Writer Mondays

This was slated to be my pre-Christmas post but as always my memory failed me. Anyway, it’s never too late to discuss investment in a writing space and it’s one thing that I’m very passionate about.

Three years ago, I had an industrial hygienist take survey of my working area at work. She did a full review and suggested some really important things.She said that my mouse and keyboard should be even with one another, and since my area was small making that difficult, I should probably get rid of my mouse altogether in favor for a roller mouse. She also stated that my wrists were awkward when I type and that I needed an adjustable keyboard. Finally, she measured my thighs and noted that I always wear heels that higher than 3.5 inches and recommended a chair with an appropriate seat length and height. Had I worn flats she would have suggested a stool.

I thought all this ergomomic talk was BS but these adjustments changed my life. My wrist, finger, and back pain went away, and I was able to work more comfortably for longer periods of time. This is important for someone like me who has Attention Deficit Disorder that afflicts me with hyperfocus. When I’m in the midst of hyperfocus I can work 11 or more hours straight without taking a break to eat, drink, or even use the bathroom.

Scale this back a bit, and every writer who uses their homespace to write needs to think about work comfort. Sitting or lying on the bed or working at the kitchen table often aren’t adequate places to work. And if you’ve found yourself with touches of numbness or neck and back discomfort then you know what I’m saying is true.

If you don’t have a work space at home, it’s really time you start to put away money to build a space that makes writing a comfortable and enjoyable experience. You don’t necessarily need someone to review your space but keep in mind that there are other options out there besides regular flat keyboards and the mouse attachments that come standard with computers. There are computer desks and rolling chairs that might be appropriate but a study desk and chair may work just as well. If you work on a laptop you may consider buying a monitor for it. If you do a lot of interviews on the phone, you may consider a head set.

Just be sure you think about the height of your desk and chair and also how much space you will need around them.

These are such a simple things to think about but sometimes it helps to be reminded to hurry and get the ball rolling. It’s important for not only the health of your body but the health of your writing that your work space reflects the seriousness of what you do.

On a personal note, I like to keep things on my desk that make writing feel special. I have a precious moments angel, a paper holder, my favorite pens, matching organizers, and pads.

Some writers have rituals…I remember I used to work with a really talented writer who said taking her shoes off made her feel like a writer. So when she was really struggling with a speech, she’d take her shoes off right there in her cube. Be mindful of what makes you feel like you’re doing something worthy and special. Roll with the feeling.

When it comes to your actual writing tools think of your physical safety–there are long term consequences to working awkwardly.

xoxo

I’m old enough to remember when snark in the mainstream was a fairly rare occurrence. In fact, the Queen of snark, Maureen Dowd, was often the only snark meister published regularly. But now snark isn’t just a tool of the talented, it’s a tool of those who are incapable of making a coherent point. It seems every Dick with a keyboard has a know-it-all-if-you-don’t-agree-with-me-it’s-clear-that-you’re-stupid approach to prose. I think it’s indicative of the expert-at-everything society we now live in where people know just enough to make them assholes.

Quite frankly, I’ve had quite enough of dork snorts and nerd smirks. I’ve had my fill of condescension and mocking. It’s time for America to collectively grow the fuck the up and learn to make a point without denigrating the other side.

Let’s be real, no one likes to be challenged on a point. We express an opinion after thinking we’ve considered all possible sides. Then suddenly, to our dismay, someone responds with a superior, or at least just as valid, contradicting opinion. There’s two ways to handle it–with or without class. Lately, too many are choosing the latter.

I’m guilty of it myself. And I don’t think that snark is the best part of my writing. In fact, it’s very rarely the best part of anyone’s writing–or commentating for that matter. Even Dowd’s column has lost its luster in recent years.I think the biggest problem with snark is that once people begin to gain some popularity for it the stakes heighten and suddenly it becomes a shtick. And I know some people think their snark is funny…but making fun of everything all the time isn’t funny, it’s negative.

I don’t think I’m alone when I say much of the media has become generally negative and therefore unproductive. Snarky personalities seem to be all the rage right now much to my chagrin.

In 2011 I plan to pursue and support more maturity in myself and the information I consume. I already do a good job of this by avoiding cable news like the plague and being a choosy reader.

But less snark doesn’t mean blunted edges. In the spirit of my idol the great Christopher Hitchens, I plan to maintain my reputation as a contrarian and keep with it my dry and prickly writing style. Like Tina Turner I’m keeping my name–I worked too hard for it.

jd

First let me say, I am so glad to have media strut up and running again. I have now switched hosts, deactivated some troublesome plugins and everything appears to be working fine. I hope I have some readers left???

Today is the first of many guest posts by writers. As I said before, I think it’s good to have others contribute to Writer Mondays because this is an opportunity for all of us to learn together.

Today’s post is by one of my favorite people, Samuel Jean.  Sam is a veteran business development and legal consultant. After getting his law degree from  Boston University’s School of Law, he did a whole bunch of impressive things that are too many to list here. While he still runs an entertainment/technology/philanthropy consulting company in LA, screenwriting has become his passion.

Among other projects in development, Sam is currently working on two book adaptions–one about cocaine smuggling in the late 60′s the other a WWII POW story. He has also co-written one movie that is slated for release this year and another currently in production.

With that said, here’s his post. TAH DAH!

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In my previous career I used to get scripts all the time for my clients. Since, they HATED reading them, the job fell to me to read the scripts. While I liked writing short stories in my spare time I never thought I would have a career as a writer, let alone a screen writer. Fortunately for me, all that changed.

Our company paid a writer to develop a script. The final product was awful. We paid another writer to fix the first writer’s script. That product was even worse. I finally said to myself — I could do a better job than any of these guys and do it cheaper. That’s how I started writing.

