Tripping Your Way to Success

by Gary Fearon, Creative Director, Southern Writers Magazine

A good analogy might be Jennifer Lawrence at the 2013 Academy Awards. You'll recall that the graceful beauty tripped on her gown while ascending the steps to accept her Oscar for Best Actress. A lesser thespian might have let the stumble spoil their acceptance speech, but the star of Silver Linings Playbook laughed it off and went home with the gold.

The ability to "shake it off" is a prerequisite to success echoed in every field, from entertainment to sports to high finance. The pros know that the easiest way to hit a roadblock is to let a trip trip you up.

It is said that songwriters have to write a lot of bad songs before they can write a good one.  That sentiment has been repeated so often by so many songsmiths that it has become a cliché, and like most clichés it has its basis in truth.  Of course, the same applies to any writing. We have to be willing to write a lot of bad paragraphs before we can inherently understand what makes a good one.

We learn more from our mistakes than we do from our successes. (Which do we dwell on more?) Going from good to great in whatever we do requires abandoning fear of failure and developing a willingness to take chances that take us out of our comfort zone.

Comedy icon Jerry Seinfeld recalls that he was "out of your mind nervous" the first time he appeared on Carson. Even now, decades later, he admits, "I'm very respectful of anyone who attempts to stand on that stage. It's a very difficult thing just to stand there." Yet he adds that it is that very discomfort that fuels him as a performer. "The worst thing is when you get comfortable. That's why success is the enemy of comedy."

Each week on TV we are treated to an endless array of workplace competition shows where standup comics, amateur chefs, tattoo artists and runway models are thrown new challenges and face possible elimination. The good news is, real life doesn't eliminate us when we mess up. The greater the error, the greater we stand to learn from it. In that spirit, we should be proud to make mistakes that are epic.

One of the finest writers I know told me last week that she was appalled when she re-read something she wrote a mere few months ago. Letting something sit and then visiting it with new eyes once the initial infatuation is over is one of a writer's most valuable experiences. Many successful authors have learned to write their first draft like a writer, and revise the second draft like an editor. 

As hockey legend Wayne Gretzky said, "You miss one hundred percent of the shots you don't take." In the creative arts, don't be afraid to challenge yourself beyond what you know. If you've fallen in love with writing, falling is part of the fun.

Space Invaders

by Gary Fearon, Creative Director

Comedian, producer and author Jerry Seinfeld knows a few things about communication, and he's shared some interesting insights over the years. One of his more thought-provoking quotes once appeared in a Parade interview:

"You have to invade the space of the audience a little bit. I learned that early on. It was a very helpful thing to learn. You have to invade them just a little bit. Not too much, because then it’s obnoxious. But you can’t be short of them either, or you won’t control them."

Invading their space. What does that mean? To a standup comedian it can mean the difference between a standing ovation and getting heckled off the stage. A master performer knows one has to be bigger than life to take ownership of the room and keep all eyes on them. Singers and musicians are especially known for exaggeration and a flashy presence.

But when it's just you standing there talking to an audience—as in public speaking—mastery of volume is one critical skill to develop, as Jerry explains:

"The volume at which I’m speaking now is the right volume for where you’re sitting. I’m almost performing, in a way. There’s this kind of voice, and then there’s this kind of voice, and then there’s this kind of voice. I wasn’t a natural performer at all, so I learned. I was always a pretty good writer in the beginning, but I really had to learn how to perform."

Communicating through writing is a lot like doing standup. It's just you, the lone voice, trying to reach a vast audience whose faces you can't even see in the dark. You can only rely on their feedback to tell you if you've hit the mark. Jerry's voice of experience provides us with some food for thought:

•  Invade their space — Go beyond your comfort zone and into theirs, with ideas that challenge them and can't be ignored.
• "There's this kind of voice" — Determine the most effective "voice" to reach your audience. Not too soft and mushy, not too loud and preachy, but just a bit above the communication level they're used to.
• Listen for their feedback — Social media is today's equivalent of the old audience applause meter, which determined the winner on game shows. Blogging and other online promotion is how savvy authors build an interactive, loyal following.

They say standup comedy is one of the hardest professions in entertainment. I say writers are no slouch either. That's why Southern Writers is so intent on encouraging authors and helping them promote themselves, through our magazine, through this blog, and through the many online venues available to subscribers, like our new Must Read TV and Take Five.

Over the last year we've featured 178 exceptional wordsmiths in Southern Writers Magazine. In the coming year that will grow to over 300, and I hope you'll be one of them.

Begin by getting your free online copy of our July anniversary issue, and then become a member of the Southern Writers family. There's a standing ovation with your name on it!