Die by the Pen: Now Pitching for the Wood Goblins…
Every Wednesday, Jared Gniewek discusses what feeds his fires as an author of comics, screenplays and radio dramas.
by Jared Gniewek
I’ve talked to quite a few other writers who are struggling along with me as we attempt to grow as creators. The thing that we often are looking for is advice on the pitch. I’m not a total expert on this. I’ve taken a few classes and sold a handful of stories. But I keep pitch books, so I guess I can share what I’ve learned from having these little buddies.
Every idea I get goes into the pitch book. If you’re like me and the ideas come faster than the projects, it is crucial to keep this book. It keeps you sane.
How to start:
1. Go and buy a notebook and pen and keep it on you always. I can’t stress this enough. I always get ideas on my walk from 7th avenue to 12th avenue on my way to work. If I don’t write them down as soon as I step into the building they are lost to the busy frantic world of live music production. It’s a real shame that some truly inspired and original (to my estimation) story seeds now float somewhere above Manhattan waiting for someone who is not me to pluck them from the sky. Get your book. Keep your book. You don’t want to have your awesome Wood Goblin versus Reptile Men lasersword battle to fall into lesser hands, do you?
Do you?
I thought so.
2. Make sure your pitches have a beginning, a middle and an end. Try to condense the story to three to four sentences. Stay concise. This is “spine” building; don’t add superfluous details. One of the reasons you are even writing it down is to get it out of your head and onto the page so you can concentrate on your other projects. Unwritten stories that don’t float up to the sky above Manhattan can have a way of staying in your brain and cluttering it up for years if you let them. You gotta get the little bastards out and onto a page. Writing a condensed version of the story tricks your brain into thinking that you already did the story, it’s finished and can now go back to imagining Robey in a bikini in 1988. Plus if you’ve made it to the point where professional editors are interested in seeing your pitches they probably prefer to know that you have an ending in mind for the piece.
3. Write every stupid idea that comes to you. We can’t all crap diamonds so don’t be afraid to fill your pitch book with absolute garbage. Just put those lame derivative boring ideas in the book. Keep your head clear for your projects. Your projects (actual stories, pieces for publication with deadlines, favors for friends, blogs) need to come first. If you keep your head space clear through externalizing your bad ideas (as well as your good ones) into your pitch book you will write better in the end. Don’t put too much effort into anything unless you have elevated it to “project” status. That’s where the blood and sweat come into play. That’s the point where you can describe the bedazzling on a Wood Goblin’s denim jacket.
4. If you are between projects use your writing time to stuff that book full of every bit of whimsy that strikes you. Keep the river flowing. It takes discipline to keep a pitch book. Your imagination is a weapon, you need to keep it cleaned and oiled. You don’t want to jam at the first sign of a firefight! Make pitches your project for two weeks and then try writing a story. Watch how the writing of a quick little three sentence spine works so nicely and smoothly. It changes writing from a harrowing nerve-wracking experience into a session of Mad Libs with your Big Boy words.
So, there you have it. I hope it makes sense to you guys who are out there in the trenches with me. What I’m sharing with you are things that real live professionals have shared with me, but remember that when you are talking to someone about a potential project find out from them what they prefer in a pitch. The editors for Wood Goblin Monthly may want a bit more information about the psychic trappings of laserswords or the martial arts techniques of Lizard Men, so go ahead and give ’em what they need. Matter of fact, give it ’em two times (once for me)!
Jared Gniewek works in the music industry as a back line technician, performer, and promoter. He is also a freelance writer whose work can be seen in the recent re-launch of Tales from the Crypt and heard on The Dark Sense, an audio anthology of the macabre for which he is also the story editor — http://www.earstage.com/darksense.htm.
In part, you are correct but please see Section 68 of the UK Patents Act 1977.Prior to 2006, that Section also embraced being unable to claim damages by an exclusive licensee prior to registration of their licence. In that way, I was able to save my client more than £1m in damages for past infringements, which was good enough reason for me to remember to record the licences of others.Graham FertensCharkiaed Patent Attorney
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It’s a pleasure to find such rationality in an answer. Welcome to the debate.