Our next Friday Night Drinks is Friday March 2, 2012. I hope to see you there!

Make sure to get your parking validated at the X Bar. It is $8.00 with validation. Or, you can park free for 3 hours at the Century City Mall across the street.

This 10-week teleseminar begins on Monday,
March 5, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. PST and goes through
Monday May 14, 2012. There is a one week break
in between the two sessions.

The below applies to the full 10-week teleseminar.

LEVEL 1
SERVICE FEE – $275.00
At this level, you will receive 10 weeks of story
instruction about writing a TV spec and pilot script.
You will get to pitch your TV spec and pilot script.
You will receive feedback on your pitches. This
level does not include direct feedback on your
script

LEVEL 2
SERVICE FEE – $1,000.00
For this service, you will get the 10 weeks of story
instruction on how to write a TV spec and pilot
script. You will get to pitch your TV spec and pilot
script. You will also receive a half spec consult and
a half pilot consult at the end of the 10 weeks. This
includes written/verbal feedback on your scripts
and two meetings up to one hour in length to go
over the notes, your pitches and your log lines.

LEVEL 3
SERVICE FEE – $2,000.00
In this service, you will get direct feedback on your
scripts every week. This starts in the concept phase,
then the outline, then three drafts of your pilot and
spec scripts. This level is like being a writer in
Writers on the Verge. You will not only receive
feedback from me but from everyone on the call
that chooses to participate with notes. This also
includes two in person meetings up to an hour in
length to go over the final drafts of your spec and
pilot scripts.

For this level, there are only six slots available.
Three slots are available for drama and three slots
for comedy. This will be first come, first serve.

The spec portion of this two part teleseminar is now SOLD OUT.

LEVEL 1
SERVICE FEE – $250.00
At this level, you will receive 5 weeks of story
instruction about writing a TV spec script. You will
get to pitch your TV spec script. You will receive
feedback on your pitch. This level does not include
direct feedback on your script.

LEVEL 1
SERVICE FEE – $350.00
At this level, you will receive 5 weeks of story
instruction about writing a TV pilot script. You will
get to pitch your TV pilot script. You will receive
feedback on your pitch. This level does not include
direct feedback on your script.

LEVEL 2
SERVICE FEE – $750.00
For this service, you will get the 5 weeks of story
instruction on how to write a TV pilot script. You
will get to pitch your TV pilot script. You will
also receive a half pilot consult at the end of the
5 weeks. This includes written/verbal feedback on
your script and one meeting up to one hour in
length to go over the notes, your pitch and your
log line.

Level 3 for the Pilot Teleseminar is SOLD OUT.

LEVEL 4
Service Fee – $1,900.00

For this service, you will get the 5 weeks of story
instruction on how to write a TV  pilot
script. You will get to pitch your TV pilot
script. You will also get one meeting every week of
the teleseminar to go over what is covered that week
This includes written/verbal feedback on your concept,
outline and scripts and 5 meetings up to one hour in
length to go over the notes, your pitches and your log lines.

One of the things that I mentioned was a formula that I suggest using for your Pitch Document. This is for a pilot script.

• Series Log Line

• Pilot Log Line (This is a log line of your A story)

• Log Line for your B story

• Concept

• Themes

• Character

• Synopsis

When you use this formula before you write your pilot, it will be easier when you go to write it. Also, if you turn this in to me as part of your pitch for your Premium Story Subscription, I will be able to give you solid feedback that will set the foundation for your pilot.

With a feature, I recommend the following formula for a pitch document;

• Log Line (Write an external and an internal log line.)

• Log Line for your B story

• Internal log line for your lead

• What is your inciting incident?

• What is the starting dilemma?

• What is the external goal in your A story?

• What is the internal motivation for wanting to achieve the goal?

• What is your midpoint that connects back to your goal and raises the stakes?

• What is your “all is lost” moment that connects back to the goal?

By knowing these pivotal points of your story, you will start it of in a strong way. Also, if you send me this formula as part of your pitch review, I will be able to give you solid feedback that will help to build the foundation of your story.

I want you to ask yourself the following questions as it pertains to you and to your lead character/characters.

1. What do you consider the top 2-4 turning points that you’ve gone through in your life?
2. Tell me about your most pivotal life turns.
3. What are some of the most valuable lessons that you learned during or after the turn/turns?
4. Did you find that your life turned in a more authentic direction because of the fall? What does this new direction look like?
5. What emotions did you experience as a result of your turns? How did you learn to process and move through these emotions?
6. If you are stuck after a turn, what do you feel will help you to become more active in your destiny?

You will be surprised at what will come out in this exercise. I love what it brought out in the participants of my questionnaire. I feel that asking these same questions about your character and utilizing the answers in your story will deepen your writing.

If you have not participated in this questionnaire for my book “Change Your Story, Change Your Life” and feel that you do have a strong personal story and would like to submit your answers, please do so. I am fictionalizing all of the names so you can be as open as possible. I would need them in the next couple of weeks.

The things that you want to cover in the opening of your pilot script are; the world, how your central character is going to interact in the world, the series dilemma that will lead to your pilot dilemma in Act I and connect with your external pilot goal by the end of Act I and the wound that is driving your central character.

Examples of strong pilots that exemplify this are; LUTHER, HOMELAND, THE HOUR, THE GOOD WIFE

Our next Friday Night Drinks is Friday March 2, 2012. I hope to see you there!

Make sure to get your parking validated at the X Bar. It is $8.00 with validation. Or, you can park free for 3 hours at the Century City Mall across the street.

Similar to many of you, I thought about how I wanted to bring in this New Year. Where do I want to be? What do I want to be doing and how do I want to feel? Well, I decided that because I am in the midst of writing my next book (Change Your Story, Change Your Life) that I would like to be at a Writing Retreat. I searched online and found a Wellness Immersion Retreat, a retreat geared towards wellness through writing, yoga, painting and healthy eating. When I read the description of this, it sounded like heaven to me. So, I decided to give it a try. I knew that it meant being away from home, friends and family for the celebration of the New Year but it also meant opening up myself to a whole new experience, new friends and new energy.

This particular retreat was in Tulum, Mexico, at a gorgeous resort (the Shambala Petit Hotel) nestled on the beach. I knew I loved this place as soon as I saw the coziness and the community of the grass huts and the plaque as you entered the hotel that read, “We are what we think. All that we are arises out of our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.” Each night at dinner we saw the owner, Roberto Hernandez, who made all of his guests feel as if we were part of his family. It was a very unique and memorable experience.

Stephen Lloyd Webber and his wife, Jade Webber, headed the retreat. Don’t be fooled by their youth and beauty, they are the real deal. The Webbers have had successful retreats like this one all over the world. Stephen teaches the writing part and Jade teaches a daily yoga and meditation practice as well as painting. They both participate in the critiques of the writing every night.  Stephen and Jade started the retreat with asking each one of us about our goals. I eagerly told them my goal and hoped in my heart that it would happen.

Fourteen writers/artists gathered to drink it all in and satiate their thirst for the experience. I made plans to meet a fellow author and good friend there. We are both writing our next book. Upon arrival, my friend and I were taken to our room, which was gorgeous and felt like a giant tree house. It had a phenomenal ocean view. As soon as I saw it, I thought to myself, this is where I am going to write my book. I knew that with this type of inspiration, the words would come. I was right.

Everyone else came by themselves, with the exception of a mother and daughter. So, we started with a group of strangers and quickly, through the experience, became an instant family.

Each day started with yoga and meditation. Jade often started it with a discussion before jumping into the practice. After that, we’d write some personal pages and then, go to breakfast (which we ate in peaceful quiet). So, we sat and ate our meals and took it all in with our heart and soul. Glances at one another were full of peace and gratitude. After breakfast, we’d gather for a discussion with Stephen and for our writing exercise assignments. Then, we’d write for a few hours before meeting for lunch, which was always a delicious new surprise. After lunch, we’d meet for discussion and then go and write again for several hours before dinner. I’d return to our room, sit on my bed with the ocean view and I would let the words flow. Every night we’d meet for dinner, which was always comparable to what you’d get at a five star restaurant. After dinner, we’d go through our critiques of what we wrote that day. I LOVED this part. There was no greater opportunity for me than hearing the voices of the other participants, which included some very talented writers.

I collected so many beautiful memories on this trip: the ocean in every shade of blue imaginable, men raking leaves, dogs sleeping, Mayan ruins, footprints in the sand, hearts opening, sounds of drums and techno, a child’s laughter, stories being revealed, voices emerging, wounds surfacing, and healing beginning.

I set my goal when I got there. I wanted to write 15,000 words of my book. Through the journey of the writing exercises, the experience of the place, the gift of my friend’s companionship, and the energy and stories of the participants, I was able to hit my goal. I wrote 4 chapters. I made new friends. I found peace within. I started the year with putting a plan into action. I highly recommend this experience to anyone that wants to go on a vacation and accomplish a goal. It was a beautiful way to end one year and start another.

Always be sure that your protagonist/protagonists are the one/ones with the more active goal. We need to know who and what we are rooting for in your story.

This past weekend I read the last batch of 8 scripts for the year for Writers on the Verge, the diversity program at NBC where I teach.

