here are two of mine (when they were babies) —
“Not all those who wander are lost” – J.R.R. Tolkien
A Writer's Discrepant Memoirs and Other Tales 