LIVING IT

I've been writing fiction and poetry for a long time, so when my creative writing professor suggested I try screen writing he got the HUGE GUFFAW. Screen writing? Really?

Well, he is an insistent suggestor, so okay, I signed up. Who knew I would LOVE IT??? (Probably, Mr. Van. He probably knew it.)

As a result, I've been trying to find some representation for my work (two full length features to date, two half-finished and the beginnings of a television series.)

Well, the shamless self promotion continues, the queries, pumping the loglines and premises.... and in the meantime, my brother in law, a videographer asked "Why don't you just film your own short feature?"

Well, my good brother, why the hell not?

Hence, we are filming INTENT, a short thriller based on my short story of the same title. Feeling really productive this week as I've finished the screen play and have half the film "story boarded".

Now I will tell you I have never done a story board in my life. But sometimes you just have to decide you're gonna live it. I did a little reasearch, found a story board blank on Google and Vwa-la! Story board!

For the last two years, I've been telling myself every day that I'm a writer. Maybe that sounds stupid. It's been hard for me to own my dream. To live it. And no, I have not made any significant money yet- so some might say I'm not a "real writer".

But real isn't in the pocketbook, it's in the heart. That's how I see it anyhow. Being a real writer means that I have to write every day- not have to as in forced to- have to as I MUST - that I don't feel complete that day without doing it. It's part of me, this drive to create- something visual, musical, written. It's a gift- one I have been hesitant to open, have re-wrapped and opened again.

And yeah, some days I chide myself for not having a "real" job. And I have to remind myself:

Not in the pocketbook.
In the heart.

HAVE I GOT A DEAL FOR YOU...

I've held a lot of different kinds of jobs in my life, as most of us have, working our way toward That One Thing We Are SUPPOSED To Be Doing. One of my least favorite- but completely necessary at the time because we needed food on the table- was sales.

ANY kind of sales, but worst of all, telemarketing. WE ALL HATE TELEMARKETERS! I can tell you from the telemarketers' standpoint, they don't want to be doing it either. I have never met a happy telemarketer...

Oh, yes, my point: sometimes selling yourself as a writer gets to feeling like that- like telemarketing. You feel embarassed to "put yourself out there", "toot your own horn" and various other epithets. However, it is something that we, as writers, MUST do. It's a tough thing- many of us are shy, loving that private writing time, holed up in our hidey holes, wearing the letters off our keyboards... ("Nana, why doesn't your 'puter have ALL the letters??")

I've been busy sending queries out to agents. I have to take a deep breath every time I lick an envelope or press SEND on the email. It feels like I am 14 feet tall and 600 pounds, wearing a clown suit, dancing and shouting "Look at me! Look at me!" It's not a good feeling.

Promoting yourself is scary. Sometimes it feels like people might be laughing at you behind your back. (And maybe they are.) You feel big and clumsy and obvious- but if you don't believe in yourself, I ask you, WHO WILL?

While I believe (and my belief only, not all writers) that having an agent is important, I have to be my own best agent first- believe in my work, have an energy for it, pitch it and NEVER STOP TRYING. Take advantage of any doors that open to me- because I never know when I might happen on the RIGHT ONE.

Such is my schpiel today, as I send out three more queries. Pitch yourself today, to someone. Practice on friends and family. It gets easier. I promise.

Keep opening doors. And windows. And cave openings. And phone lines. It's all good.

Make something happen.

-Dev

BELIEF

I believe it's a good story....because like the Don Henley song, there's just not enought love in the world.

The storybook, YOU ARE LIKE A RAINBOW, written in verse, is a self-esteem book for children. It's a tool for parents who, maybe lacking some self-esteem themselves- parents who may not have gotten those positive reinforcements as kids, need the words to say to their own children. The words to tell their kids just how bright, and beautiful and wonderful they are- how like a rainbow.

I believe in this story. I wrote the verse for my children, then read it to my grandchildren- I worked on the paintings for over five years.

