Matthew Wayne Selznick's Blog, page 3

June 30, 2017

Declare for Bold

As a writer, how often are you bold? How often do you take a risk with your art?


When was the last time you wrote something that made you uncomfortable, nervous, or anxious? Something that made your gut churn a little, made you sweat… but under the perspiration was the desire — maybe even a compulsion — to do the very thing causing so much angst?


Maybe it’s a matter of writing outside your usual genre, or using a different narrative point of view than you’re used to. Maybe it’s writing an explicit sex scene, or a gory / violent one, unlike anything you’ve ever tried but necessary and integral to the story you’re telling. Maybe you’re finally writing about that maddening relative, or an unrequited love.


By the way… it’s not at all bold to write something that will never be seen by anyone other than you. It’s got to be out there in the world for to truly consider it a risk.


How about it?


How long’s it been since you were driven by undeniable need to be legitimately bold with your art?


Being Bold: The Vulnerability – Risk – Reward Chain

Why should you bother being bold?


“Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth, at least the truth that is given to us to understand. The artist must know the manner whereby to convince others of the truthfulness of his lies.” ~ Pablo Picasso


The lie is in the presentation of the truth. Whether in fiction (where nearly everything written is likely a fabrication, from the characters to the setting to the weather) or in non-fiction (where the “facts” are represented through the lens of, and in a manner chosen by, the author), all writing is lying.


And in sincere (sin = one / cere =  growth, or, coming from one undiluted and pure source) art, truth comes closest to universal relevancy when the “lie” is  personal.


To reveal something deeply personal in the service of empathy and mutual understanding is a pretty good definition of vulnerability.


Because we’re hard-wired to keep ourselves literally and figuratively guarded and safe, vulnerability is a risk — a bold act with a potential for great reward that nonetheless exposes one to the possibility of pain.


That great reward?


Authenticity.


For a writer, authenticity is everything.


It’s a credential granting our writing broader acceptance and resonance. It’s what raises a body of work from entertainment to something that speaks across generations and transforms it from a distraction to a culture-shaping meme.


The Benefits of Boldness In Everyday Life

When you’re bold and make boldness a practice not just in your writing, but throughout your life, you’ll discover it has benefits beyond your art that, naturally,  feed back into your art.


Most things we’re afraid to try, afraid to ask for, afraid to risk… turn out to be not so out of reach or unreasonable after all. It’s just your brain doing what it’s designed to do: keep you safe and sound in the realm of the familiar.


Each success, each “yes,” will build your confidence and self-esteem and recalibrate your brain so that it doesn’t automatically confuse a social risk with legitimate danger.


The better you inherently believe you have a right to at least attempt the risk, the more likely you are to act on it with certainty.


The more others perceive you as able to deliver, the more likely they are to recognize your authority… which will open you to the opportunity to be bolder still, take greater risks, and create art that’s even more sincere and authentic.


#DeclareForBold

Being bold means embracing deliberate risk. The practice of boldness over time will make you more confident, which serves to broadcast your own validity, both to others and yourself.


The greater your confidence, the more comfortable you’ll be with your own truth, and, as a writer, with your ability to communicate that truth with vulnerability, honesty, specificity, and universality.


Adopt a practice of boldness.


Encourage others to do the same by using the hashtag #declareforbold when you share your moments of boldness in the comments of this post and on social media.


Make being bold part of your life and your art!


The post Declare for Bold appeared first on the official website of author and creator Matthew Wayne Selznick. Visit his site for more articles and content on how to help you stay human as you built a successful and healthy writing life.




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Published on June 30, 2017 19:17

March 26, 2017

Writers, Stop Not Starting! Understanding and Beating Procrastination

I recently petitioned the writers and creators in my mailing list community to share their biggest creative pain point or challenge. Nearly everyone responded with some variety of “I don’t have enough time” or “I can’t shake procrastination.”


I commiserate. I’m plagued by a perceived time deficit and procrastination issues, too.  I’ve been thinking about it a lot the last month or so. Again.


I think those complaints — “no time” and “procrastination” — are both all about procrastinating.


We all have the same amount of time each day, as the saying goes. It’s what we choose to do with it — the way we prioritize; the choices we make regarding the half hours and quarter hours and other slivers and slices and chunks of our waking hours — that separates those “with time” from those who think they have none.


If we really want to write, really want to create… but when presented with some time we choose instead to watch a movie, or play a game, or futz around on social networks… that’s a form of procrastination.


What Is Procrastination?

Even though there are variations on the definition, it’s pretty easy to agree that procrastination is not a positive character trait.  It conjures up images of rushing about, slammed against a deadline, under terrible stress… and burdened with the anxious certainty the frenzied sense of dread could have been avoided.


We all understand what it is.


But why do we do it?


Some time ago, I came to a personal understanding of what lies at the root of procrastination… certainly for me, and probably for many other writers and creative folks:


Procrastination is a symptom of fear.


We choose not to write — and again, yes, it is a choice — because we are afraid.


What Are We Afraid Of?

What’s so fearsome about writing that we put it off, even though we love it?


I’ll speak for myself. See if any of this rings true for you:



Fear of rejection, no matter how much I’m told (and tell others) that we should write for ourselves and no one else.
Fear of judgement — not necessarily from readers (that’s part of the previous point), but from loved ones, peers, colleagues, and perhaps society itself. I’ve got debts; I’ve got people counting on me; why would I spend time writing when there are more direct, reliable ways to meet my obligations and responsibilities?
Fear of failure. I have complex, sophisticated (so they seem to me) literary aspirations. What if I’m not up to the task? This, of course, loops back, and is reinforced by, the previous two bullet points.
Fear of change / success. This one’s truly fucked up, and I don’t have too firm an understanding of it, but I’m pretty sure it has something to do, ultimately, with fear of failure and rejection.

Maybe it comes down to this: I (we?), helplessly human, don’t want to stray too far from the comforting acceptance of the tribe. I — despite being quite the loner by design and by circumstance — don’t want to stray so far as to be an outsider or exile.


Thing is, creativity insists on isolation and some degree of ostracism. The artist is an observer, and, quantum physics aside, to observe is to disengage.


An exploration of the myth of the artist, the shaman, the celebrity, and the dichotomy of their influence and loneliness… that’s a bit beyond the scope of this post. If it’s something you’d like me to blog about, leave a comment to that effect.


For now, it’s enough to recognize that — whether it’s the fact that the act of writing itself is a solitary exercise, or the more abstract idea that “artist” is practically synonymous with “eccentric” (“off center”) — writing is scary!


No wonder it’s easier to play video games, consume things someone else created, or (and boy, we’re really good at this one, am I right?) discuss making things instead!


And Yet, We Cannot Not Create

Again, I speak for myself, but I know enough writers and creators to believe I’m not alone when I say I have to create. Or else.


When I don’t work on my own creative stuff, after a while I become… less than my best self. I get anxious. Neurotic. Depressed. Frustrated. Angry. Sullen. I act out. I make bad choices. I’m shitty.


So, for my own good, I have to face down the fear. I have to beat procrastination.


And so do you.


Let’s look at how.


My Plan To Beat Procrastination and Build A Balanced Creative Practice

What follows are all practices, tools, and techniques I’m going to engage with over the next ninety day period. For me, that starts April 1, 2017, and goes through the end of June. I like that, because at the end of that period, I’ll be two weeks away from my fiftieth birthday. Having some tangible results at hand and positive habits in place will be a nice birthday present to myself.


