Should Our Fantasies Be Diverse?

 

Like most of Generation X and our younger counterparts, I grew up on "Star Wars" and am as excited about the new "The Force Awakens" movie as the entire world - make that galaxy - seems to be. 

It's encouraging that the cast is diverse, with African actors Lupita Nyong'o and John Boyega and Latino actor Oscar Isaac. However, there have been many fantasy films released over the past few years that have virtually no diversity at all: "The Lord of the Rings" series and modern spins on fairy tales such as "Pan" and "Into the Woods."

Does it matter if our culture's fantasy stories are diverse? 

I would argue that it does matter. Why? Because fantasies, by definition, reflect the way the world should be. And shouldn't an idealized version of the world include a fair representation of the world's people?

 

There has been progress in big-screen diversity in recent years, but I'm hard-pressed to think of many fantasy films with an all-black cast. In fact, I can only think of one: 1978's "The Wiz." 

This black take on "The Wizard of Oz" was considered a commercial and critical failure at the time. But the success of the newest version of "The Wiz," which was broadcast live on NBC on Dec. 3, shows that all-black productions of fantasy tales can, indeed, attract a sizeable audience. "The Wiz Live!" was such a hit that it's scheduled to be re-broadcast Dec. 19 at 8 p.m.

Beyond "The Wiz," could a fantasy film with a cast that was all black, Latino, Asian or another minority group be successful? Could such a film even get financed and made?

Diversity advocates have long said that in order for minorities to be cast as central characters in mainstream movies and television shows, more people of color need to be behind the camera in decision-making positions. In order for a big-budget fantasy film to be made with an all-black cast, it would probably take a black producer or director with the clout of J.J. Abrams, the creative force (pardon the pun) behind the new "Star Wars" franchise. 

The lack of diversity in the fantasy genre came up during one of the coolest events I attended in 2015: Sol-Con: The Black and Brown Comic Book Expo. The first-ever event was held Oct. 3-4 on the campus of my alma mater, The Ohio State University. 

Sol-Con: The Black and Brown Comic Book Expo featured artists
of color from all over the country.

The event featured dozens of African-American and Latino writers, artists and filmmakers from all over the country showcasing their independently produced comic books, graphic novels and movies.  As one African-American comic book artist pointed out during a panel discussion, why couldn't one of the main characters in a fantasy film like "The Hunger Games" be a person of color? For example, one of the guys in the love triangle with main character Katniss Everdeen could have been played by a black, Latino or Asian actor. 

Furthermore, why couldn't one of the kids in a sci-fi movie like "Super 8" (written and directed by J.J. Abrams) have been black or a member of some other under-represented group? 

It's discouraging that when fantasy films do include diverse casting, fans sometimes react negatively. The fact that a black actor (Boyega) plays a Stormtrooper in "The Force Awakens" has generated racist comments on social media. The same thing happened when Michael B. Jordan was cast as The Human Torch in last summer's "The Fantastic Four." 

Why do some fantasy/sci-fi fans find "colorblind" casting so threatening?

I don't remember there being any controversy over Billy Dee Williams being cast as Lando Calrissian in 1980's "The Empire Strikes Back." I was just a kid back then, but I don't remember it being a big deal at all.

The prevailing sentiment over Williams' casting among "Star Wars" fans seemed to be, "A handsome, suave black man is playing a character in a 'Star Wars' movie? Cool." I also don't remember any outcry from fans over James Earl Jones being revealed as the voice of Darth Vader.

Have we regressed as a society in terms of race relations since the original "Star Wars" trilogy was first released in the '70s and '80s? Hopefully not. Hopefully we'll keep moving forward.

 

May The Force be with us. 

Wexner's 'Picture Lock': World-Class Networking Opportunity For Film Lovers

I was honored recently to participate in "Picture Lock," the Wexner Center for the Art's 25th anniversary of its film/video residency program. Filmmakers from around the world who have participated in the program over the years - myself included - converged on my hometown of Columbus, Ohio, Oct. 29-Nov. 1 for the celebration.

The Wexner Center's film residency program enables independent filmmakers to use the organization's world-class facility on the campus of The Ohio State University. Filmmakers are able to use Wexner's production and editing equipment and receive assistance from the experienced staff to complete their projects.

Many of the projects that have received support from Wexner in the past two and a half decades are non-commercial movies that wouldn't receive backing from major studios, from experimental art films to documentaries on little-known subjects.

