Can Netflix Make you a Better Writer?

I’m a diehard reader so I don’t watch as much television as the average American. Still there are a few shows which have really resonated with me over the years. What makes me put down my book and turn on the TV? It’s not the scenery or even the plot, it’s the characters. Now that I’m trying to write more short stories I’ve discovered that some of the series’ that I love to watch on the screen can also give me some great tips on how to develop the type of characters that people will identify with and want to know more about. For me, a strong protagonist or antagonist needs to be both predictable and unpredictable.  Like the rest of us, in “real life” there should be conflict in their lives but they should also have a shot at redemption for the mistakes they make or the trust they break because that’s what we all want too. Having quirks or eccentricities is also endearing because who among us doesn’t have at least one or two of those and we expect others to accept and like us regardless.

The advent of Netflix has made it possible to watch both newer and older television series whenever you want to so I challenge you to think back on specific characters or certain episodes that acquired a special meaning or relevance to you. Watch them again, this time as a writer, and see what you can take away for your own characters.

A few of my favorite television characters include:

Walter White in “Breaking Bad”: Walt is a nerdy high school chemistry teacher and family man who, after being unexpectedly diagnosed with lung cancer, makes it his mission to create the perfect meth laboratory to pay his medical bills. You really have to see the show to believe it! The beauty of White’s character is that he becomes the antithesis of who he was and, though it may shock or horrify you at times, you totally believe his new personae and wait with bated breath to see what left turn he’ll make next. The other characters are tightly drawn too and it’s fascinating to see their responses, which aren’t always predictable, to Walt’s most recent escapade.

Ally McBeal is full of eccentrics with all types of neuroses but, in an interesting dichotomy, they are also very high-functioning. Whoever dreamed that lawyers could have so many layers? The show makes great use of humor, often through interjecting things into scenes that don’t seem to really belong there but which make you think twice. And, best of all, the writers don’t shy away from difficult or sensitive topics, forcing the characters to really stretch themselves at times.

The Shield is a high-intensity drama about an experimental undercover narcotics division housed in a larger city police station. The loosely supervised “Strike Team” uses a variety of illegal and unconventional methods to maintain peace on the streets and the episodes frequently highlight the conflicts that arise between society’s ethics, political expediency, and public safety. Each character, most notably those of Vic Mackey, Shane Vendrell, David Aceveda, and Julien Lowe, are often caught between vice and virtue or having their personal agendas conflict with the altruistic choices their profession demands.

Give these shows a try or find your own. Either way, the winter months are the perfect time to curl up on the couch with a bowl of popcorn and get to work!

Four Short Weeks

When I started working with a freshman writing intern on January 2^nd, I wondered how we would fill our days. Two weeks later, I can’t imagine how I’m going to teach her everything I want to before she heads back to college! Having someone shadow you is an experience that I’d highly recommend for a couple of reasons. Not only does it make you more organized, it also gives you an opportunity to reflect on what you do and why you do it. Finally, if you’re relatively new to the profession, like I am, it’s an affirmation of how far you’ve come as a freelance writer as well as a reminder of how much you still have to learn.

What do you do with an intern you might ask? Here are just a few of the things we’ve accomplished so far:

Interviews: I’ve had her interview me, a publisher, a nonfiction book author and travel writer, and two local farmers.

Business writing: She composed a press release, came up with a local press contact list, and submitted the release to the media. She’s also working on a LinkedIn profile.

Attend meetings: We’ve been to a local Chamber of Commerce meeting and a County Strategic Tourism meeting.

Continuing Education: I assigned her to participate in a free webinar about self-promotion and establishing a platform.

Write: She’s written up almost everything we’ve done together and not just once. With each piece we edit and revise it until it’s in good shape.

Query letters: After researching how they should be written and reviewing past issues of the publication, she submitted her first article query to an editor yesterday. Now, like the rest of us, she’ll have to wait and see and possibly face a rejection.

Read: I’ve given her copies of Writer’s Digest magazine and the Sun, two of my favorite magazines, to start.

Extra projects: I’m working on a book proposal with another professional which gave her the opportunity to sit in on our weekly meeting and see how a “real live” collaboration works.

As you can see, it’s been a lot of planning and work. What makes it worthwhile? When I first started in this business, I had a lot of support and help from other writers so there’s an element of “pay it forward” in this for me. I’ve also really enjoyed watching her gain in confidence as she is able to master more tasks and show increasing initiative. Finally, supervising a student gives me the chance to do two things I really enjoy, teaching and sharing information about the things I’m passionate about, reading and writing!

Anyone else out there have an intern?

Are We There Yet?

