Writing Together

Muppets Take Manhattan... a packed midnight screening is more than enough inspiration to keep writing.


I’m co-writing this amazing Kids Fringe show, “Rock Time, 2009” with my friend and co-producer Renee. Writing with a pal is so interesting and kind of lovely. I’m an extrovert by nature so whenever I write something anyway I need to go hang out with other people and just talk and talk my way through whatever I’m writing then go do it. If there are no people around, I tape myself with a recorder and edit from there.

With a partner, you can just talk it out as you go.

My poor friends have been exposed to my blabbers lots, and the good ones let me hash out everything from short form educational preschool ideas all the way to feature ideas. Alison, my friend who I teach scriptwriting to children with is great for this. She usually eats or drinks a tea while I tell her these things. I’m a lucky girl in that department.

With a writing partner, it’s nice too, because you’ll have an idea and then she can confirm it or go “what?” and vice versa, and I think this process at least keeps us somewhat in line when we’re writing.

I’ve been in a real production mood lately. I’ve taken to getting up at 6am and writing stuff for my portfolio in the silence of the morning until it’s time to go to work. It’s been better for me than trying to stay up late at night. There’s something lovely about waking up and bringing creative thoughts to life before the day begins. The grogginess causes me to focus and the hour of the day itself pulls away distractions (most pals aren’t on gmail chat, twitter, facebook etc. at 6am because they are sleeping!)

There’s talk about me and my amazing pal Abbey who is a writer in LA maybe being able to go write for a whole weekend at her parent’s house in Michigan and us getting some more spec scripts done as well as an original we’re working on for a series we’d like to pitch next year. Ahhh my dream vacation exists!

When and how do you get most of your writing done?

Just this.

Feast or Famine

Sometimes when my life gets really busy and I’m doing eighty million things at once and doing a great job at all of them but not doing a great job of sleeping, I have to remind myself my industry is all feast or famine.

My life goes in waves, from “WTF NOW” to “PLATE OVERLOADED” and it’s pretty ridiculous.

The idea of “Feast or Famine” helps me get through these plate-overloaded times. I go “sure I’ve slept 6 hours last night and am giving my last ounce of energy to a crowded cabaret with a puppet performance piece at 1 in the morning, but this is what I lust for when I’m in a period of famine.”

This feast is pretty great.

Guilty Pleasure Fridays! "Anthropologie!"

Hey all! What a week! I’m back! Back to making children’s television ideas happen, writing children’s theatre, teaching scriptwriting to kids, working at my fantastic job, doing comedy and now I’m even back on to my guilty pleasure indulgences!

So while in New York, I was walking to get places (that’s what you do in New York!) and I passed, “Anthropologie”.

Anthropologie is one of my favourite stores ever, because they have clothes that look good out on the prairies or in the big city, and those are my two stomping grounds!

Also, they have beautiful stores, and all of their clothes are all detailed and nice feeling, it’s a very tactile store. The best is the sale area, where I just scour for a half hour looking for my size and then going to try the whole mess on in dressing rooms where they write your name on the door and go,

“How’s it fitting Kristen!?”

Oh man! So super great. If you are going to the United States, I can also tell you where you can find an Anthropologie. My dear friend and coworker Stefani was heading to Vegas and found out her fiancée was going to be at some poker tournament in Caesars’ Palace, and I was like “Anthropologie is at Forum Shops at Caesars’ Palace.”

Just like a little rolodex. Obviously their marketing is working for me.

The only bad part about this place is the prices… Everything is expensive, and it causes me to justify things in my life to buy this, “I didn’t pay for a hotel room while in NYC, so then I can obviously afford this dress!”

Oh so pretty. If you’re wondering, yes I did get a dress. Jim’s sister is getting married and I had to get one, so I figured I might as well get it at a place that offers me enough guilty indulgence to merit a blog post about it!

What are your clothing guilty pleasures this Friday?

Blur!

I'm back from New York and Washington DC.

Now as I get back to my normal life, I have a whole new list of leads to pursue, people to follow up with and continue to network with, and more creative inspiration.

Now if I can just balance it all, I'll be top notch. And I will.

Let's make this happen!

Kristen on DNTO Podcast!

Hey Fantastic Readers!

Download the latest DNTO Podcast - Great Expectations and listen to my story about how I expected more out of my first day as a birthday party fairy princess.

Enjoy!

Dude '72

This picture has been giving me an insane amount of inspiration lately.

I'm co-writing a glam rock puppet musical for kids.

This will be amazing.

Guilty Pleasure Mondays! "7th Heaven!"

Okay, Guilty Pleasure Friday is showing its head on Monday. Let’s get over that!

