When I say beware the middle I'm not talking about the infamous second act desert in screenwriting. Screw that. You can take that middle act and, well, tell it to stay the hell off my lawn and if I ever catch it there again, I'll take it's ball. And when the middle act is crying and screaming about how unfair I am, its mother will come over to try and make peace. Oh yes, I'll invite her in for coffee while the poor middle act has to wait out on my porch and watch through the screen door and through its own tears as I feed its mother my best bourbon, telling her that "kids will be kids."

I will do this. But that's not what I'm talking about.

I'm talking about the middle of your career as a writer.

The third act of a successful writing career -- something very few live to see -- is that wonderful place where everything comes together and you get to call the shots. You're U2 and you can release Zooropa if you want. Go ahead.

The middle -- and not many make it here either -- is where you risk losing patience in getting to the end and start to do what other people want you to do. For some, this is a joy and an end in itself, especially if those people calling the shots are studio executives or high-powered literary agents.

Where this tip turns into a full-fledged tip is in the beginning of your career. DO NOT try and write what others want or tell you. That's a lot of chasing tail. And that's what the middle is for, when you have already stated your case as a writer. If you're writing a spec script or your first novel, it better be 100% you -- because now is the time. Now is the time when you don't have to listen to anyone tell you how it's not going to play in the fly-over states. All you want to do, is make connections and establish yourself as a writer ... a writer of good stuff, not half-assed shit that you think everyone might want to read.

That's for the middle. And when you reach that point, stay the hell off my lawn.

Labels: writers' tips