Why ninety days?


Three months is long enough to accomplish results, but not so long as to be difficult to imagine. It’s literally the foreseeable future


It’s important to have the goal in sight, to have it close enough that the number of unknowns between Now and Then don’t have a chance to feel daunting.


So pick a start date one or two weeks in the future, and target an end date ninety days after that.


Don’t put your start date too far off. That’s just… procrastination! Don’t be scared.


Set Achievable Creative Goals

Self-sabotage is procrastination’s forward scout. When we set ourselves up for failure, the inclination to never start something is reinforced… and that keeps us safe in our cozy stagnation.


So be careful to not set your sights too high.


Here are my creative ninety-day goals:



Create a broad outline of my Shaper’s World storyworld, including about six novels, a serial, and story bible / in-world historical stuff.
Complete the outline for my fantasy thriller novel of the Shaper’s World, Light of the Outsider, such that I can begin writing the first draft in July through September (foreshadowing my next ninety day block!).
Write at least six blog posts for Scribtotum, or, put another way, publish at least one post every two weeks.
Exercise — specifically, high intensity interval training using body weight calisthenics — three times a week. Why is this a creative goal? Because physical exercise raises energy levels, focus, and mood, and aside from the fact that these are all good things, I’m going to need high energy, powerful focus, and an upbeat mood to succeed at the first three things!

Those goals are achievable while still providing a challenge. I won’t be able to coast through them… but they’re not crushingly difficult, either.


Beware Deceptive Progress

On the subject of self-sabotage, beware of doing work that feels like it contributes to your goals, but is actually a time-sucking detour.


Since my Shaper’s World storyworld is an original fantasy setting, I have to be careful not to slip into world-building mode more than absolutely necessary. I know myself well enough to understand that I can easily spend a weekend messing around with maps, weather, climate zones, and so on.


That deep-focus busy work is, unquestionably, a form of creativity, but it is secondary (even tertiary!) to the stated goals, and it will steal time away from the real work — and make it more difficult to accomplish the real work — if I let it.


Watch out for similar traps in your own process.  For you, that might mean going too deep on a supporting character’s backstory, or getting lost down a progressively twisty hyperlink research rabbit hole.


Stay on target.


Have an Accountability Buddy

Don’t even think about doing this alone. When you’re in the weeds right around three to five weeks from now, you won’t be able to trust yourself.


Get a partner who will agree to set their own ninety day goals. Make sure you both have a clear and specific understanding of the other’s intentions.


Check in with each other regularly and mercilessly. Nag. But also, encourage, celebrate, and support one another.


My accountability buddy is my girlfriend, so keeping each other in line won’t be a problem. You might need to set regular check-in days and times… maybe weekly; maybe twice a week. Whatever works… but make sure you both stick to it.


Set Up A Bonus Incentive

Some productivity and goal-setting gurus will recommend setting up some kind of negative consequence if you don’t meet your goals.


I don’t think I would want the extra anxiety.


However, a completion prize would be nifty, so talk with your accountability buddy and come up with something appropriate.


My girlfriend and I are putting ten bucks, each, into an envelope at the beginning of each week of the ninety day period. If we meet all our goals by the end, we’ll put the accumulated money (should be about $250 bucks or so) toward a little weekend getaway.


If either of us fails… I don’t know, I guess we’ll split up that money and probably put it toward groceries or bills or some other mundane thing.


That’s practical, but no damn fun. I want to go away with my gal.


So I’m going to work hard to achieve what I set out to do.


Create The Right Environment

Procrastination kicks in when it’s even just a little difficult to do the thing, or when it’s easier to do something — anything — else. That’s why last weekend I found myself cleaning and organizing my bookshelves instead of writing this post, after all.


Those other, frictionless, accessible tasks and distractions are all around, waiting to steal time away from that thing you should be writing.


Before you begin your three month adventure, plan to eliminate as many of those distractions as possible, and create a design for your life that both prioritizes your goal activities and makes it easy to slide into execution mode.


Here are some of the things I’m doing. I recommend them for you, too.


Make It Harder To Use Social Networks, Games, and Email

Social networks, especially Facebook, are very deliberately and expertly designed to capture your every spare moment. I mentioned the trap of doing anything that’s easier than writing… is there anything easier and more automatic than checking Facebook?


You get a little dopamine hit every time you do it. A tiny buzzy hit to the pleasure center of your brain. An empty happiness calorie, all sensation and no nutrition. And worse: the more you do it, the more you want to do it.


Even in creating this post, whenever I reached a moment in which the writing was more difficult, or I wasn’t sure exactly what I was writing next, I felt the urge to check Facebook. More often than not, I succumbed to that urge.


And I lost focus. And time.


There are studies that show interruptions, even small ones, rob us of our ability to focus and concentrate. It’s called context switching, and it’s cognitively devastating.


Social networking apps and websites are deliberately designed to reward us — temporarily and quickly — for context switching.


But every time we give in to it, especially while we should be writing, we’re telling our brain that it’s better than writing.


If you want to beat procrastination when it comes to your writing — indeed, in every aspect of your life — you must curtail your use of social networks.


For my part, I’m removing all social apps from my phone and blocking them on my laptop, where I do most of my creative writing.  I’ll leave my desktop computer alone, because I use social networks in my work as a creative services provider, and all of my “day job” stuff is done on the desktop machine in my home office.


If you have so-called “casual games” like Two Dots or Candy Crush on your phone or tablet… understand that these games are also deliberately crafted to encourage addictive behavior. Uninstall them from your mobile devices and from your primary writing computer. I did.


And finally… if email is a big part of your life, take it off any device where it’s not absolutely essential. Check your email three times a day, maximum. Less often if possible. Turn off notifications. Make email something you engage with on your terms, not something you’re constantly reacting to. And for goodness sake, don’t just leave email running in Outlook or Mail, and don’t keep Gmail perpetually open in a browser tab.


Go On An Information Diet

As of this writing, I’m subscribed to about thirty blogs and nearly fifty podcasts, and I follow 550 people on Medium, though most of them don’t regularly publish.


For about a year, I’ve had this morning routine: over breakfast, I skim through my blog feeds and through Medium. Some stuff I bookmark (never to be seen again…), some stuff I share to social networks.


I’ve started nearly every day by filling my head with other people’s thoughts.


I’ve been missing an opportunity.


Our minds are more receptive, more flexible, and more inclined to free-associate in the time right after we’re awake. So rather than taking in external information, I should be using the time before I start my day to examine my own thoughts.


This is all about adjusting mindset and building positive habits. Our minds are in “responsive mode” before we’re fully awake and occupied by everyday responsibilities and stresses, so it’s especially effective at building the neural substrate associated with whatever we’re doing at that time.


It’s much easier to read, or listen to, information than it is to struggle through our own thoughts. Remember, your safety-seeking brain prefers to not be challenged. It wants to be safe, and it will do whatever it can to stay that way.


Since one method of defeating procrastination is to make writing / creativity easier and less psychologically threatening than less productive activities, spend that valuable, pliable morning time in creative mode, rather than information-absorption mode. Eventually, your brain will recognize creativity as something to be welcomed.


I’m uninstalling my RSS reader and Medium from my phone and tablet effective April first, 2017.