My project falls into the latter category. I was fortunate to participate in Wexner's film residency program for two weeks in the summer of 2013 (click this link to access several blog posts I made about the experience). The project I worked on during my residency is a documentary titled Lady Wrestler: The Amazing, Untold Story of African-American Women in the Ring.

A still from my documentary, Lady Wrestler.

The documentary chronicles the experiences of women such as Babs Wingo, Ethel Johnson, Marva Scott and Ramona Isbell. These courageous women braved racism and sexism in the '50s, '60s and '70s to compete around the world in the male-dominated professional wrestling industry.

I've made some additional tweaks to the project since my Wexner residency and plan to begin entering the documentary in film festivals in 2016. Stay tuned to this blog and my website (www.chrisbournea.com) for details.

Participating in "Picture Lock" offered a valuable opportunity to network with like-minded individuals who grew up loving the movies and share a passion for everything related to film. Getting a chance to compare notes and share best practices is vitally important for those of us who live and work outside of the major entertainment hubs of New York and L.A. (I still live in Columbus).

And I must admit, seeing my photo among dozens of other filmmakers displayed on a wall in the Wexner Center gallery was pretty cool.

Like the closing credits in a movie, I must give a big shout-out to everyone in the Wexner's Film/Video staff: David Filipi, director; Jennifer Lange, curator; Chris Stults, associate curator; and Mike Olenick, studio editor. And last but not least, Paul Hill, studio editor and my longtime close friend whose hard work, generosity, patience and unwavering support has been invaluable over the years.    

English Majors Share How They Broke Into Television, Journalism

(Left to right) A moderator (whose name I forgot to get - oops!) led  a panel discussion
with writers and fellow Ohio State alumni Mac McClelland, Douglas Watson,
Shari Goldhagen and Mike Alber.

One of the highlights of the fall for me was participating in a recent event at my alma mater, The Ohio State University, that brought together alumni from all over the country who majored in English.

The Alumni Writers' Extraganza was held Oct. 2-4 at various locations in my hometown of Columbus. Several of the free workshops took place in Denney Hall, the building on Ohio State's main campus where we English majors spent countless hours.

One of the most interesting workshops was "Breaking into TV." Television writers Mike Alber, Sage Boggs and Bryan Wynbrandt shared how they use the MFAs in English that they earned from Ohio State in their daily work.

Boggs, who works for "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," said joining a comedy troupe while at Ohio State helped him develop his creative voice.

"I was writing sketches with a small group of people here on campus. That was a good opportunity, because we'd perform every year at a festival in New York," which enabled him to make contacts that eventually led to jobs in television, Boggs said.

Wynbrandt, who has written for CBS's "Hawaii Five-O" and Fox's "Alcatraz," said participating in creative writing workshops at Ohio State prepared him for working in television writers' rooms where everyone critiques each other's work.

"There's no better experience than being in those workshops here [at Ohio State]," Wynbrandt said.

Alber co-created, co-produces and co-writes the Disney Channel sitcom "Kirby Buckets." Alber shared that he and writing partner Gabe Snyder broke into television by watching and studying dozens of movies and television shows, and by writing screenplays and entering them into contests.

One of Alber and Snyder's screenplays attracted the attention of a producer who offered them an opportunity to write for an MTV show in 2010 when Alber was still finishing up his MFA. One gig led to another, enabling Alber and Snyder to build careers as working writers in Los Angeles, where they eventually relocated.

"There was no one big leap; there was little, tiny, incremental changes" that led to a series of opportunities, Alber said. "Little things sort of built on each other."

Alber also participated in another workshop during the Ohio State alumni weekend in which writers shared what they've done with their MFA degrees other than become English professors.

Alber said having a master's degree in creative writing didn't necessarily open any doors in television. But having a degree, on top of all the work he did on his own of analyzing how screenplays and teleplays are structured, gave him a competitive advantage in writing for television.

"Once I did it for awhile, I [realized], 'I can do this. This is a job I can do,'" Alber said.

Author and freelance journalist Mac McClelland said having to teach classes while earning her MFA helped her realize early on that she didn't want to teach for a living. Now a full-time freelancer for publications such as The New York Times, McClelland said staying on top of the business end of her work is as important as the writing itself.

McClelland said she has learned to negotiate her rate with publications: "I'll say, 'I won't work for less than this,'" and she often gets what she asks for.

Authors Shari Goldhagen and Douglas Watson spoke about the challenges of finding time to write fiction with the demands of full-time journalism careers.

Goldhagen, who lives in New York, said having a concrete, looming deadline is helpful both in the journalism assignments she accepts and in her own creative writing.

