The Blog

Codes of Behaviour – Rule of Law – Power – QUOTA and the 2015 Warner International Playwrights Festival

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“All societies are based on codes of behaviour and when someone deviates from that code there has to be a way to handle the situation otherwise chaos would reign supreme and we don’t want that now do we. We want everything nice and tidy. All the socks in the sock drawer and all the undies in the undie drawer.”

That’s a line from my play QUOTA. It’s what Dave Dixon gets told by Kathie, the Civic Census taker, after he gets flagged for corrective action.

I wrote QUOTA last year while I was doing a little research about the internment camps that the Canadian government ran during World War One and World War Two. It’s always bothered me that we were fighting dictatorships that put people in camps while we were doing the same thing. Of course our camps weren’t concentration camps but once you have a different set of laws and rules applied to one group in your society – how do you keep it from going to the extreme?

Maybe you keep it from going to the extreme by making sure the rule of law applies to everyone equally regardless of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity.

Of course that’s only if you believe that everyone is equal. Not everyone believes this. And if you’ve seen Avenue Q you know that we’re all a little bit racist. We’re all human and we make assumptions and have distorted beliefs about people and sometimes we’re not even aware of our own prejudice. But that’s a lot different than laws being enforced by a government that are intended to limit the rights and freedoms of a particular group simply because of of that group’s differences.

But governments are not composed of robots. Governments and Prime Ministers and Presidents and Kings and Dictators are all people. And so I have to wonder what kind of people are they? Are they good leaders? I think not if they allow such laws to be passed and enforced.

But what makes a good leader? I think good leaders don’t seek power for themselves but instead seek to empower others. Bad leaders are afraid of diversity. They’re afraid of others having power. They see the cup as half full and they want what’s in the cup all for themselves. And while I know there are lots of different definitions of leadership I think great leaders enlarge the world they don’t limit it. They share.

You know one of the purposes of theatre and story is to provoke discussion. Discussion about politics, morality, relationships, love, religion, and power. And comedy allows us to shine a light on attitudes and behaviours in a way that drama doesn’t. That’s why I wrote QUOTA. I wanted to take a look at how individuals go from being a member of society to becoming an identified minority and having their rights violated.

So, I’m pleased to announce that this October QUOTA will be given it’s world premiere as one of the winning plays presented at the 2015 Warner International Playwrights Festival.

QUOTA is the story of  Dave Dixon who – while looking for a job on-line – is interrupted by the Metro City Census Taker.  This is unlike any census Dixon has ever taken and when he’s asked whether or not he was spanked as a child he refuses to answer. That causes the Census taker to call for police back up and Dixon finds himself being targeted for corrective action because of his unemployment and the fact that he’s left handed. When a 2 kilo bag of white sugar is found on the premises and Dixon is facing jail time for trafficking he has to make a choice between naming names and protecting himself.

The Warner International Playwrights Festival recognizes the work of emerging and established playwrights from across the country and around the globe. The Festival gives playwrights a forum for production of their one-act plays that engage and entertain audiences through exploration of the human experience and the human spirit.

The 2015 festival takes place at the Nancy Marine Studio Theatre in Torrington, Connecticut from Thursday October 15th to Saturday October 17th. Tickets and complete festival information is available at: www.warnertheatre.org

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Winning Plays 2015 Warner International Playwrights Festival

Program: PASTICHE – Thursday October 15, 2015

  • QUOTA by James Hutchison – Alberta, Canada
  • CAFÉ UNIQUE by Michéle Raper Rittenhouse – New York
  • KITTY & TOY by Julie Weinberg – New York
  • WHAT IS GAINED: A Muse on Consequences by Evan Guilford-Blake – Georgia

Program: MOMENTS – Friday October 16, 2015

  • GOLDEN YEARS by Cynthia Chapman – Massachusetts
  • FAMILY MARKERS by Faye Sholiton – Ohio
  • FACING BACKWARDS by George W. Kelly – New Hampshire
  • THE SOOTHSAYER by Steven Young – Texas

Program: DUET – Saturday October 17, 2015

  • JOANIE & FREDDIE ON VALENTINES DAY by Charlene Donaghy – Connecticut
  • ONE THREE TWO by Michael Weems – Texas
  • DAD’S VISION by Benjamin V. Marshall – New Jersey
  • NOT ENOUGH by Chip Bolcik – California
  • TWO by Eugenie Carabatsos – New York

Check out some of my other blog posts below:

Here’s Johnny!

