Write, Teach, Laugh

Category: Write

Great Things in 2020

2020

As part of planning my life for the new year I usually take several classes and read articles on goal setting. This year was no exception. One of the classes, by Vanessa Van Edwards, threw me a curve. She suggested we look back at 2020 for all the good things. “Good things? You’ve got to…

Four Teachers

As I came of age in Baldwin Park, California, four teachers had an impact on me and my life. First, the lay of the land. When my parents chose Baldwin Park in 1957, it was still SoCal country. From the late 40s till the mid-50s it had been the home of the Country Barn Dance…

NAB 2015: A Producer’s Guide to Story, Budget, Strategy and Brand with Amy DeLouise

(Originally published on Blogcritics.org) At this year’s National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show, the annual Las Vegas conclave of television, radio, internet and supporting industries, Amy DeLouise set an aggressive goal for her presentation titled: “A Producer’s Guide to Everything That Matters.” Everything? Maybe not, but DeLouise, an award-winning video- and multi-media producer, came pretty…

NAB 2015: Blogger Melanie Nelson Gets Down to Self-Editing Basics

(Originally published on Blogcritics.org) At the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show 2015, in the Las Vegas Convention Center, surrounded by every video camera made, virtual sets, lighting equipment, online streaming hardware and software platforms, they didn’t forget that it all begins with writing. In “Self-Editing Basics: The Tools You Need to Improve Your Writing,”…

My Mom and Ernie Banks

Legendary Chicago Cubs shortstop Ernie Banks passed away last month. The Cubs, Ernie Banks, Hank Sauer, Ron Santo and others played a big part in my young life. I would often sit next to a floor model radio we had in our apartment behind my dad’s Chicago dry cleaning store and listen to the games. But, when I heard about Banks’ passing, I thought of my mother.

Alameda Writers Group: Pursuit, Pitfalls and Prizes

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(Originally published on Blogcritics.org) Alameda Writers Group (AWG) Co-Presidents Scott and Gail Moss are stalkers. After viewing the filmTouching Home at the Melbourne Independent Filmmakers Festival in Florida, they were so impressed that they hunted down the twin brothers who wrote and directed the film, until they were able to meet them. Friendship ensued. Now,…

Out Loud!

At a recent meeting of a writers group, we were doing table-reads of our screenplays in order to critique and improve our writing. One of the participants was less than enthusiastic, lamenting that this would be better done on a computer before coming to the meeting. So, was he correct? Why do we read out…

One day can change your life. One day can ruin your life. All life is is three or four big days that change everything. — Beverly Donofrio

This observation, by the author of Riding in Cars with Boys,

SXSW Interactive: Zombie Journalism and Superhero Journalism

(First published on blogcritics.org) Two SXSW panels demonstrated that journalism, like many other industries born in the brick and mortar era, must evolve or die. The first panel was populated by professional zombies, unaware how pathetic their whining sounded. The second panel contained innovators of the Superhero mold. Here Come the Zombies The “Cinematic Storytelling and Journalism” panel…

SXSW Interactive: Newsjacking, Uncertainty, and Accidents

(First published on blogcritics.org) Among the computers, flashing lights, video cameras, ubiquitous Wi-Fi, and people dressed as bloated software of SXSW, you wouldn’t expect to find authors reading their books. But, after all, books were the first interactive media, so they are represented at SXSW as well. David Meerman Scott talked about his new book Newsjacking: How to…