As for podcasts?


I think podcasts are procrastination fuel, too. Granted, you can’t really listen to a podcast while you’re writing, but you can opt to listen instead of thinking about your own work.


Similarly (I’ll speak for myself, here, but this might resonate with you), podcasts are a way to fill silence. The act of listening, of focusing on what’s coming through your earbuds at the exclusion of other stimuli, can’t help but put a layer of sensory separation between yourself and the world around you.


Are you subconsciously adverse to silence?


I think I might be.


So I’m including podcasts in my information diet for the next three months, too.


Ultimately, it comes down to eliminating sources of external, immediate, short-term reward and replacing those with greater awareness, mindfulness, and inward focus.


Stop Re-Learning Things As A Form of ProcrastinationThe more time and mental energy we spend letting our brains work on our own writing and creative projects, the easier we’ll slip into creativity.


Plus, let’s face it… if you’ve been soaking up information sources like blogs and podcasts for a while now, you’ve probably taken in everything everyone has to offer.


Eventually, the sponge needs to scrub. No more absorbing. Time to act.


Assign Daily Themes And Focus Intention

Most days, especially weekdays, there are certain things, like showing up for work, that we simply know we have to do. For those of us with day jobs, having your work schedule takes the stress of indecision out of that part of your day: from time X to time Y, you’re at work. The theme of those days, at those times, is “work.”


Many productivity and efficiency experts (Mike Vardy and John Lee Dumas, for example), including those recognized for their legendary effectiveness (Jack Dorsey, Steve Jobs), endorse and embrace (well, endorsed and embraced, in the case of Jobs) the concept of assigning themes to specific days of the week.


Theme days combat procrastination by, again, reducing the friction and resistance between you and your writing / creative endeavors.


When you know a particular day is dedicated to a particular focus… and perhaps just as importantly, that other attention-grabbing foci have their own days… convenient distraction will have less power.


My daily themes:



Sunday: Housekeeping and Planning — That’s literal housekeeping: sweeping, vacuuming, dusting, tidying, laundry, and so on. I’m not the neatest person, and I work from home, so clutter is a constant presence even though I know I work better and feel better when my space is neat and clean. In a sense, I’m setting up my environment for maximum success for the next six days. Planning is part of that, too. While I know what each day’s theme will be, Sunday is for putting some focus on how I’ll execute on each of those days.
Monday: Promotion, Marketing, Content Creation — I’m a freelance creative services provider. Most of my income is from clients I help with a variety of challenges and projects. I’m also a writer and creator, of course, and, like most creators, my goal is for most of my income to flow from my own creative works. Monday is dedicated to promoting and marketing my books and short stories, and to creating content, tools, and resources for my community of friends and fans. That mean drawing attention to my existing works, and writing blog posts and newsletters, adding to my website, and so on.
Tuesday and Wednesday: Client Work — The middle of the week is dedicated to existing client projects, as well as securing new work.
Thursday: The On-Deck Writing Project — The focus for Thursday is the current, in-progress creative writing project.
Friday: Loose Ends, Follow-Up, and Errands — This is a day for maintenance, both professionally, creatively, and personally. Checking in with clients, following up on people, and life-tasks like grocery shopping, haircuts, and the like.
Saturday: Free Day — I find it difficult to allow myself to take an entire day off, especially from client work. So Saturday has one rule: no work on behalf of others. Other than that, I’m free to do whatever I want, including nothing. True rest is not a privilege.  It’s required if we’re going to be able to give our best the rest of the week. We are obligated to rest. It’s our responsibility. Yes, I’m writing this for myself as much as for you.

Note that the theme of the day isn’t the only thing that happens on that day… it’s the primary focus of the day. For example, client work is how I make a living, so I’ll be doing stuff for clients on Monday, Thursday, and Friday. On Tuesday and Wednesday, while I’ll spend the bulk of my time on client stuff, some promotion, errands, and writing might happen, too.


Allow for the unforeseen to happen now and then. If circumstance causes a day to drift far from its intended theme, don’t beat yourself up. Let it go, and get back on track tomorrow.


And! Don’t use one derailment as cause to permanently decommission the train. You might be tempted. Remember: your brain wants to take the easy way out and will look for any excuse.


This technique is a tool, and tools serve you, not the other way around. The purpose of theming your days is to have a clear idea of each day’s objective, and to have a sense of permission to dedicate your day to that objective. It’s yet another way to reduce resistance and friction.


Given the “must-do” obligations and tasks of your week, to what themes can you assign, and commit, your days?


Memento Mori


This is the best reason to beat procrastination. It’s also much, much scarier than all those reasons our subconscious doesn’t want us to write.


Every day that passes… every day spent clicking Likes on Facebook, every day spent re-reading the same advice (even this advice!), every day passively consuming the stories, television shows, movies, and games created by someone else… that’s a day that’s lost to you. Forever.


And tomorrow?


Tomorrow is not assumed, or earned, or promised.


Inevitably, tomorrow will be the day you die.


Every week, we hear of the death of a creator we love. Often, they seem too young to go.


Every time, I find myself reflecting on the work they were able to do… and the work they undoubtedly had planned to do, that now will never come to pass.


Have you written all the things you’ve ever wanted to write?


Have you written the things you don’t yet know you wanted to write?


I haven’t.


That’s why we must beat procrastination. Why you must take the steps to build a practice wherein you actually… practice your art.


Whether you adopt the techniques and habits I’ve suggested in this post, or find your own way, you must put aside the things that keep you from writing.


Make A Commitment To Beat Procrastination and Build A Balanced Creative Practice

If you’re reading this, you are a writer who wants to write — to publish — more than you have, or more broadly, you’re a creator who spends more time planning to create than actually creating.


If you want a little extra help beating procrastination and staying on target, click or press here to get free bi-weekly encouragement messages from me. I’ll also send you additional productivity resources, tips, and links to the same… but in the spirit of the information diet, I won’t send those to you until ninety days after you first sign on!


Take action, and commit to it: leave a comment declaring you’re going to beat procrastination and build a balanced creative practice over the next ninety days. Tell me what you hope to accomplish, who your accountability partner will be, and what stakes you’re willing to put up.


Let’s do it!


The post Writers, Stop Not Starting! Understanding and Beating Procrastination appeared first on the official website of author and creator Matthew Wayne Selznick. Visit his site for more articles and content on how to help you stay human as you built a successful and healthy writing life.




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Published on March 26, 2017 14:25

February 11, 2017

Get To Know Your Worst Self

Behind every great hero is a great villain. Right? The antagonist we love to hate?


That’s a funny phrase, isn’t it? “Love to hate.”


Why do we love a “good” bad guy?


I think the easy answer is that it’s a thrill to see what kind of adversary they’ll make for our hero… how far they’ll push their opposite number, in what way, and, in some cases, with what kind of flair, style… pizzazz?


The bad guy is fascinating. They aren’t constrained by the same morality guiding the protagonist, which provides readers with a delicious means to vicariously dip our toes into their murky pool.


As a fiction writer, it’s your job to come up with the bad guy. And you don’t dare half-ass it.


But to do it right, you’re going to have to dip more than just a toe into the poison pool.


You’re gonna have to grow gills.


Acting The Engine

Writing fiction is, like acting, an exercise in active empathy.


