GOTHAM NOVELIST

What's black and white and red all over??

2008-05-12T09:56:00.000-07:00

I've started posting first person pieces on Associated Content here: http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/167155/dee_sarris.html

Pizza Party in the Luberon

2008-04-25T08:26:00.000-07:00

I don't know if it gets much better than this -- me and George parked on the side of the road in the beautiful South of France -- with a bottle of Rose and wood-fired pizza.

Bonjour from Aix-En-Provence, France

2008-04-24T09:59:00.000-07:00

Watch our 'LIVE FROM PROVENCE' Cooking Shows!

Bonjour Paris!

2008-03-07T14:26:00.000-08:00

George has put together this great little honeymoon website, with links to our Paris/Provence/Monaco hotels:

Our wedding/honeymoon site.

Being schooled by Goddess Julia Cameron

2008-02-12T17:28:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is totally huge for me. I'm getting to be in a class room for like two hours with the woman I adore most in this world -- Julia Cameron.

I have wished and dreamed and prayed about this day. She is my rock star, and now I'm going down to the New York Open Center in the Village every Wednesday for her 'unblocking' class -- it's meant to get to the bottom of it, darnit, for once and all -- we're going to try to find my writing voice.

Or at least that's what I think. She might have other ideas, after all, I do have other class mates. George thinks I should get a seat up front and I'm thinking, 'you want me to be teacher's pet. No way.' But then again, I will act like a huge dork in front of this woman, just because I'm so in awe of her genius. (The pic was taken at her book signing at the Barnes and Noble -- Broadway/UWS -- Jan. 2008)

Freezing Cab Stealers

2008-02-11T15:42:00.000-08:00

74th and Broadway Starbucks -- It's the kind of cold today where people don't even take off their coats inside. (We're waiting for the afternoon, thinking it might reach 30 degrees.)

This morning during rush hour I forgot how hard a cab is to come by -- especially around Columbus Circle.

I noticed a guy in a business suit holding a briefcase behind me looking a little miffed, particularly at me. He said, 'There's a line." As far as I could tell, he was the only one.

What he really meant was that the next cab was his and I'd better know that MISSY. I looked back to the oncoming traffic and said to myself, I'm actually going to say something to this guy.

"There's no line," I replied. I also wanted to say, "You must not be from New York," but I didn't. I wonder if he knows it's just a free for all up here.

(By the way, I did later discover all the different cab waiting rules after sharing this little episode with my fiance who has lived in New York City his entire life. Apparently, there are special ways to treat ladies getting cabs if you are any kind of gentleman.)

You cannot buy your way out of Manhattan jury duty

2008-02-10T13:31:00.000-08:00

George (my fiance) has jury duty tomorrow, so I'm planning a day of getting things done I need to get done -- like a passport for our trip to Europe this summer.

He's been trying to hold off on this whole jury duty thing since he got his first request to appear in 2004, before I'd ever met him.

"I didn't as much as go down there and pull that voting booth pully and they were sending me the summons to appear." He said this as we were standing in our hallway. (I actually think there was a story about voter participation blaring on the television.)

He said he wrote them several letters over the years.

"I was busy organizing the largest comedy festival in NYC for goodness sake, what do they want. Geez." He wanted to know why they couldn't just hold off a little while longer.

But the summons to appear just kept coming. Finally, sometime around Dec. 2007, at least three years after the first notice, he just got out a pen and wrote them a check for $250 -- thinking that would put an end to it. He was tired of being tortured.

"Three years!" I exclaimed. "Are you serious?" I was thinking about California and how those people tracked me down in Texas for parking tickets. I figured it was a possible situation.

Not two weeks later the check comes back. It's got a line through the check, like their little symbol for 'voided.' There was also a letter attached, totally mechanical, with a check mark next to an explanation of why the check wouldn't work. Then something like, 'you must appear in the next ten days or....'

"We gotta go down there or, I swear, they are probably going to put me in jail." He said it jokingly, but we both knew there was a possibility there might be a little bit of truth in it.