When Goldhagen was approached by a publisher to write an installment in a young-adult novel series, "I finished... in six weeks. I would just get up really early to do it [because of the publisher's deadline]."

Watson, a copy editor for Time Magazine, said his journalism career and creative writing complement each other.

"I enjoy having a shift job. ... The weekly schedule gives me a three-day weekend. I do my fiction writing then," he said. "There's something malleable about time. You can get a lot dine in a little bit of time if you're determined."

Editing Is Done And The New Book Is On The Way!

Agate Publisher Doug Seibold, co-author Raymond Lambert and me on the day we turned in the manuscript.

I'm excited to report that we just completed the editing process on the book I co-wrote with Raymond Lambert about his legendary Chicago comedy club, All Jokes Aside. The book, also titled "All Jokes Aside," is set to be released in early 2015 by Agate Bolden Books.

Collaborating on the book with Raymond has been a real adventure, since All Jokes Aside launched the careers of comedy superstars such as Steve Harvey, Mo'Nique, Bernie Mac, D.L. Hughley, Carlos Mencia and Cedric the Entertainer. Many of these Kings and Queens of Comedy were interviewed in the documentary "Phunny Business," which chronicled the rise and fall of All Jokes Aside and aired on Showtime in February 2012 (you can watch the trailer by clicking this link).

After the "Phunny Business" documentary aired, Raymond and I began working on the book in 2013 after signing with Agate. Since Raymond lives in Chicago and I live in Columbus, Ohio, we worked mostly by phone and email. The process of was a lot like those musical duets in which singers blend their voices in separate recording studios thousands of miles apart.

Working on the book entailed months and months of writing and rewriting and interviewing some of the key figures from Raymond's childhood and the years he and business partner James Alexander spent running the club in the go-go '90s. 

We finished the manuscript and turned it in to Agate on March 22 of this year. I'll never forget that day, not only because it was a career milestone for me, but because I journeyed to Chicago for the occasion on what was the last big snowstorm of the season. 

Agate Publisher Doug Seibold has been great to work with and, over the past couple of months, sent Raymond and I edited chapters  for us to review and send back to him with any additional changes. 

It's been interesting as a writer and filmmaker (I'm also putting the finishing touches on a documentary about women's wrestling) to see how this editing process unfolded - what remained in the finished product and what ended up on the cutting room floor.

For more information about the book and to preorder, visit our page at Amazon.com.

Altering My Morning Routine Gave Me More Time to Write

Late last year, I started an exercise and diet plan that's been fairly effective in helping me to maintain a healthy weight and build muscle mass. The only problem is that the routine is fairly time-consuming.

Early this spring, I began feeling mildly depressed that by the time I finished making meals for the day and working out, I literally had no time to write in the morning before heading out to my day job.

I finally realized that something had to give. Would I have to stop working out and become the cliche of a writer who indulges in unhealthy habits - smoking, drinking and never going anywhere near a gym?

Fortunately, no.

I figured out that by getting up a little earlier and changing my morning routine around a bit, I could consistently carve out a little block of time each morning to write and work on other creative projects.

Here's how I did it:

"Making time" in the morning really comes down to a simple equation. Since I have to be at my day job at 8 a.m., getting up between 4 and 5 a.m. is necessary to get anything accomplished before I leave the house. Yes, this is literally the crack of dawn - maybe even a  little before the crack creaks open - but you gotta do what you gotta do.

It occurred to me that if I replaced the morning meal on my exercise and diet plan with something quick and ready to eat like a protein bar or shake, that would save time that I previously spent piddling around the kitchen. 

Also, if I head down to my finished basement to exercise as soon as I wake up instead of delaying my workout until later in the morning, I can tailor my workout to how much time I have. Depending on how many times I hit the "snooze" button when my alarm goes off, this sometimes means cutting my workout a little short, such as saving the abdominal routine at the end of a weightlifting session for later in the day when I get home from work.

 

And although I enjoy working out at home alone, I also joined a downtown gym near my job so that I can work out on my lunch hour if I'm really in a time crunch in the morning.

Making these adjustments has enabled me to spend 15  to 30 minutes writing or working on other creative projects most weekdays. That may not sound like much, but I'm often surprised at how much can be accomplished in a half hour of uninterrupted, totally focused time. Try holding a grueling yoga pose or stretch for 30 minutes straight and you'll realize just how much of an eternity that can seem.

