Try This Life on for Size. Five Golden Rules for Writers.
Unless you live in a cave, under a rock, or in an Afghanistan bunker, you've probably heard about the 2004 documentary "Super Size Me." This fascinating film follows director Morgan Spurlock as he embarks on 30 days of eating nothing but McDonald's cuisine while exploring the obesity issue plaguing America. The humorous, yet thought-provoking documentary was lauded by critics and audiences and deservedly earned an Academy Award nomination (unfortunately, it lost out to "Born into Brothels," which I hear is a good film, but nowhere near as interesting or entertaining).
Morgan has parlayed the success he garnered from the big screen and has created a documentary television series for FX. "30 Days" takes the "Super Size Me" concept with a broader scope: examine what it's like to live someone else's life for 30 days. Each episode follows someone who puts their daily routine on hold for a month and slips into the shoes of a different lifestyle. For example, within the first few episodes we are treated to a peek of what it would be like to be a devout Christian living as a Muslim, and a Midwestern homophobe living in the heart of gay culture in San Francisco's Castro District (both of which sound like damn interesting premises).
Always being one to volunteer himself for human experiments, Morgan took on the challenge for the premiere episode, and dragged his fianc�½e, Alexandra (Alex) Jamieson, along for the ride. The mission was to see what it would be like to live off minimum wage salaries for 30 days. So, after Morgan and Alex attended the 2005 Academy Awards, they left their comfortable lifestyles in New York City and moved to Columbus, Ohio for a (temporary) life of poverty. Ohio was selected because the state was a good representation of the hardships facing America today, in that it has lost 250,000 jobs over the past 4 years (yikes!).
Going into this experiment Morgan set three rules they had to follow: each of them would hold a minimum wage gig, all their credit cards and bank accounts were to be frozen for the duration, and each would start out with cash equaling one week's worth of minimum wage job pay (that's $206, but just $178.47 after taxes). I don't know about you, but just the thought of slaving away at a full-time job but still living below the poverty line, is enough to make this (relatively) spoiled boy avoid this little test like the plague. Fortunately for us, Morgan and Alex are troopers and sacrificed themselves for the sake of opening some eyes.
The maiden day of Morgan and Alex's adventure was dedicated to finding a place to live. After a day of searching over-priced hovels, they settled on a dirty, ant-infested dump of an apartment situated above a crack den in an area called the Bottoms (just the name of the district should convey how shabby the living arrangements were). For $325 a month, you get what you pay for, I guess. They were lucky enough to find an understanding landlord who allowed them to pay just $200 upfront and make payments on the remaining $125 of the rent and the $325 security deposit (something tells me the landlord normally isn't that agreeable, but made some concessions when he saw the TV cameras). The place is filthy, freezing and lacking furniture, but what the heck; it's a roof over their heads.
Day two brought on the search for jobs. Alex ended up with a position bussing tables and washing dishes in a coffee house (which is an improvement over the big sacrifice this vegan chef would have had to make if she settled for one of the fast food jobs she applied for), and Morgan signed up with a temp agency that would hook him up with day laborer assignments. It was actually kind of cute to see how excited these two got when they reunited at the end of the day and shared their (good?) news of employment.
Throughout the month, the day-to-day grind of each of our subjects begins to wear on them. Alex is tired, cold and grumpy, and Morgan is feeling a little deflated because he works an 11-hour day and brings home just $45.26! After taxes he made about $4.20 an hour, well below minimum wage even though he was "making" $7.00 an hour. To make matters worse, each of them needed a trip to the emergency room (her: urinary tract infection; him: wrist damage from a landscaping gig) and take on the charges since neither has health insurance. This is where things got comical (a little sarcasm for ya) - Alex's hospital bill of $438 included a $300 charge for just for using the emergency room, whereas Morgan faced a bill of $779, including $551 for walking in the door and $40 for medical supplies, which was a simple, average, everyday ace bandage... utterly ridiculous. One can only hope that exposure like this will shed some light on the travesty that is our health care system and something will be done about it (yeah right, and monkeys may fly out of my butt).