So, on a Monday this past January we got our butts down to the courts building downtown. I even got frisked and searched going through the security detail.

We were directed to a room in the back of the building the size of six classrooms, mostly filled with city worker cubicles. The guy parked in front of the door to get people to the right places didn't need to hear our story. He just looked at our paper and told us to have a seat.

This was 10 on a Monday. No one was there but us. Ten seconds after sitting down in the waiting chairs we get called by name over to a woman at her cube. George took her 'visitor' seat and I stood right next to him for support. We weren't sure what was going to happen. I kept teasing him that I might be the only one leaving the building. (He actually did not think this was funny.)

He started talking rapid fire as if getting out the story faster would somehow help. She knew his case (apparently the whole thing is detailed in the computer system and she had looked before we got over to her cube.)

She was already on to B and C. George wasn't going to get a buy this time.

"Sir," she said, holding up the check, 'you cannot buy your way out of jury duty...Even Mr. Bloomberg serves."

She tore up the check and I felt great knowing that we'd just saved $250.

"When would you like to serve?" She asked. (By the way...she did not seem a bit rushed to do anything.)

She then got out a calendar and let us look at dates. We chose February knowing we'd be back from Austin by then. She logged it in her computer system and gave us a reminder note. And I took it. I wasn't about to let that get lost.

We left the building like little kids getting out for recess -- truly astonished that we couldn't just throw money at it.

I told George last night it'd probably be a one day thing and it'd be all over. And he's just praying it's not a three-month deal. He truly thinks that he might be punished with a long trial, but I think he's paid the City of New York with his time -- and I think the karma is going to go his way on this one.

My Writing Clips

2007-11-07T07:32:00.000-08:00

Blog entry for Corporate Client (March 2007, Atlanta)

Advice Article / How-To (Oct. 2006, NYC)

Creative Exercise (March 2006, NYC)

Web Site Content (April 2005, NYC)

HOT YOGA

2007-09-14T19:45:00.000-07:00

My very first HOT YOGA class in Atlanta --

"Welcome," she said. "We are working in a room tonight heated to 105 degrees. Let's begin."
I know I panicked. I was going to be the one carted out -- the only one in the history of the HOT yoga school to leave in the first few sequences.
I thought about her informing my ambulance driver:
"I saw her face get really red and then she just left all her senses. Went down really clumsy. She chirped. It was really weird."
The class would talk about how I was the idiotic imbecile who didn't know limits.
I can remember thinking of my smoker friends. They would have definitely died.

MY second HOT YOGA class --
I went back for a second class. This time Phil instructed in a Chicago Cubs t-shirt and biking shorts. He corrected several of my poses and I'm sure he thinks I'm an idiot after he told me twice to place my left hand on my left thigh -- that it actually took three times and him to actually come over and place it there for me -- I'm sure he thinks I'm a screwball. Anyway...it is a heated room and you do lose your mind -- in a good way :)

Live your full potential!

2007-09-11T07:47:00.000-07:00

From Deepak Chopra's 'The Seven Spiritual Laws'...
1.) Sit alone in silent meditation every day to get through the turbulence.
2.) Commune with nature each and every day.
3.) Say, 'Today, I shall judge nothing that occurs.'

Thinking about ideas

2007-07-14T19:38:00.000-07:00

Just finished reading Joey Reiman's "Thinking For A Living." Reiman owns an 'ideation company' based in Atlanta. People pay him lots and lots of money for just his thinking.

Blog Entry for Corporate Client

2007-04-28T17:43:00.000-07:00

What I'm Reading

2007-04-28T17:31:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I picked up The New York Times Magazine and discovered the writing of Martin Amis and his father, Kingsley. So now I'm reading 'Money' by Martin. Next up is 'Lucky Jim.'

Toyotas rule

2007-02-20T07:57:00.000-08:00

I've gone from a Tercel to a Corolla to a 4Runner. Mainly because I hardly ever have any problems with these cars and probably because I always get a nice call from the sales center -- that sounds really genuine -- asking me questions so that they can improve their service. It's the committment to process improvement -- it's a humble nature that I love. This story that ran last weekend in The New York Times Magazine confirms this.