 

And little blocks of time throughout the week add up, especially when combined with longer segments on weekends. By the end of a week, these sessions can equal a completed chapter or two in the book I'm working on. I'm also a filmmaker, and these mini-sessions have helped me complete a series of edits on the documentary I'm putting the finishing touches on. 

The bottom line: Making minor adjustments and adapting workouts and other lifestyle programs to fit your individual needs can help you get things done. A few extra minutes each day may not seem like much, but something is better than nothing.

La Bamba Inspired Me - Here Are My Problems With It

As a filmmaker (I'm putting the finishing touches on a documentary about women's wrestling), I've decided to make July "Movie Immersion Month."

Throughout the month, I plan to intensify my "film studies," reading back editions of "Moviemaker" and "Videomaker" magazines I've been meaning to get to and watching director commentary on DVDs.

One of the DVD commentaries I've been meaning to watch is for "La Bamba." This biopic of the all-too-brief life of 1950s Mexican-American rock star Ritchie Valens was one of my favorite movies growing up. I bought the DVD intending to have a night of nostalgia, and what better time to revisit this classic than my Movie Immersion Month?

I haven't watched "La Bamba" all the way through since it came on cable when I was a teen. Like two other music movies of the '80s that I love, "Flashdance" and "Purple Rain," "La Bamba" inspired me to pursue my interest in the arts. And like "Flashdance" and "Purple Rain," the "La Bamba" soundtrack is filled with amazing music, including the hit title track by Los Lobos.

There was something about "La Bamba" that I found magical. I spent a lot of time over my grandparents' house growing up, and I remember running through the house excitedly announcing "La Bamba's on! La Bamba's on!" one day when the movie came on HBO. Daddy Bob and Nanaugh Pearl looked at me like I was crazy, especially since I was usually a quiet, reserved kid.

Re-watching "La Bamba" over Fourth of July weekend, I realize one of the reasons the movie resonated with me as a youth is that it's a teen movie, but it's not teeny-bopperish. What I mean by that is, the main character, Ritchie, is in high school when the movie starts, but he's mature for his age: very serious and disciplined about realizing his dream of becoming a successful musician.

The main characters in "Flashdance" and "Purple Rain" had the same qualities. In "Flashdance," the protagonist Alex (the lovely Jennifer Beals) is only 18, but she's got her own apartment and works two jobs - welder by day, dancer by night. In "Purple Rain," Prince's character The Kid is 20-something and still lives with his parents but is very focused, hard-working and 100 percent devoted to his music.

Another reason "La Bamba" struck a chord with me - pun intended - is that a when I saw it, I was in high school and was taking Spanish. "La Bamba" was a cultural touchstone that helped awaken in me a lifelong appreciation of and interest in Latin culture (I'm still trying to learn Spanish all these years later).

But re-watching "La Bamba," something very negative jumped out at me that I hadn't been fully aware of as a teen. And that would be the negative stereotype that at least one major character represents: the character played by Esai Morales, who portrays Ritchie's older half-brother, Bob. 

Esai Morales as "Bob"

Not only is Bob an alcoholic and a drug dealer, he's a brute who at one point rapes his girlfriend (played by the late Elizabeth Peña). Seen through a modern lens, many movies of the '80s and prior decades seem politically incorrect to an unbelievable degree.

Chatting with my tablemates at a recent event, we got into a discussion of '80s pop culture. A female acquaintance pointed out that in "Purple Rain," The Kid slaps his girlfriend Apollonia, imitating his father's domestic violence toward his mother. By the end of the story, through movie magic, The Kid and Apollonia are a happy couple again and his domestic violence is never mentioned. The Kid apparently saw the error of repeating the family cycle without the help of therapy.

Since "La Bamba" is based on a true story, I suppose it was necessary to depict the Bob character as he really was. If the filmmakers had sanitized - literally whitewashed - the story of the Valenzuela family, it wouldn't have been authentic. Similarly, the makers of "What's Love Got to Do with It" couldn't have told Tina Turner's story without portraying Ike's brutality, even though it's a poor representation of African-American men. 

And the Bob character in "La Bamba" does have his redeeming qualities. By the second half of the movie, we begin to see his "softer" side - he's a talented artist and loyal to his family.

It's great that "La Bamba" was made by a Latino filmmaker, and writer/director Luis Valdez did a good job of showing Bob's complexity. Bob's not all bad, but he's certainly not all good, either. 

Bob is simultaneously proud and jealous of his brother Ritchie's overnight success. Bob pitches in to make handmade signs advertising Ritchie's first big gig, but then ruins the show by starting a drunken brawl.