How many of us have asked this question on a long car trip? The answer is usually “Almost” or “Just a few more miles” which, though frustrating, at least acknowledges that the end of the journey is finally in sight. To me, Martin Luther King Day is the perfect time to question where we are on the road to equal rights for everyone in America. It’s easy to become complacent and believe that in the 21^st century we are all treated the same in terms of housing, education, employment, as well as in the judicial system. However there are a number of citizens in our country who don’t believe that’s true and who don’t feel that the incident involving Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. in Cambridge several summers ago was a freakish occurrence or an honest mistake. Rather the Gates confrontation was a highly publicized pattern of behavior that many African Americans are all too familiar with.

This point was really driven home to me when our local Borders went out of business and I was browsing through the aisles. My eye fell on a book called “12 Angry Men: True Stories of Being A Black Man in America Today”. Purely by chance (probably because I really like the movie 12 Angry Men) I bought it. As I read the stories written by men whose names were both familiar and unfamiliar to me, I found myself both shocked and angered by the words on the page. Each of the first-person accounts bluntly relays what it’s like to be a black male in our country today. Baseball player Joe Morgan talks about being detained at an airport in a major city after being racially profiled. Kent H. talks about what it feels like to be constantly harassed by the police when he’s doing ordinary things like sitting on a park bench talking on his cell phone or having a conversation with a friend in the lobby of his apartment building. Law professor Paul Butler writes with eloquence about what he calls his own “Skip Gates moment” where he was asked to prove that the house he was entering was his. Some of the men chose to seek redress after these incidents; others just chalked them up to “the way things are”. That may be true but it’s not the way things should be.

There’s no denying that a lot has changed for the better since the 1960’s, but there’s still a few miles to go before we arrive at our final destination. So, take a few minutes on this holiday that commemorates a great civil rights leader and think about how you can help make this, not only a day, but a year on rather than a year off.

Learn from the Best

Who doesn’t love the Beatles? They’re an amazingly talented band with incredible staying power and they’ve managed to influence generations of kids and adults with their catchy tunes and lyrics.  In my opinion, the Beatles also have a lot to offer us in terms of business advice and developing a unique writing style.  Listen up!

They really did work eight days a week. I was fascinated to read Malcolm Gladwell’s account of how many hours a day the Beatles played/practiced when they first started out in the Germany nightclubs. The four boys from Liverpool must have easily surpassed the 10,000 hours Gladwell says you need to practice a skill to become really good at it. This intense work schedule gave them the opportunity to experiment with, and master, all sorts of songs in many different genres, giving them a distinct advantage over other songwriters and musical acts.

They used their imaginations to allow ours to take flight. Before the Beatles who had ever envisioned an octopus in an underwater garden? Or thought of quickly disposing of all the people who got in your way like Maxwell and his silver hammer? They weren’t afraid to try out new combinations of words, to use descriptive adjectives, or to paint a vivid picture with their songs. The Beatles took chances and wrote songs about things that few others could ever have dreamed could become hits. Best of all, their fanciful phrases continue to leave listeners feeling upbeat and positive.

They were keen observers of real life. The Beatles sang compassionate songs about love like “We Can Work it Out” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand” that we can all relate to. They also wrote songs (sometimes with more than a touch of satire) about tough issues like a child leaving home, immigration policies, the monotony of everyday life, and the tax man, lyrics that often make us stop and think for a minute.

They knew when it was time to end the story. The Beatles had a great run and wrote many entertaining chapters in the book that was the history of their rock band. But, like a well-written novel, all good things must come to an end and so did their musical career. However, their songs are a legacy that will live on forever in our hearts and minds.

It’s possible to be an excellent writer without ever writing a book. Good writing comes in all shapes and sizes but one thing is always for sure; you’ll recognize it when you see or hear it.

Other People’s Conferences

When you begin writing as a career rather than a hobby the first pieces of advice you’ll often receive is to attend writing conferences. I’ve been to several and they are a wealth of information as well a great place to meet others who share your interests. What many don’t realize though, is that other types of conferences can be just as valuable.

Yesterday I attended the 180th Agricultural Society Meeting and Forum for an article I was writing for our local newspaper. As a reporter, I was in the minority as most of the attendees were farmers and their family members or people who work in farming-related fields such as Cooperative Extension or the Farm Bureau. Luckily for me, the panel discussion I was covering was in the afternoon so I was able to hear the keynote speaker and to see the winners of several awards, including the Cap Creal Journalism Awards, receive public recognition.