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There’s been a lot of changes in the late night world of television over the last year and this week Stephen Colbert takes over the Late Show on CBS. And that has me thinking about late night television. I don’t watch it much anymore, but when I was a teen I’d watch The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson and then the Tomorrow show with Tom Snyder.

In those days Carson’s show was 90 minutes and Snyder’s 60 and there was no way of skipping commercials.

What made matters worse was I lived in Calgary which was on Mountain Standard Time and our  NBC cable feed was from Spokane which was on Pacific Standard Time.  That meant Carson didn’t start until 12:35 A.M. local time and if I watched all of Snyder that meant I’d be up until 3:00 in the morning.

There were many a day in high school where by the end of the week I was fighting to keep my eyes open. Sleep deprivation was a way of life. All because I loved late night TV.

So, why would I stay up so late?

Well, one of the reasons was because I liked Johnny Carson.  He knew when to step back and let the guest take the spot light. “But Carson comes from a different era,” you might argue, “the audience wasn’t split into a thousand fragments and there was far less choice than there is now.”

That’s all true, but I can’t help but feel that one of the major reasons for Carson’s success was his ability to be a gracious host.

He didn’t compete with his guests and he was always prepared and able to step in and save an interview when it went off the rails.

And whether his guest was Orson Welles, or Bob Hope, or Carl Sagan, or some farmer from the mid-west Carson’s secret was knowing when to play the straight man and let his guest get all the laughs and applause.

That’s why I miss Johnny Carson.

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Who is Shaila Abdullah?

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So, my website has been up and running for a few years and if I was to launch my website today I’d certainly do a lot of things differently. One of the things that changed about six months after I had my website built is that the DIY design software made huge leaps. When I was originally looking at the DIY websites they looked amateur and unprofessional. But the tools have changed – and that means writers and photographers and restaurant owners can now create terrific looking websites on their own. So, right now I’m in the process of doing some research and in the next six months or so I will be relaunching my website. I just thought I’d provide this update at the start of this blog post since this blog post was written three years ago when things were very different.

James Hutchison – August 26, 2018

When People Come to Your Website

When people come to your website what is it you want them to do? Do you want them to sign up for your blog? Do you want them to visit your store? Do you want them to download your music? Your web site should be designed with one primary purpose. Yes, it can talk about your history and the management team and how you always knew you wanted to be the world’s best builder of gingerbread houses since you were eight years old and your grandmother taught you her secret gingerbread recipe but those are the extras. They are the background. They should not be front and center.

Go take a look at Stephen King’s website. What’s the first thing you notice? The new book, right? Front and center is the new book. Not a picture of Stephen King. Not a photograph of his cat. Not a google ad. His website is dedicated to his work. Yes, you can find out about Stephen King, and lots of people are interested in Stephen King, but King and his team know that the purpose of his website is to promote and sell his books, movies and television programs. So, learn a lesson from Stephen King. Your website isn’t about you. It’s about your work.

Making Your Work Available to the World

When I started writing my plays one of the things I knew I wanted was a web page. A place in cyberspace where I could make my plays available to the world whether the world wanted them or not. And early on I decided that I would hire someone who could create a well-designed simple website that had a consistent look and feel. I found someone: Shaila Abdullah. It took me more than three years to find her but find her I did. It was a long journey. A journey where I did a lot of planning, thinking, and looking.

I looked at hundreds of author websites including Stephen King, Norm Foster,  Ken Ludwig and Theresa Rebeck, in order to see what they were doing. I also spent a lot of time thinking about the purpose of my website and how I wanted it to function and how I would use it as a marketing platform and how I would integrate social media and whether or not I should do a blog and if I do a blog how often should I blog and what should I blog about. And finally, I did some planning. I created a design document that outlined the purpose of my website and how I wanted it to function.