There's a touching scene toward the end of the movie where Bob is alone with his baby daughter while the women in the house are away at church. This scene and a few others give the impression that despite all of his flaws, Bob is at heart a devoted family man.

And Bob's primal scream at the end of the movie when Ritchie dies in the infamous plane crash - "Riiiitchiiiieee!" - is one of the best in cinema history, up there with Brando's "Steeellaaa!" in "A Streetcar Named Desire."

In contrast to Bob almost being a villain, the movie's portrayal of Ritchie nearly canonizes him. The young musician is depicted as generous, sweet-natured, chaste and chivalrous toward his mom (the extraordinary Rosana DeSoto), his sister-in-law Rosa and his beloved girlfriend Donna (Danielle von Zerneck). 

Even when Donna has seemingly broken up with him because of her father's bigotry toward Mexicans, Ritchie remains faithful to her. The scene where Ritchie records the touching ballad "Donna" shows what an amazing actor Lou Diamond Phillips is. Even though Phillips is lip-synching, he palpably conveys Ritchie's loss over the woman he loves with his every facial expression and body movement. Phillips wasn't nominated for an Oscar for this role, but he deserved to be.

 

I rarely cry when watching a movie, but I shed tears when Ritchie died at the end - even though I'd seen the movie before and knew the ending. The loss at a young age of such a gifted, kind man who had the potential to do so much for his family and his community was truly tragic.

 

Like most biopics, "La Bamba" isn't a perfect telling of someone's life story. But it's certainly a good movie and paved the way for future movies with Latin America casts like "Mi Familia/My Family" and "Selena," which, of course, helped catapult Jennifer Lopez to superstardom.

Whereas I've periodically re-watched "Flashdance" and "Purple Rain" over the years, I hadn't seen "La Bamba" since the era it was released in. It was an interesting experiment to watch something that so inspired me as a youth with adult eyes and to pick up nuances - good and bad - that I hadn't noticed before.

An interesting coincidence: In their DVD commentary, "La Bamba" writer/director Luis Valdez and producer Taylor Hackford said the opening scene of  kids playing on a playground as a doomed plane flies overhead was filmed on July 3, 1986, and I happened to watch the commentary on July 3 as well.

An interesting aside: Right after watching "La Bamba," I watched Esai Morales in the 2013 movie "Saving Westbrook High." His role in the drama is very much a departure from Bob in "La Bamba," that of a gentle family man who works overtime in a printing shop to send his daughter to the best school in the city. Costarring Sally Richardson and Loretta Devine, it's definitely worth checking out.

New 'Old' Library Reminds Me Why I Write

In my hometown of Columbus, Ohio, we're blessed to have one of the top-rated library systems in the nation. As a writer who works in both fiction and non-fiction as well as a documentary filmmaker, the Columbus Metropolitan Library is a godsend.

When reserving items, library users have the option of designating a "home library" where their items will always be shipped for them to pick up. My new home library is actually my "old" library - the Whitehall branch at 4445 E. Broad St.

The library reopened on April 11 after a multi-million-dollar rebuild at a new location that has a very special meaning to me. The new Whitehall branch now sits in front of my childhood grade school: Holy Spirit Catholic School.

The Whitehall library and Holy Spirit were both instrumental in shaping me as a young writer. It was at Holy Spirit that teachers such as my fourth and seventh grade teacher Mrs. Colleen McKitrick saw something in me and sent me to the Young Authors Conference a couple years in a row.

And it was at the Whitehall library, which used to be located across the street from Holy Spirit when I was growing up in the '80s, that I discovered a book called Bizou. This young adult novel by acclaimed author Norma Klein inspired my debut novel, The Chloe Chronicles.

Bizou is about a biracial girl who is raised in Paris by her mother, an African-American fashion model, and sets out on a journey to America to find the Caucasian father she never knew.

Between the Whitehall branch and Holy Spirit's school library, I discovered dozens of literary treasures that sparked my already-fertile imagination. I read everything from young adult novels by Klein and another favorite author of mine as a kid, Paula Danzinger (Can You Sue Your Parents for Malpractice), to a fascinating biography of Albert Einstein that I read and re-read voraciously several times.

I look forward to discovering many more treasures at the Whitehall library's new, 20,000 square-foot facility, which is nearly three times larger than the old location.

We're fortunate in central Ohio that you can reserve items that are housed at other branches throughout the region and have them delivered to your home library. I've already had several books, DVDs and music CDs delivered to the Whitehall branch.