What was most interesting for me though was discovering exactly how little I knew about the farming industry, despite the fact that I was born and raised in upstate New York. First of all, I had no idea that there were so many 6th generation or more farmers in our state. In fact there was one gentleman there from Long Island who is a 12th generation farmer! Secondly I had no concept of how many other professionals count farmers as an integral part of their client list. For example farmers need insurance, legal advice like estate planning, and financial planning assistance with things like retirement. I had also never considered the multitude issues involved with transfer of the ownership of a farm, either to a family or a non-family member. And, as if that wasn’t enough, when I visited the Exhibit Hall during our breaks, I saw a plethora of information tables, all relating to some aspect of farming. While browsing through them, I collected enough brochures and business cards to help me write at least fifteen articles on topics that interest me and are connected to farming in some way. For example, did you know that the Grange is still an active organization in many parts of New York State? Or that the largest cause of death for farmers is tractor rollover? And that there is a professional development program called LEAD that is already on its 14th successful class? Other potential topics include migrant worker’s needs and the benefits of agricultural education in the classroom. I especially enjoyed the journalism awards and hearing what criteria the judges had used to choose the winning entries. Because I enjoy writing about agricultural issues and had such a good time at the conference, maybe I’ll write a story that’s good enough to consider entering for next year!

All Work and No Play? Not if you’re a Writer!

One of my New Year’s resolutions was to put more fun back in my life. However, since I’m an expert at doing several things at once, I decided that one way to do that would be to play games that be fun but, at the same time, would challenge me to become a better writer. Over winter break I took up chess and Scrabble again and boy was I rusty! I also added the Jumble in the newspaper (which I’m really good at) just to keep myself from getting too discouraged.

Here’s how I think these games can help my writing:

Chess

You have to think in many different directions in this game. It also builds skills in planning ahead, looking at the bigger picture, and being proactive rather than reactive, all things that will improve your skills and acumen as a business owner. Additionally chess is a way to learn to take advantage of opportunities that suddenly appear and might vanish if you don’t act on them.

For creative writers, a game of chess can also help you learn to keep characters straight by remembering their physical characteristics and roles determine the way they move. In other words, a bishop can’t maneuver like a knight and John Doe shouldn’t suddenly start to act like Jack Smith.

Scrabble

Playing Scrabble is one of the best ways to increase your spelling, grammar, and ingenuity that I know. Once you’ve managed to beat your friends and family on the board, you can up the ante and go online to play with people from all over the world. To improve your vocabulary even further, sign up for the “Word a Day” service at www.wordsmith.org .

Jumble

For those of you who aren’t familiar with this game, it’s the “word scramble” next to the comics. First you have to unscramble four words then you have to arrange the circled letters to form an answer that matches the cartoon. This is an excellent way of learning to write a feature or news article. By seeing all the different ways that letters can be combined you also learn to rearrange your paragraphs in your articles until they fit and come together as a final piece that flows, transitions well, and makes sense.

 Feel free to use these ideas or come up with your own games but whatever you do remember there’s no reason not to have fun in 2012!

Put the New Back in the New Year

There’s something about January 1^st that signals a new beginning, a fresh start and the chance to put past mistakes behind you or to break out of a rut and try something different. Take advantage of the seasonal momentum by using this week between Christmas and Hanukkah and New Year’s Eve to take a few minutes and come up with a short, reasonable list of a few fresh ideas you could experiment with in 2012. There are certain resolutions those of us in business for ourselves tend to gravitate towards year after year, work fewer hours a week, stay on top of invoicing, get more proficient at networking, develop better marketing materials; I’m sure there are plenty more. Sort of like the personal resolutions of losing weight and exercising more, these aren’t always the most effective ways to challenge yourself to grow personally or professionally. So this year, all of my business resolutions will focus only on trying things I’ve never done before, rather than the same old tired promises to improve things I’m already doing. In 2012 two brand new things I’m going to try in the month of January include:

• Getting a college intern. I’ve supervised interns before but have never had a freelance writing student to work with before so this will be an adventure. My hope is to give her a taste of how interesting and challenging profession writing can be while discovering some new things about myself in a leadership role along the way. Since I’ve already practiced on the Boy Scouts with the Communication Badge, she should be in good hands!

 

• Being a guest on a radio show. A week ago I was asked be interviewed by Judge Penny Wolfgang on her “On Target” radio show about my recent article in the AAA Member Connection magazine. The article focused on cures for “cabin fever” in Upstate New York and, as the parent of three very active boys, this is a subject I’m very comfortable talking about! Though I’m a writer, not a public speaker, it seems like a great opportunity to spread my wings a little so I’ll be shuffling off to Buffalo the first week in January.

I’ve also decided that, instead of coming up with a huge list of resolutions for the whole year, I’m just going to come up with one or two at the beginning of each month which will make them seem less insurmountable and much more manageable. Then, at the end of 2012, I can review them and see how much I was able to accomplish!

Anyone out there have any other good business resolutions for the coming year?

