Monday, January 22, 2024

Writing What I Know

Every writer has a perspective. A way of seeing the world. I read, a long time ago, that comedy writers have a skewed way of looking at things. I believe this.

Anyway, it's easiest to write about something you know. What do I know? Well, I've worked in offices through all of my career. I know about co-workers, bosses, job interviews, salary negotiations, getting hired, getting fired. These memories are what I write about when I need ideas for business gags.

I've been married for a long time. I know about dating, getting married, having children, balancing career and family, arguments and downright fights. I draw from all of this to write gags about families and relationships.

I'm not the world's best cook. I have accidents in the kitchen. I write a lot of gags about kitchen disasters, meals that have no taste, recipes calling for too many ingredients and so on. My food and cooking-related gags come from my own experience.

What else do I write about? I write about not being computer-literate. I'm sure we were the last family on the block that bought a microwave. My husband and I still use flip phones. We get our TV programs through a roof antenna. I still call people. I still read a newspaper every day. I make fun of myself because I know I'm living in another era.

I guess you could say I write self-deprecating humor. I am my best subject.

Any comments? Email me at: gagsbyhelene@gmail.com.








Monday, January 15, 2024

"How I Taught Myself To Write Gags for Single-Panel Cartoons

My full-time career was in print advertising sales. I worked for several newspapers over the years, mostly in advertising, but also in features, mostly writing calendar of events listings. Anyway, newspapers is where I was and still am the most comfortable.

At the same time, I was always interested in humor. About 25 or so years ago I started writing one-liners for comedians, broadcasters and public speakers in addition to my advertising job. After writing hundreds (or thousands) of these, one day I realized that this particular one-liner that I had just written could be illustrated and make a single-panel cartoon. Knowing that I can't draw, I knew I would have to collaborate with people who could. I started studying cartoons, specifically the ones in the New Yorker. 

I obtained New Yorker cartoon collections from the library, showing cartoons going back to 1925, the year the magazine started publishing. These collections became my textbooks. I found out what situations were common, such as the desert island, heaven's gatekeeper, jail, husband and wife (relationships), gurus on mountaintops, the Grim Reaper, the Desert Crawler. I also studied the tone of the cartoons, how sophisticated they were. I also learned how to write captions: short, sweet and to the point.

I wrote and still write a lot of business gags, so I also studied cartoons in the Wall Street Journal, Barron's, Harvard Business Review and Reader's Digest.

This is how I learned how to come up with ideas and captions for single-panel gag cartoons. Later on, I found out how to write multi-panel cartoons, such as "Dennis the Menace" on Sunday. (Start with a strong punchline, and work back).

I hope this gives you some idea of how my writing career evolved. I'm still learning.

Comments? Write to me at: gagsbyhelene@gmail.com.

Have a good week!




 



Monday, January 8, 2024

In Search of Inspiration

Sometimes I need something to keep me motivated to write. I keep scrapbooks of published cartoons which contain my gags. Periodically I add to this. I find it very motivating to go through these published cartoons occasionally. It reinforces the belief that I can do this, as I have done it in the past. Also, it shows me what worked, what was accepted, and what wound up in print.

I write a lot from personal experience. In some ways, going through these published cartoons is a journey down memory lane, as I remember certain incidents in my life and now see them in these published cartoons. I see this most clearly in my writing for The Lockhorns for the past 27 years and for Dennis the Menace for the past 18. Someday I hope my children will go through these scrapbooks and get a laugh from these cartoons, realizing that I write about myself and my husband. 

I also keep a folder containing copies of positive emails I've received from cartoonists I work with, informing me about sales to The New Yorker or other publications. Reading through these emails is positive reinforcement for me, showing my successes and signaling to me that I can do it again.  

Any comments? Email me at: gagsbyhelene@gmail.com.

Happy Monday!


 


Monday, January 1, 2024

Writing Down Goals for the New Year

 At the end of every year, I write down a list of goals for the new year as it pertains to my writing. A few days ago I did just that.

