Good Segues Are Key for Successful Stand-Up Comedy Writing

My husband and I are new members of Netflix, and the very first thing I viewed was a new stand-up comedy special by Ellen Degeneres, called Relatable.

As a professional writer, I tend to watch shows and read books from a writer's point-of-view, in addition to a consumer's point-of-view. So when I watched Relatable, there were things I noticed  from a writer's perspective that the typical person who is just sitting down to watch comedy might not notice, and these are the things that I think someone who wants to write comedy might want to pay attention to.

First of all, Ellen was very good at segues. One thing that drives me crazy about stand-up comedy iswhen a comedian just switches the conversation without easing into it with a good segue. A segue is a connection that takes you from one thought to the next. It's like a bridge that connects the two thoughts. A lot of comedians are not good at this. It's their weakest feature.

But Ellen did an excellent job of segueing from one piece of the conversation to the next, and I think that anyone who wants to be a stand-up comedian or wants to write comedy should watch Relatable to learn from her segue process. It is the best I've ever seen.

The other thing that Ellen is really good at that I also think most comedians lack is coming full circle. She started out explaining what she meant by Relatable. Then we meandered down her comedy routine, but in the end, she brought the conversation directly back to the subject of being Relatable. This was priceless and I was very impressed.

I think that these two traits -- strong segues and coming full circle -- really bring quality to the writing and to the entertainment. And I would encourage anyone who wants to or is writing comedy to check out Ellen's show Relatable on Netflix. There is much that can be learned from watching her.

Happy writing!

If you like a good book that keeps you on your toes and surprises you at every turn, please check out my novel, In Fashion's Web on Amazon. It has 10 5-star reviews!

The Hero Behind the Book “Hero Dogs”

Wilma Melville stood and stared at the wreckage of the Oklahoma City bombing and could not believe her eyes. The devastation was horrific. She let go of Murphy’s leash and instructed him to begin sniffing through the rubble in search of signs of life. The eventual conclusion would be that there were none.

She realized with significant regret that she had been summoned too late. If only we had been brought in sooner, she thought. She also acknowledged something else that was painfully obvious: There are far too few search-and-rescue dogs available today for situations like this. She realized that, going forward, there would be more and more need for search-and-rescue dogs.  

Wilma left that scene with an ache in her heart and a promise in her mind: “I will find a way to train 168 dogs to be search and rescue dogs,” she said, “one for every man, woman and child who died in the Oklahoma City bombing.”

One of the many lessons from the book Hero Dogs is never underestimate a woman, but especially, never underestimate this woman. Wilma Melville, a retired physical education teacher, went home to southern California and started a nonprofit: Search Dog Foundation.

The fete she proceeded to accomplish from that day forward would forever change the way dogs would be trained in search and rescue and how much they would achieve. Eventually, Wilma’s dogs would be sent by Homeland Security to Ground Zero, Hurricane Katrina sites, areas in Haiti struck by the earthquake, and dozens more places large and small where rescuers would use dogs to try to find people buried alive before it was too late.

Paul Lobo, who co-wrote the book with Wilma, captures her experiences skillfully, as if they were happening in real time. You will visualize all too clearly the colors, the smells and scenes that Wilma’s dogs and handlers experienced.  

If you like dogs, read this book. Even if you are a person like me who has no interest in dogs whatsoever, you still will be mesmerized by this book. When I closed the back cover of this book, I was so drawn in by the value of Wilma’s work that I couldn’t even get up from desk until I made a donation to SearchDogFoundation.org. That’s how much this book – and the value of Wilma’s work – moved me. And it will move you too.

Find the book here at Amazon.

If you like a good book that keeps you on your toes and surprises you at every turn, please check out my novel, In Fashion's Web on Amazon. It's got 10 5-star reviews!

A Review: The President Is Missing, by Bill Clinton and James Patterson

This book had me on the edge of my seat from page one until the very end. Each chapter makes you want to find answers to questions in your mind such as who was responsible for various things and eventually, who the bad person is, because there always is one in a mystery or drama.

