The Benefits of Failure

"You need a thick skin to survive in this business."

I must have heard this officious piece of advise a thousand of times as I embarked on my journey to become a writer and "make it" in Hollywood.  But what does it really mean to have a thick skin?

Every creative artist experiences rejection.  For writers, the rejection we get can be exceptionally brutal.  If we're putting ourselves out there and doing the work the rejection we receive amounts to piles of letters from editors, agents and publishers stating right there on black and white how inept we are.  At least that's one way of looking at it.


Another, perhaps healthier way to look at rejection is to consider that feedback of any kind is an opportunity to become a better writer.  In a recent interview I was asked how I dealt with bad reviews of my film, Watercolors.  In truth, those bad reviews were just an opportunity for me to fine tune what may have not worked with some audience members.  The truth is that the great majority of audience members and critics did like my film but the few bloggers and smaller publications that trashed it still had good things to offer me as a writer/director.  I had a lot of useful information and although I can't use it for a rewrite for Watercolors, I'll have in the back of my head for the next project.  


Perhaps the greatest trick is not to take it personally.  Some people will make suggestions that you'll find pathetically amateurish - consider the source.  Other times you'll get a solid nugget of gold (even if it's in the form of a harsh statement) that perhaps underscores a weakness in your writing.  Don't be so hurt by the harshness that you miss the gold.  Remember that critics get paid to write interesting copy and sometimes that means slamming someone.  In all likelihood, if you adjust based on some intelligent feedback your rewrite will be better than your initial idea.  We all have weaknesses in our writing - in our psyches - in our hearts.  They make us unique.   They make us human.  


One of my favorite pieces of memoir is a book called "The Great Failure" by Natalie Goldberg.   Goldberg is a Zen monk, a painter and a wonderful writer.  She's been a huge inspiration to me in my journey.  I hope she'll do the same for you.  In her book she describes many experiences where putting her own ego aside allowed her to become a better writer.  In the end, nothing is a failure -- it's all a learning experience.


Having a thick skin doesn't mean being impenetrable, invincible or arrogant.  Thick skin means letting the nonsense that doesn't apply slide right off.  And, they'll be lots of it.  Know your own self worth and understand the process that works for you.  Hopefully, part of your process will include knowing how to work with rejection and criticism.  


This week's suggested website: Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America - (www.sfwa.org) The SFFWA, or SFWA for short-short, is one of the most effective and widely-recognized of all non-profit writers' organizations. Members have access to all manner of resources and publications and can benefit from the protection offered by the SFWA.


This week's writing prompt: Give yourself five uninterrupted minutes of quiet time.  Consider some of your favorite publications and what it took for those contributing  writers to sell their piece.  Harper's, The New Yorker, Esquire, etc. all work with the top writers.  Now, in a positive spirit, give this writer your criticism.  Look for ways in which the story missed its mark or could have been more effective in your opinion.  Be ready for when roles are reversed and its your story in Esquire that people are criticizing.  

Going the Distance

Are you in it for the long haul?  Are you a better sprinter?

Short stories and poems can sometimes come in flashes of inspiration.  When they do you write them down furiously with the force of an explosive sprinter.

Conversely, novels and screenplays are long term projects.  No one writes a novel or screenplay in one sitting.  To successfully accomplish your writing goals you'll need to treat your project like a sustained marathon effort not a dynamic sprint.

Interestingly, I've also found that a screenplay or other long work is more like a marathon of hurdles.  You will encounter one bump in the road after the other.  Scenes you thought were brilliant one day won't work when you reread them a week later.  Some days you'll feel like you're running in place, not making any progress a all, your destination no closer as a result of your efforts.  It's especially on these days that you've got to make sure you carve out your writing time and just get through it.

One way I managed to get through my first script was to set mini-goals for myself that I could reach within a day or two at most.  Hitting these goals day after day helped to build my confidence which in turn kept me motivated.

Naturally, this approach isn't meant for all writers.  So, in the spirit of fun, here's a completely different  philosophy and approach.  Viki King's How To Write A Movie in 21 Days, baffles and excites me.   Ms. King offers some great insights and exercises regardless of how fast you ultimately write your screenplay.  A really fun and informative read.  I highly recommend it.

This week's suggested website: Book-in-a-Week - (www.book-in-a-week.com) This site is for ambitious people only. Book-in-a-Week encourages writers to write as much as possible during the first week of every month.