Here are some of the overall notes that I noticed are common with writers writing TV spec and pilot scripts and may help your writing to think about;

• Show versus tell when it comes to important story information that puts us in the heat of the moment.
• Not having a strong enough dilemma or even a dilemma at all in the set up of the story.
• Giving us a sense of the wound that is driving your central character.
• Waiting too long to set up the stakes.
• When you set up a goal, make sure that there are several actions taken toward the goal and obstacles that get in the way.
• Make sure that we know the personal stakes as well as the professional stakes for your central character.
• Make sure when you give personal information that is driving a character that you service your central character first versus giving us more information on your supporting characters.
• Waiting until the last act to give the story beat that shows us what was driving your central character.
• Starting your episode with what happens and giving us the answer to the question that you’re exploring during your episode at the beginning. It’s fine to open your show with the end of Act III but do not answer the question that you are exploring by using this formula.
• With comedy, make sure that your act outs end on an obstacle to the goal.
• If you have a series arc and a pilot arc, have the dilemma for the series arc get set up in the Teaser and the dilemma for the pilot arc get set up in Act I.
• With spec scripts, make sure that you don’t veer off from the formula of the show.
• In every scene we should know what the character wants and what is getting in the way of what he wants.
• Make sure that the goal is clear in every scene so that the momentum is there.

Happiness feels like ___________

Happiness is________________

What obstacles are getting in your way of happiness?

Doing this exercise was incredibly emotional for me. It stirred up a lot inside. By stirring up a lot inside, it gave me a breakthrough. The breakthrough led to writing from a deeper place. I encourage you to do this.

In the two days that I’ve been here, I’ve learned things about being open to what is and moving through resistance.

These are two great arenas for writing. What do we attach to in life? What if it is taken away from us? What if we’re used to one style of living and suddenly we’re thrown into another style? What if we’re asked to do things in a partner situation with a stranger? How do we move through our boundaries?

To put these in context when I arrived, I found out that the accommodations are very primitive. They are huts for a most part that are in a semi-circle with a meeting spot in the middle. The room where I am staying is GORGEOUS but style wise, it is similar to staying in a tree house on the ocean. The bathroom and the shower are outside. The room is like a sanctuary. You can’t use blow dryers here. So, of course, I had to let go of my vanity and just be. Within this resistance, I found something joyous. It feels great to just be in my most natural state and write.

During the yoga practice, she had us work in partners. To do so, I had to work through some of my own personal boundaries and when I did, I felt like it opened up a new door.

We did a writing marathon on the second day where we were instructed just to write for a certain amount of time without changing anything. Then, every hour, we could take 5 minutes to review what we wrote. I have never done something like this. I found it to be very refreshing and empowering.

Try writing for 4 hours straight without going over what you are writing but just continuing through it. Every hour review your work but only to spot out what works instead of judging what didn’t work. You might find that some gems appear where you least expect it.

I was inspired to write this blog entry after reading this quote by Albert Schweitzer: “At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.” This concept inspired the thought that we each have the ability to light a flame in others through our energy, words and actions. When we think about those who have entered our lives and lit the way, we give gratitude for what they empowered in our own lives. It might have been a teacher that encouraged us, a boss who believed in our possibility, a random person who took the time to reinforce our strengths, or a parent who inspired our work ethic and helped us to see our true value. It might have been a story of another person’s trials and tribulations that led to our own desire to use their story as a way to inspire our own, When we think of the moments in our lives when someone else ignited our spirit, it helps us see how we can do the same for another.

Story is definitely a huge part of this. When we think about our own story and the stories of others, we draw from this space to create. When we see or hear about others doing kind things and getting positive results, it makes us want to do the same. Story is the one thing that unites us because we all have one. Through utilizing the actions of rekindling, sparking and lighting, we not only enhance our own story, we can help others to do the same. Actions are what lead to positive results. I remember hearing about the concept of being someone’s miracle via a video. I loved this idea. The viral video had millions of hits. When I wondered how you attract this, I realized that it all comes down to the message in the story you are telling and the actions that motivated the outcome.

When I think about the power of story, I think about those who have rekindled, sparked and lit something inside of me through the stories they tell in film, television and novels. My publisher, Michael Wiese Productions, recently asked me to contribute to a complimentary book they were putting together as a way to bring the vision of their authors to their target audience. They asked each participating author to write ten reasons why it’s a great time to be a filmmaker. The first thing that came to mind when I thought about this was the ability to touch peoples’ spirits. I recognize when story touches my spirit, a part of me comes alive and feels like anything is possible. The e-book, “Top 10 Reasons Why It’s A Great Time To Be a Filmmaker”, now available online, brings together a variety of perspectives on the beauty of storytelling and why now is a great time to be a filmmaker. I believe that the way we connect and attach is through the stories we tell. I give gratitude to all the storytellers who have ignited, sparked or rekindled our spirits through the actions they’ve taken to pass their stories forward.

Jen Grisanti (Author of Story Line: Finding Gold In Your Life Story) and Kim Hudson (Author of The Virgin’s Promise: Writing Stories of Feminine Creative, Spiritual and Sexual Awakening) join together for the first time to bring you two different sides of mapping the internal story. Sign up HERE

The next one will be on Friday, December 2, 2011. It is at the X Bar at the Century Plaza Hotel at 2025 Ave. of the Stars. Come out and create your possibility.

It is my own experience with some of life’s traumatic moments that drew me to the new HBO series, “Enlightened.” I especially loved a recent episode titled “The Weekend,” written and directed by Mike White. The journey in this episode embodied my own writing about shifting from the ego to the spirit. In it, the central character named Amy (played by Laura Dern) goes through a spiritual transformation after a trauma at work that ends with her being transferred to a different division after sleeping with her boss. After the trauma, Amy takes a trip that transforms her in a spiritual way. She brings the lessons of this trip home with her. In this episode, Amy desperately wants her ex-husband Levi (played by Luke Wilson) to be a part of her awakening. She wants him to want to change like she is doing. Amy suggests that they go on a kayaking trip for the weekend and, despite being against it, Levi acquiesces. There are two sequences of voice-over by Amy that perfectly depict the concept of moving from ego to spirit. Amy’s first V.O. is when they’re kayaking down the river. As Amy watches Eli she muses to herself, “My first love, my husband, my heartbreak, my pain. It feels so easy now, here. You’re not the cheat and the liar. I’m not the nag and the shrew. We’re not old or young. There’s no bitterness or illusions. No need for fear or hope. We’re just spirits drifting through this perfect rift together. We can be free of our sad stories. They float away, until they are like memories of a dream from the night before. Shadows under the water of what’s left in our life, Life is a gift…” At this point, Amy wants Levi to move with her in her spiritual change. Then, she discovers that he brought drugs with him on the trip. She is faced with the reality that he hasn’t changed. Her next V.O. reflects this new awareness. Amy ponders, “You can try to escape the story of your life but you can’t. It happened. The baby died. The dog died. The heart broke. I knew you when you were young. I know your heart broke too. I will know you when we are both old and maybe wise. I hope wise. I know you now, your story. Mine isn’t the one that I would have chosen in the beginning but I’ll take it. It is my story. It’s only mine and it’s not over. There’s time. There is time. There is so much time…”

This episode resonated with me on so many levels. I was blown away by the depth and spirit of the words written by Mike White. The words and the visuals had a magical affect. They spoke to me. They made me remember. They made me forgive. They made me feel. They brought me back to the innocence of the beginning where everything starts. I, like millions of us, know what it is to go through betrayal in a marriage and to feel broken. I know what it is go to through unexpectedly losing a job, although not in the same context as Amy. I realized in watching this episode that the masses go through the emotions felt from these experiences. Our stories are different but our emotions are the same.

In my own story, I used both turning points to move in a more positive direction while redefining a new chapter in my life, and learning that by moving from the ego to the spirit in the choices that I make with my own business and being an author, I have found a much more fulfilling and rewarding path. I hope to inspire others to do the same in my next book, Change Your Story, Change Your Life. I believe that when we detach from our ego and connect with our spirit, we find our voice. Our voice is what leads us to feeling enlightened.

I believe that there are many ways to deepen your central character. One way is to place your character in a powerful dilemma at the beginning of your story. By being put between a rock and a hard place, character is revealed by the choice that is made. You also want to make sure that we empathize with your central character from the beginning. If we empathize, we root for them to achieve the goal. A way to create empathy is to show your character a bit off balance as a result of a recent loss or news that throws his/her world out of joint. By turning their world upside down and presenting a powerful dilemma, you give them a new direction to go. The answer to the dilemma is the journey of your story and the goal is putting their life back in balance through external, internal and spiritual desires and actions. Another question I advise writers to consider is: What is the wound that drives your central character and the flaw that gets in the way? Many writers can write strong flawed characters; however, as an audience, if we don’t know the wound that drives the flaw, we won’t connect with your character on as deep a level as we could. When you show your character evolve from the beginning to the end of your story and you see the growth, you add depth. To show how a character evolves from the beginning to the end of the story, you can show your character responding from the ego for the first three-quarters of your story; then, for the final quarter of your story, have them respond from their spirit in connection to the goal.

In Writing the Pilot, William Rabkin writes, “The most important thing about Vic Mackey was that he believed he was a good guy. Sure, he made deals with criminals but that was to keep worse criminals off the street. As for killing the other cop, that was required for his own self-defense, but even then he knew it was wrong and it tortured him for the entire run of the series.” Rabkin goes on “…Vic Mackey acted like a bad guy in order to be a good guy. And that was the theme as well: How much evil can you do in the pursuit of noble goals before you stop being one of the good guys?” Rabkin says that the heart of what defines a character is his goal and the choices that he makes in trying to obtain it. This book is excellent. It really is a brilliant discussion on what works on certain shows and why it works well as opposed to what didn’t work and why it didn’t work.

