• Some of the top showrunners in television form a new broadcasting corporation that offers a strong royalty rate for creators. Oh, but we can’t have that because that’d be starting a corporation, and all corporations are only ever always evil.
• One of the existing TV networks decides to stick it to the competition, by offering a nice royalty and therefore grabs the better industry talent. Oh, but we can’t have that because competition is bad. Not to mention, most corporations suck at it – so it’s better to not have to do something you suck at anyway. On top of that, the union wouldn’t allow a network to negotiate a good royalty without involving them, so forget about that one.
• Writers everywhere form a non-union, independent coalition that does nothing other than defend the free agent model, and basic rights. This coalition does not collect dues, and does not form a collectivized, centralized agenda other than promoting independence. Oh, but we can’t have that because that’d be in support of free market competition/capitalism, and those things are evil. Not to mention most people suck at them.
• Individual writers and/or showrunners negotiate royalty rates individually with the networks they work for. I’m not sure if/why this doesn’t happen already. Probably because individuals aren’t allowed to negotiate their contracts, because the union does it for them?

  Maybe if the union didn’t only do it once every 20 or 30 years, and left it up to the individual, more writers would be compensated better on an individual level? Ya know, maybe there hasn’t been progress since 1988 because the union didn’t do anything other than collect dues? In this entire time, I’m sure writers could have negotiated better salaries and royalties with the networks — IF they were allowed. I know if I wanted more, I’d ask for more. If I didn’t get it, I’d seriously think about changing jobs. That’s how most everything else works, right?

I don’t expect anyone to make any attempts whatsoever towards any of these alternatives. It’s far easier to trust in the Big Brothers & Sisters of the world. I think deep down we all want to be mindless drones, subjected to the agendas of oppressive collectives. We must want it, or we wouldn’t let the collectives — governments, corporations, and organizations (unions) do all the heavy lifting for us.

And yet… we hand them the keys to the city because we simply don’t care. We can’t be bothered with hassles like starting businesses, organizing productions, having books printed and shipped, nor negotiating our own contracts. That’s asking far too much of feeble-minded creative types, isn’t it?

Ok, I’ll curb the sarcasm for a moment. Actually, I don’t think that it is too much to ask for us to do these things. But… and this is a BIG BUT — apparently the world disagrees with me.

I say if you want more, do more. And I’m not just talking about writing. I’m talking about looking after your own interests with some amount of assertiveness, instead of letting others do it for you and rip you off in the process.

So, if a person is not a WGA member, and that person writes during the strike, they can be reported to the WGA, but on a blacklist by WGA members, and barred from joining in the future? You mean, a career can be potentially damaged by writing right now, even though a person is not a member?

Mafia anyone?

Ya know, that’s exactly why this law was created.

Writers should get their extra four cents. I just wish gangs weren’t the only vehicle to get it. The end most certainly does not justify the means. Is it possible to be in support of the strike’s cause, without being in support of the gangs on either side?

I respect someone’s right to be part of a union. Just as they should respect my right to not be part of a union. Except, it doesn’t work like that. You have to take part, or you’re an evil outsider. That’s how gangs work.

Do you think this kind of bullying is acceptable?

This post says it’s not happening – or only happening on the other side.

Look folks, it’s happening on both sides right now. I don’t think any of it is right. That’s why I’m picking the side of independence. I don’t think writers should be beholden to corporations or the union. Remember what old Ben Franklin said;

“The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either.”

I don’t know about you, but I will not trade my freedom for security. If you don’t believe that picking a side is voiding a freedom then you might read this. It is your right under the constitution — nobody can take that away from you, via coercion or force of any kind.

If we find that freedom can be easily taken away, then this is not the country we thought it was — and we have only ourselves to blame for emboldening and encouraging the gangs that run it.

As any reader here knows, I’m fond of structure. For me, most of the creative process, its burps and hiccups, revolve around structure and the role it plays in shaping the overall work. Story DNA was probably my first post focusing on this apsect, and little did I know there would be many more to come.

As I strafed the topic of my fiction, I discussed dystopias, and battled it out between fantasy vs. sci-fi. 2005 was my first time for NaNoWriMo. I had a hunch about geneplore long before my 2006 discovery of the geneplore model.

Of course who could forget my debates with Melly over art vs. entertainment.

Another 2006 revelation was 7 Secrets of Writing Scene by Scene. That was a huge one for me, as the blindly-draft-hundreds-of-pages method has never been anything but failure for me.

I have fond memories of the folks over at Writer Unboxed getting a kick out of my writing on the wall. I still have the shower crayons, and yes still use them.

2007 brought some finality to my evaluation of writing methods & techniques, along with good habits to help you see the light at the end of the tunnel. It should go without saying that great software always helps.

Thanks for coming along with me on this crazy adventure, and may we have many more!

A few thoughts:

• The Godfather game for 360 is super violent, and lots of fun. Inventive use of original voice recording from the movies, in addition to some re-recording done with the original cast.
• The Bourne Ultimatum was awesome. Thematically felt a lot closer to the first movie. I wasn’t a huge fan of the second movie. The third ties up a lot of stuff from all the movies, but mainly, there’s not a dull moment in it. Every scene in Ultimatum has a purpose, and almost every scene has high tension. What the third movie does most of all though, is make the trilogy feel very cohesive — like a single story.

More later…

We all need time away from our work and our lives. Without it, we will never gain any new perspectives. Distance from life and work mentally detaches you from it, lets your mind focus on and enjoy other things, and when you return to your life and work you will see opportunities that you did not see before.

To think if you hadn’t taken the break, you’d not have seen those opportunities to do and experience more in the same old life you were living before, or on the same story.

I have to admit that I did sneak in the tiniest bit of work on my story while I was away. I have a scene that takes place in Vietnam. My father is a Vietnam veteran, so I grilled him on details that pertain to my scene. I discovered that while the basic thrust of my scene is okay, most of the details are wrong. I will have to correct and rework these details so as to be accurate. The benefit is that the scene will be more authentic and interesting.

The break also brought about a few realizations, namely, that perfect is the enemy of good. I have to admit that I am a perfectionist, and this holds me back in many ways. I have a hard time letting things go. Part of taking a vacation is letting go of the pattern of your everyday life. It is a forced break from perfectionism, and I find it is a great way to deal with the problem.

Upon return, you may find that you are a big fish in a small pond. There are opportunities all around to make life more enjoyable, but more often than not we’re simply too close to everything to realize it.

Take a vacation!

P.S. Best of MN vacation photos here.