To further complicate this voyage through poverty, Morgan takes on a second job in an attempt to pull in more greenbacks, but ends up straining his relationship with Alex because he is gone for 18 hours a day. Couples who make $25,000 per year, or less, are twice as likely to divorce as those making over $50,000, so it's no wonder many people take on extra jobs to make ends meet. Problem is, working the extra hours for the extra money, means less time at home with the family... the ultimate Catch 22. Morgan and Alex even "borrowed" his niece and nephew for a couple of days during the experiment, and the extra financial strain brought on by children was mind boggling. This single guy and father of none (other than two cats and one plant) cannot imagine trying to survive in these circumstances (again, thank you Morgan and Alex for doing it for me and conveniently putting it on my TV so I can live vicariously).
Intermingled with the daily doings of their new lives, Morgan shared some nuggets of information that were probably new and thought-provoking to many in the viewing audience. A couple of these facts really piqued my attention. Firstly, the federal minimum wage standard of $5.15 an hour has not changed since 1997. The cost of living has skyrocketed during that timeframe, though the law that was designed to keep citizens out of poverty is not changing with it. Every year Senator Ted Kennedy sends a bill to Congress seeking a raise to the minimum wage, and every year it is defeated because it is believed that the increase would force employers to cut jobs. While Congress continues to stomp on the little people, they have seen fit to approve $27,000 salary increases for themselves... utterly ridiculous, yet again.
Secondly, and on a more positive note, I learned that there are actually kind people in this world (watch the news on a daily basis and you'll tend to think otherwise). When Morgan and Alex grew weary of sitting on the floor to eat with the ants, they looked into organizations that provide assistance for the needy. It turns out Columbus has a network of charities that aid the working poor with basic living needs. Within walking distance of their slum...er... I mean apartment, is the Westside Free Store, church-run store where everything is totally free. Steve Rodgers is the founder of the Free Store, and collects donations such as toys, clothes, dishes, furniture, food/snacks, etc. for those who cannot afford such basic pleasures on their meager salaries. It is truly inspiring to see people with kind hearts treat citizens with the respect they deserve... something the government seems to know nothing about. If you find yourself inspired, you don't have to live in Columbus, Ohio to help those in need. It can be done from the comfort of your own computer on web sites like SwapThing.com, which has a donation program called ShareThing that allows users to give to charitable organizations and receive a tax-deductible receipt in return - a win-win situation for everyone.
In the end, Morgan and Alex survive their ordeal (I classify it as an ordeal by the time they get to the finish line) with their sanity and relationship intact. I won't pretend to be the most socially conscious individual on this planet, but this series did open my eyes and I can only hope it opened the eyes of many others; enough to demand some changes and get on the right track to putting an end to poverty. Morgan and Alex, you are brave souls... thanks for taking one for the team, and here's to hoping more comes from it than an entertaining hour of television.
SwapThing.com is a site focused on building a strong swap community online. The ShareThing program helps non-profits get access to item & cash donations as well as volunteers and professional services.
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Regardless of what sort of writer you are and how much you love to write, there are probably days when you'd rather clean ditches than face another blank page.
As writers, we face common challenges; staying motivated and confident, avoiding "writer's block," and meeting goals (on time!) are some of the toughest. Here is some of the best practical advice I've come by, or discerned myself, for becoming and remaining productive, creative, and content while traversing the writer's path. Try implementing these "Five Golden Rules" and see if they work for you.
Golden Rule #1: Avoid dwelling on past work: get on with it.
This is maybe the most important, and most difficult to follow of the Golden Rules. There is actually a subset of rules under this category, since there are many ways to "dwell" and many things to dwell on. Take heed, then, that thou shalt never:
* Stop writing for a time because you received a discouraging rejection letter. Whether or not you've been published yet, mark a file folder "Acceptance Letters" and expect to fill it eventually. Your day will come.
* Stop writing for a time because you've completed something or because you've had an acceptance. There is a tendency to relax, to say: "Ah, I've done it." Savor the moment, sure; but don't get overly lazy with your writing. Move on to your next project.
* Reread every sentence, paragraph, etc. after you've just written it. Learn to disengage your "editor" self until the work is finished -- you'll be much more efficient and prolific this way.
Golden Rule #2: Accept rejection gleefully!
Well, maybe not "gleefully." But it is true: you can learn from rejections. Therefore:
* Test your work on other writers you admire and listen to what they bring up, both the compliments and the criticisms.