In My Story Can Beat Up Your Story, Jeffrey Alan Schechter offers a great way to add complexity to your villain. He writes, “Your villain is a dark reflection of your hero’s wants, needs and desires. Put another way, the villain is doing what the hero would do if he or she wasn’t constrained by morality, purpose and righteousness.” Schechter suggests using four questions when working through your story: Who is your hero? What is your hero trying to accomplish? Who is trying to stop your hero? What happens if your hero fails? This book also encourages you to examine the thematic question that is being explored in your story. Schechter writes, “The thematic argument of the film will have been stated either explicitly or implicitly, either through action or visual. The hero is established in his or her ordinary world as the “greatest” or “most” extreme version of something. The hero has limited awareness of which aspect of his or her being is “broken.” The brokenness is often associated with a ghost from the hero’s past, a major and unresolved crisis that the hero has ignored or inadequately dealt with which is coming to a head RIGHT NOW!” This is one of the stronger screenwriting books I have read

In closing, think about deeper ways to reveal character. Show us how your character sees the world versus how the world sees your character. Craft a thematic question that your character answers. By creating empathy, establishing the wound that drives your character and the flaw that gets in the way, building a powerful dilemma, and setting strong emotional stakes, you will add a layer to your story that will entice your audience to want to see the outcome.

The next one is Friday, September 9, 2011 at the X Bar in the Century Plaza Hotel at 2025 Ave. of the Stars from 7:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. All are welcome. With validation, parking is $8.00.

8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. LEWIS CENTER for ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE, 17500 Mana Rd., Apple Valley 92307 FEATURED WRITERS: · Jennifer Grisanti · Linda Cowgill · Devorah Cutler-Rubenstein · Marilyn R. Atlas
Limited seating! Act now! Early Bird Prices: Only $35 for members & FT Students until 9-1-2011 Just $40 for non-members until 9-1-2011 FULL DETAILS AND REGISTRATION FORM www.hdcwc.org or phone 760.221.6367

Story Tools: Fictionalizing your Truth, Log Lines for your Life, Powerful Dilemmas, and Clear Goals

Jen Grisanti

THE SCREENWRITING EXPO – SEPTEMBER 15 – 18th, 2011 at the Westin, LAX Hotel

This is the largest conference and trade show in the world for screenwriters, offering over 300 seminars, and pitching access to agents and development executives.

The Expo will take place September 15-18, 2011 at the WESTIN LAX Airport, and I’ll be presenting 2 seminars on Gearing Up For Staffing and Development Season and Writing The TV Pilot. They are on Saturday, September 17th at 11:00 a.m. and at 4:00 p.m. For more information, click here.

Among the movies that I’ve seen and really enjoyed this year are Crazy, Stupid Love, Midnight in Paris, The Help and The Debt. I’ve noticed that the structure could have been stronger in all four films but it’s the emotion that comes to the forefront and that makes me forgive any structural imperfections. Seeing that this year’s box office favors this type of film made me think about the idea of emotion versus structure and the way that I teach story. I am a story analyst, so structure has always been the biggest way I determine whether a story works or not. I am a follower of Joseph Campbell and Aristotle. Furthermore, my career as a former studio executive has made structure the base of my foundation. On the other hand, I am also a middle child and I appreciate when people rebel against structure and choose to be spontaneous – as long as the emotion is there.

In Crazy, Stupid Love, I enjoyed witnessing all the stupid things people of all ages do in the name of love. So, the fact that the B and C story often came to the top didn’t bother me so much because it was all in effort to elevate the A story. In Midnight in Paris, I loved the pure wish fulfillment of being able to explore a time period and socialize with literary heroes so much, that it didn’t bother me that our central character’s dilemma wasn’t defined in a clear enough way at the beginning to make us understand the trigger for him to go into this world. Not to mention, that there was no explanation of how it happened other than him getting into a coach at midnight, which was very fairy tale like. Interestingly, the emotions that these stories made me feel did overpower my desire to see a more perfect structure in them. In The Help, I wasn’t sure who the protagonist was: Skeeter or Abelene. It was Skeeter who had the early goal in the story, but it was Abelene whom we empathized with. Truthfully, it didn’t matter so much as I sat watching the film with my mom and my sister, enjoying the feeling of empowerment from the story. In The Debt, I loved the idea of a choice made thirty years earlier and the regret and guilt that plagues Helen Mirren’s character as a result of that choice. This experience was so universal to me and really made me empathize with the character. Due to the structure of the flashbacks, I wasn’t totally clear on the motivation behind going after the doctor until half way through the movie but it was a minimal bother because of the strength of the story.

The analyst part of me feels that had the structure been stronger in these four films, the audience would have connected with them even more. However, the more intuitive and emotional side of me loves these films just the way that they are because they left a mark on me emotionally.

When it comes to presenting, I often find myself in the opposite place. I tend to rebel against some of the rules of how to present with regards to “ums” and “ands” or learning to take deep breaths in between thoughts. I also tend to put more on my slide presentations than I should because I want my classes to get all of the information. I know that these go against structure but I find that my main goal is to make my audience FEEL what I am saying. I know that if my audience feels my intent, it will create more “aha” moments and they will get more out of the experience. This is what the rebel in me thinks, however, I know if I could learn to master both paths, it would make an overall stronger experience for my audience.

Bottom line, learn how to master structure while elevating the emotion in the stories you tell and the topics that you present. Having a balance of both will increase your chances of a more successful outcome. Embrace the rebel in you and learn how to be spontaneous within structure. Recognize the value of emotion and utilize your own universal life experiences in the stories that you tell. This will help your audience to see you in your story.

Recently, I attended the University Film & Video Association Conference in Boston.  This year’s theme was The Future of Media Education. I went there as an author along with fourteen other authors from Michael Wiese Productions (MWP). Boston was amazing. The energy of the event was hugely inspirational. There were panels discussing the future of media on all platforms including webinars, YouTube, web series, personal branding, and the list goes on. Hearing many of the topics that were covered was very exciting. There was a buzz in the air that was intoxicating because it was all about being ten steps ahead of the game in terms of knowledge. I was a guest speaker on the panel discussing The Future Development of Story, along with eight other authors from MWP. The talk was so intimate and informative because of all of the different perspectives that were covered. This panel gave me a quick and captivating glimpse of what to expect at the upcoming conference called The Future of Story, which takes place on August 27, 2011 at the Beaudry Theatre at Los Angeles Center Studios.

The Future of Story is led by some of the best-selling screenwriting authors and teachers in the industry. This dynamic conference will help you take an objective look at both yourself and your professional skill sets as you polish and target your stories for film, television, and print. With over 30 MWP authors attending this conference, you’ll have an opportunity to network one-on-one with experts on screenwriting, pitching, and various aspects of filmmaking. Who should attend? Screenwriters, television writers, novelists, non-fiction writers, graphic novelists and all those interested in emerging trends in narrative.

Marketing has become viral in every aspect and it has brought the importance of personal branding to the forefront. Recently, I watched a video interview with Sam Rosen, co-founder of ThoughtLead, a firm that specializes in online marketing. He laid out The Seven Pillars of the Future of Marketing. In them, he explains the idea of ‘content differentiates,’ which basically means this: when we do things differently and offer a platform that gives numerous perspectives from top experts in the field, we offer the participant a much broader view of the topic. ThoughtLead did an event on the Web called “The Influencer Project” which featured 60 speakers in 60 minutes. The results were massive. What this demonstrated was that when you get top professionals in the field together to share their expertise, the information is invaluable.

I encourage you to attend events, seminars, teleseminars and webinars to keep up on the latest information in any of these arenas. Follow your curiosity and your passion. When you listen to professionals that know how to get you where you want to go, you will hit countless “aha!” moments. I’ve been to many of these events and what I’ve learned is that we are all constantly growing. Information will bring us into the future in a way that will bring us results. You want to be ahead of the curve and utilize all the latest technology to help lead to your success! Be the creator of your destiny.

Brendon Burchard, author of The Millionaire Messenger, tells us the story of a near-fatal car accident that changed his life.  This major turning point led Brendon to ask himself three questions: “Did I live?  Did I love?  Did I matter?“ After pondering these three questions, he stumbled upon a messenger on television (Tony Robbins) whose message was simple: You have unlimited personal power to live the life you desire and make a difference, and I can help you. Brendon felt empowered to read and listen to the messages of other self-help and business world gurus including David Bach, John Maxwell and Seth Godin.  He began wondering — if they could deliver such important messages, why couldn’t he?  He devoured all the knowledge he could about becoming an expert.

Brendon discovered that members of the expert community focus their efforts in two ways: first, relating with their audience to gain their trust and understand their needs and ambitions. Then, creating useful information, content and products that add value to their audience and teach them how to live a better life or grow their businesses.

During Brendon’s inspiring two-year journey, he reached millions of people with his message and earned over $4.6 million teaching others how to improve their lives and share their own message. I was so inspired by this book and its message that I read it twice.  The information is so accessible and Brendon inspires you to believe that anything is possible.  It’s all about knowing your message and putting it into play.  It’s about serving others and creating purpose.

