Build Your Corner

Don't worry, this isn't a political post per say

I thought I was going to take a break in November and December from the substack but with the election news, I thought it would be remiss to not talk about politics when this substack is essentially about mental wellness as a writer. But this isn’t going to be about parsing about what happened, debating who was a better candidate, who should have won, etc.

I want to talk about a how-I-will-do, not a how-to-do going forward to protect my space while building my corner of community to reflect the values I care about. This isn’t an original thought as AOC said a version of this. Also to continue tap in especially for Black women who have have been doing the work for centuries. That’s not to say, a lot of people across different backgrounds have been doing what they can. See more of what I mean from Amber Riley and Therapy for Black Girls.

Anyone who knows me, knows who I voted for. THIS BELOW.

Also THIS BELOW.

If you don’t agree, then this substack post isn’t for you. So here are some things I plan to do in my corner of the world.

What I plan to do:

• Stay involved in union politics as a WGA Captain for the foreseeable future.

  • If you’re a WGA member on a team, reach out to your captain before 11/16 if you have any concerns. WGA Captains have a mtg on 11/16.

• Continue to pick up postcarding, phonebanking, and/or volunteering esp. for reproductive rights when I can but not a regular basis because of captain work above. A when I can thing.

• Find and support women directors. I’m constantly in awe of specifically WOC friends going out there shooting their shorts. Part of this is for selfish reasons. I have zero desire to direct. And besides my writing ambitions, I want to produce and get to a place to run a company to produce projects I care about that aren’t mine.

  • If you’re reading this and you want to direct and know me in real life, reach out, I’ve started an spreadsheet on filmmaker resources etc., and will be happy to share.

• Wear this tote bag from "No, I Never Thought" leopards eating faces from Franchesca Ramsey. I plan to put my nice purse inside this tote as an everyday dust bag. Yes, I’m one of those people. Leave me be.

• Pay and support other writers here on substack. Even with some part time and room work recently, I still am building up my war chest. A when I can thing.

• Buy the Succession scripts here and here and remind myself of what good writing is. (I think I posted about this being on my wishlist before). I’m debating if I want to wait for the complete collection to include Season 4. Or just buy Seasons 1-3 separate from Season 4. Jesse Armstrong, please release the complete COMPLETE collection. A when I can thing and/or to celebrate a recent career win. I haven’t decided.

• Signed up to mentor preWGA writers but asked to start after my wedding. I hope I can give helpful advice!

What I plan to NOT do:

• I’m fairly certain I will not run for co-chair of the Committee of Women Writers (CWW). I might technically be termed out but even if I’m not, I’d like to step aside. I’m getting married and would like to dedicate more time in my personal life to enjoy married life and I can only give if my well is full. I also want to limit my time in a space that hasn’t always been intersectional.

  • FWIW, the MAJORITY of my interactions have been LOVELY and HEARTWARMING. I’m not saying I’m letting the small amount of intersectional blindness make me quit, I’m just planning on taking a break from it for now and reclaim my time.

• Continue to limit social media. I’ve spoken about this before.

• As much as it breaks my heart, I don’t think it will be safe for me to wear my Kamala tote bag in public, even in LA. People are already getting harassed verbally and physically by MAGA. I already dealt with a little of that during Stop AAPI hate. I am not going to put myself in danger.

  • I was afraid to open my Kamala tote pre election like it was a jinx. But I opened it anyway and used it, believing in a hope we could someday have a female president. This will go in storage along with my Hillary stuff from 2016. I still believe we can have a female president but I also believe misogynoir is unfortunately very real. I said I wouldn’t parse - so I’ll stop.

With all that said, before election day, I started coming up with a personalized checklist of what I like to make sure my pilots have, as a way to battle test them and feel more confident before I let people read early drafts. Here’s a preview of my list. I made a PDF worksheet behind the paywall. These are ideas I’ve learned from other writers, much smarter than me.

So for above, is it a simple story? Can I explain the emotional journey (emojo, as an old boss likes to say) in one sentence? Is a revenge arc? A romantic comedy arc? A roadtrip? A grief arc? Is the theme universal is pretty self-explanatory and I’ll just add, what is it I want to say about the world? What’s the value statement I want to say? Unique arena especially for a world we have not seen on television. Complicated character (s) for me is making sure the main character has an active flaw that is also a strength, e.g. controlling but also a great planner.

For instance, for Succession:

• It’s simple story in the pilot about a son against his siblings vying for control of the family company. (The series simple story is a tragedy.)

• The universal theme in the pilot is that wealth, power, and corporate politics makes the line between love and business in a family very blurry. Alt: Family and business don’t mix and can tear a family apart. (Series universal theme is that greed and ego can lead to one’s downfall. Or money and power will tear a family apart and leave everyone with nothing.)

• The complicated characters for the pilot and series are that they all have an addiction that is their strength and flaw (all stemming from the core wound of their narcissistic parents). Roy is a former drug addict but it makes him dynamic in business (arguably). Shiv loves to be a mindfucker, great for politics, not in her romantic life. Roman is a sex addict and can be witty and ballsy (pun intended, if you’ve watched the show).

• It’s a unique arena in a peek-behind-the-curtains inside a dynastic media family and also corporate boardroom politics.

The questions at the top of the worksheet are also pretty self-explanatory. The key word in the goal section and everything is to make it photographable which I think can be harder in straight dramas and comedies. Even if the character wants to fall in love, it is manifested in something we can film i.e. a person/robot/whatever you’re writing.