Here's a list of some of the goals I set for 2024:

I wrote down who I'm sending gags to, how many gags I'm going to send them and how often, plus I set a goal for myself as far as the money I intend to receive from these sales. 

Since I have spoken to the public about my gag writing and thoroughly enjoy doing so, I wrote down which groups I plan to speak to this year, either solo or as part of a panel discussion. I really like being part of a panel discussion and I intend to do that in 2024.

I thoroughly enjoy networking and understand the value of it in this line of work. As I've said before, it's extremely important to make contacts with people who can hire you. I work alone, as most writers and cartoonists do, and I need to let people know what I do. Thus, in my list of goals for 2024, I wrote down specific events I wish to attend this coming year, such as the MOCCA Fest.

I also attend National Cartoonists Society events and included the plan to attend their local events on my list. 

(One of the items in my list of goals is to get back into the routine of writing this blog every week. So far, so good.)

I wrote down publications I plan to read on a regular basis in 2024, such as the New York Times, Newsday and the Wall Street Journal. I also wrote down news sources I read on a regular basis, such as cnn.com and nbcnews.com. 

Because I slant a great deal of my writing for the New Yorker, I wrote down that I plan to read Michael Maslin's blog, Inkspill, every day, which gives news concerning New Yorker cartoonists, such as awards received, new books, book signings, etc. Very helpful information.

Finally, I listed specific goals for myself, such as finding additional cartoonists and strips to write for in the new year.

Putting these goals down on paper is very helpful to me. It focuses me. As a writer, it's easy for me to put this on paper, and yes, I actually write these goals on pieces of paper. I know - I live in another era. 





 

Monday, May 15, 2023

The Importance of Having a Routine

 I believe it's really important to establish a routine as a writer. You can't just write when you feel like it and gain any type of success.

For me, I wake up around 6:15, eat, dress, watch TV news and get to my desk by 7:30 on most days. I start by turning on the computer, checking emails and catching up with the news on various websites. If I'm on schedule to send gags to someone that I've already put together in a batch, I send them off right away so that I know it's done. Then I read my local newspaper, Newsday, (I still read newspapers) plus the New York Times. I get plenty of ideas by reading news and features. As I'm reading I'm writing down words, phrases and ideas that I will use in my gag writing. After I've written down lots of ideas and random words and phrases, I begin writing gags and then I type up what I've written. 

If I'm writing business gags that day, I might read the Wall Street Journal online. Sometimes I take out books from the library (yes, I use the library!) about business trends and get ideas this way. I also look at published business gags online to get the creative juices flowing. If I'm trying to write gags about cooking, for example, I might read cookbooks (also checked out from a library) to pick up phrases that I can use in my writing.

I'm a big watcher of TV news. I watch local and national news programs, sometimes just to get the headlines, at breakfast, lunch, just before dinner, after dinner, and if I can stay up that late, just before bed.

I write for about five cartoonists right now. I have a regular schedule as to whom I'm writing for on any given day, who I'm compiling gags for, and who I'm sending gags to, either by snail mail or email.

Oh, and did I mention that I write to-do lists for each day and cross off items as they're completed? 

Did I also mention that I check my mailbox multiple times a day to see if the mail arrived, hopefully with a check inside? I usually stop "working" for the day, at my desk, at about 4:30 or 5pm., at which point I can't think straight.

This regular routine is really important to me. There is a structure to what I do and I think this is really important to being productive.

Finally, a writer is constantly formulating ideas. The habit of doing that doesn't stop at 5pm or on the weekends. You have to observe people, the world around you, and, for me, look at myself as a great source of humor. I also have to remember to write things down.


Wednesday, May 4, 2022

"Write What You Know Part II"

 Continuing on the theme of 'Write what you know" that I began last week, I'd like to share some more thoughts. 