Then last fall I stumbled across a website called, Funds for Writers. I liked the look of it and saw that it was designed by Shaila Abdullah. Shaila is not only a designer but a writer. Yes, a writer! An award-winning writer. A writer of novels and short stories. And I thought – ah here’s someone who not only designs websites but understands the needs and challenges of being a writer and trying to get your work out into the world.

So I checked out her company: My House of Design and took a look at her portfolio. I loved her work. So, I revised my design document and contacted her for a quote. That was almost a year ago and in that time we’ve worked together to create jameshutchison.ca. It’s been a fantastic experience. I like working with Shaila because it’s her company and she’s the designer. When I send an e-mail or have a question I send it to her. She doesn’t have to check with anyone. She’s the boss – she’s the designer – she’s the one that gets back to me.

Shaila has offered suggestions and recommendations but always respected my wants and needs as a client. It’s been a complete pleasure working with her. She has a great eye for design and colour and consistency of brand. And her sense of humour and positive spirit has made the whole process a pleasure.

So, if you’ve written your novel or your play or your poem and you’re ready to build your website and make your work available to the world there’s no one I’d recommend more to help you with that task than Shaila Abdullah. She’s a terrific designer, highly professional, and extremely creative. And she does more than just writers. You can check out more of Shaila’s work at myhouseofdesign.com.

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Any Time or Place

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Cafe

In my last blog I talked about how important it is for you to set up a time and a place where you can write. That’s because when you have a time and a place for writing it helps you develop good writing habits.

I like to write at my desk. I like to write in the mornings. That works for me but it might not work for someone else. And sometimes our lives are too busy for us to have a specific time and place to write. We’re on the run – mobile: going from one appointment to another; juggling the demands of career and family; leaving little time for writing. So, if you can’t set up a place or a time to write then consider becoming the sort of writer who can write any time and any place.

I’m not very good at writing any place other than at my desk because I like my keyboard and my chair and my large monitor and I don’t like laptops. But my friend Ann-Louise is one of those amazing people who can work on anything anywhere at any time. She’s extraordinary. Smart energetic and productive. She never sees obstacles she only sees opportunities. And she’s always working at her job or on one of her other passions like her photography. She’s a visual thinker and a strategist and she always carries around scrapbooks that she uses to help her plan her next project.

So, I asked her how she learned to work any place at any time and she told me it was because she grew up in a large family.  There were nine children and there was no privacy and if you wanted to get your work done you just did it. It was a skill she learned early on and it has served her well all her life.

And so it was clear to me all I needed to do in order to learn how to work any place at any time was to grow up in a large family. My family wasn’t that large. I have one sister. She’s ten years older than me. She was out of the house by the time I was eleven. So, barring a time machine and a chance to go back and change my childhood I have been taking steps to learn how to work outside of the office. What I’m discovering is that although I can’t seem to work on new scenes I am able to work on the broader aspects of my projects: the plotting and planning and problem solving aspects.

So maybe being able to work any time and place, at least for me and maybe others, means finding those things you can work on away from your desk or your favourite writing nook. And I guess if I want to develop this skill further that means I should probably get a lap top. And then once I get the lap top it will probably mean learning how to write in coffee shops, restaurants, and on park benches so that I can be productive while being mobile. The only thing is there’s more to life than being productive. Even though Ann-Louise is one of the most productive people I know she always makes time to enjoy life. That’s because sometimes you need to put the lap top away and just enjoy the moment. Sometimes you need to go to the coffee shop just to drink coffee.

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Time and Place

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Book and Desk

We are creatures of habit and habits can be good because habits help build up the muscle to finish what we start. So, how do you develop the habit of writing? Well a good idea is to create a place where you can write. It doesn’t have to be a big space or even private but you have to feel comfortable writing in that space. Create the environment you need in order for you to write.

Then make a habit of going to that place and writing.

If you lead a busy life then write for short amounts of time: but write often. If you can only write for 15 minutes then write for those 15 minutes. If you say I’m not the sort of writer that can accomplish anything in 15 minutes then you have to either become that writer or give yourself more time. Don’t complain: find a solution – find friends who will encourage you in your passion and help you brainstorm ways to find time to write.