And even thought it has been rejected by every children's book publisher I've submitted to (six so far, over five years), I still beleive in the story. I still love the artwork, depicting multi-cultural families, single parents, multi-racial kids.

I've sent the book to elementary schools, and teachers have read it over and over to their classes. My shining moment? When a little Hispanic boy pointed at the picture of the boy and his dad with the honey bees and said "Hey, that's me and my dad!" Kids connect with this story- I believe it. I've SEEN it.

My hope is that a some wonderful children's book editor will eventually connect with it as well.

Until then, I still believe. In my book and in faeries and that people in the world are basically good.

Believe in you and your ability to create, to touch the lives of other people with your words, works and art.

Now, go make something....

Dev

THE HOLY SHELF OF WRITERLY BOOKS AND INFORMATION AND STUFF

This question came up: What, exactly, is on the HOLY SHELF OF WRITERLY BOOKS AND INFORMATION AND STUFF? Well, here it is:

Gotham Writer’s Workshop-Fiction Writing
Screenplay- The Foundations of Screenwriting
Patterns of Poetry- An Encyclopedia of Forms
The Craft of Research
20 Master Plots (And How to Build Them)
Write Now!
10 Rules of Writing – Elmore Leonard (hilarious!)
Anybody Can Write (not necessarily true- but not a bad book)
Unusual and Most Popular Baby Names
Webster’s Rhyming Dictionary
Inside Writing: A Writer’s Workbook
The Marshall Plan Workbook
Writer’s Idea Book
Painless Grammar
How to Write a Children’s Book and Get It Published
The Creative Journal (get this!!!)
Conflict, Action and Suspense
Rules for Writers – Fourth Edition
Save the Cat! (screen writers- a must!)
What If? (awesome!)
You’re Lucky You’re Funny- How Life Becomes a Sit-com
The Creative Writer’s Companion
On Writing – “Big Steve” King (love it!)
Technical Writing – Third Edition
Writing Down the Bones (a must have!)
A Whack on the Side of the Head
A Writer’s Notebook
Strunk & White’s Elements of Style
The Merriam Webster Thesaurus
Rebel Without a Crew (film makers- get this!)
Screenplays
Gotham Writer’s Workshop- Writing Movies (awesome!)
How to Read Literature Like a Professor
WRITERS MARKET:
Novel & Short Story
Literary Agents
2009 Writer’s Market
Artist’s & Graphic Designer’s
Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s
A Writer’s Book of Days
1,100 Words You Need to Know

Not an extensive list- but remember, while reading this stuff is good, and can be helpful, if you're reading about writing, you're not writing. There are honestly four books on this list I continue to go back to:

Save the Cat!
What If?
Gotham Writer's Workshop- Writing Movies
and
On Writing (read it 4 times so far)

Not to say these are the "best" writing books, or that the others don't have something good to offer, just that they resound with ME and help me along in my work.

Also, Syd Field's SCREENPLAY- good, basic information.

What are your favorite writing books?

-Dev

SEND MORE WORK II & DEV'S WRITING TIP I

Three rejections this week...but plus side, they were all those "positive rejections"- the ones that include "please send more work" or "we'd like to see something else" at the end. This leads me to believe that I am not doing my homework well enough, that the work I am sending does not fit the publications to which I am submitting.

I recently began writing reviews of literary magazines for New Pages (check them out- http://www.newpages.com/). While this is not a paying gig, it does some good stuff for me: (1)I get to read (cover to cover) literary magazines I might not otherwise be able to afford or get my hands on; (2) I get to experience the kind of writing lit mag editors are looking for; and (3)I have access to submission guidelines/contacts. I also get good practice writing reviews.

My experience with New Pages is giving me the opportunity to read publications that may be a good fit for me. Very cool.

It's hard to put out money to purchase publications which may or may not be a fit for you when you are making little to nothing with your writing- but it is a worthy investment. I am learning that lesson.