Whether you are a reader, a writer or both, I highly recommend this book as both one that held my interest as well as one that taught me about holding back the details to make people keep turning the pages. It has over 500 pages but it's a fast read, which is what you want if people are reading your book.

It's the story of a U.S. president who deals with a tremendous situation in which the lives of all Americans hang in the balance. I don't want to say anything more without spoiling the book.

Get it. Read it. Enjoy it!

If you like a good book that keeps you on your toes and surprises you at every turn, please check out my novel, In Fashion's Web on Amazon. It's got 10 5-star reviews!

How to Make Your Book Go Viral

I don't have an advertising budget. I would love to be able to buy online advertising for my book, In Fashion's Web, but unfortunately, it's not in the cards right now. So the best thing I can do is try to make my book go viral. The way to do that, I think, is to get as many reviews as possible.

I ask people all the time to please write a review. They always say they will but they never do. So I've been looking for another way to keep that top of mind for everyone who reads my book.

I have 10 5-star reviews, but to get noticed by Amazon I need over 100 and they need to keep growing. I'm trying to get Amazon to say "people who bought a certain book also bought my book," or "if you like this one, then you may also like this one". If I can get Amazon to start featuring me then people will start to notice and buy my book. Essentially, I'm trying to build organic growth.

So I have developed a sticker that is now going on the back inside cover of every book:

I recommend something like this for everyone. If you can increase your exposure you may be able to get your book to go viral. And if you can achieve that, you can open doors to more sales, to new book deals, to speaking engagements, and more. Good luck!

If you like a good book that keeps you on your toes and surprises you at every turn, please check out my novel, In Fashion's Web on Amazon. It's got 10 5-star reviews!

Train the Next Generation to Write by Inspiring Them to Read

nullIf  you want to cultivate the next generation of writers, and ensure that writing remains a viable art and career path for the next several generations, then you've got to promote reading. Without reading, there is no writing.

I had the honor and the pleasure recently of being a guest reader at the daycare center in my church. I really enjoyed doing it and look forward to doing it again.

I read The Giving Tree, which came to me highly recommended but turned out to be a little too long for their attention span. Also, the pages were black and white, and the kids really seek out color. So while the story was good, their attention wandered, even though I used my hands and demonstrated the book as I went along.

The second book I read was a big hit. It was called 10 Little Ladybugs. It was a countdown book for which they enjoyed participating. The colors were rich, and there were pop-up ladybugs peeking through from the second page through holes in the front cover, so after the reading I passed around the book and they all got to touch the ladybugs, which they really enjoyed.

All daycare centers welcome guest readers for their 3- and 4 year-olds, so if you have the time and the interest, consider volunteering. Your local library also does book reading in the children's department.

I recommend that all writers take some time to read to the next generation. You could be the fuel that lights the fire inside the next great writer. 

Happy reading and writing!

If you like a good book that keeps you on your toes and surprises you at every turn, please check out my novel, In Fashion's Web on Amazon. It's got 10 5-star reviews!

Going from ‘Inspired’ to ‘Hired’

One of the hardest things for me in the early days of my writing and editing career was being able to turn creativity on and off within the 9-5 workday. Before getting a job that required me to write, I had only written when I felt inspired. As a teenager, I lived within walking distance of a beautiful beach and I used to go down there during the summer with a notebook and pen and sit on the rocks. It was easy to get inspired looking at Long Island Sound, feeling the sun on my back and listening to the sound of the waves crashing and the seagulls cawing.

But when I got a job that required me to start writing at any time of the day, in between meetings and answering the phone, it was hard at first. But after a few failed attempts, I realized that as long as I have something to write about I can write anytime, anywhere. After that, it became easy to turn it on at 9 a.m. and turn it off at 5 p.m. All I needed was enough material. And with several categories of industry I was responsible for, I certainly had enough material.

Today, I have no problem being inspired to write. It doesn’t matter where I am, what time it is, who I’m with or who’s missing. There’s always something I want to say and I find myself coming up with blog ideas all the time and writing them down in emails or on pieces of paper. 

