You know how it goes in the interviews with the famous writer or actor. "I was down to my last box of mac 'n cheese (or ramen), and on Monday I was going to have to start selling insurance and put writing/acting/directing aside. Then the call came, and the rest is history."
Now, really, we're doing okay. We're not quite down to the last box of mac 'n cheese, but I've been doing a bit of figuring, and the truth is that we don't have enough money. We have enough to keep living in our condo and paying our bills and buying groceries. We've been getting by on one salary for a long time, while I've been able to stay home and take care of the kids and write. It's been pretty amazing. Boston is an expensive city and we've been frugal. Until last year, I was also a landlord and did some janitorial work (and bought and sold houses a bit a few times). But those sources of income are gone.
Basically, I need to find a way to make some money, in order to visit family, pay for kids braces, emergency car repairs (and college tuition isn't quite as far away as it seems). Being numbers people, Tracy and I spend a fair amount of time counting pennies and figuring out where they all go. Our kids are getting older, so our grocery bill has risen. Medical expenses, even though we have coverage through Tracy's work, have risen. Little stuff here and there adds up.
The tough part is that writing novels and plays pays next to nothing (yes, I know I just got a royalty check for my plays this week, but it's not enough). Maybe this next novel will sell, but that's a long ways off. At first, I figured I'd either find an office job or go push a broom at one of the many hospitals near our house.
The tricky part to this is that I have two young kids (2nd and 7th grade) and I really want to be around for them after school, and due to my son's special needs, I need to go to school/teacher meetings and keep up a good level of contact with the school. And I'm the one who takes the kids to the dentist, who stays home when they're sick (like today and probably tomorrow), and all that. And I like spending time with them and my wife. I'd rather not completely gum up our lives, so that means I should find a night/evening shift. Or a half-day job in an office while the kids are in school (8am-2pm)
The funny thing is that I don't need to make a ton more money, even $300-$500 a month would make a big difference. But part-time work pays less than full-time.
My plan, though, is to make a one last ditch effort to get writing to pay off a little more, by writing freelance articles for magazines and newspapers. Writing is what I'm best at, really. (And I've been out of the regular job market for a long time. My experience is all around running theatres and playwright organizations and community gardens.) I've done a little bit of article writing in the past (though mostly for free), and understand the basics of how to do it. If I put in 5-6 hours a day researching and writing article queries (and articles, if I can get some assignments), I think I can earn what we need. (It doesn't need to happen all at once.) I know the reality is that the competition is fierce and the pay is low and slow, but my needs are modest.
The cool thing is that it'll help me improve as a writer, and if I plan it out right, I can use the research for the articles to provide research for some of the other fiction and non-fiction projects that I want to do. (And I don't need to buy a new wardrobe.)
What it does mean is that my new novel will be harder to finish, and that any new fiction/playwriting projects won't get started for quite a while. Spare time and energy will be in short supply.
I've been awfully lucky to have so much time to devote to writing projects that were of great interest to me (and sometimes to audiences and readers), without commercial pressure. I'd be lying if I said that after 20 years of writing, I feel satisfied with how much income my writing brings in (that's putting it mildly). But I wouldn't go back and undo any of the projects I've done or scripts I've written.
Blogging has been a good warm-up for some of this freelance article writing (or so I tell myself). Now I need to see if I really put in the intense effort, if I can get it to work out. I'm looking at it like starting a new job (it starts on Monday). If it doesn't pan out, then it'll be time to get a real job, I guess.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
All in the Timing
I owe a big thanks to my friend Jessica for mailing me a copy of Mark Childress's essay, Fear of Finishing, at exactly the right time (it appears in new book, Writers Workshop in a Book). I'd been feeling a little stuck, trying to write the final scenes to my new novel. I finished the third draft of the novel today, which feels awfully good (rewarded with a cold beer at lunch and one to come for dessert). These scenes had needed to be written for quite a while now, and there's still more work to do. But today, I felt like I'd finished the real writing of it. (We'll see what I think after I hear back from a few of my trusted readers).
Childress's essay was exactly what I needed, at exactly the right time. Nice when it works out that way.
Here's a little of what he had to say:
I had that today, as I walked the dog along the Muddy River, once it was all done. I knew I'd put off writing those final scenes for so long, even as I was rewriting the whole rest of the book, because it would mark a break with these characters who have been so important to me. Now I've done it.
Here's a toast to them.