When I talked about my experiences eating in restaurants, I spoke about high prices, inferior service and bad food. I also talked about waiting for a table, waiting for menus, waiting to place an order, waiting for the food to arrive, waiting for the check. In this post I'd like to talk about what I, the customer, am guilty of when eating out.

Sometimes I take too long to order. I often find typos on the menu.  Sometimes I ask stupid questions of the server. Sometimes my food arrives and I don't like what they served me. Sometimes I send it back. Sometimes I complain about the service, or the prices, or the quality of the food. Sometimes I find errors on the check. 

Sometimes I ask for my remaining food to be wrapped up and then I decide to include in the bag the rolls and butter left on the table. Sometimes I throw in some extra unused napkins. Sometimes I joke that we need salt and pepper at home and maybe I should help myself to the condiments.

All of this is the material for my cartoon gags. I use all of this, both real and imaginary. 

The more I eat out, the more material I have to write what I know.

Any comments on this or last week's blog? Email me at: gagsbyhelene@gmail.com.




Wednesday, April 27, 2022

"Write What You Know"

 Advice to writers often goes, 'Write what you know.' I agree it's much easier to write about a topic you know a lot about or have strong feelings about than something you can't relate to.


I like to write about eating out in restaurants. Fancy ones, hole-in-the-walls and everything in between. Maybe it's because I like to eat, but I do find that eating out is a situation that's ripe for humor. A lot of it has to do with waiting. And everything that could go wrong. Here are some of the rituals: waiting for a table, being shown to a table, getting a menu, reading the menu, deciding what to order from the menu, actually ordering, waiting for the food to arrive, eating the food, getting the check and paying the check.


Like I said, there are a lot of things that can go wrong when we go out to eat. (And ordering takeout is a totally different topic for another day). A lot of it has to do with waiting. You go into a restaurant, with no reservations, and many times you have to wait. Sometimes for a long time. Then you're finally shown to a table. Maybe you don't like where they seat you. It might be near the noisy kitchen, or the front door (where, in the winter, you get a shot of cold air every time someone enters), or a window with no shade, or in a room where all the tables are so packed in together that not only can't you hear the person you're seated with but you can't hear yourself think. 


You're seated. Then you wait for the server to bring you a menu. This could take a long time. When they finally arrive they ask if you want anything to drink. You say, 'Just ice water.' The ice water never arrives. Then you read the menu. The prices are very high! For some of us this is an issue. You finally order (maybe the cheapest thing on the menu) and then you wait. Sometimes for a very long time. You watch the server pass by with plates of food, but they're not for you! You keep your eyes on the kitchen door. Again the server comes out of the kitchen loaded with plates of food. You even clear a spot for the food. Those meals aren't for you, either. 


Then the food arrives! Maybe it's not what you ordered. Maybe it's what you ordered but it tastes funny. You have to find your server, who has disappeared, because it's not what you ordered, or it tastes funny and you don't want to eat it. The server finally comes over. You explain the issue. They take the food away. You order something else. Then you wait for that to arrive, while the person you're dining with has a plate of totally fine food in front of them, they're famished, and you say, 'It's OK. You go ahead and eat.' They say, 'No, I'll wait till you get your food.' It's an issue.


Your correct order finally arrives. Your companion has already finished their food. You finally finish your food and then you wait for the check to arrive. First, you have to find your server. When they arrive they'll ask if everything's ok and you'll be tempted to tell them that everything was not ok and just bring me the check. The check finally arrives and it's wrong. They overcharged you $2 for your sandwich and you want an adjustment. Now they have to take the check back and refigure the amount, or tell you that they gave you, by mistake,  the "old" menu to begin with and now your sandwich does cost $2 more.


Finally, after the check issue has been sorted out, you decide to pay the bill. You wait on line to pay the bill and decide to tell the cashier how everything went. There's a line of people waiting to pay so you feel guilty keeping them waiting.


These have been some of my experiences at restaurants. I have hundreds more. Write what you know? You can see how I can get plenty of material for cartoons when I eat out. Anyone hungry?