If you struggle with being inspired, look around you. What interests you or upsets you? What great childhood memories do you have that something reminded you of as you were driving or walking by it? Did you experience a good Samaritan recently and you want to share the story? Or is it simply the daily news you are interested in? Perhaps an opinion on politics or a profile of a family in your local town who lost their home to a fire?

The truth is, inspiration is all around you if you just look for it. I recommend you keep a pen and paper with you at all times. Or use the 'note' or 'recorder' function of your cell phone to capture ideas throughout the day. Then in the evening, sit down and go through your ideas. Find one that you think you can cultivate and start writing. 

You may decide just to keep these works for yourself. But maybe you've written something that you think is publish-worthy. Does it fit your local newspaper's requirements? Or perhaps you want to start your own blog. They're really easy. (I started this blog just by going to blogger.com.) You might even some day pull together into a short book. 

But even if you don't publish, that shouldn't stop you from writing. If you are a writer by nature, then always write. It doesn't matter where or when, just keep the wheels turning and the juices flowing. You'll be surprised how easy it will become to turn it on and off whenever you need to. 

Happy writing!

Please check out my novel, In Fashion's Web on Amazon.

Reading John Irving Takes Perseverance and Patience, but in the End it's Worth It

When I start reading something from an author, I generally like to stick to that author and both collect and read all his or her works, or at least a majority of them.

Last year, I decided to introduce myself to the works of John Irving. The first book I picked up, The Water-Method Man, was probably not a good choice to start with. The beginning got off to a slow start, with lots of minutiae-like details. The book begins with the discussion of a problem the main character has with his penis. His penis ends up being a pretty central theme to the book.

The first 80 pages or so seemed, to me, almost clinical in their boredom, but I kept with it, because once I start a book I like to finish it. Well, the book picked up in both the pace and the subject matter, and I really enjoyed the last one-third of the book.

Next, I picked up A Widow for a Year. This book I liked right away. The language was more conversational and moved at an enjoyable pace. I particularly liked the use of the family photographs in the story. Family photographs are a main theme in this book and the way they are introduced at the beginning and continually weaved throughout the novel are nicely done. There's a balance and almost a poetry to them.

I just finished reading Cider House Rules. Like Water Method Man, this book is tedious in the beginning. There is a lot of discussion of medical procedures, particularly as they pertain to the female genitals.

The main character is geeky and a loner and lives for tiny details. However, this book enthralled me. When I first started reading it, I told a friend who said, "Oh that book is so sad." I thought, "great. I'm voluntarily going to make myself miserable." But in hindsight, I don't think 'sad' was the right way to describe it. Solemn, maybe.

But definitely enthralling. The deeper I got into the book, the deeper I wanted to go. In fact, deep is a good descriptor for this book. The main character, Dr. Wilbur Larch, was very deep in the way he questions life and everything in it. By the time I got to the last 120-plus pages, I no longer felt like I was reading. I felt like I was watching the movie unfold before me. I literally saw those last 120 or so pages with my eyes.

The bottom line is, Cider House Rules is intense. The intensity builds, and I very much enjoyed it.

I am now reading A Prayer for Owen Meany. I'm only on page 8 and I'm finding it very tedious. But then I turn to the back cover, where Stephen King writes "Extraordinary... original... enriching... and a rare creation. Readers will come to the end feeling sorry to leave this richly textured and carefully wrought world." How could I not go on after that?

I know, with complete confidence that I will read page 9, and 109, 209, 309, 409, 509 and all 617 pages of this book.

Waiting for me on my bookshelf is The Hotel New Hampshire. It's the last one I own, for now. If Owen Meany is anything like Cider House Rules and Hotel New Hampshire is anything like Owen Meany, there will be more books up there before long.

If you're an avid fiction reader and you like to read almost anything you can get your hands on, even you would need perseverance and patience to get through the first half of any John Irving book. But in the end, they all will be worth it.

Please check out my novel, In Fashion's Web on Amazon.