If you haven't already, subscripe to Duotrope Digest (http://duotrope.com/). It's FREE and it gives you access to a wealth of publications that are accepting work AND allows you to document where you are submitting and responses you are getting. You also have access to publications' repsonse time, payscale and a host of other information about the mags listed. Fabulous!

Wow, I guess that was a couple writing tips from Dev.... anyhow here is my OFFICIAL WRITING TIP:

I've noticed that some folks have trouble naming their characters. I had that problem as well- and then I spent ten cents and my problem was solved. I was at a rummage sale and found a baby names book for a dime. EUREKA! I keep it right here on my HOLY SHELF OF WRITERLY BOOKS AND INFORMATION AND STUFF. It's a godsend. Word of warning, however- please don't give your characters those weirdest of weird names, unless the character calls for it. It's annoying. And it distracts from your writing. While I still tend to opt for the plain, such as Jane, William and George, I have spiced it up with a few memorable characters named Pie, Cherry and Nash. Your character's name defines who they are- keep that in mind. And get a baby name book. Thrift store, rummage sale- or check out Amazon (or as I refer to it: Amazin'), and you can probably find one for a penny plus shipping. Money well-spent.

Now, quit reading and write something.

-Dev

PLEASE SEND MORE WORK

Rejection is just an aspect of the writing life we have to accept. I feel confident that I handle rejection well (generally), unless the comments are needlessly mean and not constructive.

The one I have trouble with is the rejection accompanied by "please send more work." Especially if there is no explanation of the reason the currently submitted work has been rejected.

Part of me feels excited that a publisher wants to see more- while another part of me feels I am being "set up" for another rejection.

Comments?

THE LITTLE BROWN BOOK OF LITERARY DEATH

Over Sunday morning coffee, I took the time to peruse what I used to love-hating-ly refer to as THE LITTLE BROWN BOOK OF LITERARY DEATH. It's a 4" x 7" record book, bound in brown faux leather-look cover stock with a nice, black cloth binding, purchased at Staples ($5.95) Inside it I record what and to whom I submit work, and the outcome of said submissions.

Due to rejection after rejection, this record book became thus known as the LITTLE BROWN BOOK..blah blah blah... It was my nail. To understand that statement, you'd have to have read "Big Steve" King's On Writing- or know the story of the nail. You see, Big Steve (as I so very lovingly refer to him) nailed this spike in the wall over his desk onto which he would spear rejection notices. This was at the beginning of his writing career. The jist of what he was telling us (writers) was: the rejections are part of the process. To get the acceptances, you godda get da rejections. Hense, the LITTLE BROWN BOOK.

I am pleased to say it is now simply the LITTLE BROWN BOOK without the soul-crushing moniker OF LITERARY DEATH, thanks to several contest wins (and a couple thousand dollars), and the sale of a story (and request for another- nice!) Also, a very nice letter from a literary magazine that loved my story and intended to publish it- but the magazine folded. Unfortunately, this is happening to far too many lit mags.

Still, I did a quick inventory:

Currently twenty-one magazine submissions, and four contest submissions.

My point is: YOU HAVE TO SUBMIT YOUR WORK. No matter how disheartening the rejections are, how many friends and family cluck their tongues and look at you like you have an incurable disease, no matter how many times people tell you "it's nice" that you write, but you're really a dreamer, aren't you???

I have news for you. It's the dreamers of the world who make things happen, for themselves and others. Without dreams, we're pretty much lumps of unformed clay just waiting for the Giant Foot of Fate to come along and squish us into pancakes.

I used to be a person who pined and longed for "good stuff" to happen to me. I'm no longer that person. I'm a person who dreams and and takes the steps to make good things happen.

Join me, won't you? SUBMIT YOUR WORK. DREAM. BIG. LIVE LARGE. SMILE A LOT. HUG OTHER WRITERS.

In Dev-Speak, it's all good.