Pay the Writer! And all creatives...

Hi Everyone,

I just accepted Robert's invitation to join The Crooked Table. Thanks for the invite Robert.

My name is Ryan and I'm a freelance visual journalist (photographer) here in Tampa. I'm also in grad school at USF with several folks on this blog. If interested, some of my work can be seen at www.ryankmorris.com. The website needs a lot of updating, but for now, it is what it is.

So I wanted to share a video with you. Please watch it! The link will be at the end of this post.

Trying to make it as a "professional" freelancer in any field is a challenge! What we want to do is be creative and maintain the passion for whatever it is that drives us--be it writing or photography, or any other creative endeavor. But, the creating part is only a small fraction of the process. It might be the most difficult, but it certainly isn't the most important. If you want to eat, pay rent, and be able to afford to have the time to spend writing, you have realize that you're running a business!

As an individual, you are still a business. And as a writer making yourself available and your work to others, you impact your colleagues and their ability to earn a living doing what they love too.

I have lots to say on this topic of feeling like and acting like a professional. And the fear it takes to start negotiating with people that want to use you. But,it is a must to learn to value your time and your work in order to continue to doing what you love. Computers, cars, cell phones, condos and everything else we need and use to enable us to write or shoot costs money and it has to come from somewhere. So why not have it come from the people or companies that rely on us and want to use our work or services?

I hope this post starts a discussion and I don't intend for it to be a tirade, but this video really speaks to me and I wanted to share it. Plus it makes me laugh like crazy! Look at the comments too.

So here goes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mj5IV23g-fE

Thanks again for the invitation!
-Ryan

Random Tips: Get Inside Your Characters' Heads!

In my experience, one of the most difficult aspects of creative writing is trying to get inside a character's head. Even if your protagonist is based largely on yourself (guilty as charged!), the likely case is that he/she represents some exaggerated part of your own psyche rather than an accurate or fully-developed self-portrait. So, in that case, anything you can do to involve yourself in the emotional state of your protagonist would contribute to the story and (especially) the character.

Now, you might be asking yourself how this can be done. Well, one method that many creative writers use is to write detailed backstories for the major characters. These serve as virtual biographies for your cast and can help a great deal in crafting and solidifying where your characters are at the beginning of your story. While I did take some notes on the two leads of my screenplay and get a general sense of their pasts, I didn't delve into an intimate Biography Channel-style look at their lives.

On the contrary, I took a more creative approach and made (please don't laugh when I say this...) a mixtape featuring songs that I felt reflected my main character's state of mind... as well as the story's tone. In addition, I imagined at what points throughout the film these songs would fit, and this made it even easier to picture the story. Oftentimes, I would listen to this makeshift "soundtrack" while I was writing, and the vibe seemed smoother than usual.

It's also a great way to keep yourself focused and thinking about your creative work. As we all know, society doesn't quite embarace creativity as much as we'd like (to say the least...), and it's sometimes hard not to forget your labor of love when you have 6 million other things on your plate. During those months when I was unable to make much progress with my script, I would often play this CD, and it would, in essence, grease the creative wheels of my mind and keep me brainstorming. As a result, I devised myriad ways in which to embellish and improve my story and characters, and my script has become infinitely better as a result.

Of course, though this approach may have worked for me, perhaps your sensibility is different. Try a variety of different ways to get in "the zone" of your writing, and please bring your ideas to the Table. How do you put yourself in your characters' shoes?

-Rob