I recently read another book that delivers an equally powerful message but from more of a spiritual perspective.  It’s called, May The Angels Be With You: Access Your Spirit Guides and Create The Life You Want by celebrated psychic, Gary Quinn. Similar to Brendon, Gary also uses his life story to move in this new life direction.  Gary recounts the incredible story of how he first discovered his own angelic messenger in the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris at a crucial turning point in his life.  He tells the heartbreaking and ultimately inspiring story of how he struggled with his psychic gifts as a child and then, reconnected with them as an adult.

Gary shows us how to believe in our own possibility by introducing us to the idea that we are each surrounded by a number of angels.  Everything we need is around us.  We just need to learn how to draw from it.

When I reflect back now on my own turning point, I understand that the universe giving me a nudge was the best thing that could have happened to me.  It pointed me in a more authentic direction.  It led me to write my book, Story Line: Finding Gold In Your Life Story, which also came from two pivotal life events in my story. It also led to creating a six-figure business from scratch that is all about serving others and helping them to attain their dreams.  It provided me with a platform to deliver my teachings about “developing from within” and “finding gold in your life story.”

Our major turning points in life have a purpose behind them.  It is our job to seek out the message and accept our role as the messenger.  In doing so, we may find that we can turn tragedy into triumph and find our life’s calling in the process.

My publisher, Michael Wiese Productions, recently introduced me to John Schuster, author of The Power Of Your Past: The Art of Recalling, Recasting and Reclaiming. They felt that John and I would have a lot in common because of my book, Story Line: Finding Gold In Your Life Story; in it, I teach writers how to mine the gold from their pasts and fictionalize their truth in their writing. I was immediately fascinated by the concept of John’s book.  I could see the connection in our themes.  My book explores how to look into your past, draw from your emotional truth and fictionalize it in your writing while John’s book delves into how you can actually ‘extract’ those truths from your past.  I was particularly intrigued by his concept that you can “re-truth” your past.  John writes, “Once you begin to ‘re-truth’ your past with balanced and thorough reflection, you are more free to choose a future that you want, not the ones determined by your compressions.”

John explains, “Society and its institutions, and your specific interaction with them—in the form of taunting fraternity brothers, an aunt who taught you how to garden, a lifelong friend who has always gotten who you are, a boss who demoted you over a mishandled project—all these and way more evoked and compressed you into the current version of you.  Let’s more thoroughly check out your interaction with those surroundings with specific methodology.  We want to fully understand our essential gifts on the plus side, and we want to re-do our less than useful ways of being and doing on the minus side.”

Most of us are afraid to go into our pasts in any real way. We distract ourselves in the present.  We hide some of that discomfort through success and achievement, thinking that the higher we climb up the ladder, the brighter the light shines on our present and the more our past can be forgotten.  Yet, being in touch with ‘what was’ can mean everything to us in authentically creating ‘what is’.  When we understand who we were, we have a much better understanding of who we are now.  When we take the time to look at our pasts with the wisdom that we’ve gained from it, we can recast and “re-truth” it in a way that further connects us to our true destiny.

Sharing pivotal life moments is a huge part of what I do.  In consulting with writers, I find that when I show them how far I am willing to go into my emotional well, it helps them to do the same.  By engaging them in this process, I know that they will find and enhance their voice.  What John’s book did for me was to give me a much wider array of stories to draw from in my own past.   He helped me to see the value in stories that I had forgotten, suppressed or just no longer saw the value in.  He awakened me to more of that which is inside me.  By doing this, I am able to teach writers how to go further into their pasts and see so many of their life experiences as universal and rich with true potential for emerging in the present and connecting them to their genuine possibility.

I’ll end with one last quote from John’s book. He writes, “If we think about our past from the factual level only, we are like a Cyclops with one eye—we see just the facts and only the facts, and miss the depth of perception that comes with being bi-ocular….” He provides a solution to this by writing, “If we raise our thinking, however, and go at our past from multiple levels and with both eyes, our recalled yesterdays are a living 3-D movie from the emerging truth of who we are, what we are becoming, and where our commitments can take us.”

I love this book.  I highly recommend it for anyone who is interested in better understanding the past through a clearer vision so that creating the future will come from a more authentic place

I recently watched The Tillman Story, a film that explores the true story behind the death of soldier and former professional football star, Pat Tillman.  To say it was incredibly emotional would be putting it lightly.  The film revolves around a family’s journey, led by Pat’s mother, to reveal the truth about their beloved son versus having him catapulted into sainthood by Army recruiters in order to enlist more soldiers into war.  Initially, you might look at this concept and wonder why a family is striving so hard to reveal that their son didn’t die in the heroic circumstance that was touted?  Through their journey, you connect with the family, their anger, their sadness and rage over the idea that the government was not only lying to them but was also using their boy as a poster child to get more people to join the war.  The family just wanted the real truth of who Pat was to surface.  There was one very telling moment when one of Pat’s brothers spoke at his Memorial service and said that Pat was dead.  He didn’t believe he was in heaven because Pat was not a religious man.  He was just dead. They showed several clips that helped to paint a picture. As the real truth was being told, the picture of a hero was still painted, however it was a humanized version of a man who stood up for a cause and made a choice to leave a multi-million dollar football career in the NFL in order to stand up for something greater.  It is a story of depth and one man’s search for purpose and greater meaning by making a critical life choice; it is also about the family who continues to love him and who wants him remembered for the man he was, not for who others want him to be.

I so admired the strength and conviction behind the telling of this tragic but inspiring story.  In watching the film, the message resonated with me.  How can we all contribute in a way that adds meaning and purpose to our lives?  Why do we choose to put people on a pedestal versus understanding the reality of what was? This type of story makes you want to be a better person.  This is the gift of story.

How does the writer elevate the emotion in their story?  This is something I always work on with writers.  The reason I do this is because the goal of the storyteller is to make the audience feel their story.  In order to feel, there has to be a truth that is emerging and coming through.

In the 2^nd Edition of Stealing Fire From The Gods, James Bonnet affirms, “The author of great myths and legends is inside you.”  I love this concept.  Bonnet goes on to write, “Metaphor is the symbolic language that expresses the wisdom hidden in the creative unconscious self.  The hidden wisdom exists as raw energy and in order to be communicated to consciousness, it has to be translated into visual images – i.e. the characters, places, actions and objects, etc. that you actually encounter in great story.”

In The Tillman Story, I understood the family’s drive to seek the truth behind the death of their son no matter what was revealed in the process.  I admired their conviction.  The idea of the story behind the story is where we find the truth.  We often put things, people and places in a higher regard to appease ourselves versus understanding what was real.

I’d like to leave you with one last quote from Stealing Fire From The Gods, which really sums up the idea that it all lies within.  Bonnet writes, “Bill Moyers asked Joseph Campbell, ‘What is Heaven?’ And Joseph Campbell answered, ‘Heaven is a symbolic place.  Heaven is no place.  These are planes of consciousness or fields of experience potential in the human spirit

Where is our gold when it comes to telling strong stories that connect us to our audience? How do we learn to tell stories that touch our spirits and make our hearts come alive?  Compelling stories often come from a truthful place that lives and breathes inside the emotional well of the storyteller.  Your emotional well is your gold when it comes to bringing your truth to the page and learning how to fictionalize it.  This is not about coming from an autobiographical place.  It is about coming from an authentic place, connecting with your life experience and bringing your voice into your characters.  History has shown us that rewards come to those gifted writers who know how to delve into themselves and bring their truth to the page.

An excellent example of this is the Oscar-nominated film The King’s Speech and its writer, David Seidler.  As a child, Seidler used to stutter.  When I watched this film, I felt more emotionally connected to the plight of this character than any other recent film’s protagonist.  I was totally mesmerized by this character’s journey.  When King George VI (played brilliantly by Colin Firth) approached the microphone, I felt his fear.  I could feel it in my throat.  I rooted for him.  I wanted him to arrive at the ‘light bulb’ moment by doing the work with Lionel Logue (played by Geoffrey Rush).  I related with his sheer terror.  Having personally experienced the challenges of public speaking and learning how to move past the fear as millions of us do, I wanted to see Prince Albert (on the road to becoming King George VI) succeed at his speech.  I was on the edge of my seat because I could relate to and connect with his experience.  The fear of failure, another life experience that drives most of us, was conveyed flawlessly in this film.

Discovering that David Seidler personally experienced stuttering in his childhood helped me understand why he was able to hit a pitch-perfect portrayal of this character.  He drew from his own personal well of experience and emotion and brought it to the page.  This allowed the audience real insight into the vulnerability of the film’s central character.

This concept is something I explore heavily in my new book Story Line:  Finding Gold In Your Life Story. The book is about learning how to add fiction to your truth.  It is also about learning that the stories we experience in our own life have tremendous value.  They happen for a reason.  And only by doing the challenging emotional work, do we gain the tools to move past the pain and then pass our stories onto others.

In Elizabeth Edwards’ memoir Resilience, I found that she dug deep into her emotional well and came from such a raw and real place.  She writes, “Each time I fell into a chasm – my son’s death or a tumor in my breast or an unwelcome woman in my life – I had to accept that the planet had taken a few turns and I could not turn back.  My life was and would always be different, and it would be less than I hoped it would be…. I learned that I was starting a new story.  I write these words as if that is the beginning and the end of what I did but it is only a slice of the middle, a place that is hard to reach and in reaching it, only a stepping-off place for finding or creating a new life with our new reality.”  Think about the words “…an unwelcome woman in my life” and “it would be less than I hoped it would be.”  These are powerful admissions and they prompt an emotional experience that millions can connect with.