An added bonus of the new location is that it has a super-convenient drive-thru pick-up window, so you don't even have to get out of your car to pick up your reserves - a first for the Columbus Metropolitan library system.

Though it's only been open just over a month, I'm already loving my new, "old" library. Who says you can't go home?

Is There A 'Magic Number' For How Often to Blog?

"Four years ago, I had a partnership where I was doing two videos a week during the campaign season. I'm proud of a lot of the work that I did, but there were many times that I wanted to dig into some heavy, complex topic, but I knew the deadline was looming and I just wouldn't have the time to do it justice.
 

"And I wound up scrapping that topic so that I could grind out something really quick, like the latest optics or the latest gaffes or something that I could do a simple analysis on really quickly. 

"Even when I cut back to one video a week, there were times that this grind was just pushing me to the shallow end of the pool, and it was really frustrating.”

This statement by commentator Jay Smooth sums up how many of us journalists feel – that there are many issues we’d like to explore in-depth, if not for the limitations imposed by constant deadlines.

These days, the term “journalist” includes bloggers. This is a topic of debate, but there’s no doubt that the Internet has given a platform for anyone who feels so inclined to write about subjects they’re passionate about, express their opinions, sound off about events in the news and catalog random thoughts.

I’ve done all of the above with this blog, which has been a real labor of love (I say that about everything I do, but it’s true). Normally a statement like that precedes an announcement that you’re retiring or giving something up. I definitely don’t plan to stop blogging, but I’m going to try a different approach – at least for a little while.

I started blogging in 2009, mainly about pop culture, since I’m a journalist who has covered countless entertainment events over the years. I’m also a writer and filmmaker myself (just scroll through some of my previous posts to read about my novel, "The Chloe Chronicles"; documentary, "Lady Wrestler"; play, "The Springtime of Our Lives"; and forthcoming nonfiction book with Raymond Lambert about his legendary Chicago comedy club, All Jokes Aside).

When I was new to blogging, I posted sporadically, when some “brilliant” inspiration or salient observation popped into my head – and that was if I remembered it by the time I got to my computer. But once I got an iPhone and downloaded the Blogger app, I was able to write blog entries – or at least jot notes for entries – whenever and wherever I happened to be.

The mobile Blogger app came in really handy when I went on a tour in early April of civil rights landmarks in the South. You can read my series of posts about the trip by clicking this link.

As with everything else in life, we’re more likely to do something consistently if we schedule time to do it. Last year, I decided to start blogging on a more regular basis and began posting every day – first seven days a week, then I dropped down to six to give myself a breather at least once a week, and then only on weekdays.

By the end of 2014, I realized I was burning myself out and neglecting a lot of other projects by devoting so much time and energy to blogging. So at the beginning of 2015, I started posting once a week on Mondays. It seemed logical to post at the beginning of the week so potential readers would know when to look for my new content.

Blogging weekly seemed “appropriate,” posting just often enough to keep my blog up-to-date but not too much to overwhelm potential readers with too much content. I approached my self-assigned assignment like having a weekly newspaper column.

But after coming across Jay Smooth’s commentary on Fusion.net, his words solidified something that had periodically crossed my mind: maybe I should focus on quality over quantity.

Not that every blog entry has to be a Pulitzer Prize-winning piece chock full of Buddha-like wisdom. In fact, I happen to think that some of the more interesting blog posts spring from small, everyday observations.

 

As a journalist who has worked for several newspapers in my hometown of Columbus, Ohio, as well as a daily internal newsletter for a large state agency, daily or weekly deadlines dictate my writing output. But the beauty of a blog is that I can post as often or as seldom as I please.

There really seems to be no “magic number” when it comes to blogging. There are bloggers who have enough readers to blog daily, while others choose to post only when they have interesting content.

I’m going to try to find a middle ground – giving myself more time to blog about issues I really care about but posting often enough that my blog seems fresh. There’s nothing worse that stumbling onto a blog or website that seems stale, out-of-date and abandoned.

With the Internet having created a universe that is as vast as the solar system, there is fierce competition for “eyeballs” – people who will actually click on a link and read a blog post. Rather than posting every week, maybe it makes more sense for me to post less often and spend more time getting the word out and attracting more readers to my posts.

Maybe I should spend less time writing something – anything – just to meet my self-imposed weekly deadline and more time pondering: What do I really want to write about? Who would be interested in this blog post and how can I reach them?