). I'd been feeling a little stuck, trying to write the final scenes to my new novel. I finished the third draft of the novel today, which feels awfully good (rewarded with a cold beer at lunch and one to come for dessert). These scenes had needed to be written for quite a while now, and there's still more work to do. But today, I felt like I'd finished the real writing of it. (We'll see what I think after I hear back from a few of my trusted readers).Childress's essay was exactly what I needed, at exactly the right time. Nice when it works out that way.
Here's a little of what he had to say:
"I finished a book! Time to celebrate! So why don't I feel like celebrating? Why do I feel like my whole family has just died?
Because, in fact, they have. The whole crowd of imaginary people with whom I have spent the last four years--well, they are all dead. All killed off by me, by those two little words: The End. I will rewrite--oh boy, will I--but I will never again have the experience of living inside that particular world for four years."
I had that today, as I walked the dog along the Muddy River, once it was all done. I knew I'd put off writing those final scenes for so long, even as I was rewriting the whole rest of the book, because it would mark a break with these characters who have been so important to me. Now I've done it.
Here's a toast to them.
Why I Like September
Yes, September is grand for the start of autumn, back-to-school, football, apples picking. But I like it because that's when I get my royalty statement from Brooklyn Publishers. A lot of playwrights have never heard of Brooklyn, because they specialize in the high school market. They sell a lot of duets for use in forensics and drama competitions. In this case, the students (or their drama teachers) buy the scripts (8-12 minute pieces) by the script book ($4.50 each) and don't have to pay performance royalties as long as they only perform the pieces in competition.
Brooklyn publishes more then 30 of my plays, most of them duets, but also some one-acts. This past year they sold 963 copies, and licensed the plays for 20 performances. I like the idea of so many budding young theatre artists using my work to cut their teeth as actors, and showing off the work to their friends and families. The cool thing is that I wrote these plays for use by grown ups (they get staged by small professional theatres every year, too), but the kids really enjoy them, too. (Since I started with Brooklyn, they've sold almost 10,000 copies of my plays, which feels like a nice solid amount to a numbers guy like me.)
And I like that I get paid. It's not a lot, but it's a healthy enough check to cover most of my basic writing expenses for the year (if I'm frugal). When the check comes, it makes me feel like a professional writer. And that's a nice feeling.
Brooklyn publishes more then 30 of my plays, most of them duets, but also some one-acts. This past year they sold 963 copies, and licensed the plays for 20 performances. I like the idea of so many budding young theatre artists using my work to cut their teeth as actors, and showing off the work to their friends and families. The cool thing is that I wrote these plays for use by grown ups (they get staged by small professional theatres every year, too), but the kids really enjoy them, too. (Since I started with Brooklyn, they've sold almost 10,000 copies of my plays, which feels like a nice solid amount to a numbers guy like me.)
And I like that I get paid. It's not a lot, but it's a healthy enough check to cover most of my basic writing expenses for the year (if I'm frugal). When the check comes, it makes me feel like a professional writer. And that's a nice feeling.
Friday, September 14, 2007
New Meme: Five Strengths
I've never created a meme before, so we'll see how it goes. None have been going around lately, that I know of, so perhaps they're out of fashion.
Something Gary Garrison said in his visit to Boston earlier this year caught my attention: "What are your strengths as a writer?" he asked. "I'll bet you'll have no trouble listing your weaknesses, but what are you good at?"
I think he's absolutely right. We spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to improve our manuscripts and how to improve ourselves as writers. Our interior list of negatives is continually polished, when we should make sure that we're able to move forward in our writing from our strengths.
So, here's the challenge: make a list of five strengths that you possess as a writer/artist. It's not really bragging, it's an honest assessment (forced upon you by this darn meme). Please resist the urge to enumerate your weaknesses, or even mention them in contrast to each strong point you list. Tag four other writers or artists whom you'd like to see share their strengths.
Here are mine: (this is harder than I expected)
1. I have an interest and a knack for creating stories that are unusual or slightly off-beat. Possible examples would be my novel, Tornado Siren and my play, Blinders.
2. Writing dialogue comes easily for me. This is part of what makes writing stage plays come naturally for me. I'm still learning to incorporate dialogue effectively into my fiction.
3. I'm stubborn, persistent, dogged (and sometimes patient). This means I can commit two years or more to writing a novel, or five years to writing researching and writing a play about William Tyndale and the creation of the English Bible (God's Voice). I had the idea for the novel I'm currently writing in 1998, and I waited until 2006 to start writing it, when the time was right and I was ready.
4. I have a good sense of pace within a story. I know when things are going too slowly, and know when the rhythm needs to calm down a bit to let the audience or reader catch up.
5. I have a certain earnestness to my writing (I possessed the same quality when I was an actor). If I'm aware of this, it can be used as a strength. This has shown up quite effectively in a lot of my short plays, which have been accessible for both professional actors as well as high school actors.