Resilience reached #1 on the New York Times Best Seller list.  The King’s Speech is an Oscar nominated film.  Both stories come from a place of truth and conviction.  Both writers draw from their emotional wells and bring their truths to the page, giving their audiences a chance to really see them in their stories.  I encourage you to draw from your emotional well in your writing.  You never know what can happen.

On the topic of purpose, Daniel L. Pink writes in his book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, “The most deeply motivated people – not to mention those who are most productive and satisfied – hitch their desires to a cause larger than themselves.” Daniel goes on to write, “From the moment that human beings first stared into the sky, contemplated their place in the universe, and tried to create something that bettered the world and outlasted their lives, we have been purpose seekers. ‘Purpose provides activation energy for living,’ psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi told me in an interview, ‘I think that evolution has had a hand in selecting people who had a sense of doing something beyond themselves.”

Conceptually, this can be a bit overwhelming to think about. How do we create purpose that goes beyond ourselves? Can we add more meaning to our lives? In the family unit, there is no question as to how you do this. You provide love, security, faith, trust and possibility for the next generation. Your footprints continue on with the lessons that you imparted. Your voice will forever be heard in the hearts of your children

In story, we create purpose by attempting to clearly express the meaning behind our words.  In the book Stealing Fire From The Gods, author, James Bonnett writes, “The purpose of story, then, is to guide us to our full potential and the nature of story is to conceal that purpose in an enticing sugar coat that lures us into the experience.”

When it comes to work, adding purpose is a more complex matter. If we learn to look within ourselves versus seeking our rewards externally, we may discover our true purpose lives there. In his book Drive, Daniel L. Pink refers to this as Type I behavior. Daniel writes, “Type I is fueled more by intrinsic desires than extrinsic ones. It concerns itself less with the external rewards to which an activity leads and more with the inherent satisfaction of the activity itself.” Pink goes on to write, “Ultimately, Type I behavior depends on three nutrients; autonomy, mastery and purpose. Type I behavior is self-directed. It is devoted to becoming better and better at something that matters. And it connects that quest for excellence to a larger purpose.”

I love the terms he chose: autonomy, mastery and purpose. These are great motivators to start our year with. This grants us the ability to create the destiny of our choosing. If we look within ourselves and think about how we can affect the greater good and create more purpose in our lives, we can feel the rebirth of conscious endeavor. If we reflect on these words and focus on their meaning, the potential of finding purpose in our lives can be limitless.

1 Cup of Butterscotch Chips
½ cup of Light Corn Syrup
2 tablespoons of butter or margarine
5 cups of wheat flakes (I use TOTAL)
½ cup of chocolate chips
½ cut of salted peanuts

Line cookie sheets with wax paper. Set aside. In 3-quart saucepan, combine chips, corn syrup and butter. Cook over medium heat until chips are melted, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter. Add wheat flakes, chocolate chips and peanuts. Stir to coat. Drop mixture by heaping teaspoons onto prepared cookie sheets. Cool completely before storing.

HELLO DOLLY BARS

2 cups graham cracker crumbs 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter (melted)
2 cups coarsely chopped pecans 1 1/2 cans 14-ounce cans sweetened
2 cups of sweetened shredded coconut condensed milk
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips (Or, you could do 2 cups of any variety of chips)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Lightly grease 13X9-inch baking pan.
Mix together all the ingredients except the sweetened condensed milk in a large bowl. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and pat down evenly with your hands. Pour the sweetened condensed milk over the top to cover, using a spatula to spread if necessary. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until lightly golden. Cool to room temperature, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and allow to set overnight before cutting and serving.

Mamie Eisenhower’s Million Dollar Fudge Recipe

MARBLED CARAMEL CHOCOLATE SLICE

For the base
2 1/4 cup plain flour
1/2 cup of superfine sugar
1 3/4 cup of unsalted butter, softened

For the filling
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
1/2 cup of light brown sugar
2 (14 oz.) cans of sweetened condensed milk

For the toping
3 1/2 oz. of semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 1/2 oz. milk chocolate
3 1/2 oz. white chocolate

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Line and lightly grease a 13X9 inch pan. Put the flour and superfine sugar in a bowl and rub in the butter. until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. Work with your hands until mixture forms dough.

Put the dough into a prepared pan and press out with your hand to cover the base. Then, use the back of a tablespoon to smooth evenly all over. Prick all over with a fork and bake for about 20 minutes.

To make the filling, put the butter, brown sugar and sweet and condensed milk into a pan and heat gently, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Stirring constantly bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the mixture very gently, stirring constantly for about 5-10 minutes or until it has thickened and turned into a caramel color. Take care that the mixture does not burn on the base of the pan as this will spoil the flavor.

Pour the filling over the cookie base, spread evenly, then leave until cold.

To make the topping, melt each chocolate separately in the microwave or in a heat proof bowl set over a pan of hot water. Spoon lines of milk chocolate, then semi sweet chocolate over the caramel mixture.

Add small spoonfuls of white chocolate. Use a skewer to form a marbled effect on the topping.

We all have a story. Everyday, our story grows. Some days are good days and we feel joy and a strong sense of accomplishment. While other days something happens that causes our life to turn upside down and throws us out of balance. We utilize our story to connect us with others. Story unifies us and makes us feel less isolated in our life experiences. Our emotional well is where our story resides. When you learn to draw from your own emotional well, your truth will be revealed. Being willing to go deep in your own life experiences will help others to understand you. As a storyteller, one of your goals is to help the audience see you in your story. Learning to draw from your emotional well will open you up and strengthen your voice.

In my new book, Story Line: Finding Gold in Your Life Story, I help you learn how to draw from your emotional well and add fiction to your story. In Chapter Ten I write, “Think about the pivotal life moments you’ve gone through. What actions did you take in each situation that led to the climax? What are the moments that you tap into as a sequence that leads up to the dilemma? It is in these situations that we begin to see patterns of our behavior and how we bring certain things into our lives. When people experience big moments like the loss of a job, an addiction that may lead to a tragedy, the betrayal of a loved one, or any type of major life transition, there is always a sequence of events that led up to it.”

In Chapter 23, I write, “Some of the goals of the storyteller are to reach, connect, emote, fulfill, intrigue, inspire, empower and impress. What do you want to impress upon your audience? What is the message in your story? Think about weaving it throughout and building us up to the point of recognition. Intoxicate us with your journey and, before the end expose us to the story beneath your words.”

When writing, think about what drove you to get out of difficult life situations. Could you utilize this in your characters? By looking at the sequence of events that led up to the pivotal points in your own life, you see how back story can be brought into the present. What dialogue could you use that gives us a sense of what transpired before the moment without having to go back to it? What did you do when you hit your “all is lost” moment to bring your life back into balance? By digging within, you will find all the answers. You just have to find the courage to go there.

Story Line: Finding Gold In Your Life Story is intended to help you see your story in all its glory. All your emotions and experiences mean something to your audience. By extracting the truth from your emotional well and transforming it onto the page in the stories you tell, you will connect your audience with your vision.

I was fascinated by this book because it really spoke to me on a deeper level. I was in the fast paced world of being a corporate climber. I got to the rung of the ladder that I set as my goal. I made it to Vice President. After my climb came to an abrupt stop and my job ended, I started my own company. Suddenly, I was no longer driven by the salary, title, bonus, expenses and the benefits, I was driven by the work. I was driven by building something from scratch, doing the work that I love and seeing the rewards in the clients I help guide. It was a definite transition and one that I had to embrace daily. I discovered that my pride now came from a different place. I had to learn to let go of things that I began to see were connected with my ego. Instead, I had to connect with my spirit and the idea of simplicity. I was doing what I loved and I was succeeding in a whole new way.

Then, recently, I had an opportunity come my way that could have led to a very big job. This job was the dream job that I had previously always seen as my life’s direction. If I was successful at it, like I knew that I could be, it could be huge. However, if I were to accept this job, I would have to close my company, the new adventure I had only just embarked upon a few years ago. I’ve put my heart and soul into this company for three years and I’m anxious to see it continue to grow. It’s showed me the value of intrinsic rewards. I knew my decision had to be about more than just the external security and external rewards this other position could offer me. I had to really look inside myself and decipher what would offer me the most internal security. Even still, the decision was very difficult. Both were amazing opportunities. Ultimately, what I discovered was that, at this moment, I find my greatest internal security in staying with my company and watching it grow. Right now, it’s Jen Grisanti Consultancy Inc. that makes me feel most intrinsically complete.

Daniel goes on to write, “For Type I’s, the main motivations the freedom, challenge, and purpose of the undertaking itself; any other gains are welcome, but mainly as a bonus.” I had found that I was moving into what Daniel describes as the “Type I.” I was inspired when I read, “Type I’s almost always outperform Type X’s in the long run. Intrinsically motivated people usually achieve more than the reward-seeking counterparts. The most successful people, the evidence shows, often aren’t directly pursuing conventional notions of success. They’re working hard and persisting through difficulties because their internal desire to control their lives, learn about the world, and accomplish something that endures.”