This week's writing prompt: Give yourself five uninterrupted minutes of quiet time. Consider the project you're currently working on.  Give yourself realistic daily mini-goals for the coming week, e.g., Monday - 1,000 words in the novel, Tuesday - research my main character's favorite hobby, Wednesday - re-read and clean up scene #3, etc.  The idea here is to build your masterpiece slowly and methodically.  Be sure to set a goal that matches your current skill level and comfortability.  This will reinforce your writing practice.  Have a great writing week.

Can Artists Be Organized?

Like many people, I struggle with being organized, both in my personal life and in my writing.  But, every now and then something lights a fire under my butt and I go into "ACTION" mode.  A day of intense house cleaning does wonders for moving your life and creativity forward.  Clearing out the cobwebs of doubt, fear, indecision, etc.  is a necessary process to ensure a healthy artistic life and push through to clarity.

Frustrated that I haven't finished a significant piece of work in a while (it happens to every writer), I called a friend of mine who's a producer in New York and someone who's opinion I trust to have a bitch and moan session.  Afterward, I decided to take  stock of where I was with my various projects.  I had a vague idea that I was juggling multiple story lines, characters, etc. in my head for some time but didn't have a clue to what extent.

After spending some time digging through piles of old notes, scanning my hard drive for computer files of character breakdowns, treatments, etc.  I realized that I had no less than seven feature films, five television shows and two novels swirling around in my head and in various stages on paper.  I was even seventy pages deep into one script idea.  I never realized I had so much material.  I actually had been very busy all along.   I hadn't seen any "real" progress because my efforts were spread thin to say the least.

Now, I found the fortitude to hunker down, focus and finish something.  I have tons to work with.  And I'm relieved to find out I haven't been meandering, wasting time getting nowhere.  I was just momentarily scattered and maybe a little dejected -- common states of emotion that all writers need to get used to.  Does any of this sound familiar?  Do you go through a similar process of creative monsoons followed by what seem like creative droughts?

Perhaps the most influential book on creativity and more importantly the psychosis of a creative person I've ever read is Julia Cameron's "The Artist's Way."  In more ways than I could ever express here, she has kept me sane.  She really covers it all, rejection, self-doubt, writer's block, commitment, etc.  Her exercises are fun and effective.  She's a true lover of the creative process and understands it from the inside.  I truly urge you to take a look at her work - it will influence your own for certain.

Maybe being organized doesn't come naturally for you either but cultivating the habit of being organized can help when the ideas are pouring in on top of each other.  Organization helps us affirm that our work is valuable and has a place in the world, namely, prominently displayed!

This week's suggested website: The Poetry Foundation. Publishers of Poetry Magazine.  These guys have been around for over 90 years, well worth checking out.  (www.poetrymagazine.org) Nothing informs your imagination and feeds your creativity like poetry.  


This week's writing prompt:  Give yourself five uninterrupted minutes of quiet time. I call this exercise adding to The Golden Notebook.   I hope you'll use it for years to come.  It's a simple yet powerful tool for affirmation, a yardstick to measure your writing progress over the years, and a deep well of inspiration when you feel you may have writer's block.  Here's how I found it works best for me:  Take your favorite notebook and create a master list of the titles of all the projects you've ever contemplated undertaking.  Imagine that you've already written them all.  Then list next to each title a small logline or 3 line synopsis of that work.  Treat it as if you were asked to catalog the works of a great master.


Here's an example from my own Golden notebook.


Title: Blood and Grace
An up and coming Spanish matador develops a growing obsession with a touring Russian ballerina.




Title: Jasmine Hill
A frustrated novelist and professor of English at a prestigious New England university goes on sabbatical when she can't get a publisher interested in her latest novel.


Keep your Golden Notebook filled with the seeds of your future masterpieces.  This is where you'll come to when you're ready to plant something in the fertile ground of your writing.  The best ideas will always find a way to capture your attention and force you to plant them, fertilize them, harvest them and share the bounty.

The Art of Perfect Timing

Have you ever been told you had perfect timing?  Remember how glorious that brief moment felt when everything fell into place harmoniously, effortlessly?

How do you keep your story riveting from beginning to end? Like a good driver who knows when to put the pedal to the metal and when to slow down around the curves, a good writer is aware of a story's pace.  Every page of your script better be moving the story forward or it'll translate into one big yawn by the time it gets to the big screen.

One of the biggest surprises I experienced while working on the initial rough cut of my film, WATERCOLORS was how slowly the pace was moving.  I had two actors in a bedroom just talking for a large chunk of the first act.  I was fortunate enough to have worked with a great editor, who chopped off large chunks of dialog while still managing to keep the mood of the scene in tact.  An extra two or three weeks working on the script with particular attention to pacing may have eliminated costly days of shooting.

