Thank you community! I’m so grateful to the people who’ve congratulated and encouraged me as I’ve launched This Time/Next Time, my story consulting venture. I’m particularly grateful to collaborators, colleagues, clients and even past students who’ve shared the news and contributed testimonials. It’s like a sneak peek at my obituary and you’re all invited!
In the past two weeks, I’ve heard from a playwright adapting her play into a 60 minute TV pilot, a creative writer with a children’s book in mind, a cross platform video game maker developing his next game and an animator looking to write a short screenplay that he’s been trying to get to for a long time. I also spoke with the Marketing and Communications Director of an exciting nonprofit looking for new ways to articulate their work and someone at the WGA East who suggested I do a workshop in the near future.
The variety of clients and potential clients is exciting. Each medium (and client) has its specific wants, needs and expectations, but there are core elements and considerations with all storytelling. Who is your audience and how do you want them to feel? When do you start the story? Which information should be revealed when? Why do I keep looking at my phone?
Maybe I’m projecting, but I’ve found most people I talk to are in need of slowing their minds down as they consider their projects. You’ve probably heard writing can be therapeutic, but writing can also be a metaphor for life. Slow down. Decide what you want. Be intentional. Commit to the purpose. Do less.
One of the reasons I feel comfortable helping a wide range of storytellers is because my writing has been partly defined by my versatility with genre and tone and form. To the consternation of my reps over the years, my projects have ranged from dramatic to comedic to thriller to a science fiction musical about cloning. I’ve written features and shorts and pilots, and I’ve developed an unscripted dating show being circulated as I write these words. Forgive the name dropping, but some highlights from my writer’s desk include Martin Scorsese signing on to Executive Produce one of my projects, Phoebe Waller Bridge complimenting my writing about the octopus, Alexander Payne reporting that he cried while reading one of my screenplays.
I’ve considered stepping into the consulting space for quite some time. I love helping people do what they want to do, and I love talking about and demystifying the creative process which, for the most part, involves identifying the thing, trying the thing, failing at the thing, and then making the thing better. I won’t claim to be an expert in every form of storytelling, but I will claim to be a good listener and an active participant in the process.
But enough about me.
If you’re working on a story or need help in developing and crafting communication set up a call to discuss how I might be able to help you.
This time and next time…