Gapingvoid.com

2007-02-03T23:12:00.000-08:00

This world travels very fast, opinions change quickly – and the interfaces of websites should keep up with this pace. Be fast with new messages, shine them brightly, often.

Tonight I spent a lot of time on: http://www.gapingvoid.com/. And that got me thinking...

What's this new blogger stuff

2007-01-26T19:08:00.000-08:00

Has Goggle purchased Blogger and I just haven't gotten around to reading about it yet? Well...anyway...i've gotta learn moveabletype anyway...learn about themes and such.

New Year's Resolutions...

2006-12-17T13:36:00.000-08:00

Before you make any New Year's Resolutions, I beg you, watch 'The Secret': www.thesecret.tv

My first pass at a bio

2006-11-17T12:31:00.000-08:00

Danielle Schulman oversees the day-to-day operations of Wieck Media, which specializes in Web delivery of multimedia files to media organizations worldwide.

Schulman was recruited into Wieck in July 2006 from AdWeek’s top interactive agency in New York City, OgilvyInteractive.

At OgilvyInteractive she led designers, developers and strategists in creating and delivering interactive projects for Fortune 500 clients in the Pharmaceutical (Cialis.com), Technology (Cisco.com) and Entertainment industries (SixFlags.com).

Under her leadership a strategy was successfully executed that allowed Mead Johnson a way to target audience segments at Enfamil.com with tailored marketing messages.

Overall, the cases she built at OgilvyInteractive resulted in clients increasing their allocation of interactive spending by $700K+.

Prior to OgilvyInteractive, at the Belo Corporation, one of the largest U.S. media companies, Schulman led cross-functional teams developing best of breed sites for news and information distribution. She was tapped to lead BeloInteractive's most aggressive effort to improve user experience across their online network.

Belo promoted her in 2003, to oversee the editorial operations of the company’s online news leader in North Carolina (WCNC.com). Under her leadership, her team realized first-time profitability and increases in user traffic to the site by over 177%.

Prior to Belo she reported on municipal government and schools for The Weatherford Democrat in Parker County, Texas.

She holds a B.A. in Communications from Mills College in Oakland, Calif., the oldest women’s college on the West Coast. In addition, she is an M.B.A. candidate at the University of Texas at Dallas.

She is also a proud recipient of the ‘finisher’s award’ from the 2000 Dallas White Rock Marathon.

READ

2006-11-14T18:37:00.000-08:00

Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for Those Who Love Books and Those Who Want to Write Them by Francine Prose

Trying to write your first novel

2006-10-01T10:48:00.000-07:00

Here’s some helpful advice…
By Danielle Schulman

What counts is the process and not the result
You will write the first chapter and it will suck. Just count on it. But instead of going back and reading it, leave it and move on. Let the first chapter rest and go back to it after you’ve gotten practice on chapters two and three. As you go along in your writing you learn and get stronger. Each is a building block. Not only that but by the time you finish three you’ll be geared up and ready to make some dramatic edits and changes to your copy. Movement creates energy.

You need support, but who to trust
All creatives need support and someone to cheer them on. Be selective. I know that sounds simple, but friends with the best intentions will often try to tear it apart. They are jealous you are beginning a wonderful, creative discovery. Or they’ll throw too much constructive criticism your way you’ll get overwhelmed and quit.
You want someone who simply says, “I loved it. Keep going. I want to see more.” That’s what my mother did, even though I knew my stuff sucked. But that made me go on. And what I realized later is that that is most important in embarking on your first novel. When you finalize your manuscript, that’s when you can send it to an editor that is not a friend – and you pay for the service of them ripping you apart.

Do not write with audience in mind
Do not write any of your novel with an audience in mind or friends who might be willing to read it and cheer you on. You will hurt yourself in the end. I know, a lot of these books on how to publish tell you should think about this so you can market yourself. But this is crap. If your story is creative enough and unique enough – and this can only be achieved if you let yourself just go without any restrictions – everyone will want to publish you. And plus, your readers will trust you and that’s what you want.