Characters are, to paraphrase author and instructor Larry Brooks, the engine of your story’s theme.


If you want that engine to hum, you need to know, to really understand and empathize with, all the principal characters, inside and out.


Putting aside those stories where the antagonist is an antagonist force, and not a person or sentient character at all, this includes the bad guy.


This might not be too tough, because, let’s face it, not every antagonist in literature is an emotionally stunted genocidal mass murderer of women and children, manipulated by tiny evil particles in his cells, or a disembodied flaming eyeball.


The antagonist could be simply an ordinary person working to keep the protagonist from getting the thing they both want.


Or… they could be someone really (subjectively speaking) awful.


How can we empathize with a character we want our readers to root against?


How can we empathize with a character whose actions seem irredeemable and unconscionable?


You’ve probably heard the saying, “every villain is the hero of their own story.”


Truth is, we’re all heroes of our own stories.


Your challenge, as a writer, is to put yourself into your character’s perspective.


To do that, you must walk where the character walks. You have to breathe their air, and find it nourishing.


You gotta jump into the most brackish, cold, weed-choked well and, like I wrote above, figure out how and why you can adapt, and survive, and maybe even call it home… at least for the time it takes to write that character’s scenes.


How?


Get In Over Your Head

I want you to try a exercise in extreme empathic discomfort.


If you do it right, it’s not going to be easy.


If you do it right, you’re probably going to need to take a long walk or have a long cry.


And if you don’t feel shattered when you’re done… keep coming back to this exercise until you do.


An Exercise In Extreme Empathic Discomfort… For Your Art!

This exercise two components.


The Mental Component

First, I want you to imagine the absolute worst thing a human being could do.


Keep going. Remember one of my suggestions to be an irreplaceable writer: throw out the first things that come to mind.


They’re not horrible enough.


Use that imagination of yours. Go into taboo territory. Let your imagination include people you care about.


You’re safe. You’re in your own head.


Offend yourself.


Gross yourself out.


Make yourself sick.


Get those gills good and wet. Breathe deep.


Okay.


Now.


Take some time to think about what it would take for you — the real you, the person reading this, the one with friends and maybe children, and people you love — think about what it would take to drive you to do that ultimate atrocity.


The motivation will be as varied and personal and specific as the horror itself. That’s the point: make it personal. Make it yours.


Justify it.


Then, live with it there, in your head, for a few minutes.


The Written Component

Get a pen and paper — don’t type, don’t use a computer and a keyboard unless you have some compelling medical reason that prevents you from writing by hand — and write a first person account (a letter, a monologue, a journal entry, whatever works for you) all about why you need to do the awful thing you need to do.


Do not make excuses. Simply explain. Convince.


Remember, you’re the hero of your own story.


Write for as long as you can. Two or three pages, longhand, if you can take it.


Your Empathic Discomfort Boot Camp Badge of Horror

If you make it through… congratulations. You’ve just completed Empathic Discomfort Boot Camp. You are now prepared to write bad guys like a non-ironic boss.


Now… go puke, or take that long shower, or long walk. Hug a puppy. Do whatever you need to do to cleanse your soul.


But! Don’t throw out your writing exercise! That’s the makings of a story, after all.


You’re Out Of Your Gourd, Selznick

You might think this exercise is far, far more than what’s necessary to be an effective fiction author.


I’ll grant you: you can write book after book and maybe even have a great career without diving this deeply into characterization.


I submit that this exercise will not just benefit your writing. This exercise will, done correctly, show you parts of yourself you never knew existed.


Self awareness and vulnerability are good things for your life. They make you a better human, and the better you are at being human, the better you’ll be as a writer.


Why settle for anything less than your full potential?


How’d It Go?

I’d love to hear how this experience went for you. I don’t want you to share the actual Horrible Thing… that’s yours, and should be yours alone (until you finish that story, that is). I do want to hear about the experience of going through the exercise and how it helped you (or didn’t).


Leave your thoughts in the comments, with my thanks!


The post Get To Know Your Worst Self appeared first on the official website of author and creator Matthew Wayne Selznick. Visit his site for more articles and content on how to help you stay human as you built a successful and healthy writing life.




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Published on February 11, 2017 09:00

January 31, 2017

yWriter: A Free Alternative To Scrivener

If you’ve been writing for even a short time, it’s likely you’ve heard of Scrivener from Literature and Latte, a self-described “content-generation tool for writers that allows you to concentrate on composing and structuring long and difficult documents.”


Scrivener has a number of features, but at its core is the ability to organize small pieces of content in a hierarchical fashion. In other words, it’s a flexible, mutable outliner.


For many authors, especially those who plan their works instead of planning and plotting as they write their first draft, a customizable outlining tool is extremely powerful both in terms of organization and for productivity. When you’re faced with a big, complicated document like a novel, it’s great to be able to break down the big job into smaller, bite-sized tasks… and to organize those smaller pieces any way you want, as needed, on the fly.


Scrivener allows that, and more… a lot more. In fact, it has features you may never find yourself needing, especially if you’re a novelist or short story writer. Also, Scrivener retails at around $40.00, which might be more than a beginning writer wants to invest.


When You Don’t Want (Or Don’t Need) Scrivener: yWriter!

Happily, a scrappy, underground, alternative to Scrivener has been available for years. And it’s absolutely, 100% free.


yWriter by Spacejock Software

yWriter main screen (click for larger image).


yWriter from Spacejock Software was created by Simon Haynes, a developer who is a prolific fiction writer as well. It’s the application he uses to craft and create his own works, which I think is important: with yWriter, you’re getting software for writers that’s actually made by a writer.


The best thing about yWriter (apart from the price!) is that it’s laser-focused on writing novels and other forms of prose fiction.


In yWriter, Every Work is a Project
yWriter Project Settings

The Project Settings screen of yWriter (click for a larger image).


Everything starts with a Project. This is the container for everything connected to your work.


At the project level, you can set deadlines for each stage of the work (outline, draft, first edit, second edit, finished project), assign custom rating fields to help you monitor the balance of various qualities (like conflict, tension, humor, romance… whatever!) of your work,  and of course the title, author, and a general description of the work.


Your project is automatically backed up on the same machine in which yWriter is installed, but you can also assign backups to be sent via email or even a remote server (via FTP). Those auto-backups can be restored at any time.


“Chapters” and “Scenes” in yWriter
The Chapter Details Settings Screen in yWriter

The Chapter Details Settings Screen in yWriter (click for a larger image).


yWriter organizes the content of your work in “chapters,” but don’t feel locked into the strict definition of that word.


A “chapter” is simply the top level of the hierarchy within your project.  You can re-name chapters (I like to begin with four “chapters” labeled “Act One,” “Act Two Part One,” “Act Two Part Two,” and “Act Three”), so feel free to utilize this any way you want.


You can even designate a “chapter” as a dumping ground for notes, outtakes, or… anything!


Within each chapter, things really get going.


Editing Scenes in yWriter

Editing Scenes in yWriter (click for a larger image).


