Everyday is a writing day

It is cliche for established, practicing writers to give the advice that to be a writer one must write everyday. Cliche, yes, but the advice is very true, especially for those of us who can't do without it. For those non-writers I can put it a different way. Think of living with only an occasional cigarette if your a nicotine addict, or a five-mile run if you're an adrenaline addict. If it can't be done every day, or isn't done for one reason or another, then one starts to feel a constant pull into frustration. That frustration spirals into one or more of the sub-emotions of anger. In short, one becomes unbearable to be around. I say this solely because this description fits me quite nicely.

I give advice to my writing students to write everyday, but fail to define what that means for them, and often times for myself. I tend fall into the overwhelming pit of chagrin when I don't give myself time to write the way that avid runners will run no matter what the weather. The way chain smokers will battle the single digit temperatures or ditch their friends at a smoke-free restaurant just to have a drag. Now that's dedication.

So when I tell my students that writers write, always, it's time I start taking my own advice.

The end of the writers' strike, and what it really means

Television is too powerful. Those who control it are too powerful. And too rich. They are in the position of controlling the greatest media outlet to ever exist. Those writers who give the producers the content they need to maintain their power, wealth, and control are themselves in a fairly powerful position. Though I use that term loosely here--powerful.

The members of the Writers Guild brought Hollywood to a standstill (sort of) with a demand for wider recognition of their work. This week they got it (sort of). So everyone who lives by the tube can rest assured that Lost will have its full season of at least 16 episodes rather than 8, that 24 fans will see the show return next season with a full cast and a full "day" in the life of Jack Bauer, that Daily Show and Cobert Report viewers will get their daily fix of fake news.

Good for the viewers. Even better for the writers who are covered by the contract negotiated for them by the Guild. Or is it?

A strange and complex problem exists in how the Guild is really designed to ensure the rights of the Hollywood writers. With so much money at stake the primary goal of any company is going to protect the product. When coal miners strike, the mine owners are most concerned about their losses and the movement of their product. So goes Hollywood.

The contract machine of the Guild is really designed to protect the product for the controllers, not the creators. Consider the need to perpetuate the widespread dinner-table conversations about the hilarities of the latest Jack Black or Ice Cube movie. (Which by the way brought box office draws of $8.2mil and $49.6mil respectively. Modest amounts for a couple of mindless B-comedies.) Yes, there were writers behind these films who likely got paid quite nicely for their work, but when producers have viewers anxious to fill seats in the theaters, knowing almost for sure viewers are going to shell out millions, the protection of the product becomes the primary objective.

The writers holding out for this long was a strong statement in solidarity, especially when going up against the most powerful entities in the world. But did the writers really gain any footing? Okay, so the production companies are recognizing Internet revenue in a world where there is a significant falling-off of reruns on broadcast TV. Good for them. A nice, polished sound-byte to air on NPR and CNN. Sounds good to the masses. It's something they see as tangible. But remember, those masses are the same ones chagrined, or even fuming, about the Late Show reruns and cancellation of 24 and countless other shows. If it means TV is back on and the summer blockbusters are a sure thing, the masses will listen to whatever the media has to say. After all, that's what the media is designed to do to ensure the masses just smiles and nods and keeps on watching.

Writing Time (or the lack thereof)

It can only be repeated so many times by writers that there aren't enough hours in the day to write before it becomes cliche, and honestly, an annoyance to those writers like myself who sneak in an hour here, fifteen minutes there to get something done. If the world were balanced and evenly distributed then each artist would be assigned an independently wealthy or well-paid professional partner. But can an artist in that environment truly toil while trying to make a living?

Stephen King certainly tops my list for those authors who have it quite good. Toil can't be a part of his vocabulary regardless of how difficult it must be to write so prolifically. If I have eight to ten hours a day (Sundays off) to write without worrying about the roof caving in or the bills going unpaid, I'd be one happy (and prolific) writer.

Nevertheless, here I sit with ten minutes left in my work day struggling to get a paragraph or two written, cringing every time there is a knock at the door. But if all these distractions weren't a part of my life then I wouldn't be toiling like I do. And I must admit, if I didn't have to struggle to write I don't know if I could even do it in the first place. Well, okay, I still could. I'm not so naive as to think that my writing process couldn't withstand the constant barrage of the 40-hour work week. I've been writing my entire adult life (and most of my adolescent) so there's no stopping now. But there is a strong connection between struggle and meaning that is undeniable. And if there is anything to be said about those writers who have too much time on their hands to proliferate in the name of publishing, having all the time in the world really dilutes complexity and purpose. Just pick up any piece of commercial fiction for a taste of the bland. It'll be clear enough where I'm coming from.