Since I know that millions are going through the type of change that I am going through, I figured that these words could inspire and empower you like they did for me. I find that by identifying what drives you internally and what you connect your rewards to, you can make the choices that will lead you to find success both personally and professionally in a whole new way.

There were two moments of artistic brilliance on last week’s episode of “So You Think You Can Dance” (air date 6/30). First, Ashley and the professional dancer Ade stunned the audience and the judges with their dance. I have no doubt that they brought tears to the eyes of millions. Ashley let herself go in the strongest and most beautiful way possible. Her expression hit a rare height. She completely let go in a way that artists rarely do. I felt grateful as a viewer to be included in her moment. The second moment occurred during the final heart-stopping dance performed by Alex and the professional dancer Twitch. Alex is a ballet dancer.  He danced hip hop in this number in a way that made you feel he was a professional hip hop dancer, hitting the peak of several years of training. It was a number watched over and over again by many who experienced it. It was about a patient and his psychiatrist and thematically, it was about getting out of your head. It made your heart so happy that you couldn’t take your eyes off of the set. I have no doubt that everyone who was lucky enough to witness these two moments was transformed in some way. They were inspiring at the deepest level.

As a Story Consultant, these are the places that I like to see writers go to with their craft. You think that dancing and writing are so different but they’re really not. They are both a form of artistic expression where the key is letting go so that your truth can emerge. Both dancing and writing reflect fearlessness and a commitment to expression. The gift is what the audience is left with after the sharing of story.

In TV, I’d have to say there were two artistic moments that particularly stuck out to me this year on network television. One was in the show “The Good Wife” created by Michelle King and Robert King. It was in the episode titled “Heart” and written by Corinne Brinkerhoff. In it, Will (Josh Charles) represents a client whose unborn child requires an in-utero surgical intervention on its heart. Between the case and the personal moments hitting peaks between Alicia (Julianna Marguilies) and Will and Alicia and Peter (Chris Noth), it was one of those moments in story that you will forever remember.

The second memorable moment for me this season was in an episode of “Modern Family” created by Christopher Lloyd and Steve Levitan. It was an episode titled “En Garde” written by Danny Zucker. In this episode, Jay (Ed O’Neill) and the family go to watch Manny (Rico Rodriguez), Jay’s stepson, in his fencing match. Jay wants to “bring home the hardware,” meaning he wants to experience being a father whose son brings home the trophy. This strikes a chord with Jay’s grown biological son, Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson). Mitchell is bummed because he had a chance to be the best at something – ice skating – until his sister Claire (Julie Bowen) blew it for him by quitting. The story is so universal.  We can all connect with missing a moment in childhood when we were able to reach or exceed the expectations of our parents.

As an artist, you want to strive for these moments so that your audience can truly feel your story and the emotions behind it.

I believe that strong writing is connected with spirituality and healing. Many of us feel that we are in constant pursuit of healing. For some of us, spirituality is a path to deeper meaning. By “spirituality” I mean an inner path enabling us to discover the essence of our being. In order to get to this place, the writer needs to do the work it takes to heal. There are many ways to do the work. We can do it through therapy, yoga and meditation and by learning to be more conscious.

When we think about the times a story has moved us to tears, it is often because the writer is coming from an evolved place of consciousness. Writing is reflecting upon our lives. When we go through a myriad of emotions from joy, triumph and accomplishment to betrayal, loss, trauma and disease, the page is a strong place to escape. It helps us to pull apart and make sense of what happened. It helps us to see ourselves in a clear way. We hope that it helps us to not repeat patterns that cause us pain. When we do the work with healing, we become more spiritually connected to our story. We start to see our own involvement and responsibility in what we create. We begin to explore the bigger life questions that haunt and intrigue all of us.

In the book, Writing For Your Life, the author, Deena Metzger writes, “At the root of our lives is a question, a series of questions, a quest, some fundamental concerns or obsessions; the mystery, the story, and the meaning of our lives reside there. A story also has a question at the core of it, and the question leads to the mystery within the story. The deeper one goes into the story, the more one learns, the more things are revealed, the deeper the mystery. Perhaps the story has no other function than to ask the question or to deepen the mystery.”

I work with writers on a continuous basis. I encourage them to go deeper into their work by connecting with their well. Their well is where they will find their gold. It is a place where their body of experience lies. It is their truth. Learning to fictionalize their truth and bring it to the page is the goal of the writer. When you do the work to heal, you connect to yourself at a deeper level spiritually.

Deena Metzer goes on to write, “…A writer develops a body of work, and we come to recognize the characters and stories she creates, but this does not mean that the writer is repeating herself. Rather the opposite. Over time, the questions the writer is asking become deeper and more penetrating until the questions, not the answers, become his signature.”

When we do the internal work to process, heal and manage our life, it will show up in our story. Our story is about the journey. The journey involves going inside. Since spirituality and healing are a part of the creative experience, I encourage writers to do yoga, meditation and any activity that encourages healing and spirituality. On this note, there is an upcoming screening of “The Shaman & Ayahuasca: Journeys to Sacred Realms,” a film by Michael Wiese on June 17, 2010 from 7:00 p.m. – 9:15 p.m. at the Landmark Theater – Westside Pavilion. Go to http://www.mwp.com/the-shaman-ayahuasca-la-film-showings-june.html Behind this concept is a story of healing and a journey to wholeness. It connects the idea of spiritual healing and expression. Going to events like this will help you to go deeper into your craft.

To say I had trouble putting this book down would be putting it mildly. I found myself enthralled and intoxicated by her story. Her voice and the truth that comes from it is nothing less than remarkable. I haven’t read a book that kept me this entranced since I read “A Million Little Pieces” by author James Frey. It made me grateful to all the writers who have the courage to really go to the deepest and darkest places while managing to make us laugh and learn along the way. It is a true gift.

Universal themes are covered throughout this book. Our stories are all so different but the emotions we feel as a result of them are often the same. McMillan writes, “You have just laid eyes on a man who is going to trigger every single childhood wound you have, who is going to bring those wounds to the surface, and who will, in the process, bring you to your knees, all for the purpose of healing.” We all identify with what love brings up in us. Tracy goes on to write, “It’s like I have two opposing parts of myself: one that nurtures, and one that destroys.” Further down the same page, she writes, “I’m just like my own mother — except with a husband, a house, and a college degree. It’s gotten to the point I don’t want to do anything else without getting high first.” These scenarios and others she explores all have to do with love, what happens when we’re loved, what happens after we love, and what happens after we leave or after we’re left.

Healing is what inspires us to love again. In this book, after every heartbreaking experience, we see Tracy get stronger and grow deeper in her self-awareness of life and love. It encourages all of us to do the same. In a scene when Tracy brings her son to prison to meet her father, she writes, “It’s like together we are one of those medical books where when you lay each page over the next, you get a picture of one whole body, with all of the insides. Me, my dad, my son — we’re all one.” As I read, I wanted to get to the end of the book quickly because I wanted to know her story, yet, I knew when I got to the last page, I would be sad to put it down. I was right.

Mythology adds tremendous depth to writing. Understanding myth is an ongoing journey. In Pathways To Bliss: Mythology and Personal Transformation, Joseph Campbell writes, “That’s the first function of mythology: not merely a reconciliation of consciousness to the preconditions of its own existence, but reconciliation with gratitude, with love, with recognition of the sweetness. Through the bitterness of pain, the primary experience at the core of life is a sweet, wonderful thing. This affirmative view comes pouring in on one through these terrific rites and myths.”

In The Virgin’s Promise, Kim Hudson explores the emotional depth in the commonly used mythical archetypes of the Virgin and the Hero. In the Intro, Chris Vogler writes, The Virgin’s Promise provides a pathway into the feminine archetypal journey lying dormant in our collective unconscious. The quest to become true to yourself…” These words hit me. Kim Hudson takes the reader on a journey into truly understanding the feminine archetypal magic in writing. Kim writes, “The tensions are also different in the Virgin and Hero stories. The cost of the Virgin going on her pathway is the potential loss of love, joy and passion. Without these things that accompany the fulfillment of her dream, the Virgin suffers loss of self, which manifests as depression, insanity and suicide. The cost to the Hero of going on his journey is potentially death. The loss of life at the hands of others will involve physical pain and leave his village vulnerable to evil.” Kim takes us into the power of the feminine journey and on an internal journey as a way of discovering our truth and the meaning of our obstacles. This affects both our writing and our own spiritually. It is all intertwined.

Both authors really explore how to add depth to the human experience. With story, we want to be transformed. We want to connect and understand the power of life experience. By shining a light on the internal goal of your characters, you add an emotional depth that fulfills your audience. You do this by digging into your own emotional depth. Be willing to go inside and your audience will feel the reward.

In story, I believe that you should start with a specific incident that throws your central character or characters out of alignment. What often follows is a series of escalating obstacles, a turning point and an “all is lost” moment, all compiling together to get the character back in line with his goal, aligning him with his destiny. Are you in alignment with your destiny?

In life, at any given moment, our world can turn upside down. Most of us go through periods when it feels like we may have taken a wrong turn. We often fall out of alignment with our core self. On a spiritual level, I believe that our gut instinct is there to help us get back into alignment.