Chapters consist of “scenes.” Each scene can be expanded to include not only the actual content of the scene (yes, you can draft your entire work from within yWriter), but also tons of information associated with the scene:



Details, which I use to sketch out what needs to happen in the scene in a shorthand fashion.
Characters, including assigning a viewpoint character.
Locations / settings.
Items, which is very useful if your story features a macguffin like a One Ring, Letters of Transit, or a falcon statue from Malta.
Notes.
Picture.
Goals: allows you to label the scene as either an action (for which you can then assign a goal, conflict, and outcome) or reaction (with assignable reaction, dilemma, and choice) and designate whether the scene is part of the A or B plot.
Exporting functions, which is handy if you don’t want some scenes to be included in an export to another format like HTML or rich text.
Time, which is super-cool: it lets you assign when the scene begins and ends, relative to when the story begins.
Ratings: especially handy during your first read-through of your original draft, this lets you assign an evaluation to the scene based on criteria you assign (tension, humor, and so on) at the project level.
Completion status (Outline, first draft, first edit, and so on).
Tags, which allow you to create your own taxonomy for organizing scenes.

Scenes can be dragged and dropped within the chapter, or over to another chapter, allowing you to reorganize individual scenes at any time. Of course, you can also insert and delete scenes at will… although rather than deleting a scene, I recommend moving it to a “chapter” labeled “Discards” or something like that.


Storyboard View and Other Features
The yWriter Storyboard View

The yWriter storyboard view (click for a larger image).


Once you’ve assigned a character to a scene, you can view the scenes in which a character appears in the Storyboard view. When you mouse over a scene box, it also displays any locations and items associated with that scene.


yWriter helps you stay on task and on target once you start writing. Just tell the program your start and projected end date and your target word count, and it will keep track of the words per day you need to write as you go.


yWriter has a number of export options for your project once it’s been drafted and edited, but it is not an all-in-one “from idea to published novel” solution.


That’s by design: yWriter is for writing, not ebook creation, or page layout, or any of those pre-publication tasks. There are other excellent (and free!) tools for the rest of the process, and I’ll be covering some of my favorites in future posts.


It’s yWriter’s tight focus on the planning and writing of your work that makes it so appealing (well, that, and the price). Since the developer is a writer himself, the feature list will never balloon into the realm of bloatware. Indeed, the installation file is only around six megabytes, and the minimum requirements are an Athlon or Pentium 4 processor (or above) with at least 512 megabytes of RAM on Windows Vista or above.


And yes, you can run yWriter on Linux or OSX.  You can even run it on a thumb drive.


Concerned about documentation and support? yWriter is very straightforward to use (one of the advantages of an application with a well-defined and intentionally limited mission).  If you need help, there’s a support group monitored by the developer himself.


yWriter is a lightweight and very useful writing tool maintained by a fellow writer… and it’s free. You should try it!


If You REALLY Need Every Bell, Whistle, and Kitchen Sink…

And if you still want something that’s more of an A-to-Z, planning-to-publication application, there’s always the for-pay Scrivener (Windows or  OSX), which is rather like the choice to use a multi-tool instead of grabbing what you need when you need it from a well-stocked toolbox.


It’s probably more than most writers need to plan, organize, and write a novel, short story, or other complex work, but it’s certainly a viable option for those willing to commit to it.


I think you should give yWriter a chance. If you decide to use try it, I’ll help you get started with a free fiction story structure Project (like a template) you can adapt for your own works! Click here for your free yWriter Fiction Story Structure Project.


Finally… have you used yWriter? What are your thoughts, especially as it’s utility as a viable free alternative to Scrivener? Sound off in the comments!


The post yWriter: A Free Alternative To Scrivener appeared first on the official website of author and creator Matthew Wayne Selznick. Visit his site for more articles and content on how to help you stay human as you built a successful and healthy writing life.




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Published on January 31, 2017 18:40

January 21, 2017

Writers: Find the Courage To Be Irreplaceable

We humans, we love, love, love the familiar. It’s in our primate, hominoid genes: familiarity equals safety. When everything looks just like it did last time we checked (and we’re always checking), our monkey-brains are assured there’s no predator hiding anywhere. No lion in the tall grass. No sun-blotting-out giant eagle in the sky (no kidding, we used to have to worry about that, and not that long ago). No crocodiles at the watering hole.


We like going where we’re safe.


Even for our entertainment.


Marketers know this. Publishers know this… and it’s reflected in the way they market and publish books.


It’s why so many urban fantasy or supernatural romance book covers feature a woman with her back to you, looking over her shoulder or just slightly down, like she’s scoping out some change that fell out of her pockets, if she had any pockets. She’s usually holding some kind of weapon, too, and, for a few years there back in the nineties and early aughts, you can bet the fine hairs on the small of her back she sported a shoulder tattoo and / or tramp stamp.


It’s why military science fiction novel covers often have big, chunky, colorful spacecraft hovering over a planet.


It’s why self-help books marketed to women have light or bright colors, and why business books aimed at men have big, bold colors and giant typography.


These are signals to our brains: “this thing is like something else I am familiar with, and so is safe and will not hurt me (and is something I am likely to enjoy).”


This tendency toward familiarity extends to what’s between the covers, too. How many creative writing gurus point you toward the Monomyth (you may have experienced it as “the hero’s journey”) as not just a fascinating description of the roots of commonality in human storytelling, but as a straight up blueprint for how to tell your stories?


What about “Save the Cat?”


Or the Bechdel Test?


As readers, we gravitate toward what we’re familiar with.


As writers who are also readers, naturally when we write we are influenced by — and ape (see what I did, there?) — what we’ve read.


That can work, to be sure. There are excellent books out there that are clear descendants of someone else’s work.


And there are lots and lots of books that are write-by-numbers beat-by-beat pale shadows of what’s come before. They’re catalogs of cliches and tropes, predictable and flimsy.


Sometimes, those books are deliberate attempts to “write to the market,” and they rope in a population of casual readers large enough to encourage the author to do more of the same… more. And more.


Often, though, the pastiche is the unintentional result of the author’s own timidity: a (probably subconscious) desire to stay in safe, familiar territory.


And maybe, as a writer, you’re comfortable there. You’re satisfied with the resulting work.


The tramp stamp doesn’t itch, not even a little.


The trouble with that?


As much as we all like the familiar and the safe in our literature, it doesn’t do much to advance us emotionally, intellectually, or culturally.


It might be fun; it might feel good while we’re in it, but after?


Think about it: have you ever read a book, enjoyed it, and then, two weeks later, not been able to remember a damn thing about it? And a week after that, when you see it mentioned in Amazon, or on a blog, or social media, feel mild surprise when you remember already reading it?


By that point, you’ve probably moved on to another book in your safe-zone (genre) of choice. “Read, rinse from your brain, repeat.”


Sure, each one probably has different characters (at least by name and superficial description), different settings, and so on. But really? Those books are, ultimately, interchangeable.


Do you really want to be the person who wrote that thing?


Again: if you are okay with that, so be it.


Just please stop reading this.


Seriously.


If you’re comfortable in the creative safe zone of uniformity, stop reading this article. Stop reading this blog. If you’ve subscribed, unsubscribe. This stuff isn’t for you. Best of luck. Go do you, even if “you,” creatively, is just another grain of sand on the beach, blade of grass on the lawn, water molecule in the glass, blah blah blah…


G’wan. Gehdouddahere.


To those of you still reading, dig it: you can do better than safe sameness. You can reach like a sunflower in the middle of the field, high above — and unmistakably distinct from — the rest.


Let everyone else tell disposable stories. You can… you should… be irreplaceable.