Of course, hindsight is 20/20.  But, I learned a valuable lesson about editing.  It's easier to do it on the page than in front of an expensive editing bay running the latest software, at a hefty hourly rate.  It's easier to crumble up a page and throw it in the garbage and start over than to rehearse a scene with actors, spend hours shooting it and start putting it together in the editing suite only to realize it's over written, slow and boring.

A screenplay is not prose fiction.  You can't delve into a character's inner thoughts.  That's the realm of the novel.  A screenplay is not an endless string of monologues.  Words thrive in the realm of the play.

There's a limited amount of time in a screenplay to get across a lot of information.  Keep in mind that a screenplay is merely a blueprint for actors and a production team to turn into a film.  Every word has to belong there.  Anything that can be cut will and should be cut during the process of making the film.  Start by being ruthless during the writing process.  Its an exercise in extreme minimalism.

One thing I advise writers to do is to start as late in the scene as possible.  If the murderer is about to kill his next victim, let's start with the action, the killer closing in with a machete!  Let's not start with what the victim had for breakfast or how motivated a saleswoman she was, or what a great single mother she was.  If those qualities are pertinent to the story, they'll emerge.   Start with a bang.  Perhaps not a huge bang as your opening sequence but in a sense each scene in your screenplay has its own beginning, middle and end.  Start every scene with an intriguing, rich opening of its own. Weave events together so you have a tapestry of rising action, rising stakes, rising tension.

It's said that each page is approximately one minute of screen time.  Make every moment in your script count.  Make sure if it's in there, it helps push your story forward.


This week's suggested website: The New Yorker Magazine (www.newyorker.com) has been in print since 1925.  It's my personal favorite.  Some of the best writers of the today publish fiction and essays here.  Well worth the price of a subscription.


This week's writing prompt: Give yourself five uninterrupted minutes of quiet time.  Take a story you're currently working on and examine the opening scene.  Can you think of anything in your existing sequence that can be cut?  Is there anything slowing down your opening?  Spend five minutes reviewing your work for pacing.

Writing as Healing

Among other things, writing is a miraculous healing tool.  Whether we're on the receiving end of an eloquently delivered, thoughtfully prepared speech, or pouring our hearts out on the pages of a journal, writing is a powerful emotional tonic.  Writing offers us the opportunity to reinvent ourselves, to rewrite our personal histories.  Writing offers us catharsis.  And, the need for a cathartic experience is the reason an audience pays the price of admission in the first place.


Indeed, the very purpose of a story, whether it's on the page or on the screen, is to provoke an emotional response in the viewer/reader.  Oddly enough, all six and a half billion of us human beings seem to respond in predictable ways to the same things.  We all have hopes, dreams, fears, superstitions, etc.  In the end, the only thing frightening thing is how similar they all are.  No other work better explains the need of story telling and the importance of symbols and rituals throughout human evolution than Joseph Campbell's and Bill Moyer's conversation, "The Power of Myth."  I come back to this work again and again and always get a little something more from it with each reading.  I highly recommend you add it to your writer's bookshelf.



By all means it's great to exercise one's own demons, but to write for the entertainment industry requires more than bearing one's soul, however brave, honest and gut-wrenching that may be.  Industry professionals expect more from a writer than the shock value of exposing the dark side of human nature for the sake of grabbing the attention of a few readers or viewers.

A screenplay, first of all, has to be produceable.  It needs to stay within certain parameters (some creative, some financial, some just insane) that work to the advantage of many parties with different agendas and priorities (producers, agents, talent, backers, distributors, etc.)  Ultimately, a well written, engaging story that touches on universal themes and has something intelligent to say about the human condition will have a better chance of getting produced and distributed.

Hollywood loves an uplifting, inspirational story with a happy ending.  We love to watch the underdog win in the end.  Watching our heroes and heroines overcome immense adversity is an essential part of our own growth.  Vicariously, we get to catch the bad guy, win the race, save the planet and gain a little personal glory.

This week's suggested website: Kickstarter.com (www.kickstarter.com).  A great concept that's actually working to get some artists some very valuable attention.  This site is designed to get creative projects of all types funded.


This week's writing prompt: Give yourself five uninterrupted minutes of quiet time.  Let's focus on dialogue.  One way to look at dialog is to include what people say as well as what they hide. Write a one page confrontational scene between two characters using only dialog.  Drop some hints of what's to come in the story or what has already transpired with these two using only dialog.  Write for five minutes.