That'll do for now. I tag Adam, Dan, Johnna, Laura, and Novel Eye (I know that's five, but I want to see what they say).
Something Gary Garrison said in his visit to Boston earlier this year caught my attention: "What are your strengths as a writer?" he asked. "I'll bet you'll have no trouble listing your weaknesses, but what are you good at?"
I think he's absolutely right. We spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to improve our manuscripts and how to improve ourselves as writers. Our interior list of negatives is continually polished, when we should make sure that we're able to move forward in our writing from our strengths.
So, here's the challenge: make a list of five strengths that you possess as a writer/artist. It's not really bragging, it's an honest assessment (forced upon you by this darn meme). Please resist the urge to enumerate your weaknesses, or even mention them in contrast to each strong point you list. Tag four other writers or artists whom you'd like to see share their strengths.
Here are mine: (this is harder than I expected)
1. I have an interest and a knack for creating stories that are unusual or slightly off-beat. Possible examples would be my novel, Tornado Siren and my play, Blinders.
2. Writing dialogue comes easily for me. This is part of what makes writing stage plays come naturally for me. I'm still learning to incorporate dialogue effectively into my fiction.
3. I'm stubborn, persistent, dogged (and sometimes patient). This means I can commit two years or more to writing a novel, or five years to writing researching and writing a play about William Tyndale and the creation of the English Bible (God's Voice). I had the idea for the novel I'm currently writing in 1998, and I waited until 2006 to start writing it, when the time was right and I was ready.
4. I have a good sense of pace within a story. I know when things are going too slowly, and know when the rhythm needs to calm down a bit to let the audience or reader catch up.
5. I have a certain earnestness to my writing (I possessed the same quality when I was an actor). If I'm aware of this, it can be used as a strength. This has shown up quite effectively in a lot of my short plays, which have been accessible for both professional actors as well as high school actors.
That'll do for now. I tag Adam, Dan, Johnna, Laura, and Novel Eye (I know that's five, but I want to see what they say).
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Beware of Praise (of your talent)
My son's teacher pointed out this article to me in New York Magazine: How Not to Talk to Your Kids. It covers a fair amount of ground, but the gist of it is that empty praise in the intention of bolstering self-esteem is actually harmful. And, what seems to be relevant to writers, praising kids for their intelligence (saying they're "smart") rather than recognizing them for hard work and problem solving, ends up having measurable negative effects.
For writers, the issue, rather than being praised for "intelligence" is that of being praised for having "talent." In the article, Bryson writes:
Our media doesn't help young writers, especially in the realm of fiction, where reviewers seem constantly on the lookout for the breakout first novel. They want to discover promising new talent, undiscovered genius. For the writer's sake, it would be better if reviewers worked harder at finding breakout books by writers who had three or four novels under their belts, who had weathered success and failure in their artistic attempts, and who finally grew their writing into something fine. (Note: I'm not saying reviewers should give an "A" for effort.) The sophomore slump with novelists is a phenomenon completely expected by reviewers, but isn't this all set up by the overpraise of first novels?
As adult writers, it's also worth looking at this article and thinking about what we're internally seeking from the outside world in response to our work. Are we looking for confirmation and recognition of our in-born artistic talent? And if we don't find it, do we become bitter and resentful? Or do we hope that audiences are able to fully participate in what we create (be it stage, film, or prose), and that if this time around we do not succeed in engaging our audience, that we can return with a new effort to try again?
Persistence and resilience may be the most important qualities to develop within ourselves if we seek long and productive lives as artists.
For writers, the issue, rather than being praised for "intelligence" is that of being praised for having "talent." In the article, Bryson writes:
For a few decades, it’s been noted that a large percentage of all gifted students (those who score in the top 10 percent on aptitude tests) severely underestimate their own abilities. Those afflicted with this lack of perceived competence adopt lower standards for success and expect less of themselves. They underrate the importance of effort, and they overrate how much help they need from a parent.In talking with students of writing, we often encourage our most promising students by telling them that they have a great amount of talent. It's interesting, based on this article, to consider that this sort of praise received early on by the best young writers, actually might do long-term harm. Instead, we might focus a lot more on their work in process and ability to revise and improve scripts in the wake of failure. I think back to one of my writing professors in college, and the one thing I remember her telling me is this: "you're a fine writer, Pat, but you're not a first-draft sort of writer. It doesn't come from you to the page fully-formed. You'll always have to work hard to get your writing to a high level, with many drafts, but you can do it." I was 20 years old and believed it wholeheartedly. How much better for her to tell me this, than to say, "Oh, you're one of the most talented writers we've ever had here."When parents praise their children’s intelligence, they believe they are providing the solution to this problem. According to a survey conducted by Columbia University, 85 percent of American parents think it’s important to tell their kids that they’re smart. In and around the New York area, according to my own (admittedly nonscientific) poll, the number is more like 100 percent. Everyone does it, habitually. The constant praise is meant to be an angel on the shoulder, ensuring that children do not sell their talents short.
