ArchiveFebruary 2019

Today’s post is all about writing in your true voice. This is ironic because I’ve erased and re-written this post about a dozen times already because it just wasn’t sounding right.

I assume a lot of this has to do with inexperience. I come from the film world, but right now I’m trying to write a fiction novel, so the medium is just foreign to me. I feel like I’m working in someone else’s skin. I’ll write a page and go back and read it and sometimes I don’t remember writing it or it just doesn’t sound like me which is off-putting.

My advice for this is to think about what you’re going to write and explain it in your own voice, either out loud or preferably in a text document. This works really well when you’re stuck too. Basically you just ask yourself what you’re trying to say, write in out in almost journal-like form and then go back into your story write in the appropriate style.

Give it a try, I promise it will help! Happy writing!

It’s late this Saturday evening and so before I call it a day I just wanted to post a little something something. I busted my hump today working on my book and my reward was a big fat pile of confusion. Not every day is going to be successful, but luckily tomorrow is a new day and so on and so on.

I guess I’m just trying to pass along a little positive thinking for all you struggling writers out there. Just keep on typing. Not every day is going to be a win. In fact, a lot of them are going to be tough, tough losses, but as long as you keep playing the game you’re still in it. I’d rather fail at this a 1,000 times than wake up in my 80’s with piles of regret. The sun will rise tomorrow and I’ll be there with it, ready to go again.

The wife and I were lucky enough to see the climbing documentary Free Solo last night with a Q&A from the director and climber Alex. Spoiler alert: he lives!

The movie was great and I highly recommend it. But of course for me everything comes back to writing and this was no exception.

Alex climbs a crazy difficult mountain face without a rope and the entire time I was thinking about what a puss I am for complaining about struggling to write a paragraph. If he doesn’t climb with absolute perfection he will die and if I struggle to figure out what my imaginary character does in the next scene I take a nap and try again tomorrow.

I suppose it just puts life and my writing career in perspective. Yes, writing is hard, but there’s always something harder. There’s always someone willing to risk far more than I am on a given day. So if you’re a writer like me, just put your head down and keep going. What’s the worst that can happen?

Today I was procrastinating on the socials and saw yet another post featuring an extreme political angle. And I wasn’t angry. In fact, I experienced something I haven’t experienced in a long time when reading something political. Indifference.

I’m done being a victim of the media’s attempts to rattle our cages. I am a good person and everyone I know is a good person. Stop using us as your pawns. The battle is over and we’ve all lost.

It’s time to start talking to each other as people again. It’s time to stop yelling through our keyboards and ruining life long friendships because an article forces us to take sides that are inevitably going to divide us. I’m done and from what I can see on the horizon, I’m not alone.

I’ve worn many hats over the years. I’ve been a radio disc jockey, a film director and cinematographer, a video editor. I worked with a great music supervisor, I created a podcast and I even tried my hand at stand-up comedy. But the one job title that I’ve always carried with me has been that of a writer. In fact, none of my prior jobs has ever not included writing as a key component of it at some point. And yet I’ve fought it endlessly as being a job in and of itself.

A lot of it has to do with a lack of confidence in my abilities to truly be a writer, in particular a published author. And despite the fact that I have written dozens of scripts (mostly short form, but a script all the same) I always viewed writing as a component of another job rather than the job itself.

That changed a few months ago and now I find myself in a daily struggle between past, present and future. I debate embracing my past life as a camera person and video editor. Money is nice I say. And then I read my current draft of my book and one day I love it and the next day I want to burn it to the ground. But when the dust settles on the day I’m still a writer and it’s an incredible feeling. Stressful as all hell? Sometimes. But when the words and stars align, it’s the great feeling ever and I’m incredibly proud.

I guess the point of today’s post is to just stick with it. I’ve stopped everything a few times in my life and said, “I’m a writer!” and then got scared, quit and went back to my normal job and depression soon followed. Apparently I just wasn’t ready yet or I was too scared to commit. Those days are done though. I’m a writer and if you want to be one, just be one and don’t overthink it because you need that brain power to tell your stories.

Happy writing my friends!