Writers, we ARE Walter White!

Good afternoon!

I recently finished watching "Breaking Bad."  (Don't worry, I'm not going to give anything away.  But yes, you very much should watch this show.)  While watching the final scene of the final episode, I wept.  My husband did not.  And after a few weeks of thought, I know why.

For those of you not familiar with this TV show, Walter White is a high school chemistry teacher who, on his 50th birthday is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer.  His wife is about to have their second child and their high school aged son has special needs, so money is a huge issue for Walter and he wants to leave something behind so his family won't have to worry when he's gone.

Walter's brother-in-law is a DEA agent and one day talks about how much the methamphetamine business in Albuquerque, New Mexico is worth.  Walter gets and idea.  He reconnects with a former student, Jesse Pinkman, and they set out to make the BEST METH EVER!

Now, one would think that Walter White is the bad guy...that he's a very bad man.  And, sure, that's true.  But what was so magnetizing for me, and I think for anyone who dreams of the day they can support themselves being creative, was Walter's dedication to making, and controlling, his own brand of meth.  Like writers and authors should, Walter created a brand for himself, kept very close watch on quality control and marketing.  He set the price, he made sure the money got to him, and he reveled in the fact that this meth was good and it was something no one was going to take away from him.

There were other story arcs in the 6 short seasons  (all of which are now on DVD and probably all on Netflix.) but the final, long stretching one was the one that made me weep at the end.  Walter White protected his brand and his product because it was his and no one was going to take it away from him.

We writers are so very much the same way, or we should be.  We need to decide who we are as writers.  Not what we're going to write, that can change from project to project if we want it to.  But as writers we are creating something, we are creating characters, stories, worlds and we need to put our stamp on it and no one should be allowed to take it away from us.

I'm not just talking about someone stealing our flashdrives and selling our work as their own.  In fact, I'm not talking about that at all, really.  I'm talking about the fact that we as creative people often do battle with those around us who want to stop our creativity or at the very least break it down and make it something far less important.

The boss that won't give you a Friday off to go to a writing conference.

The partner that keeps piling dirty laundry or bills on your desk and then leaves you to deal with the mess.

The kids who won't leave you alone for an hour on a weekend for you to work just a little.

The extended family who, when you tell them you can 't make a family function because you're working and they say, "You're not working, you're just writing."

When I'm wearing the hat, I'm super serious.

We all have something like that in our lives, and I'm telling you all, we need to be Walter White.  We need to protect our writing time and we need to protect what we do. We need to set boundaries, mark territory, if you will, and brand what we do.  We need some sort of signal to those around us that now we are the WRITER and we're serious and no one should mess with us when we are the WRITER.

(Walter White put on a hat.  That's when you knew he was NOT to be messed with.)

We all have time constraints, social obligations, work, family, all of that and that's what threatens to take our writing away from us.  I've struggled with this for years, decades.  Now, after all this time, I think I have it down.  I have to light several candles in my office, pour a glass of wine, and shut the door.  In some circles this might signal a romantic evening.  Not in my house.  In my house this means I am writing and I am not to be disturbed until I emerge, exhausted and probably tipsy, from the office.  No one is to knock, and I don't take phone calls unless fire or blood is involved.  This is what I have to do to protect my precious little writing time.  And the result of  that time is my baby, my story, my book.  And I will protect that book, that story, those characters, as much as I am able in this digital world.

So writers, authors, friends, I say this:  BE WALTER WHITE.  Whatever your motivation is to write, you need to protect your writing and your writing time.

Now, go forth and make meth...I mean, go forth and WRITE!

Branding...you know, like cattle!

Good afternoon!

I've been thinking a lot lately about the subject of 'branding.'  Branding is the idea that in your professional life as a writer, you present yourself in a certain way so that people will know what to expect from you and from your work.  In the last several months I've translated this into a couple of Sunday School lessons, you know, people judging you on how you act...living your faith, that sort of thing.

You don't have to know me long to know that I'm a devout, conservative Christian.  That's how I chose to live my real life.  However, as a writer, I like to explore other people's lives.  I would write inspirational, and my mother would love it if I did, but that's not who I am as a writer.  As a writer I'm an observer, I see characters in my head and I write what I see.  My characters are not me, and believe me, I don't always approve of what they do, but I'm not the judge and jury when it comes to the story.  I'm the storyteller.

Yet, in branding myself, I do have lines I won't cross.  There are certain words I simply won't use because I don't like to hear those words, and I certainly don't like to read them.  So, while the language in what I write may be a bit saltier than what I use around my Sunday School kids, there's still a part of me that uses restraint.  If you read a story I've written, you are simply not going to read those words.

There are actions my characters, no matter how horrible a villain, will never take.  While alcohol is sometimes a centerpiece in a scene, my characters will not use illicit drugs.  And when it comes to sex, there are just some areas I chose not to explore.  Not because it's right or wrong, but because that's not what I'm about.

I've built a tiny little website...more of a seedling site than anything else.  I'll add to it as my career moves on, but if you go there the vibe you get from the site is the sort of comfortable homey setting I try to put my readers into.  (Want to see the site?  The link is right there by your right hand!)

As you move forward in your life, maybe you move to a new town, or change your name, and this is the moment you get to put yourself out there as you want people to see you.  It doesn't have to be because you're a writer...this holds true for anything in life.  If you're friendly, tidy, and always ready with as smile, that's your brand, that's the way you present yourself when others look at you.  So that when you show up to a PTA meeting looking hung over, you might get a pass and someone might ask if you're feeling well.  But if you're showing the world the messier side of yourself, don't expect them to think of you as a good choice for the Cleanliness counsel.

If you are writing...think about what you're writing and who you want to read your stories.  If you're trying to write YA...maybe leave the grandma cardigans at home and try something fresh with the hair.  If you're writing inspirational, it's best to leave the thrash metal T's at home.

This is not to say don't be yourself.  But don't write an inspirational romance, then show up to a book signing wearing a "Satan Rules" shirt.  I'm just sayin'...

I know a few writers who are trying to get published in one area, but in the meantime are selling stories in a completely different genre.  Of course they're not going to use their real names...you can't write and sell erotica and then expect people to eat your cookies at the church picnic.

I hope to explore all the avenues writing opens to me.  My regular old every day romances, well, that's my real name.  If I were ever to write inspirational, I'd use a different form of my real name, just so my relatives can find the books, but any other readers aren't confused about why there's actual sex in "Dream in Color."  (By the way...do you have your copy yet?) 

Right now I'm working on a new project, one that's been near and dear to me since I was nine or ten.  I'm rediscovering my powers of observation and humor.  You can find most of that on my new blog  (Again, right there on your right...)  and, through the magic of the Internet, I hope to put together a collection of creative non fiction and unleash it on the world electronically.  Of course, I haven't decided if I'll use my real name or not, but I probably will, since there's nothing in my sense of humor that isn't in line with my values as a person.

So as you write, or as you do anything, think about how you want to be seen and how you are seen.

Just being aware might make this a happier world to live in!

Now...go forth and WRITE!