* If you receive a rejection letter that contains comments on why your piece was turned down, read it, file it, and think about it; decide if you should edit the work some more before sending it out again. Chances are if the editor took the time to write a note to you, they saw some kind of potential in your work -- that's the next best thing to being accepted!
* Finally, remember that you must study your markets carefully, and be selective about what article, story, etc. you send to what publication. Rejection might simply indicate that you sent your work to the wrong place.
Golden Rule #3: Keep track of everything ... everything.If you are sending stuff out to editors, you must keep track of what you send, where you send it, and when you send it.
One good way to keep a log is to create a table, either with your word processor or by hand, with columns marked for: 1. Title of work or query; 2. Title of journal, magazine, etc. you sent to; 3. Date sent; 4. Date accepted or rejected (mark A or R, date); 5. Other places the work was sent.
* Make sure not to leave out 5, since you don't want to waste time re-sending a piece to somewhere it has been turned down. You might want to mark beside 2 how long you expect to wait for a reply, if you have this information.
* Print off extra copies of your cover letters and keep them in a file with the submitted pieces attached.
* You might also want to log how many hours you spend writing each day, week, etc., to help keep you honest.
* Organize your correspondence, research materials, notes, and other important documents and keep them in handy portable file boxes.
Golden Rule #4: Write about what interests you.
Everyone has heard the sermon about writing "what you know." It's good to keep in mind, however, that what you don't yet know can be learned, through research or contact with other people.
* As long as it interests you, it's a topic worthy of pursuing. Go to the library and look it up;watch a documentary; conduct interviews with experts; listen to people's stories, memories and impressions. Then write.
* If it bores you silly, but you feel you should write about it because: (a) it's a marketable subject/theme; (b) someone has asked you to write about it; (c) everyone else is writing about it; or (d) nobody else is writing about it -- go ahead, if you'll receive proper compensation for your boredom. If not, leave it alone.
* If your subject excites you tremendously, but seems to bore everyone else, you can: write it anyway because it's good for the soul; scour the publishing world for a suitable market, since there's bound to be someone who shares your (possibly obscure) interest; or slant your article/story to suit a particular publication.
Golden Rule #5: Stare at the wall; drink some coffee; scribble.
You can substitute the ceiling, some tea, and doodling if you wish. As long as you get away from the work for a bit to relax, ponder, daydream, pet the cat. "But that's a waste of precious time," you say. Not true. On the contrary: you can't ignore this rule and expect to flourish as a writer. Why? Because "goofing off" actually serves to fuel your imagination and restock your creative resources. You can't expect to function physically without sleep, right? Likewise, you can't expect to function as a writer unless you occasionally . . .
* Do other creative things, whether you're "good" at them or not. Make a cartoon with stick figures. Try watercolors. Take a dance class. Improvise a song while you shower.
* Move around. You'll notice that your mind tends to go numb at about the same point your butt does: that's your signal to get up and take a walk outside, wrestle with the kids, do Tai Chi, whatever. Just move.
* Is there a character in your story whose been giving you grief? Maybe you haven't gotten to know her properly yet, or she you. Invite her to shuffle about your brain while you peel potatoes and ask her a few questions -- you'll be surprised at how agreeable she becomes.
* Get out of the house! Or office. Cabin fever is a continuous occupational hazard for writers, but you don't have to succumb: get together with friends, or simply be around other people in a public place.
There you have them, the golden rules. Maybe you knew them already -- at least intuitively. I find, however, that it's good to be explicit about how we structure and govern our writing lives. Without rules to live by, and goals to strive for, our art suffers -- languishes from lack of discipline and drive. So buck up and commit the rules to memory, recite them once a day. And write, write, write!
Lisa E. Cote is a published short story writer and poet, and a professional writer and copy editor, specializing in Web copy. She is the founder of Elitelit.com, a resource site and online journal for creative writers. Lisa teaches online workshops based on her writing prompt tool, the Instant Muse Story Starter, helping her students (and herself) to live by the Golden Rules.
Lisa was born in Ottawa, Ontario, but now resides in the Seattle, Washington area, where she co-habits with two Scottish Terriers and drinks far too many lattes.
URL: Elitelit.com - For Serious Writers: http://www.elitelit.com
e-mail: lisa@elitelit.com
tel: 425-917-0831 PST
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/
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