How To Be Irreplaceable

What might make you irreplaceable in the minds of your readers? How can you make sure your work doesn’t blend with that of other authors?


Here are a few suggestions.


Throw Out Your First Five Ideas

Genres — and by “genres” I mean categories of both fiction and non-fiction — each have their own sets of standard concepts and tropes.  If you’re a  fan of the genre you’re writing in, chances are you’re subconsciously aware of those tropes, and they’re going to find their way into your work.


Whether you’re a planner or make things up as you go, I strongly suggest you abandon the first… and second… and third… and probably fourth and maybe fifth… ideas that come to you. Chances are, they’re tainted by your inherent familiarity with your genre of choice.


When you’re plugging along, typing up a storm, and the ideas are flowing a mile a minute? That’s a good sign those ideas are stale… or, to be more kind, a warning to you that you could do better.


Don’t trust your own assumed brilliance. Push yourself. Every time you start a new work, you want it to be better than your last. If it’s not, you’re being lazy; not challenging yourself.


Easy ideas are easy.


Toss ’em out and think.


The sixth idea will be unmistakably yours. Your readers will be consistently delighted and surprised. You’ll be irreplaceable.


Have Something To Say

You have opinions, morals, beliefs, and ethics that determine who you vote for, who your friends are, where your charitable contributions go, and which relatives you fight with around the holiday dinner table and on social media.


How much of that conviction ends up in your work?


Granted, the author’s opinion is more likely to end up in a non-fiction work, but even then, when an informed opinion is nearly always the actual point of the book, I often sense restraint.


In fiction, it’s a fine line between taking a position and allowing propaganda to smother a story.


That said: is there any opportunity in your work for you to present a specific point of view? To allow yourself to have a voice that doesn’t drown out the voices of your characters?


Do you have the courage to let that voice be heard?


I understand you might not want to use your work as a megaphone. Maybe you’re concerned you’ll limit your potential audience.


Well, to the first point: it doesn’t have to be a megaphone. Your philosophical point of view could just as well be a steady, confident tone. Assert; don’t preach.


And to the second point: don’t worry about losing the people who won’t like what you have to say. Worry about finding the people who do.


If you allow yourself to stand for something, albeit subtly and never, never, never at the expense of the story you’re trying to tell, you work will be instantly recognizable as yours. You’ll be irreplaceable.


Be Vulnerable

I’ll grant that this one’s a cousin to the last, but it’s also probably the thing many writers find the most difficult.


Have the courage to put yourself in your story.


Not in a “Mary Sue” way. Rather, I want you to dig deep into your own personal history: your worst moments, your best moments, your heartbreaks, your triumphs, your failures, your crisis of conscience, your lapses in judgement.


Give those moments — ones you can, with some hindsight, recognize as being rich with pathos and drama and conflict — over to your characters. If you’re writing non-fiction, you may have to be even more transparent and make yourself the object lesson for whatever it is you’re teaching readers.


It’s going to be rough. If you really allow the honesty of those moments to flow into your writing, it’s going to be absolutely exhausting.


It will, however, be worth it. You’ll end up with a work that’s more affecting and effective; the specificity of your own experience will actually help your work be stronger and have universal appeal. Shared experience is empathy food.


Neat trick: when readers empathize with experiences that carry the ring of authenticity (and they will, because they’ll be things that actually happened to you!), they acquire an emotional connection to the work… and to the author of that work.


Guess what that mean? They’ll never confuse you for anyone else. Your work will never fade and become indistinguishable from everyone else. And when your reader wants more of the same, they’ll only be able to come to you. Because…


You’ll be irreplaceable!


Who Are Your Irreplaceable Authors… and Why?

For me, irreplaceable authors include Ray Bradbury, Franz Kafka, Anton Chekhov, and Ursula K. LeGuin, to name a few off the top of my head.


What authors do you consider irreplaceable, and why? What have you learned from their example? Tell me all about it in the comments of this post, or, if you’re reading this as a subscriber, email me! Let’s talk about it.


The post Writers: Find the Courage To Be Irreplaceable appeared first on the official website of author and creator Matthew Wayne Selznick. Visit his site for more articles and content on how to help you stay human as you built a successful and healthy writing life.




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Published on January 21, 2017 23:55

December 31, 2016

Ninety Days To You

It might be the end of 2016 when this article is published, but this is not, I assure you, one of those “X Ways To Y In 2017” posts. The web will be full enough of those in the days and weeks to come; no need for me to add to that noise.


Besides, anything you read in those posts, any path they send you down, like most new year’s resolutions, will be abandoned around the same time you finally stop writing last year on new checks (as if you still wrote checks… I know, I know).


And rather than a flatter stomach or fatter bank account, you’ll be left with a vague and smallish sense of shame. Smallish, because a quiet and comfortably resistant part you knows full well that built into the new year’s resolutions ritual is the certainty that no one actually expects you to observe them with any measure of… resolve.


All the same, if you’re at all introspective (and as a writer and artistically creative person, you’d better be), you’re probably thinking of ways you’d like to advance and improve. And it’s perfectly natural (if arbitrary) for that inclination to be especially strong around the end of the year.


What to do?


Resolutely, No Resolutions

I know this much: I’m sure as hell not making any new year’s resolutions.


I’m not even setting any tangible goals. At least, not directly.


I don’t want you to make any new year’s resolutions, either.


I don’t want you setting any goals.


No “lose fifteen pounds.”  No “Ten-x my income.”


Especially no to that last one. Not because I don’t want you to make any money; sure I do.  Honestly, it’s because I really, really want certain people in certain circles to stop using that “ten-x” term. Just say “no” to made-up verbs.


The Big Scratchy Question

Although I want to advance and improve in the coming year, and I want that for you, too, let’s not worry about the specific things we want to achieve in 2017.


Rather, take a close look at yourself — especially in the context of where you are in your life at the end of this year — and ask yourself the following question:


“Am I who I want to be?”


Again: this isn’t about what you should have achieved in 2016, or what you hope to achieve in 2017. Get that out of your head.


Rather, I’m asking if your vision of who you are — the holistic mental selfie of your whole (physical / emotional / creative) self — matches the reality of who you are.


Oh, and if that question doesn’t make you squirm?


You’re doing it wrong.


Dig deeper. Take your time… but you know what? You probably don’t need that much time. Once you feel a little queasy, or nervous, or even resentful or angry at the very idea of such a question… the answer is probably, “No, my vision of myself does not match reality.”


At the very least, your vision and your reality have drifted out of sync.


At worst… you’re far afield, my friend.


When your reality and your personal vision are out of whack, there are negative consequences for your mental, emotional, and physical health, to say nothing of your creativity. Wondering why you’ve felt stuck? Frustrated? Angry? Sad?


This could be a big part of your problem.


So. Let’s see what we can do to fix you up.


Integrating Vision and Reality

Your vision of who you want to be, of how you want to be positioned in your life, should be clearly (if uncomfortably) clear in your mind by now.


Next comes the question of what you can do (or stop doing) to align real life with that vision.


Maybe you need to change some practices. Break some habits. Acquire new habits.


Maybe you need to edit and prune the people you hang around with, or at least adjust your behavior when you’re with them.


I need you to be honest with yourself about this. If you are, it’s likely the answers that emerge will be scary, disruptive, and seemingly impossible to achieve.


