Pana Writing
Feb 2004
Good to be here Starting a speech: Bummy. Chillocothe.. famous author’s day. “Probably dead.”
I’m a writer because I write. I’ve had some books published and about a hundred plays and two shows on television and lots of newspaper columns and 7 music CD’s but that’s not what makes me a writer. I’m a writer because I write. And I only write for one reason: I like it.
To me: the perfect day…at home with no place to go and a really good idea in my head. If I’m in the middle of a good idea, I’m excited all day long..can’t wait to get home and play with it.
Math: hard for me. Only one right answer.
Writing has changed a lot since I was your age. I used a pencil and a tablet. You can use a computer…I do. The last three plays I’ve written have been with a man in Florida..we write by email. Illustrator for one of my books: I’ve still never met.
Last night I wrote a message to my friend in London and I sent it to him in one second. Your kids will sit in “wired desks.” My students can get their assignments off my webpage at their house. They can send me their assignments by email. Technology has changed everything…except one thing. But one thing the PC has not done for us and will never do for us…. Come up with the words and ideas to fill the Internet. Impossible.
So here’s the cool part…when you sit down to write, you do exactly the same thing that I did in Middle School when I sat down to write. And your kids will do exactly the same thing.
I want to tell you FOUR things about writing. 1st: My fifth-grade teacher…my first story… I wrote anyway. About things like monsters and dragons…awful. Then I started to write about a different kind of thing.. Like… My Grandpa who only had three fingers on one hand..would sing “Pop goes the weasel” and thump me on the head. 2 donkey..one bucked Aunt Lizze into a tank full of water Grandma..cutting chickens heads off Sheep dragged me through the manure…
I wrote two books..pretty good..sold a lot of copies… Then I wrote my third book about those stories… and the publisher has had to reprint it twice.
So…#1: Write about the things you know about.
2nd thing you need to become a writer. The most interesting thing to people…is other people. Tony Campello..”Five years from now you’ll be pretty much the same as you are now except for two things: the people you’ve met and the books you’ve read.”
I’m meeting you today. Tonight I’ll go home and write about you in my journal. I’ll write about….. We have really interesting people right here in this room…
Ball Toss.--What were you most afraid of when you were little? (Who used to cover up everything but your mouth?..take one large step) ---Your favorite toy when you were little. --Name one person other than your Mom or Dad who you really admire. --If you could be anywhere in the world right now?
Dale Carnegie.. “You can make more friends in one day by being truly interested in other people than you can in a week by trying to get other people interested in you.”
Probably the main reason I’m a writer is because I think people are really cool..I always want to know about them.. For example, right now I’d love to know… (audience)
If you love people, if you’re interested in people…then you’re already a writer…all you’ve got to do it write.
3rd: Get an audience. Tell your teacher you want to read your stuff out loud. Don’t just write for the teacher..They’re no fun! They keep making marks all over your papers. Read for Mom and Dad and Grandpa and Grandma..your dog…your classmates…
Two roughnecks… all they could think about was skateboarding..I had them team up and write together. Every weekend they’d meet to write..and they loved to perform it aloud. Now..both graduated from college..one is a Chef and the other teaches English.
Finally… to be a good writer, you have to Lighten up. Stop worrying about how it’s going to look or sound and just write! Stop judging your ideas as soon as they come out of your head.
Last year…What if Jonah had been born at the same time as Elvis.. What if God picked a Harley rider to sneak into Jonah’s bedroom at night and tell him he had to go to Russia? What if Jonah didn’t want to go so he got a job on a cruise ship…then got tossed overboard and swallowed by a whale? Crazy idea! It worked! This year.. David.. pitched for the Chicago Cubs.. series.. Yankees’ slugger: Goliath
Here are some of the weights you carry around…little voices that say: “Oh, it won’t be good enough.” “They’ll probably laugh at me.” “I can’t spell.” “I can never remember where to put the commas.” “It might not be perfect.” Loosen up! Stop being so serious about everything! MATT: BARITONE
---Stop writing you’re afraid of making a mistake and write because it’s fun! --Eat more ice cream. --Go barefoot more often. --wear your underwear backwards for entire day. Only you will know… ---Walk up to the biggest grouch you know and say, “I just want you to know that I feel great!”.. bother them all day. --Next time at McDonnald’s.. “Have a nice day” ask them why --When you write, don’t worry so much about who you’re trying to please..chances are, if you like it, other people will too. HINEY THE MULE.
You want to be a writer? 1)Write what you know about 2) Get interested in people. 3) Get an audience.. 4) Lighten up!
Questions?
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