I’ve been screenwriting for a few years now, and I have a few tips (in no particular order) about breaking into and being successful at screenwriting:

1.LEARN THE RULES. The “hows” and “whys.” The structure of screenwriting has rules. As a writer, you don’t get to flaunt or ignore those rules . They exist for a reason. I write for film my friends who write for television have a different set of rules that they have to adhere to. Read any screenplay and you will see that it follows a particular pattern. There’s a reason. Learn the reasons.

I would suggest that every aspiring screenwriter invest in the following books and manual:

Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting by Syd Field

Screenwriting 434 by Lew Hunter

The Complete Screenwriter’s Manual by Bowles, Mangravite and Zorn

Genre Screenwriting: How to Write Popular Screenplays That Sell by Stephen V. Duncan

A Guide to Screenwriting Success: Writing for Film and Television by Stephen V. Duncan

2. START WRITING. Once you learn the rules, WRITE. Having an idea isn’t enough. WRITE. Even when the script is “finished” you will find that producers, directors, agents, managers and even actors will ask you to rewrite and edit. The writing process is rarely FINISHED. There is a big difference between a person who has an idea and a person who puts that idea into words. The streets are littered with people who have ideas for movies. What will distinguish you from them?

Continue Reading…

I finally got the 2011 Writer’s Market book in the mail on Friday. It is now 8:35pm on Sunday night and I’m about to cuddle up with it along with a highlighter. I can’t wait.

The Writer’s Market book bills itself as “The most trusted guide to getting published” and it is. The book lists over 3,000 listings of magazines and other publications, their editors, what you can command per submission, and tips for writing successful queries.

It’s truly a writer’s bible–whether you write poetry, articles, or longer papers.

One of the things writers tend not to do is look at their writing as a business. If you plan to make a living off of writing this is absolutely positively necessary.  Whether you have a blog or whether you want to write steadily for a newspaper or magazine–you need to build a great byline for yourself as well as establish some credibility.

A plan is important because when you’re starting out, it’s tempting to take any offer. Many writers will write repeatedly for free and for anyone as long as they pay or give you exposure. In the long run this is a bad bad bad strategy. You can end up writing things you will regret later or wasting time writing in a niche you don’t want to continue to write in.

Making a living as a writer is very difficult. There’s no time to waste writing on frivolous low impact sites or doing favors for publications that have no reason not to pay.

I believe WM is a key part of helping any writer develop a business plan for their craft. There are a few other books I will suggest as the “Better Writing” series continues on Media Strut. There will be a high emphasis on the business aspect of writing.

I suggest all of you writers take some time with the WM book and start making some decisions about where you’d like to see your name appear. I also suggest you begin thinking about what your niche is and what makes you a qualified or credible source for information on that topic if you plan to publish nonfiction.

From there you can begin sending out queries and taking note of where you’re finding success in getting published and where you’re finding yourself being rejected.

WM is widely available, and is about $30 in stores. Amazon sells it for $19.99. A good buy either way.

If you are heavily into the writing blogosphere (which, if you want my humble opinion, if you want to be a writer you absolutely should be), then you’ve probably already heard or read the Stephen Fry piece on grammar and spelling snobbery.

All of my favorite websites -from Executive Communications blog to Vital Speeches of the Day– have posted this video. I thought I’d do the same.

I think a lot of us who have written for years and taught others to write can appreciate Stephen Fry’s frustration with people who seem to live to correct the grammar of others as though that is the most important component of being a great writer.

He says:

“[Language pedants] whip out their Sharpies and take away and add apostrophes from public signs, shake their heads at prepositions which end sentences, and mutter at split infinitives and misspellings. But do they bubble and froth and slobber and cream with joy at language? Do they ever let the tripping of the tips of their tongues against the tops of their teeth transport them to giddy euphoric bliss? Do they ever yoke impossible words together for the sound-sex of it? Do they use language to seduce, charm, excite, please, affirm and tickle those they talk to? Do they? I doubt it.

They’re too farting busy sneering at a greengrocer’s less than perfect use of the apostrophe.”

This sentence… “Do they ever yoke impossible words together for the sound-sex of it?”…is EVERYTHING AND MORE TO ME AS A WRITER. One of the greatest joys in my life is putting together words in ways less traveled.

But back to the point…

Not only is grammar NOT most important, proper grammar can interrupt the rhythm of a sentence or even cause parts of it to become superfluous. In corporate America and government, style books take grammar and twist it to make it into something consistent and convenient more than correct. There’s standard grammar, and there’s grammar that we use.

Fry gives the example of grocery stores using “5 items or less” when, grammatically speaking, the correct phrasing is “5 items or fewer.”

There are lots of other examples like this where phrases not grammatically correct have been woven into our linguistic landscape and most of us are none the wiser of their grammatical deficiencies.

If you follow me on twitter, you know that seeing people correct (or mock) the grammar of others agitates me. I mostly try to ignore it and I’ve never really explained why. I suppose here is the place to do so.

When I was a tutor at Temple University, I helped people improve all sorts of texts–from freshman composition papers to dissertations to grants to book manuscripts. When I would sit down with the tutee and ask them “What do you think I should focus on? What do you believe you need to improve?”

The most common answer was “grammar.”

Unfortunately, once I would begin to delve into the piece, I found that grammar was the least of their concerns. In fact, for most people this holds true. Most of us speak to other Americans enough to mimic the general flow of the language. And most grammar problems really come down to word usage (which extends beyond grammar) and verb usage. These are things that can be very easily corrected by native speakers.

Continue Reading…