Traveling for Peace

I've started exploring my travel options for Everyday Peacemakers. There's a lot of travel required to finish researching for this book.  

OFF THE RECORD: I don't really love flying. In fact, I intensely dislike it, but it's a means to an end.

So I'd like to begin in Costa Rica, where I'll meet with Rita Marie and her colleagues. More importantly, I'll get to see her work up close.  We've spoken over the phone.  Rita Marie is remarkably forthcoming about personal events in her life that motivate her to work for peace. The TX native founded two non-profit organizations in Costa Rica to teach kids & adults peacemaking methods.  She swears by the program, and I want to see it in action.  

Also, I want to feel what it's like to be in a nation with no military.   Can you imagine?

Thanks for dreaming with me.  Hopefully, in the not too distant future, we'll all be able to hold a book called Everyday Peacemakers in our hands, sit in our favorite comfy spot with a cup of tea or cocoa, and read about Rita Marie.

Book Trailers & Other Self-Promotional Videos

Someone sent me a link to their book trailer via twitter last night.  Or at least I thought it was a book trailer while I was watching it.  The images seemed totally disjointed from the text scrolling across the screen, and the music, while evocative, was also unconnected to the text and images.  It turns out the trailer I was watching was an advertisement for a self-help writing program.  Interesting idea, poorly executed in my opinion.

Off the Record:  If you're going to put a self-promotional video online, make sure the message is clear!

I think the message is clear in the self-promotional video I produced last week to raise funds via kickstarter.com.  You can see it here:  http://kck.st/yHWJiE

I posted a comment about this on my linked In writer's group.  Someone responded:

"One of the issues I've had is trying to find cheap background music that will fit the theme - I think I've got one now off of Incompetech, but it took a lot of searching. I also just created my first totally original animated .gif! Fun! But I am worried about it coming out just a bunch of images and music...so what makes a trailer good & what makes it suck?"

My answer:  

The trailer has to make sense, the way a movie trailer does. It gives you a taste of the storyline, without revealing too much. A good book trailer hits on the central conflict of the actual book. The book trailer must be compelling in its own right. The music should fit the tone of the book and, in my opinion, the protagonist's character. 

Here are a couple of great examples.  The first is for a memoir; the second is for a YA fiction book.

  

TRASHIONISTAS PART...?

In answer to the last post: YES!  I am back into the dumpster! (...well, not literally.  I just clean my food wrappers, fabric scraps & odd bits &  save them for art projects.  I don't dumpster dive.  People who know me know I'm a wee bit too squeamish and pre-occupied with cleanliness to crawl, dive or even reach into a vessel filled with refuse.)  The point here is that TRASHION will reign in my small town again for one glorious night.

Since joining the Local Cultural Council, I've had opportunity to foster all sorts of artsy fartsy activities.  When we realized we had some extra cash in our coffers, I humbly suggested my peers consider the idea of holding a trashion/re-fashion ball.  To my amazement, they agreed without even batting an eye.  (Realize, this is a somewhat conservative small town in Massachusetts, folks, not Brooklyn or New Haven).  

So... we booked a DJ, booked a space, put out a call to all locals to save their trash, and have begun collecting prizes from local biz for the most glamorous, silliest, and creative costumes.  We will have a community trashion creation event prior to the dance, for those folks who'd rather not surf these wild waters alone.  Food, dressing rooms, extra duct tape, safety pins, and contact paper...  it's not too much work, and we're looking forward to having a ton of fun.  

OFF THE RECORD:  I already made some barrettes from magazine pages.  And today I bought an extra large bag of rice.  We will eat all that rice eventually, and the bag will make a nice base for my flapper dress.   I'm inspired by the many trashionistas who have gone before me, and who are devoting their entire artistic lives to this art form now.  

Check out this video of an intense fabric scrap recycling process. This is not just fashion; it's engineering!

Trashionistas recycled

Packaging and printed material comprise nearly 40 percent of the U.S. municipal solid waste stream.  ~ Product Stewardship Institute


Writing about electronic waste for Environmental Management magazine a few years ago inspired me to start the Concsious Cow blog, as well as to hold a trash fashion party for my daughter and her friends.  We made all sorts of fashion-somewhat-forward outfits from recycled packaging, newspapers, fabric scraps and duct tape.  (see the Trashonistas photo in the sidebar).


I was recently asked to hold a trash fashion workshop at our local craft center.  Initially, I said no, but reading the email from PSI today has me rethinking this.  


Off the Record: my sewing skills are seriously lacking, but I can do a lot with duct tape.  Maybe it's time to get trashy again - and have some fun with my local peeps, making trash into trashion.  More news later.

Disconnects stymie Mass. STEM agenda - Mass High Tech Business News

Off the record: my tech skills are so pathetic, I often describe myself as a "technidiot." (eg. I needed someone to show me how to change my profile pic on Facebook).

Just because I'm not a techie doesn't mean I can't write about it. Is there a disconnect there? Nope. It's called research. It's through copious research that I am able to produce a new issue of the educational webzine, "STEM matters" every trimester. I'm grateful to the Office of School Partnerships at UMass Lowell for giving me the opportunity to do this fulfilling and fun work and grateful to MA legislators for pushing the STEM agenda that necessitates this work (and, more importantly, will benefit our children).

Last month, I attended the MA state STEM summit, a meeting of over 650 people from preK-16 education, legislators and business people involved in science, tech, engineering and math. My response to this all-day event is here, at the Mass High Tech Business News blog.

Disconnects stymie Mass. STEM agenda - Mass High Tech Business News

I'd love your feedback!

Jordan Hospital Breast Health Center Video

OFF THE RECORD:  I slipped into journalism, branding and book editing through a side door - screenwriting.

Recently, I got to use the screenwriting skills I honed at Yale and in Hollywood to help other women!   

For this  joint project with RA Vision Productions, I stayed present to the emotional and physical health of women affected by breast abnormalities.

The video will be online soon at Jordan Hospital Breast Health Center's website.  Stay tuned!

TIPS FOR WORKING WITH A WRITER, Part 2: feedback

OFF THE RECORD:  Hiring a writer to handle your business communications isn't always a passive process.  If you've hired a great writer, you should feel comfortable enough to set her free to work her magic on your business communications.  Even still, you'll need to read the copy and provide appropriate feedback.  This can be tricky.

If you are not 100% satisfied with the work, don’t presume the writer didn’t take your project seriously.  The strong writer mulls over every single word she puts on the page. 

When you offer your feedback, forget comments like, “I don’t get it,” or “I don’t like it.”  This type of feedback is not specific enough to help the writer.  Instead provide feedback that steers the writer in the direction you need her to go.  How do you do that?

If you question the use of a word or phrase, ask yourself what you are reacting to.  Consider the following:

• ·      Do the tone, style, and substance match your other promotional materials?  
• ·      Is the writer misusing or not using a term specific to your industry?

If the tone, style and substance are off kilter:

1. ·      Show the writer the Creative Brief generated during your most recent branding session.   (If you don’t have a Creative Brief, click here to read my previous blog post about the Creative Briefing process. When you’re done branding call the writer back to finish your copywriting.)
2. ·      Show the writer other promotional materials that were the outgrowth of your branding session.

If key industry-specific terms are missing from the copy or misused within the copy, simply elucidate this to the writer.  Every industry has its own terms or way of using common terms that differs from other business sectors.  A strong writer will be able to “translate” industry language so that your materials will be easily understood by your primary audience.  You can help her by providing the information she needs to translate your industry’s lingo into lay terms.  

In my next post, I'll share my thoughts about who gets the final say in editing.