Speaking of LinkedIn…

It’s always nice when someone else validates or affirms what you’ve already been doing instinctively. Yesterday Poets & Writers put out a link to an article on the best ways to use LinkedIn to connect with your professional community. Like me, the author has been told that social network sites are the way to go and that the more business-oriented LinkedIn is boring and not as popular. However, also like me, he disagrees with this, asserting that there are many ways to use LinkedIn to benefit you and your business. Here’s how:

Create a group of connections that makes sense for you as a businessperson. When I ask someone to connect, I always write a short, personal note on the invitation, along with the reason why I’d like to add them to my network. This only takes about 60 seconds more than just pushing “Invite this person” and is much more effective. If it’s someone you’ve never met, don’t let that deter you. For example, I’ve invited the directors of tourism-related organizations that I’ve never met to connect, explaining that I frequently writer tourism/travel pieces. Also, you don’t need to accept every invitation you get; it’s your prerogative to be as selective as you want to. Often I’ll check out someone’s LinkedIn profile so I can make an informed decision about accepting or ignoring their decision.

Don’t completely discount friends, relatives, and neighbors though as many of them may be in positions where you can help each other out. For example, I’ll add parents of teenagers to my Connections because I’m currently writing a lot about the college application process and I want to hear about what questions are most important to them and which of my articles have resonated with them.

Keep the similarities between virtual and in-person networking in mind. You can still sit at home in your sweats typing just don’t use that picture for your LinkedIn profile! And make sure your comments are professional, accurate, and in complete sentences with proper punctuation.

Remember LinkedIn relationships, like all relationships, should be sincere and mutual. Nobody wants to do favors for someone who uses them and continuously taking from,  instead of giving back to, others will quickly burn a lot of bridges that would be better left standing. Only give recommendations to those who you feel really deserve them and don’t ask just anyone to write your recommendations; make sure it is someone who truly knows you and the quality of your work.

Other tips for professional social networking are always welcome!

Getting Ready for 2012

With the holidays in full swing, December always seems like a good month to tie up loose ends and to prepare both you and your business so you can hit the ground running on January 2^nd.  It’s also a good time to start thinking about a few business resolutions that will allow you to reach outside of your comfort zone and grow both personally and professionally.

Since social media was such a crucial tool for small business owners in 2011, it’s a pretty safe bet that it will be just as important in 2012. Here are a few tips that will help make your online image as appealing as your in-person one:

Get a good photo to use on all of your profiles! This is something I can’t stress enough. For those that don’t have a photo at all, just the silhouette image, it looks ominous and doesn’t tend to instill consumer confidence. And for those whose picture has nothing to do with their professional life (i.e. you holding your kids or a pet, a logo, or a confusing stock image, you should seriously think about changing it. It’s hard for those who don’t know you to reconcile your description of yourself as a serious businessperson with an image that doesn’t back the words up. Though you may initially balk at spending the money for a professional headshot, believe me it will pay for itself many times over. Another benefit of a high-quality photo is that it allows you to recognize your connections when you meet them in person!

Make sure the information on all of your profiles is current. It’s amazing how many things can change in just a year! Have you joined new professional organizations, won any awards, or added new skills to your resume? Or perhaps you’ve changed the services you offer in response to your customers’ needs or the economy. Either way, it pays to review all of your profiles and make sure they’re consistent and that they accurately reflect what you offer.

Set some new goals to increase your online presence. If you have a blog, you should be posting a minimum of once a week, preferably more than that. If you have a LinkedIn or Facebook account you should be updating it several times a day. For example, I’m trying to vary my LinkedIn Posts to reflect the different activities I do like posting links to my current articles or commenting on books I’m reading or workshops I’ve attended that might be of interest to my connections. My other goal is to start commenting more on other people’s blogs or on LinkedIn discussions.

Any other suggestions?

Food for Thought

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday! What’s not to like about it? There’s good food, great conversations, and lengthy walks or football, depending on your mood. For a writer, the long weekend also provides an excellent opportunity to observe human behavior, collect snippets of authentic dialogue, and record “real” life stories. For many people, Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to reminisce and rehash memorable moments in family history. If you listen carefully you may learn how old feuds began, a relative’s major accomplishments or spectacular failures, the tradition behind certain foods that have always been served at your Thanksgiving dinners, and family members’ uncensored views and opinions on politics, religion, and parenting. Write down anything that catches your attention and file it for later use. Don’t forget that physical descriptions and characteristics can also be helpful for fleshing out characters. Does Aunt Rose have an unusually tall beehive hairdo or a propensity for snorting when she laughs after a few glasses of wine? Make note of it! Does your mother wear an apron with a funny message or picture on it to cook in? Take a picture or write it down so you won’t forget it!

Don’t ever make the mistake of thinking that, just because they’re old, familiar faces to you, your relatives won’t be of great interest to others. Though you might be tired of hearing Grandpa’s old war stories or Uncle Hal’s escapades during high school, potential readers might find them fascinating!