Advice

Being a creative professional is more complicated than most people think. Whether you’re a writer, actor, or producer, your productivity levels are directly proportional to your organizational skills. Becoming an organized individual isn’t just about working in clean environments or managing time properly. It is also about organizing your thoughts, emotions, and actions in such a way that nothing and no one can stop you from reaching your objectives. In today’s post, I’m sharing 20 ideas to...

You’re in your artistic element, deeply connected to your creativity and performance. Just like a river flowing from its source into the world, it feels right. It’s a connection that transcends flaws, doubts, and fears. Your inspiration, passion, skills, and talents come together into one stream of expression. You’re becoming your song, writing, or your acting. In moments like these, you can feel the ripples of emotions between you and your audience. Time stops… Nothing else matters… You and y...

“Let’s talk,” he said with a misleading twinkle in his eye, “about what it takes to ensure that our immaculate and undoubtedly superior artistic vision is protected from the corrupting influence of all those collaborators, executives, and audience members who all want their own little piece of the creative process.” A film grows to its fullest potential when it’s nurtured by the relationships of all the people responsible for making it. Any filmmaker who is so locked into their creative vision...

As we come to the end of 2022 and our final Introduce Yourself Weekend for the year, I wish you another year filled with love, joy, and success! I’ve been taking stock of where I’ve been, where I am right now, and where I want to be. I have decided that lamenting the past and worrying about the future is a huge waste of time. Being a septuagenarian, one does not have the luxury of squandering a moment. That made me think about my relationships with family, friends, and colleagues. In sales, yo...

Many writers worry about "idea theft," allowing it to be the reason they don't tell people about their projects, won't publically post their loglines, or won't apply for contests and fellowships for this reason. But the fact is, copyright law protects the expression of an idea but not the idea itself. Lots of films and television shows have similar concepts. The entertainment industry uses these comparable projects, or "comps," to sell new projects.  But what do you do if you believe your actu...

Happy Sunday, Creative Army! Have you had a creative weekend so far? I have some content here for you that is sure to get the creative juices flowing, so grab your coffee, and let's dive in. After looking at pre-production last week, it seemed fitting to take the opposite approach and go into post-production. The editing of a project can be a make or break. Editors are just as much creatives and writers as everyone else involved in your project, but you can't get to the creative part of post...

At my kids’ school, they’re putting up two new buildings, and I had the chance to watch them pour the concrete for the walls as I sat waiting in the carline the other day. What was really remarkable to me was the fact that in order to get to this step, they’d first have to assemble an entire framework that served as the mold for the walls. They’d basically built a building to build the building, in a manner of speaking. And then (because I’m a writer who likes thinking about the process of wri...

When speaking of my recent victories - I wrote and produced an award-winning 48-Hour Short Film called "Livin' with Lisa," co-produced an all-female-cast-and-crew short film, and just wrapped production on the most involved proof-of-concept short film I've ever produced - there is only one constant in every one of those victories. Relationships. "Exactly how connected do I need to be to be successful in the industry? Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon connected?" Sort of. The "Six Degrees of Separati...

For many writers, the written words on a page come much easier than the spoken ones. It could be nerves, speaking about your work to someone places you in a position of vulnerability... What will they think of my script? Will they understand what I'm trying to convey with it? Can they share my vision for my script? Or a writer may doubt their ability to talk about their script. Is my voice clear and inviting enough, and can I show enough excitement and passion so that an executive will believe i...

Thanksgiving just ended, the next morning, you and your family head into their local mall or downtown commercial center for Black Friday shopping, and you have the kids in tow. All of a sudden, you see a recognizable commercial or cartoon character trying to entice you to come into their store. They’re waving, they’re jumping up and down, or maybe they’re handing out samples. Around the corner, you encounter a long line to see Santa Claus because every kid wants to get a head start on th...