My experience blogging on a weekly basis has been that I often run out of time to promote my current blog entry before posting the next one. When I was blogging daily, I link-dropped daily on Twitter, Tumblr and occasionally on Facebook, but I'm not sure that's the best approach. Daily link-dropping has the potential of alienating more people than I attract by overburdening them with a glut of posts they'll never have the time or interest to read.
 

So starting this month, I’m going to “slow my roll” a bit. I plan to post just one more time in May, tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, May 26, since the last Monday this month is a holiday. Maybe the “magic number” is posting two or three times a month, giving updates on the writing and other projects I’m working on and publishing another post or two about issues in the news and other things that prompt me to express myself.

Don’t get me wrong. I'm not hurting for blog material. I have a big backlog of potential posts in that Blogger app. I have many different interests and I pretty much have an opinion about everything.

But the question is if I should be more selective and strategic about the issues I express an opinion about.

I’ll see how this experiment goes this month and reevaluate my approach when June rolls around. Maybe by then, I’ll realize that I should go back to blogging weekly. Who knows?

For the time being, I’ll focus my energy on prepping my next post for May 26. Hope to see you then.

Author, Publisher, Library Rep Share Secrets of Publishing Success

Self-published authors don’t face the same stigma from the mainstream publishing industry as they used to.

This was one of the insights a panel of publishing and library representatives shared during a panel titled “Publishing: Everything You Wanted to Know.” The panel discussion was one of several free presentations that took place during the Ohioana Book Festival, held April 25 at the Sheraton in downtown Columbus, Ohio, where I live.

Panelists who participated in the “Publishing: Everything You Wanted to Know” included author Lucy Snyder, Toledo Lucas County Public Library Humanities Department Manager Ben Malczewski and Ohio University Press representatives Gillian Berchowitz, director, and Samara Rafert, promotions and exhibits manager.

While there is more prestige to being published by a mainstream house, self-published authors aren’t looked on with the same disdain by the literary establishment as in previous decades, Berchowitz said.

"I think the whole landscape of self-publishing has changed,” she said. “There's just so many ways in someone can publish their work. That being said, there is a difference."

The difference, Berchowitz added, is that self-published books often don't go through the same “vetting process.” In other words, many self-published are poorly edited – or not at all.

So, self-published authors would be smart to hire a competent editor who can give a manuscript a professional polish before it’s released. And with the ultimate goal being to reach readers, authors should start figuring out who their target readers might be before they publish, Malczewski said.

“Identify, who is your audience. Have a good idea of who would read this," he said, adding that the Toledo Lucas County library has a special section devoted especially to local, self-published authors.

Snyder, who said she has sold more than 80 short stories and 10 books, said she prefers to work with traditional publishers rather than self-publishing. She shares more of her advice in the how-to guide “Shooting Yourself in the Head For Fun and Profit: A Writer's Survival Guide.”

"Because I'm more interested in being a writer than a publisher, if I have a niche publication, I'll look for a small press" rather than self-publish her work, Snyder said.

Of course, many self-published authors would like to transition to having their work distributed by a mainstream publisher. One of the main avenues to accomplish that is to secure an agent. Snyder said she landed her agent through word of mouth by participating in collaborative projects such as short-story anthologies with other writers.

"Networking with other writers and participating in writers' communities is often a very good way to find an agent,” she said.

When trying to sell a fiction book, authors need to do their best to make the best first impression as they possibly can, Berchowitz said.

"The first 50 pages of your manuscript that you send, that's it,” she said. “That's the bottom line."

While fiction books generally need an agent to garner the attention of a traditional publisher, non-fiction book proposals can be submitted directly from the author, Berchowitz said.

"I think it's understood that you can send your [nonfiction] proposal around to a number of houses,” she said.

And how do you decide which publishers to send your proposal to?

“Writer's Market is a great resource for that,” said Malczewski, referring to the directory that lists publishers, agents and many other resources in the publishing world.

One surprising insight that the panelists shared was that short-story anthologies can be difficult to market to readers.

"Short stories are a harder sell than novels,” Snyder said. “Most people prefer to read novels."

This fact is surprising because readers supposedly have a very short attention span these days because the Internet and digital technology has opened up a universe of choices.

However, short-story anthologies in all genres can find an audience if properly marketed, especially through crowdsourcing sites like Kickstarter, Snyder said. Crowdsourcing literally gives audiences an ownership stake in projects they contribute to.

"Anthologies are doing fairly well right now. I've been attached to about a dozen Kickstarter [campaigns],” she said. “It's an update of the old method of doing preorders [prior to a book’s publication].  ... It integrates everything into social media."