But I don’t know about plot or characterization
Write. I repeat write. You’ll stop before you get started if you think about the outcome being ‘a story.’ I started with a story about a woman who just wanted to get revenge on an old lover. Half way through I was just making notes to myself about things I needed to mention so the end would make sense and I hit upon another part of the story that would make it much more unique – and probably more marketable. So make notes, write notes about dialogue you want your characters to have. Work out their motivations. And you don’t have to do this in the beginning. Often I would write and I would stop, open a new word document and just blab about this or that…

Writing at Housing Works Used Books -- Soho

2006-03-19T18:23:00.000-08:00

I have the most amazing writing friend. Supportive and completely beautiful. We met this Sunday at this little place in Soho – The Housing Works Used Book Cafe (All proceeds fund Aids Research).

We spent the first thirty minutes browsing the store and then headed to a small bistro table upstairs. We wrote for an hour.

Here’s what I came up with. This was from the first timed exercise. 15 minutes off the word 'door':

“There were several closets, mismatched, adorning a little siesta of an adobe hut thirty minutes west of Sante Fe. She had wondered if Ms. Molly or Anita or maybe what’s her name with the beautiful flowers Georgia O’Keefe had eyed the place. She could never plant flowers. It was the writing place where birds sang and tadpoles found life on paperbacks and the idea box overflowed with items that would see only the darkness of the box as it was shut every morning.
Where had all those ideas come from? From lovers trying to sort through those misses. They were always misses until they were over and then they were tied perfectly with a closure bow, a nice, red and white ribbon perfectly glossed and tied. And then it was time to move on.”

Also a timed exercise off the word ‘Lafayette’:

“New Orleans that swinging city she didn’t want to remember the current present but how about that present way back when when she discovered beignets and a powered sugar sneeze, the closeness of those bistro tables scraping the ground and the energy that kicked back up into the air. When the tables came up for auction, she bought three and arranged them in a mini-setting on her wrought-iron-laced patio.”

After that timed writing, Julia and I were tired of pulling words from books so we settled on a woman working the bag check at the front of the store. Julia said this was my best stuff of the day:

“Her name is Julie with sweet, long, luscious strawberry red hair past her shoulders, straight all around her face, nothing wild except a mismatched sweater and shirt set meant to say, ‘I’m an artist.’ She makes her living on her feet stamping used books, assigning tags to bags for safekeeping. She’s a writer which makes sense. She’s economical.

She’s not a writer working as a mechanic. But maybe that would be better. To struggle with pipes and learn the system of an engine to understand the moving parts to watch for the intersections. Certainly she can do that in a bookstore.

The click of dispensing stickers on books. How does she feel about pricing words? I want inside her head, but she is too complicated. Knowing her for even thirty years you would never know. Even as she writes, observes, she will change twenty times in one day.

Pointy. She is very pointy, long. Long and pointy nose in cream white with a delicate light face framed with the strawberry hair.

How many times a day does she stop to caress the back of a cover, trace the testimonial of someone great, believe in their inspiration, their coup that the literary world is a shamble? How long does she have to struggle? What has she written and how much can she make on her words?

From one writer to another, how do you suck enough life out of your love to get it to sustain you?

I salute you because you’ve figured it out with your sweet strawberry stripes and blue running your skirt lengthwise.

Do you like Chekov? Or are you closer to Sedaris? What was your first book? Did your parents read to you? Was there a library in the house? Were you a fan of Sweet Valley High and did your parents tell you it was crap?

Personal Accountability

2005-06-01T11:12:00.000-07:00

The girl who didn't show up for her wedding and ended up half way across the country claiming she was kidnapped is going to have to pay for the city's search resources. Thank goodness. Can you say accountability?

Web site content for NYC Underground Comedy Festival

2005-04-27T19:11:00.000-07:00