But a growing body of research—and a new study from the trenches of the New York public-school system—strongly suggests it might be the other way around. Giving kids the label of “smart” does not prevent them from underperforming. It might actually be causing it.
Our media doesn't help young writers, especially in the realm of fiction, where reviewers seem constantly on the lookout for the breakout first novel. They want to discover promising new talent, undiscovered genius. For the writer's sake, it would be better if reviewers worked harder at finding breakout books by writers who had three or four novels under their belts, who had weathered success and failure in their artistic attempts, and who finally grew their writing into something fine. (Note: I'm not saying reviewers should give an "A" for effort.) The sophomore slump with novelists is a phenomenon completely expected by reviewers, but isn't this all set up by the overpraise of first novels?
As adult writers, it's also worth looking at this article and thinking about what we're internally seeking from the outside world in response to our work. Are we looking for confirmation and recognition of our in-born artistic talent? And if we don't find it, do we become bitter and resentful? Or do we hope that audiences are able to fully participate in what we create (be it stage, film, or prose), and that if this time around we do not succeed in engaging our audience, that we can return with a new effort to try again?
Persistence and resilience may be the most important qualities to develop within ourselves if we seek long and productive lives as artists.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Moving to LA
No, I'm not moving to LA. But John August's blog has a nice guest essay by a young writer who did. Definitely worth checking out.
For me, though, if I want to get film work, it's going to have to happen while I'm living in Boston. There is a film community here, though I haven't worked too hard at being a part of it yet. I've been sending out a lot of screenplay queries lately, mostly to LA and NYC (via e-mail and Script PIMP) but have been getting no bites at all. I know I need to work the personal aspect a little better, but time has been short.
For me, though, if I want to get film work, it's going to have to happen while I'm living in Boston. There is a film community here, though I haven't worked too hard at being a part of it yet. I've been sending out a lot of screenplay queries lately, mostly to LA and NYC (via e-mail and Script PIMP) but have been getting no bites at all. I know I need to work the personal aspect a little better, but time has been short.
some good news
I found out (last week, actually) that my short play, Pumpkin Patch, will be part of SlamBoston, Diverse Voices in Theatre, a one-night play slam on November 13th, at the Boston Center for the Arts (produced by Another Country Productions and Company One).
I've been a bit skeptical about the whole notion of play slams for a while, but I know folks who have done this one and liked it, and, more importantly, it's run by Lyralen Kaye, who directed a short play of mine earlier this year, and I really enjoyed working with her. So I'm excited to give it a try (if we win our evening, we win money, which would be a good thing).
Even better is that my director is Kortney Adams. She's also a terrific actress and has worked with the Rhombus playwrights group a lot. This is my first chance getting to work with her as a director, and I'm really looking forward to it.
I'd worried that I'd have no theatre action this fall, but this is helping the end of the year not seem too empty. Plus, I've got Den of Iniquity coming up in NYC at Emerging Artists Fall EATFest in October. I really like my director, Ian Streicher. Looks like I'll be able to get down to NYC to see the show on October 20th.
So, life is good. (And I even got some writing done over the past two days.) (And I've been getting marketing done every day with the Playwright Submission Binge.)
I've been a bit skeptical about the whole notion of play slams for a while, but I know folks who have done this one and liked it, and, more importantly, it's run by Lyralen Kaye, who directed a short play of mine earlier this year, and I really enjoyed working with her. So I'm excited to give it a try (if we win our evening, we win money, which would be a good thing).
Even better is that my director is Kortney Adams. She's also a terrific actress and has worked with the Rhombus playwrights group a lot. This is my first chance getting to work with her as a director, and I'm really looking forward to it.
I'd worried that I'd have no theatre action this fall, but this is helping the end of the year not seem too empty. Plus, I've got Den of Iniquity coming up in NYC at Emerging Artists Fall EATFest in October. I really like my director, Ian Streicher. Looks like I'll be able to get down to NYC to see the show on October 20th.
So, life is good. (And I even got some writing done over the past two days.) (And I've been getting marketing done every day with the Playwright Submission Binge.)
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