I'm doing a free teleseminar next week (Wed. Sept. 8 at 12:00 noon Eastern, 9:00 am Pacific) with writing coach Lisa Tener about how to put more 'me' in your memoir. And of course by 'me' I mean you not me. Click here to register for the teleseminar and/or get a taste here in the pre-interview:

Lisa: Greg, I know we’re going to cover this in more detail on our call, but what are some of the factors that make a best-selling memoir, like Eat, Pray, Love?

Greg: My theory is that the major factor that made it such a publishing phenomenon is that it embodied a compound fantasy. 1) That Gilbert had the house and relationship to begin with. 2) That she was willing to walk out. 3) To chuck it all and just go traveling (which is a fantasy because, she got paid to write the book so she wasn’t really chucking it all: she was doing a job plus getting to eat in Italy, pray in India and find love again).

Also, getting featured on Oprah. That really helps sell books.

The Comedian's Way workshop for Writers, Performers & Other Humans is the place to develop your authentic voice and deepest material for one-person shows, personal essays, books, scripts, blogs, or just to have a better attitude about life.

Each class starts with a Q & A and an inspirational rap from Beth about some aspect of the creative process. Here for your entertainment and edification is video of a recent talk about the 7 Questions Every Writer Should Ask Themself Before Sitting Down To Write.

Read more about the workshop on Beth's site and the Un-Cabaret website.

Class meets most Sundays from 1-4pm at M-Bar, 1253 N. Vine St. LA 90038. For more info, call 323-717-4731 or e-mail us.

Any single class $60  
Any 4 classes $200

Audit (observe) any class for just $10
Audit 4 classes for $25

I was just talking to a great TV comedy writer, who was stuck in the middle of a feature film script. He was bored of the characters and had lost touch with the excitement and momentum that got him started on the project in the first place.

Kubler-Ross famously ennumerated the stages of coping with death (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance). Writers face these stages when finishing a project too, but before you get to that there are other stages to be aware of. Each one has their challenges, and it's really helpful to know which stage you're in because that helps you focus on the right challenges instead of getting caught up in problems you don't have yet - or anymore.

A screenwriter friend shared this piece of oral tradition that lays out the stages of a Hollywood project:
1) Unbridled Enthusiasm
2) Total Despair
3) Desperate Search for the Guilty
4) Punishment of the Innocent
5) Promotion of the Un-Involved

You've started generating material. You've defined the boundaries, genre and format of your writing project. Now get ready for hurdle #3: Making a lot of words flow.

I’ve seen many writers define their project clearly and even get as far as a detailed outline that is completely ready to draft and then… they hit a wall.

Why aren’t the words coming out?

Reason #1: It’s not the right project. It's completely possible that with every rational reason to write the project you're trying to write, it's just isn't the right project for you right now. (Or maybe ever.)

Solution:

OK, maybe you had some trouble getting started, but now you're beginning to generate material.

Or maybe you're a natural generator, or even an over-producer, and you have too much material.

Is it all even part of the same project? Maybe it’s several different projects. Congratulations, you've just hit Hurdle #2: defining the parameters of your writing project.
 
If your problem is: “I can’t choose between several possible projects”...

There are several hurdles that almost every writer has to get past in almost every writing project; scripts, books, plays, or even a substantial essay or article.

As a writing coach I've helped many writers and talented would-be writers get over – or around – these hurdles. I've also written over a dozen scripts myself – plus many projects that never got finished because of one or more of these stumbling blocks.

Webster's defines a 'hurdle' as: “an artificial barrier over which racers must leap”. I think the key here is remembering they're artificial blocks, usually psychological, and they're almost always put in your way by you. Of course, they seem - and act - pretty real.

HURDLE #1: GETTING STARTED

You might be one of the lucky ones who has no trouble here. If so you've probably gotten started on way too many projects. If you’re one of those people, you can skip directly to the second hurdle. But if you’re having trouble getting going it’s probably due to one of the following reasons:

“I’m too busy with other things!” aka “I can’t find the time!”