Having clarity of intention is key. Do you know what your goals are? Do your actions really help you reach those goals? You have to learn to calm the chaos when you’re out of alignment in any given situation and properly judge what you need to do to get back into alignment. We can all be active in achieving our goals.

Start by aligning your self. Be true to who you are and what you want. Be willing to utilize and grow from your fear rather than empowering it and letting it deter you from getting to where you need to go.

In the book THE VORTEX: Where the Law of Attraction Assembles All Cooperative Relationships, Esther and Jerry Hicks explain the “30 Minute Energy-Alignment Process,” by writing, “In doing this Energy-alignment work, your point of attraction will not only yield to you activities and rendezvous with good feeling people, places, and things — but your ability to experience the delicious depth of them will be dramatically enhanced. Rather than doing things and going places to try to make yourself feel good, deliberately get to feeling good — and let all those things and people and places come to you.”

Adding depth and positivity to your life will help you be in proper alignment with your destiny, and that’s when you’ll begin to work towards your goals and things will start to fall into place.

What if you put this into play in your own life? Focusing on a single small change could affect your life in a much larger way. This could include changing your eating habits, working out more, implementing a new exercise routine (like yoga), reading more, cleaning out one room each week, meditating on positive thoughts and what you want to bring into your life during the first 10 minutes of every morning, creating a vision board, going to church or temple, volunteering more, or spending more quality time with family and those you love versus those you feel obligated to spend time with because of your career. If you focus on any of the above, you will start to see change in all areas of your life. Since it is too overwhelming to start big, why not start small and see the very big effect that it will eventually have on your life?

How do we inspire change in ourselves? Information is a powerful thing. If there is something you want to change, read about it. By reading how others have dealt with the same type of obstacles, you will be empowered to do the same. The power of the word also inspires change. Here are some inspirational phrases worth meditating on to get you in the right mindset: yes we can, breath positivity and negativity out, being kindness, if you fail so what, I will take care of you, the opposite of within is without, change your thoughts, change your life, failure is your greatest opportunity for growth. Think about the words that inspire possibility in you. Every time you come across an inspirational line in a movie, book or newspaper or hear it from a friend, write it down. Refer to these words. Use them as your anchor.

If you add more positivity to your life, you will inspire change. It starts by taking care of yourself. If you are in a strong place and you spread your energy in a positive way, you will attract whatever you set your mind to accomplishing. In turn, you will see that being the author of your own story has its benefits. You can create what you want. It is up to you to make your story one worth telling and one that people will remember.

Recently, I saw the true effect of kindness.  I am the Writing Instructor for NBC’s Writers on the Verge, a diversity program structured to prepare finalists for the experience of being staffed as a television writer.  At the end of our last class, I wanted to leave each of the finalists with a positive thought.  So, I had each person in the room describe one thing they loved about every other person in the room. It was a way to get them to express themselves in an open forum but to also tell each other what their thoughts are.  It was a truly amazing experience.  Seeing their faces light up as they received nothing but positive reinforcement is a moment that I will never forget.

Another great tip mentioned in ZEN HEART to keep in mind for the holidays is the “Three Breaths Practice.”  Ezra writes, “The Three Breaths Practice involves injecting a conscious pause in the middle of our usual state of waking sleep, a pause that lasts for the duration of three full breaths.  Here’s how it works, whenever you ‘come to’ for a moment, you make the conscious intention to stay there for at least three full breaths.  You don’t necessarily focus on the breath itself, but bring awareness to your entire experience in the moment, whatever it may be.”

What if we went into the holidays and the New Year with  “conscious intention” in everything we do?  Whether it’s a meal with our family, a get together with friends, a party or even a business meeting, if we consciously think about what our intention is and how we would like to make the other people in the situation feel, the results could be a lot more fulfilling.  The key to the success of your conscious intention is my favorite two words of the season, “Being Kindness.”

In the book, Shovel It: Kick Ass Advice To Turn Life’s Crap into The Peace and Happiness You Deserve, Debbie Robins writes, “To help create what you want while simultaneously trusting the universe to decide what form it is meant to come in, consider writing what I call a Living Vision…” Debbie explains the “Getting down with the universe” Technique: “Start by having a clear picture in your head of the biggest, boldest, most fulfilling life that you can imagine living. Now, write about who you are and what you’re doing in glorious detail.  Do not describe how you got there. You are there!”

I remember doing a similar exercise with Career Strategist coach, Deb Colden.  The beauty of the exercise lies in the relief you feel after imagining that you have achieved your greatest goal.  During Deb’s session, she had us write down three of our immediate goals.  My goals were 1) Creating a successful seminar career 2) Writing a book proposal and 3) Successfully hosting my first Writers Retreat in Hawaii.  Since I didn’t have a lot of contacts in Hawaii, I knew the retreat would likely be the most challenging of my goals.  However, by doing the exercise, I was able to visualize myself achieving all three goals.  After several months of hard work and daily revisualization, I completed all three of my goals.  My biggest break with the Hawaii retreat came when the Star Bulletin agreed to do a story on my event.  You can do anything you set your mind to doing if you have clarity of goal and visualize your success.

So, how do you create a clear vision?  In The Answer, John and Murray write, “Creating a clear business vision is the first step to your success.” They created what they refer to as the Five Musts:
You must find something that stirs your soul.
You must become excellent at it.
You must recondition your mind to believe that you can have it and achieve it.
You must understand how to make money at it.
You must take daily action.

For the New Year, I encourage everyone to create a clear vision, pursue it with a renewed passion, no matter what losses have happened along the way, and make that vision a reality.  You CAN do it. We each have the potential to create the destiny we choose.

I remember feeling “numb” by the amount of work I had while climbing the corporate ladder.  I would start my day at 5:30 a.m. at the gym while reading scripts on the treadmill.  I would often keep going until 9:00 p.m.  This was my cycle.  This is what I believed you had to do to be a worthy part of corporate America.  I had to earn my direction.  The quest for the title of Vice President was blinding me to my own sense of fulfillment.  Somewhere along the way, I lost track of what I loved most about my job, the gift of story.  It became only about the work and the validation.  I started wondering if everyone else who was embarking in this climb was feeling fulfilled by the process.  I remember reading that the most successful people often have the lowest self-esteems.  This seemed ironic to me.  How could achievement of tremendous success equal a lower sense of self worth?  As I rose, I began to understand the correlation.

Is our quest for greater meaning in the jobs we’re doing unreasonable?  What I like about Julie’s exploration is that she helps you figure out your strengths and explains how knowing what fulfills you can help bring meaning to your work life.  Our jobs are very often where we spend the majority of our time.  We spend so much time choosing quality in our personal lives, why wouldn’t we do the same for our professional lives?  The “paycheck” used to be the end-all be-all.  It was the reason why we went in the direction that we did.  We are experiencing a shift in consciousness as a nation.  Since what we perceived as “security” has been thrown out the window, why not do something we love everyday?  Our health and well being are strong incentives.  We should commit to finding where our gratitude truly lies. We are worth the commitment.

Your time spent at work is valuable.  However, it is better to connect your worth to the quality you put out, not the time spent doing it.  Since I fell from the ladder, I have discovered a stronger formula for worth than time spent in the office. Worth is connection with self and those around us and the way we affect others with the work that we do.  Ego and title are no longer the barometers.  It is about growth.  With growth comes the greatest gratitude of all.

We are going through a very difficult economic time.  Yet, there is no greater time than now to educate yourself on how to succeed in your endeavors.  Through reading books like THE ART OF WOO that are focused on the broader business audience, you learn about the power of the pitch and how your own personal attributes can get you further in the game of life.  We all use persuasion and influence on a daily basis in our personal and professional lives, yet do we do it consciously?  The key is better understanding the tools you have inside and how to use them to get the results you desire.  You hold the key.

Robert K. Cooper explores different philosophies on intelligence and the benefits of applying more “emotional intelligence” to success.  He gives a quote by scientist Gary Klein, who says, “Analysis cannot replace the intuition that is the center of the decision-making process.”  Cooper says, “Emotional intelligence engages not only the gut and the heart but also the cranial brain’s limbic system and even the thinking brain.”  He quotes Richard Farson, psychologist and President of the Western Behavioral Sciences Institute, “The one quality that the best leaders agree separates them from their less successful rivals is confidence in their intuition.”  Farson says that great leaders have “golden guts.”

Do you use your mind or your gut when it comes to making business decisions?  So many people experience situations where they say, “my emotions got in the way.”  What if you can learn to utilize your emotions so that rather than getting in your way, they pave the way?  During my climb up the corporate ladder, I often heard, “Never let them see you cry,” and “There’s no room for emotions in business.”  Now, I do agree that it’s better not to let them see you cry, but what if there are actually advantages to using your emotions in business?

Cooper writes, “Once you have placed something on your schedule because it’s important, be sure you derive the most from it by using two questions that keep you linked to your emotional experiential memory.”  He says to ask yourself first
“How can I seize this chance to become more of the person I most want to be?” and secondly, “Have I just acted like the person I most want to be?  What did I miss?  How can I do better next time?”

I love the idea of this.  What if we were more conscious and went into our business meetings as well as our personal outings with this consideration?  Could learning to use our emotions actually help us to succeed versus being something that gets in our way?  It’s a new time.  So many changes are happening.  It is time to start listening more to our intuition.  Looking back at your successes and your failures, do you find that disregarding your intuition resulted more in things working or not working the way you wanted them to?  I encourage you to start listening on a deeper level to your gut in both business and in life.