However, you’re talking about your life, here, and it’s the only one you get. So. It’s absolutely essential that you make a decision to choose yourself, as James Altucher would say, and get yourself the life you want, not settle indefinitely for the life you have.


Just Like Building A Character

It might make it easier to imagine the whole scenario a step removed: pretend, just enough to get you there, that it’s not really you you’re thinking about, but a character in a story very, very much like your own story.


After all, the “you” in your vision isn’t actually… you.


Yet.


Acting On It

Once you’ve thought about what you can do / stop doing right now to get yourself there… take action. Do something every day that gets you at least 1% closer to alignment with your vision.


Yes, you have responsibilities beyond yourself. But until you attend to your own well being, you cannot effectively and honestly serve others. Or as RuPaul says, “If you don’t love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?”


Consequences

Not everyone in your life will see things this way.


That’s their problem, not yours.


I know that might sound cold, but it’s the truth. They have their own vision / reality alignment issues to deal with.


If you do feel like other people’s opinions are your problem, maybe those people are actually part of your vision… or, hey, maybe you’re allowing their resistance to distract you from the hard work ahead.


Figure that out. Dig deeper. Accept the possibility that you’ve been living according to external expectations, not your own truth… and act accordingly.


Be aware of this:


Throughout the process, you will likely offend, anger, and disappoint.


So be it. The people that remain after ninety days… these people are your tribe. The resultant distilled community is your community. All others are irrelevant, or worse, impediments.


Intentional Improvement Every Day For Three Months

Take action (or remove an obstacle / stop an action) every day for three months. Come at least one percent closer to the person you imagine yourself to be every day for ninety days, and at the end of ninety days your vision and your actual life will likely be nearly 100% aligned.


Practically speaking, I can’t tell you exactly what you need to do each day. It’s going to be different for everybody.


I can tell you that for me, the plan includes eliminating sources of negativity (human and otherwise), actively giving back (Scribtotum is a big part of that), taking time to rest body and mind and regularly push their limits, and finding ways to create experiences for myself and with people I love.


For me — and maybe for you, too — the next ninety days are going to include some very deliberate, intentional thought.


I’m not talking about some kind of “ask the universe for an apricot puggle” The Secret-style woo-woo.


I’m talking about the kind of fake-it-’til-you-make-it, directed, positive thinking supported by SCIENCE.


I’m talking about mindfulness.


No, Seriously

I know that for some of you, phrases like “positive thinking” and “mindfulness” might raise alarms against metaphysics and quasi-mystical mumbo jumbo.


That’s why I provided the last two links. Take a moment to read up on this stuff We’re talking about changing your brain, gang. Taking control of the frightened lizard curled up deep in your skull. And there’s real research validating the effectiveness of these specific practices.


To be very clear: your thoughts won’t change the world, or “manifest” volcanic eruptions of abundance and fortune from the sidewalk.


Rather, after you’ve spent some time practicing intentional thought and mindfulness, you become better attuned to opportunities. You act on desire, rather than reacting against fear.


The end result is more confidence, less anxiety, and better health. And that, in turn, makes it easier for you to make the choices that will lead you to aligning your vision-self with your actual, flesh-and-blood, living life real self.


What’s This Have To Do With Being A Writer?

The process of deliberately aligning who you are with who you want to be has everything to do with self-awareness, vulnerability, honesty, conviction, emotional maturity, and mental and physical health.


All of those things are fundamental to growing and advancing as a writer or, indeed, a creative artist of any kind.


Heck, these are the central foci of Scribtotum, this very blog! It’s no accident this is the first post since the blog’s return.


Everything involved in the “ninety days to you” exercise will make you a better writer.


Throughout the process, I urge you, WRITE.


And no matter what you usually write, do not feel constrained by form, genre, storyworld, or even medium.


Just write.


Get shit out: journal entries, free verse, plays, and sure, maybe fiction, too.


None of it is wasted; some of it may actually end up being publishable, but it does not matter if it is or not.


Don’t resist whatever comes through your fingers. Writing through the next ninety days, if you do so with a true commitment to honesty and utter vulnerability, will serve both as rudder and safety valve. And later… as a chronicle and resource if you need a little course adjustment down the line.


Bonus: unless there’s a very compelling reason preventing it (such as an chronic condition or disability), I urge you to write with pen and paper throughout the “ninety days to you.” The physical act of writing is a form of directed thought and a way to practice mindfulness; it’s all to do with the way our brains light up when we connect directed thought (the mental side of writing) with physical activity (the act of moving a pen across paper).


So use pen and paper!


Let’s Do This Together

The idea of aligning the person we want to be with the person we actually are is certainly appealing.


The practice? No lie, if you’re really doing it, it’s kind of scary, and it’s probably going to be tough.  I know I’m intimidated and nervous about it, and this whole darn thing is my idea!


It would be nice to have a little support, wouldn’t it?


I’m setting up a chat community for that specific purpose. This will be a small group, initially, with a limited number of available slots open for a limited time. Participation is free, as is the software.


If you’re truly dedicated to the “90 days to you” exercise, click here to ask for an invitation to the community.


If you’re not sure you’re going to put in the work in the next ninety days or so, please don’t bother asking for an invitation. Save the slots for the people who really want it. Maybe just leave a comment.


What Are You Doing To Match Your Vision To Your Reality?

Are you in? Will I get your request for an invitation to the “90 days to you” community before time runs out on that offer and / or all the slots are filled?


If this all seems too much for you… that’s okay. You might not be ready. You might not have the space in your life right now.


I still want to know what, if anything, you plan to do to to improve your mental, physical, and emotional health and, in turn, make yourself a more effective writer and creator.


Leave your thoughts (and anything else you might have to say regarding this post) in the comments, with my thanks.


The post Ninety Days To You appeared first on the official website of author and creator Matthew Wayne Selznick. Visit his site for more articles and content on how to help you stay human as you built a successful and healthy writing life.




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Published on December 31, 2016 09:00

December 22, 2016

Introducing Scribtotum

For many years now, whenever I’ve maintained a blog, I’ve called it Scribtotum. It’s a compound word: scrib = write; totum = all.


“Scribtotum” might evoke a similar word for you: factotum, which more or less means “one who does everything,” or “one who has many jobs or talents.”


Perhaps not surprisingly, that’s by design. I write about a lot of different things, I have a lot of different interests, and my ability pool is both deep and wide. Scribtotum could describe both me, and this blog.


But Scribtotum isn’t just my mouthpiece. It’s for you: the writer and creator striving to stay healthy and sane while you build a successful creative life.


I want that for myself, too.


I’ve been working on that my whole life a few years now, with varying degrees of success and intention. What I’ve learned… and as I learn… I will share with you in Scribtotum.


Opinions, Advice, Recommendations

Tellingly, “factotum” used to be synonymous with “meddler” or “busybody.”  So, too, should Scribtotum.


I have opinions. They come out. They will come out in Scribtotum articles.


In my day job and as an author and creator myself, I’ve picked up a lot of best practices and habits that work for me… and I continue to assess, adjust, and refine.


As I get better at being a healthy, sane, successful writer and creator, I’ll offer my advice on what’s working and what isn’t.


The same goes for tools, resources, sources of inspiration, and services that help me get the job done professionally, creatively, emotionally, and physically. You’ll find recommendations and endorsements in Scribtotum, and they will always be for things I personally use, have used, and stake my name and reputation on.