And if crowdsourcing isn’t for you and you want to hold out for a traditional publisher, don’t lose faith if you can’t land an agent right away, Snyder advised.

"I wouldn't lose faith if I couldn't get an agent,” she said. “I would start sending [your manuscript] out to presses... Start at the top and work your way down.”

One bit of encouraging news came during the panel's Q&A with the audience. One of the audience member said he's really busy with work and raising his family right now, but would like to explore a second career as a writer one day when he retires.

Berchowitz said it's never too late to dip one's foot in the literary pool: "Writers hit their stride whenever..."


Note: This blog replaces a previous post about the Ohioana Book Festival that I originally published on Wednesday, April 29, 2015.

 

Entertainment Diversity Yields Mixed Results (Pun Intended)

The ABC sitcom "Cristela" stars (from left) Jacob Guenther, Carlos Ponce,
Maria Canals Barrera, Cristela Alonzo, Terry Hoyos, Gabriel Iglesias and Isabella Day.

A couple of days ago, on Saturday, April 18, I tweeted the following:

I had obviously assumed that "Cristela," my favorite new sitcom of the 2014-15 season (sorry, "Black-ish"), had been renewed by ABC for a second season.

Shortly after I sent this Tweet, I Googled "Cristela" to make sure that, indeed, its second-season pickup had been announced. I was surprised to find an article linking to star Cristela Alonzo's blog post titled "A Possible Goodbye" about her show being on the bubble - that precarious position between renewal and cancellation.

"I want to be realistic and honest about things," Cristela states in her blog post. "I'm not sure if the show is coming back. It worries me not because I want to be on TV more. It worries me because I think this show gives a voice to people that haven't been given a voice before."

Cristela is absolutely right. How many shows centered on working-class Latino families are on mainstream television? How many shows are headlined by women of color who aren't a size 2?

This troubling news about the uncertain fate of "Cristela" comes on the heels of seemingly contradictory news I'd come across just a couple of days before. While listening to NPR's "Latino USA," I happened upon a segment titled "2 Fast, So Diverse" about the success of "Furious 7."

The latest installment in the action movie franchise had the ninth biggest opening of all time when it raked in more than $392 million worldwide on its opening weekend April 2-5. 

"Latino USA" host Maria Hinojosa and contributor Daisy Rosario cited numbers indicating that the success of the "Furious" franchise may be in large part due to Latinos, whom Nielsen studies show make up around 25 percent of moviegoers and are more likely to be frequent and repeat moviegoers.

Latinos and viewers of all races may be flocking to "Furious," whose ensemble cast boasts Domican-Puerto Rican actress Michelle Rodriguez. But the struggle of "Cristela" to stay on the air shows that diverse casting does not a guaranteed hit make.

When I first saw the ads for "Cristela" last fall, I tuned in because the show looked original and funny, like nothing I'd seen on TV before. (You can read my October 2014 blog post about the show by clicking this link).

It seems that the show would have a built-in audience, since co-star Carlos Ponce is an international sex symbol and pop star and recurring guest star Gabriel Iglesias is a popular comedian with a large, multiracial following. And TV legend Roseanne has made a couple of guest appearances.

Granted, the show's lead and namesake, Mexican-American comedian Cristela Alonzo, isn't as well-known, but she's genuinely funny. Like Roseanne, she has a big personality and screen presence that is definitely compelling enough to headline her own sitcom.

When I'd heard earlier this year that ABC had given "Cristela" a full-season pickup, I assumed the show was virtually guaranteed for a second season. But upon further reflection, I realized I haven't heard "Cristela" mentioned with the same excited buzz in the media as ABC's two other breakout hits with minority casts: "Black-ish" and "Fresh off the Boat."

It's possible that "Cristela" needs a different time slot. It airs on Fridays at 8:30 after the Tim Allen sitcom "Last Man Standing." 

It may be that Allen's viewers - and viewers, in general, who are home watching TV on Friday nights - are older and more conservative and less likely to be interested in Cristela, who is 36 but looks like she could be in her 20s.

As much as I don't believe in lumping minorities together, "Cristela" might fare better if the show were paired with "Black-ish," "Fresh off the Boat" or even "The Goldbergs," which revolves around a Jewish family in the '80s.

There has been much hoopla in the press about how "Black-ish," "Fresh off the Boat" and the cultural phenomenon of Fox's "Empire" represent the growing diversity of television audiences. (You can read my take on "Empire" by clicking this link.)

I just hope "Cristela" will get to ride this new wave of diversity for at least one more season.