I’m A Failed Writer #14: Project Mismanagement

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Jul 14 5
(failed writer video)

So when I showed my friend Michael Schechter an early version of this video, he said, “you are out of your mind.” Actually, he had a more colorful way to say it. Partly, this was because we had just sampled ten different beers at Hopworks Urban Brewery. But also, the original video made it sound like I was done making videos… so long, schmucks!

Check out the updated video and hopefully you’ll see that I’m not going anywhere far…

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I’m A Failed Writer #13: Beyond Microsoft Word… Or Not

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Jun 15 19
(failed writer video)

I started out this video with the intent of trying to get writers to stop using Microsoft Word and ended up paying tribute to an overly-sentimental romantic comedy from the 80s. It’s a new level of failure.

Even though I’m passionate about the writing tools that I use, I also worry about spending too much time thinking about the tools rather than thinking about the product. I’d rather have a clunky tool and solid writing practice than a brilliant tool and little to show with it.

So here it is. My quasi-passionate (and ultimately failed) rant against Microsoft Word:

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I’m A Failed Writer #12: Networking for Cowards

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May 18 5
(failed writer video)

In this episode of my writing crisis, we walk through my take on networking as a terrified coward. But it gets more complicated because I’ve mistakenly succeeded in a few areas, while failing at others. More than other Failed Writer videos, this is an area of the writing life I’m still pretty undecided about — even more of a work-in-progress than other areas. But it’s something I’ve had to confront as my book approaches the publication date.

So here goes, Failed Writer Crisis #12:

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I’m A Failed Writer #11: 10,000 Hours

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Apr 20 19
(failed writer video)

I intended this video to be about the way I once organized my whole submission plan for magazines. I had this fancy pants spreadsheet characterizing my every step. But a few minutes into making this video, I realized how much I have changed over the years. Now there’s a wife. There are kids. I don’t have time to fetishize the process. But it’s more than that. I also see how we writers are so compelled to obsess over the accolades we think we deserve before fully maturing our writing chops. And so this video turned into a talk about the need to write. To write a lot.

Without doing a lick of research (or even bothering to read his book), I swiped Malcolm Gladwell’s notion that it takes 10,000 hours to master a particular craft. (Don’t quote me on this!) I just love the idea of that number because it is a damn big number. And I think it is roughly true. It takes a long time for most of us mortals to get good at writing.

And so here is my not-entirely-educated take on it:

You can find a list of all my videos here. And you can subscribe to my second-rate blog either by email or RSS.

I’m A Failed Writer #10: Big Projects, Small Lists

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Mar 16 6
(failed writer video)

I’m a coward. When faced with a big project – something time consuming, something that will require sacrifices to be made – my instinct is to run away. Fast. No looking back. For that reason, it took me a long time to come around to the point where I (somewhat) enjoy the challenge of a big project. I’m talking about something like writing a novel or being in a long-term relationship. These are things that require work. Day after day. Month after month. Year after year.

The funny thing is that a key method I use to confront these big projects is so simple, so low-tech (so cheap in therapy costs!) that it almost seems like it’s cheating. And here it is:

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I’m A Failed Writer #9: Non-Crappy Writing Groups

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Jan 20 19
(failed writer video)

I’ve begun dabbling in the world of stop-motion animation. What does this mean? This means that I wait for my toddler to take a nap and then I frantically begin playing with his stuffed animals.

My excuse this time for playing with his toys is that I want to talk about writing groups. I’ve been in plenty of writing groups and here is my take on what makes an (in)effective writing group:

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I’m A Failed Writer #8: Fresh Ways To Look At Your Crappy Writing

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Nov 25 20
(failed writer video)

There’s a saying in the presentation world: “once you need your wife to film you naked for a presentation, you’ve gotten too desperate.” OK. That’s not really a saying… But it should be.

In any case, I hope you find some of this presentation useful. I took the tremendous risk of getting my wife to film me naked for this video (which is risky for both my presentation gig and my marriage) because I wanted to show you many of the ways I try to get a fresh look at my own writing. Let’s see if it pays off…

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I’m A Failed Writer #7: Failing As A Failed Failure

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Oct 21 2
(failed writer video)

Here is my video about failure. I talk about my love affair with failure and how it serves me as a writer. I also reveal a bit too much about my psychoses. And I talk about martinis.

You can find a list of all my videos here. And you can subscribe to my second-rate blog either by email or RSS.

I’m A Failed Writer #6: Obsession x Voice

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Sep 23 31
(failed writer video)

This is my video tribute to a great talk at SXSW in 2009 between John Gruber and Merlin Mann about obsession and voice. Here is how it has affected me as a neurotic novelist.

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I’m A Failed Writer #5: Writing in the Cold

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Aug 20 2

Here is a video tribute to an incredible 1985 essay about writing and the need for durability by Ted Solotaroff. I apologize in advance for the comparison of the writing life to a bad game of Frogger.

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