Never Miss A Scribtotum Post

I’ve been a creative services provider, author, and writer since 2000. I’ve been a creator in one way or another since the late nineteen eighties. Now, as I continue to grow and improve as a creator and a human being (gotta do both concurrently!), I’m inspired to bring you along for the ride so we can advance together.


Become part of my community and receive new Scribtotum articles as they’re posted, right in your email inbox. It’s free, and you can unsubscribe at any time.




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We’re going to have some fun here!

The post Introducing Scribtotum appeared first on the official website of author and creator Matthew Wayne Selznick. Visit his site for more articles and content on how to help you stay human as you built a successful and healthy writing life.



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Published on December 22, 2016 10:00

February 2, 2016

Reflecting On My 2015

a latched steamer trunk representing the troubles of 2015 and the stored-up potential of 2016I don’t really get publishing “year end review” articles and posts in December. What if you publish, and then something huge happens to you in the days and weeks remaining in the year? You’re going to look pretty silly. Also, isn’t it important to have a little buffer time between the end of the thing, and writing about the thing? Perspective is important, right?


That’s why I’ve waited until January, 2016, came and went to write about my 2015, and preserve a few thoughts about the next eleven months.


2015 Was (Ahem) Not What I Expected

I wrote that header because I have just enough restraint to not write “2015 Sucked Wet Ass” in thirty point type.


But, yep, that’s how it was.


January and February weren’t bad, although they, on balance, weren’t great. Those first two months carried a heaviness, like the tense weight in the air before a storm that’s so often and so incorrectly called “the calm.” March through… hm, let’s say through September… sucked really, really hard. Springtime, in particular (to the point where I now, in a kind of shorthand, refer to it as The Springtime of Suck). October and November had their ups and their downs. December, especially toward the end, there, was pretty decent, and even, I’ll say, served, in a way, to redeem the eleven fucked up months that preceded it.


I had intended for 2015 to be “a production year.” I was poised to create a lot of new, shippable, sellable creative work: short stories, music, audiobooks, non-fiction, and maybe even a novel. I was in a good position to dedicate considerable time to moving my income sources away from time-for-money and toward more passive (and reliable) models. I was committed to working harder on reserving quality time for myself and my significant other. It was going to be a year for turning corners and cresting hills.


In March, the relationship I’d been in since August of 2010 ended. We’d been living together in her house for the last three years, and the inconsistent fortunes of my freelance career made it financially impossible for me to move until the end of June. In fact, if not for the generous support of a wonderful contingent of my community of friends and fans, I don’t know how I would have done it then.


Gotta tell you… 2015 was one of the most difficult years of my life. I used to say I considered it one of the worst, but that’s not accurate.


The broken heart; the need to relocate; rebuilding my life; seeing my local social circle drift away; terrible anxiety (including four full-on anxiety attacks, the first of my life); depression; despair… it took a toll. But there were lessons to learn and knowledge to glean, and I soaked it up. I came out of the Springtime of Suck, and the Summer, and the Fall… changed.


I Still Shipped

2015, I mentioned, was supposed to be a production year. In the Springtime of Suck, I felt not a little bitterness at the idea that goal had been derailed.


Sure, I didn’t finish the stuff I thought I’d finish. There’s a short story I started in January that’s still waiting to be finished. Another begun in August I’m chipping at. No novel. No new serial installments. No non-fiction work.


All the same, I managed–both despite, and thanks to, the crappy circumstances of the year–to ship the following:



Cloak (short story audiobook)
Test Pressing (full length music album)
Paint the Air (original song)
Darlin’ (original song)
Four Stories (short stories and essays collection audiobook)
Twenty Four Moons (original song)
Gnatcatcher (original song)
Hundred Seller / Background Music (bundle of two full length music albums)
281 (original song)
Less I’m Fine (original song)
Twenty one episodes of The DIY Endeavors Podcast

Y’know, I might not have produced what I expected to produce… or what my community expected me to produce… but damn it, I made things in 2015, and I put that stuff into the world at an average rate of one thing approximately every twelve days.


I’ll take it.


Looking Ahead

As a began to write this section of the post, I stopped and looked at my “looking ahead at 2015” post to get some perspective.  There were many things I planned, many goals I set. Most of them were not achieved, as I mentioned.


I’ll tell you what I did achieve in 2015. It’s something that will inform and influence the coming year.


I refined what it means to be me.


Exploring that is a big reason I’ve begun I Know THIS Much, my new podcast and video blog (Seriously, what are people calling them these days? Vlogs? I wanna know.) My Patreon patrons have already received “episode zero;” the rest of you will get to see and hear it the same week this post goes live. If you want to be notified, be sure you’re part of my mailing list community (I’ll send you a sampler of my fiction and non-fiction when you subscribe!).


It’s tempting to expand on this as I type right now… but let’s leave it there. Let’s figure it out together, through I Know THIS Much.


So. Rather than write up a bucket list of specific goals and targets for 2016, I’d rather write this:


In the coming eleven months, I will continue to grow and learn and push and thrive. I will pay special attention to the parts of my life that I tend to allow to grow stagnant or fallow. I will make more with less. I will gather experiences and shed possessions. I will make things, oh, yes: music and stories and books and other stuff I can’t even describe because it’s either unknown or just barely an idea at this point.


I’ll continue to exercise empathy, and practice vulnerability.


In 2015, I paid a big price for a valuable lesson. In 2016, as all the usual scrambling for money, mining time for creative pursuits, and all the rest of that day-to-day stuff goes on, I’m going to stay focused on executing on what I’ve learned, and learning more, and more.


I’m awake.


One More Thing

Before I kick off 2016 for reals and for true by closing out the blog post, I want to say “thank you” to my patrons, whose generous and consistent pledges in support of my creative endeavors brought me over one hundred and sixty percent more income than sales of my books.


I am excited to find new ways to reward my patrons in 2016, including, if a modest goal can be met, new serial fiction. If you’d like to be part of that (and how amazing you are if you do!) please visit my Patreon page to learn more.


We’re gonna have a good year. Yes we are.


 


The post Reflecting On My 2015 appeared first on Matthew Wayne Selznick.




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Published on February 02, 2016 00:55

July 14, 2015

Twenty Four Moons Is A New Bookcase Sessions Original Song

“Twenty Four Moons” was written on June 2, 2015. It’s the last complete song from the Spring of 2015 that had yet to be released to you in some way; that situation is now rectified!


Shipping a new song is a pretty good way to kick off my birthday, I think!


This one started with a sliding riff (F#~G, G~A) kinda sorta reminiscent of something you might hear from X… but I think the complete song owes more to maybe late seventies / early eighties Nick Lowe or Elvis Costello. If you, dear reader, can suss out other influences less obvious to me, let me know what you hear by leaving a comment!


I can really hear a full band on this song. I probably should have played electric guitar—it would have been easier—but that’s not how the Bookcase Sessions work!



“Twenty Four Moons” is the twelfth installment in my video series, The Bookcase Sessions. Since I’m all caught up in that regard, it should be a little while before there’s another one (although I do have a couple of song fragments I’d like to develop soon).


You can

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Published on July 14, 2015 00:49

July 10, 2015

More Sounds: Four Stories Audiobook And A Song

In May, I wrote about

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Published on July 10, 2015 00:45