I am a Story Consultant. After being in the corporate world for 17 years, over 10 of which were spent working as a Current Programs executive in television at top studios including Spelling Television Inc. and CBS/Paramount, I launched my own business in January of 2008 at http://www.jengrisanticonsultancy.com. I knew that as part of my business model I wanted to teach seminars. I was very excited about the idea of doing this and doing it well. Over my career, I had been to several story seminars including Robert McKee’s famous seminar. I learned a lot from watching what worked and what did not work. For 17 years, I had worked in offices and learned the nuts and bolts of telling a strong story, and now I had to figure out how to effectively communicate this insight and experience to an audience.

I learned a lot from my first few seminars about what I felt worked well and what could be better. I recognized that like anything in life, the more you practiced, the better you would get. I always felt that I had prepared myself well until I hit a bit of a bump in the road at a seminar I did in Seattle for the the Northwestern Screenwriter’s Guild. They say that public speaking is the biggest fear for most people next to death. I experienced the meaning of this first hand. I was about to begin my presentation when I suddenly had a mini panic attack. My heart felt like it was beating out of my chest and my mouth was so dry that nothing would come out. It was like someone had taken an eraser to my brain and erased the last 17 years of experience I was about to share. This whole experience went on for 5 minutes. My way out of it was to ask the audience to share their universal life moments, an exercise which I had intended on utilizing later in the presentation. I was thrilled to see it worked. As I listened to people opening up about their own personal stories without fear, I began to see even more that our story is the key to it all.

It was this unique, yet traumatizing, experience that led me to buy two books written by Jerry Weissman, Presenting to Win: The Art of Telling Your Story, and In the Line of Fire: How To Handle Tough Questions When It Counts. I connected with Jerry’s background because during his career as a television producer for CBS, a screenwriter and a sometimes novelist, story had been his foundation.

Some of the key points Jerry Weissman writes about that really resonated with me are WIIFY (what’s in it for you?) and tell the audience what you’re going to tell them, your point B. He guides you to recognize the value of helping your audience to better understand what’s in it for them. He also understands the importance of organization. He gives you several options of how to start your presentation including, Question, Factoid, Retrospective/Perspective, Anecdote, Quotation, Aphorism and Analogy. After choosing this, the next thing he suggests you do is give the USP, Unique Selling Perspective. This is a very succinct summary of your business, the basic premise that describes what you do and what your company does. He then suggests giving Proof of Concept, which is a single telling point that validates your USP.

I read these books as a way of preparing for my next seminar, a Pitch and Pilot Storywise Seminar that I did at UCLA. I knew when I first started that I could very well experience what I had in Seattle yet again. However, the difference this time was the way I approached my preparation. Jerry mentions in his book that the key to not being nervous is being totally prepared. I had done my homework. When I started this seminar to a very full room, I started with an Anecdote about my early experiences with story and what made me know that teaching story was the path for me. I also mentioned the tremendous affect that my mentor, Aaron Spelling, had on me. I then moved on to my Unique Selling Perspective by telling the audience all about the launching of my company. Next, I gave the Proof of Concept about the success I’ve experienced since I launched. I then told the audience what I was going to teach them, a new way of looking at how to structure their story in a pilot through identifying the goal/dilemma of their central character by the end of Act I and making sure that their other act outs resonated back to this goal/dilemma in some way. I told them how I planned to do this through my presentation, my workbook and my handouts. By looking at story and studying story through this unique perspective, I showed them “what’s in it for them” and how they could apply it to their own writing. I further illustrated this by giving them my back story and then sharing a few loglines with them that describe a show reflective of my life right now. Then, I asked them to share a logline that reflects their life at this point in time. It was miraculous. I had no nerves and I felt more connected to the audience than any seminar I had done in the past. I knew the keys: clarity about what I was teaching, sharing my story, telling the audience up front what I was going to tell them and being aware of and answering the question, “what’s in it for you?” The comments afterward and the e-mails that followed made me see even more that our story is the key to our success. If you’re wondering about “what’s in it for you” with regards to this blog, I’ll answer: if you read Jerry Weissman’s books and follow his advice, you will succeed in ways you never imagined.

Lawler Kang writes in his book, Passion and Work, “What is critical to understand is that as long as you can define your passion, someone will pay you to live on your terms. You might not make millions, but intuitively, you have a much greater chance of this outcome if you do.” In his book, Lawler explores the purpose of the five Ps: Passion, Proficiencies, Priorities, Plan and Prove. Kang says, “…If you love what you are doing, if you’re passionate about your work, life will follow in a multitude of shimmering manifestations — richer relationships, less stress, overall happiness, and so on…”

Lawler went through some life threatening hurdles that led him to this place. He has a firm grasp on how to succeed, because he has found tremendous success in work and life and he comes from a place of knowing what it was to almost lose it all.

Have you been in a position where you’ve fallen from grace in some aspect? If you turn that into life experience, you can really fall into grace. You can pick yourself up and be happier than you’ve ever been. I went from working in the corporate world for over 15 years to opening my own business, being my own boss and following my bliss. I looked at all the things that made me happy in my job. I took out all the things I did not enjoy. I put together a business model, and I put my plan into action. Following your passion may involve a lot of work and sacrifices in its inception, but once you’ve created something of your own and nurtured it from scratch, the rewards are endless. I support and live Lawler Kang’s philosophy and encourage you to identify what your passion is, put together a plan and go after it. You will be amazed to see what happens.

What does all of this mean to you?  It means that there is no better time to start – to build something that is all yours and represents your beliefs, your knowledge and your values.  It’s about finding your niche and cultivating it.  You can create something from scratch.  You can apply what you loved about your job and market it in a way that appeals to the masses.  You can do what you love for a living.  It is about believing.

My journey after being in the corporate world for over 15 years started with a course at Esalen in Big Sur called “Completions and Transitions” with Mary Goldenson, the author of, “It’s Time, No One’s Coming to Save You.”  It was there that I was able to reconnect with myself, my core values and what I wanted in my life.  Through many thought provoking exercises as well as being part of a great group, Mary helped me to see and believe that there was a way.

After that trip, I analyzed the market.  I researched everyone and anyone who was doing anything similar to what I wanted to do.  I looked at my own experience and made sure that my work background supported my company concept.  I tapped into my relationships and set up informational meetings.  I found a phenomenal website designer in Suzie Roth of Suzie Roth Designs.  She has been my saving grace in this whole experience.  From here, I started developing a brand.  This was one of the most rewarding parts of my journey.  What message did I want to send out about my business?  I came up with  Developing From Within, my belief being that the stronger we are inside, the more access we will have to our stories which makes us stronger creatively.

I am using my story to motivate you into believing.  I’ve had so many people contact me wanting to get information on how they too can start their own businesses and redefine success on their terms.  If this is right road for you, you can do it.  The key is creating a niche that fits your background and work experience and then doing what it takes execute it with clear vision.  The internet has been one of the most useful tools in my experience.  Some of the websites that I find to be invaluable are; www.constantcontact.com, www.googleadwords.com, www.prwebdirect.com and www.summitconsulting.com.  It is about focus, determination, courage, commitment to the process and discipline.  Above all, belief in yourself is an ingredient you cannot do without.  If you believe in this, anything can happen.

When the world, or our particular industry, determines that we are relevant, how do we maintain that status?

I’ve studied how businesses achieve relevance to help build my brand. I, like all of us in business, want to continue to offer services that are unique, informative, valuable and consumer friendly.  Tim Manners writes in his book RELEVANCE that, “Relevant brands grow because they like their customers and understand them enough to predict what they want.”  He goes on to write, “Relevant brands aren’t afraid to fail, but they never forget what made them successful in the first place.”

I understand the importance of staying in touch with the ingredients that helped my business succeed initially – and to keep an open mind about how to expand or adapt my services as needed.  In such a chaotic time in our economy and, effectively, our lives, we are all searching for greater meaning.  Feeling relevant equals feeling like we have meaning.  My hope is that we learn to build meaning from the inside so that it is reflected in our approach to our relationships with others, our goals and our careers.  Working in a town where our “moment” can be so fleeting, we need to recognize that true value starts from within and continues from within.

What has happened in your life where your world was turned upside down and your reality shifted??  We all have these moments.  Look into these moments and the emotions that you felt or are feeling.  This is where you draw universal moments/themes for your writing.  An example of some questions you can ask yourself to go deeper include; In this new environment after the strike, are you afraid that there aren’t enough jobs out there for writers?  Does this get in the way of your process?  How does this make you feel?  How has the economy changed your life this past year?  How does this make you feel?  Have you lost a job?  How did this make you feel?  Have you found your soul mate?  If not, how do you feel about this?  If so, how does this make you feel?  Has your idea of security shifted?  If you look back on your life, would you make different choices?  Did you get asked to your prom?  If so, how did it feel when you went?  If not, how did this make you feel?  Have your parents been divorced?  If so, as a child, how did this make you feel?  Have you been divorced?  If so, how do you feel about getting married again?  Have you ever been betrayed?  How did this make you feel?  Have you achieved a big dream?  If so, what hurdles did you hit along the way?  What makes you feel joy?  What emotionally moves you?

I like to push past the barriers we put up and get to the core of what is going on.  Chances are if you deeply feel something so do others.  This is how you get others to connect with your story and with your characters.