Solution #1:

At least one winner in the 'personal essay' category of the Other Network Comedy Contest will get read and considered for publication on freshyarn.com by Executive Editor Hillary Carlip.

freshyarn is the premiere website for personal essays, and several peeps have actually gotten BOOK DEALS and AGENTS from having their material published on the site. We also know people who submitted material and waited months for a reply. The Other Network Contest will help you cut to the head of the line.

Get your work featured alongside published authors, essayists, NPR contributors, film and TV writers like Jenny Bicks (Sex and the City), Cindy Caponera (Saturday Night Live), Lisa Cholodenko (High Art), Illeana Douglas (To Die For, the Larry Sanders Show), Paul Feig (Freaks & Geeks), Kate Flannery (The Office), Mimi Friedman (Will & Grace, Big Love), Eric Gilliland (Roseanne, My Boys), Dana Gould (The Simpsons), Melanie Hutsell (Saturday Night Live), Gary Janetti (Will & Grace, Family Guy), and many others. Enter Other Network Comedy Contest- deadline Dec. 15.

Are you nervous because you're afraid someone will steal your underlying idea or even your script itself?

A writer recently contacted me via LinkedIn expressing concern about submitting a script to The Other Network Comedy Contest (or any contest). Here's my response:

You can create a paper trail and 'protect' your script by registering it with the Writer's Guild (it's not a copyright per se, but it establishes ownership on a certain date).

The underlying concept is actually less secure since you can't copyright an idea, just the 'specific expression of the idea'. That's why lawsuits usually focus on specific characters, scenes and story structure. There's really no way to totally protect an idea and still get your work seen. It's vaguely reassuring to submit your script through an agent, manager or lawyer if you have one, but still not much protection except against blatant theft - which is rare.

As the nervous writer said, "in order to get it out there you just gotta get it out there."

I can tell you that establishing a relationship with a talented writer is more valuable to someone in the business than co-opting one idea and burning a bridge. And you should be generating enough material so that you don't have to be overly precious and paranoid about any one script or idea. I can also tell you that our specific reader pool is small, we know them all personally and can vouch for their discretion and confidentiality. I can't vouch for any other contests.

Let me know if you have any other questions. We look forward to stealing... I mean 'seeing' your work.

btw, if you do decide to take the plunge and submit your script, you may want to take a look at our previous blog 8 Rewrite Notes for Any Comedy Script and do one more punchup rewrite on your script. I can tell you without even having read it that these notes will make it better.

The deadline for the Other Network Comedy Contest is Dec. 15. That's soon. But you still have time for one more rewrite.

Based on several years judging this contest and working with many talented writers privately as a writing coach, I promise that your comedy script will benefit from these 8 rewrite notes:

1 - Put at least one solid laugh on every page. Not witty banter or zany behavior. A laugh. Not just your opinion, but based on other people’s reads. You are having other people read it, right?

2 - Double-check your story structure and make your act breaks strong to keep an audience interested (and surprised) to the very end. Don't just coast through the last half of the script.

3 - Make sure every scene has a a comedic high point (character-based) and a dramatic high-point (story beat) that advances the plot, hopefully in a funny turn.

4 - Let your characters have clear distinctive vocabularies and rhythms. Check by reading it out loud. You are reading it out loud, right?

You need stage time to get good at comic storytelling or reading your funny personal essays, but how do you get good stage time?

Since we started Un-Cabaret and our spoken word spinoff show Say the Word, many high quality shows have appeared in LA, NY and beyond. Here are a few that are really worth your time if you're developing your storytelling voice and writing. Each one has it's own taste, point of view, flavor and aesthetic so you really should take the time to check them out before just barging in and demanding stage time. (See our previous blog for suggestions on getting stage time anywhere.)

And you should really consider developing your material with me and Beth Lapides at our workshop, The Comedian's Way so when you do get your stage time you make the kind of impression you want to make.