For example, at work instead of taking coffee breaks take writing breaks. Spend less time in the kitchen: cook enough one night to have left overs the second night and use the time saved in cooking for writing. Simplify your life. Get rid of the clutter. Clutter robs you of time, money and happiness. Time better spent writing than looking for things you can’t find and reorganizing and cleaning things you’ll never use. Track how you use your time for a week and you might be surprised by what you spend your time doing. Once you know how you spend your time you can choose to spend your time differently by giving up certain things or cutting back on the amount of time they take.

Remember what works for one writer may not work for you but if writing is important to you then make having a place to write and finding the time to write one of your life’s priorities.

In next week’s blog I talk about being able to write any time and in any place.

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Does Size Matter

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Does the size of your blog matter?

I think you’d agree that a blog can be as short or as long as you want: fifty words or a thousand words. It’s really up to you, as the writer, but speaking as a reader the bigger the blog the bigger the challenge of keeping me engaged, interested, and satisfied. The longer the blog the bigger the payoff needs to be. If the payoff isn’t satisfying, then maybe you should consider tweeting about the topic at hand. A tweet is 140 characters. It can be shorter but it can’t be longer. Which makes me wonder – if any blog is 140 characters or shorter is it really a tweet and not a blog?

Can a blog be a tweet and a tweet be a blog?

Maybe tweets are mini blogs? If a tweet gets across an idea or message and is engaging and interesting then why not call it a mini blog.

Of course, your tweets can be about anything you want – they’re your tweets. If that latté and carrot cake you just had at the Vendome Café in Sunnyside is really the best in the world – well then – you had better let the world know about it. You have your twitter account: use it.

So, this blog, I guess, is about tweets; now that I think about it. We started out talking about size and I guess what we’re really talking about is the size of the message and how big a message you can get in a tweet.

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you is a pretty big message in only 49 characters. I’d hardly say my tweets are as profound but I do hope they offer some wisdom and an insight or two into life. One of the things I like to tweet about is writing and so I’m going to share a list of ten tweets I’ve tweeted about writing.

10 #amwriting Tweets from @lifeisanact

  1. Here’s a novel idea for November – try writing every day of the year instead of every day for one month.
  2. I like to begin every morning with a cup of coffee and a healthy dose of dialogue.
  3. Your protagonist needs to lose hope, feel defeated, and be ready to give up – and then – she doesn’t. Why she doesn’t is character.
  4. Light, colour, and contrast are to a photographer what conflict, emotion, and stakes are to a playwright.
  5. Even one word is better than no words – write.
  6. It seems to me that some blogs say in 500 words what could be said in 200. Write. Edit. Rewrite. Cut. Then cut some more.
  7. Finish the first draft before you show your work – make it yours first – not a collection of notes and comments from others.
  8. Your job is to show up every day and do the work. At some point during the process inspiration will find you.
  9. Don’t say, I’ll write when I have the time  instead make the time to write.
  10. How long should your blog, novel, story, play, poem be? As long as it’s interesting.

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Death in Frostburg

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Clouds-Rays-of-Sunshine

My play, Death and the Psychiatrist, won second place in the 2015 Frostburg One-Act Playwriting Competition.

Death and the Psychiatrist is the story of Mortimer Graves who shows up at Dr. Donna Thompson’s office claiming to be the Grim Reaper. Although Mortimer says he is there to escort Dr. Thompson to the other side Dr. Thompson, believing Mortimer to be under the delusion that he is death, convinces him that he should go into therapy. With the Doctor’s help Mortimer confronts his emotional issues and Doctor Thompson, with Mortimer’s help, re-evaluates her life priorities.

You can download a FREE copy of my Death and the Psychiatrist by following this link.

First place was awarded to Fifty Miles by Jason Tinney and Holly Morse-Ellington. Third place went to Missed Connections Club by Harold Taw and Chris Jeffries.

Fifty Miles will receive a full production. Death and the Psychiatrist and The Missed Connections Club will both receive staged readings during the 2015 One-Act Playwriting Festival at the Palace Theatre in Frostburg, Maryland, on Friday, September 25, and Saturday, September 26, 2015.

