I am not a tightwad. I believe we are
on this Earth to live as well as we can and enjoy what life has to
offer. That said, I am not a spendthrift either. Ever since I
received my first paycheck at age 15, I understood how to equate a
purchase with the number of hours of work it took to buy it. Eating
out on my own was always a matter of considerable thought no matter
the restaurant. I look for quality in every establishment from diner
to haute cuisine. I was lucky to grow up in a city like Philadelphia
where even the dives are considered worthy of national attention. My
luck continues in our current neighborhood in LA. Aside from a really
groovy diner in a nearby bowling alley, Pepy's Gallery (I am beyond
surprised that they have a website ), there are some really good eateries that are garnering a lot of
praise foodie set like The Curious Palate and A-Frame. These are
walking distance from me. A little further away is Ford's FilingStation which is one of the best restaurants I've run into in a long
time. I do enjoy having a fine eating out experience. However, I've
never had the extra cash to try dishes I'm not reasonably sure I'll
enjoy.
But eating out is expensive compared to
eating at home. And the added issue of deciding on whether to go out
or not – especially for Jon – is whether the food will be
significantly better than what he can get at home. I forgot to
mention. Jon is a very proud tightwad. And in some instances like
food, I can't blame him. For the price of a check at Ford's, I can
get a week's worth of high quality groceries. As I wrote in a blog
over the past summer, I had been long curious about lobster rolls.
Theoretically, I should love them. They looked awfully tasty on the
TV. But I just couldn't bring myself to spend $12 on a sandwich I
wasn't certain I'd enjoy. I got to have three for that price when I
made it at home. This was the situation with fried zucchini flowers.
They always looked so good, but were a very pricey appetizer. I knew
I like fried zucchini and vegetable tempura, but I've never actually
eaten a flower. Thus, I was reluctant to order them in a restaurant.
I decided to have a go at making them at home.
I decided this roughly two years ago.
What in blazes took me so long to make it? Mostly, it was laziness. I
knew that a couple of stalls sold them at the Sunday Farmer's market
near here, but I couldn't get up and over there early enough to get
them. The New Year rolled around and with it, the pledge to eat
better. Not that we eat badly, I just want to do more to support
local growers. This time, I found a Farmer's market with reasonable
hours. If I couldn't make a 3pm start, I could consider myself
pathetic. But lo, I did get off the sofa and hustle my butt to that
market. I found the flowers in the second stall I looked at. I bought
six of them and a beautiful cauliflower for well under 5 dollars. I
also bought some beets (I've never cooked with those) and some Swiss
chard (I've never cooked those on purpose though they tasted great in
my pot of collards). It was a great market for a lot of things. The
rest of the recipe was simple – a little cream cheese, a little
goat cheese and a few spring onions. The batter was plain flour and
cold club soda. I was all delicious! And we have a bunch of veg for
the rest of the week. All for the cost of the one appetizer in a
restaurant. But now, when I next go to eat out, I would order the
dish with confidence the next time we eat out.
Slogging Through the Morass
I think the thing I get asked most
about is how I keep writing if I have a block or I don't feel like
writing. There is this notion about the muse and how creative people
are slaves to one. This is not the correct way of looking at being a
writer. It would be unwise for a football player to take to the field
after weeks without workouts or practices. The same would apply to a
dancer. There are creative muscles, if you will, to writing or any
other art. The way I can keep writing when I don't really feel like
it is that I have practiced a lot over the years. The best thing
about Grad School was being compelled to write a lot every week. I
had short stories to write for classes and chapters of my thesis
novel to write for my Moderator. I also had to write notes on other
people's stories and papers on the books we were reading. We were
always writing something. That put me in the habit of writing. Post
grad school, I wrote spec scripts for TV shows I liked. I started
writing fanfiction. I had a demanding readership for my fanfiction
that kept me churning out material. Currently, I have an array of
books I'm working on in addition to the various blogs I write. The
blogs are very much a writing exercise as well as a way to stay in
touch with my readers. A prolific TV writer who was an early landlord
of ours advised that a writer should write every day and write
anything. He wrote fan letters to his favorite performers if he had
nothing else to write on a given day. So, when I have a problem with
one piece I'm working on, I write something else. Usually, it's a
blog. Sometimes, I still write fanfiction (I'll be putting that up on
the old NovaD site at some point). There is always a new script in
the works. Sometimes, I'm foolish enough to start a different piece
of fiction. That's how Ensnared happened. Since it was often the work
providing the least resistance, it was finished before the book I was
working on. That wasn't a muse issue though. The latest Soldiers book
was giving me plot problems that I've only recently resolved. One of
my characters, Simon Molinar from Demon Under Glass, was a difficult
fit with my soldiers. During my most recent bout of insomnia, I
finally figured out how to make him work organically in the Soldier's
universe. But I digress. The point is that writers who want to do
this professional can't depend on inspiration or a muse to keep them
going. Those can certainly get you started, but it takes a lot more
than that to write professionally under a deadline. That takes
proficiency, and that comes with a lot of practice. So, if you are
looking to become a writer – and I haven't actually said that that
is a good plan – the best route is to write, write and write some
more.
The other thing I'm asked a lot about
is how to handle rejection. I must admit that I don't handle it well.
There is a lot of bad writing that is published and sells millions of
copies. That makes me angry. I get even angrier when my work is
rejected over something I think is drivel. Yes, I know that sounds
arrogant. You need a bit of that trait to get anywhere in LA. I do
think there is a lot to be learned from submitting one's work to
publishers. It's always a good thing to know how to write a pithy
submission letter or what makes a good book or film presentation
package. If you are getting the same feedback from most places you
submit to, that particular piece may need to be re-worked keeping the
feedback in mind. I also believe strongly in independent production
of film, music and books. If a mainstream outlet isn't interested in
your work, there are many venues now to get it seen and find an
audience. A rejection isn't the end of the world for me. What is
worse than rejection to me is a phenomena that is particular to the
Entertainment Industry in LA. Because no one wants to be blamed (and
then fired) for rejecting a work that goes elsewhere and becomes a
hit, they won't actually reject a script. You just never hear from
that individual again. A casting director said it started with Star
Wars but became routine in the last decade or so. We have a script
that went directly from a very A list actor to his reps nearly 15
years ago. We recently learned that they still have it and are still
considering it. Infuriating! That's worse than studios paying for a
script to squash it in favor of a similar idea (not that I don't hate
that). At least, the writer gets some cash, and though it can't count
on a resume, because the script was not produced, word will get
around that you sold a script to so and so. That will open some
doors. The non-rejection does nothing to advance a career or line the
pockets. Why do we do this again?
Updates
The projects are definitely on the
front burner simmering. In a couple of cases, we've gotten farther
than we ever have before. I'm getting questions about issues that sound like they
will be on a contract. In fact, I'm afraid to go to the bathroom for missing an important call. Usually, I have to find something or someone and get back to our partner immediately. No, I will not take a cell phone there. I'm told I can talk about details once we're
in pre-production. I'm getting really excited but trying to to.
Stay tuned!
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