Other Cool Blogs: Media Chomp


Photo by Manny Becerra on Unsplash

2023 saw many things, one of them being the writer’s strike and the actor’s strike fighting for the rights of creators against studios wanting to use “AI” to replace the costly background work. They wanted to scan an actor once, pay that actor, the make-up artist, and the costumer for one day, and then use the image in perpetuity. The studios also wanted to use AI to write the base for screenplays of movies and television shows, then use writers to tweak them better, playing them for the lesser work.

Sure it saves money, but at what cost? I’ve talked about how long it takes to become a good writer – about one million words. Same for acting, one million of other people’s words, spoken with your interpretation. Makeup artists and costumers also have to learn their craft. Using AI (and it isn’t really artificial intelligence, more like statistical amalgamation – artificial intelligence is about emulating decision-making) to replace the “background” mean actors won’t have a chance to learn their craft, unless they have the TIME and MONEY to spend practicing without pay. As it is now, actors knows that they’re most common line is “do you want fries with that?” But to decrease the opportunity to nothing will undo television and movies. The top 100 will be the only 100. And all those that support the industry – costumers and makeup artists – will likewise be unnecessary, since there will be no one to practice their craft with.

Writers … well, that statistical amalgamation of words … means we will have no truly bad movies, but nor will be have great ones. AI does the average. Like the actors, if AI is writing the “made-for-TV” movies, then the writers have nothing to learn on either.

Yes, the studios save money, but by gutting the entry level positions. The few ads for movies would be “Entry Level position for Named Main Character, three days to record script and scan body. Pay at Scale.” Just like the “entry level position, need master’s degree, part-time, temporary.”

The writers and actors, both separately and together, said “no way.” And used the only power available to them when the studios would budge, withholding work.

Have you ever wondered how long workers have been striking? A Cool Blog at Media Chomp published some memes about possible the first strike in (written) history, where the workers building the tomb of Rameses the III went on strike for better wages.

It really gets amusing, because first the management offered basically a pizza party to satisfy them. The workers responded with a picket line.

And workers have been striking ever since. Read to the end, because the cosmetics need indicates occupational safety needed to be addressed even in slave labor.

The cool blog is: https://mediachomp.com/ancient-egyptian-workers-strike/

 

Editing Rant: Down vs. Out

One common piece of advice I have given often is:
Get the WORDS on the PAGE. You can’t edit it if it hasn’t been written.
I’ve even passed on advice given by other authors along this line.
That being said, DON’T PUBLISH the first draft.
The first draft is just that – one pass. Nothing polished.
A writer needs to work things over, tumble the stone until rough edges are knocked off and the colors shine through.
One of my author friends reports that a current piece of advice is “better to push out a poorly edited book than have nothing at all.”
Really, WHAT?
The concept is to have something out there for people to read, to stumble across. Content, content, content. That is how people find you and get to know you.
Except the content sucks. People associate you with the suckage. Not.a.good.thing.
Also, this not only harms your reputation as a creative, it harms the greater community as people start expecting badly written books. Things out there just to make money.
Publishing just to publish is BAD advice.
To pull the two pieces of advice together.

DOWN BUT NOT OUT

Get things down on paper or the computer screen. You can’t fix things that haven’t been written. It’s okay to suck on the first try – you will create bad stuff. Everyone does. The object is to create something to fix.

Do NOT push out that initial writing. It’s got to be worked and edited.

Down but not out.

Editing Rant: “That” Author

Why do I do this to myself? Did a slush read for “that” author. You know the one you don’t want to be. The whiny “my story is great and you don’t know it”; “how can you reject it so quickly” (after I devoted a Friday night and Saturday morning to it), “you aren’t a writer so you don’t know how much rejects hurt”, …. etc.

I knew, knew from the cover letter, this one was going to be a problem. Why did I even ask for a full manuscript?

Oh, yeah, the person actually wrote three good chapters and had a great concept.

Too bad I will never read anything else from the slush pile from this writer again. Hope they learn (ie actually read the comments I sent back and use them – yes, I sent comments and still got a 20-question whine).

Don’t be that author!

***

The same day I got “Just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to consider my manuscript and thanks for the feedback!”

Oh, yeah. That is why I do this. Because of “that” author. Be that one.

Writing Exercise: Self-Promotion

Photo by Ian Schneider on Unsplash

Self-promotion is self-care. Getting a better job so you don’t have to work as hard, getting your books seen, finding the best fit for you by letting those around you know you are looking for a better fit. Whether for day job or the write job, self-promotion is necessary.

I know we all be taught “pride goeth before the fall” – but it is actually “an haughty spirit before a fall”. It isn’t pride/satisfaction in a job well done, or letting people know “we did this” that is the road to destruction, but rubbing it in, immersing yourself in raising yourself over others and not seeing the worth in them as well as yourself. Raise up others, raise up yourself.

As we enter the time both of seasonal depression and of the winter holiday gift-giving season, I thought a little focus on self-promotion is in order. 25% of books are bought during the winter holiday season in the US of A (https://publishingperspectives.com/2020/11/npd-one-in-four-books-is-purchased-in-the-usa-during-the-holidays-covid19/#:~:text=Just%20to%20clarify%20the,of%20its%20annual%20print%20sales.). If you are a writer, October is the beginning of SELL-season. If you are a day-job worker, well, the summer graduates job hunting is done, the high school and college interns are settled, and the HR departments need to fill in slots left by parents who thought they could work and have the kids be in school at the same time and discovered otherwise.

So here is the Exercises for this month:

  1. If you are impacted by seasonal depression (and, be truthful to yourself, the answer is yes, you are … everyone is), do one of both of the following for your house. (a) Replace any and all burnt out light bulbs. Light up the house! (b) Buy one new lamp to put in your work area or reading area or somewhere shadows bring in the gloom. 
  2. For the day-job, do one of the following: (a) brush off the resumee, clean it up – what have you been doing new on the job? what non-profit work have you done? Just give it a good scrub – but the short one to send into places and the long-time tracking so if you pivot your job, you have things to add. (b) If you like the company you work for, go hang out a moment with HR and talk about what you would like to do. See what other opportunities are there and if there is mentoring or training available. Make yourself attractive. (c) If you need to stretch your wings, send out a couple-few resumees. See if there are any bites. Take three nights and send out one a night.
  3. For the WRITING EXERCISE, for three nights this month and three nights in November, do self-promotion of your works on the social media platform(s) you use – facebook, blog, youtube, instagram, tik-tok, etc. Let people know where to find your stuff – short stories, novellas, art, whatever you have created.

Comment below where you self-promoted and what you marketed.

My attempt
I let a lot of things slide for a long time during COVID, but I’ve been kicking things back in gear, posting in the blog and on my Facebook page, as well as participating in some flash writing for a facebook group.

And don’t forget Honestly is still out there on Amazon to purchase or reading through Kindle Unlimited.