Guilty Pleasure this Monday is….

7th Heaven and Pizza Hut!

When my darling boyfriend Jim was in Europe for the month of January, my friends Renee and Mike invited me over to their place to watch 7th Heaven.

In case you don’t know the show, basically it’s the adventures of Eric and Annie, a minister and his wife, and their five- eventually seven kids. Matt, Mary, Lucy, Simon, Ruthie (and Sam and David). They got into the show because Mike had to watch the show to notice product placement or something for his job.

When I first came over, I realized that I could have just played it cool… “What’s 7th Heaven?” but life is too short to be cool! During the opening credits of the first show we all watched together, I was able to fully recall the name of every actor that played every role, due to it playing on CTV when I was younger! YEAH!!

We ordered pizza and it’s basically the best night ever. Everybody loves the Rev the most. He’s always either putting someone in a chokehold or crying. Simon is always stirring up stuff and nobody likes him! Matt always takes the blame, and that basketball team is the worst influence for Mary! Phew. Good thing Lucy is a good kid who wants to help out at home. Ruthie beats to her own drum, which adds the perfect quirks! Oooh!

So while I was watching this, I thought about Jim, who grew up as a minister’s son… this must be Jim’s life growing up!”

Not being able to stand it anymore, promptly after he returned, Mike, Renee and I called up Pizza Hut and put on the 7th Heaven to see if Jim recognized his childhood.

Jim looked at the TV, shocked. “IT’S JUST LIKE MY CHILDHOOD!”

I beamed with pride and ate some more Pizza Hut and watched as Mary and Lucy got suspended for taking Tylenol at school.

The infamous to-do list!

So I always keep a journal. My journals over the last five years have gone from whimsical (think: dreams/ideas/drawings/thoughts) to practical (to-do lists/meeting notes/story pitch ideas/stuff to check out). I wonder why this is?

Why do I have no desire these days to write down anything dreamy?

Do I need to go on a vacation? My travel journals are filled with stories. They’re all just long big delightful to read stories, with cards from restaurants and train tickets glued in and written around. (see picture above: me in Barcelona on a solo dinner date to just write!)

But my day to day in my purse, write everything down so I don’t forget? Nothing.

One thing I’ve really started to enjoy, though I am wondering if it’s pulling me too far in the Business Kristen direction (the fun of maintaining the Business Lady/Artist dance!) is the to-do list.

Whenever I have time, I just let my mind explode. I write down everything. Important things like “Make sure the digital printing company has your stuff so you can get it printed by deadline” to “I think I should buy pink tights to go with my pink scarf.”

Then, when my mind is cleared, I flip to the back page of my journal, where every major project is listed. I start thinking… “What’s one more thing I can do to move these further along?” and then I list that in my to-do list.

After this, I sit at the edge of my bed and for however long, I work until I finish this list.

Then I can sleep.

Maybe the reason the whimsical journal is out and the practical journal is in, is the fact that to-do lists are like my dream oven… slowly turning them from ideas into reality for others to enjoy.

Obsessed!

When I was 11, there was this awful perfume every girl seemed to have a sample of called “Obsession.” It eventually became sold at our town's I.D.A in a complete gift set. Oh man.

At that age too, I remember being obsessed with so many things. Stickers, postcards, rocks, troll dolls, beanie babies, directing plays… My obsessions later developed into more wild and obscure things, such as “Las Vegas” and “Street Performing.”

One year my obsessions even made the Christmas letter! “Kristen is obsessed with the colour teal and cows.”

And yet, yesterday Alison and I chose the question for our class (we always do a “getting to know you” session at the beginning since writing is such a solitary practice),

“What are you obsessed with?”

I couldn’t think of a thing!

Me!? The crazy creative kid with tones of hobbies and interests couldn’t think of just a thing to be obsessed with?

“My hockey pool” said my friend Gary, when I asked him the question.

Alison was able to figure something out. “Baking” she said, “I’m obsessed with baking.” For some reason our students laughed at that answer when she admitted it.

Our students are obsessed with Twilight, vampires, reading for fun and Hannah Montana.

Oh man. What do I say?

“I am obsessed with being a good comedian!”
“I am obsessed with clowning!”
“I am obsessed with scriptwriting for children’s television!”
“I am obsessed with puppetry!”

“I am obsessed with producing a children’s television show and seeing it go to air”. Is what I finally said. Oh man. What a weird obsession.

Leaves me wondering, when did I lose that bit of me that likes to obsess over random, material objects? Maybe it will come back? When did obsessions like Trolls become obsessions over career aspirations?

Maybe when I started paying rent.