The Frostburg Center for Creative Writing serves Western Maryland and the surrounding areas by celebrating the literary arts through a variety of public events and productions, by educating and broadening an interested audience for literature, and by fostering new writers and their work.

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So You Want to be a Writer

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I-am-a-writer

Well, that’s easy all you have to do is write. But then you ask yourself, “What should I write? Should I write novels? And if I do write novels what sort of a novel should I write? Science fiction? Young adult? Romance maybe?”

And what if you discover you don’t really like writing novels – what then?

Do you give up? You could. Because there are those people who give up because it’s too difficult or because it’s not perfect enough or because they’re really, really, really good at giving up. But if you’re not the sort of person that likes to give up then maybe you’re simply the sort of person that needs to try writing something other than a novel. So try poetry. Or advertising copy. Or fortune cookies.

And even though there are plenty of talented writers – many with a great deal more talent and ability than I – that are very good at several different types of writing – I’m not one of them. They can write novels, and speeches, and technical manuals. I tend towards dialogue and a rather casual style of expression. Not the best style for an instruction manual – I think. But now that I think about it most people in most professions gravitate towards a certain level of specialization.

A musician will likely prefer one musical instrument to another. Perhaps they like the tuba or the accordion or the banjo maybe? And in sports athletes show more talent in one type of sport as opposed to another. Tiger Woods is an amazing golfer. I’m not sure, but I’m guessing he’s not much of a tuba player. I know I’m not a good tuba player and I’m certainly not much of a golfer.

I think what I’m trying to say – in a rather convoluted way – is that writers like musicians and athletes must find out what they do best. Just because someone is a great novelist doesn’t mean they know how to write a great movie and just because someone is an amazing screenwriter doesn’t mean they know how to write an amazing novel or a great commercial. Being a writer doesn’t necessarily mean you’re good at every form of writing.

A writer needs to discover what type of story teller she is. And she can only do that by taking quill in hand and writing.

That’s all you have to do – just start writing.

It doesn’t matter what you write – all that matters is you begin because your heart will lead you in the right direction. Be true to yourself and write what you want – not what society or your friends or your mom wants – but what you want. Take a writing class, write in your journal, write short stories, poetry, novels, comic books and blogs. Write fiction and nonfiction. Write a lot and often and soon you’ll discover that one particular form of writing feels more natural for you than others. And once you’ve made that discovery – dive in. You won’t drown. Far from it. You’ll find you love the deep end and how it feels to be in your element.

So, what are you waiting for? Jump in – get writing and discover what you do best.

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Something Bad

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Something-Bad-web

Of course you need to know what your character hungers for in life but in order to make a story you need action. The bigger the hunger the more daring the action. The more daring the action the bigger the risk. And the bigger the risk the bigger the consequences. That’s dramatic. That’s interesting. That’s compelling.

Look at Walter White in Breaking Bad.

He gets cancer – and because he gets cancer – he has to figure out how to make some quick cash in order to provide for his family. Granted, cooking meth and becoming a drug lord wouldn’t be the first choice for most high school science teachers, but it’s exactly because he makes that choice that makes the series so fascinating to watch.

And maybe that’s why we as individuals living our suburban lives sometimes battle to make a decision ourselves – not because we’re thinking of becoming a drug lord but because we know on some fundamental level that if we follow a new path we enter new territory and leave behind the life we knew and become something new ourselves. And if movies and plays and novels are meant to teach us anything – they teach us, at least on the most basic level, that our choices and actions impact not only ourselves but others.

In life, it’s probably a good idea to choose the path of goodness; but when it comes to your fiction, let all hell break loose because we good people like something bad to watch.

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Hungry Characters

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Shrimp-and-Rice

Oh, my God we love food! We love chicken and sardines – and sushi and chocolate – pizza and tofu! But not necessarily in those combinations or in that order.

We write books about food, have special foods for holidays, exchange and talk about recipes, watch television shows about cooking and basting and roasting and eating a wide variety of plants and animals all below us in the food chain.

So, why all this talk about food? Because food is character.

Everybody on this tasty planet has a relationship with food and therefore every character in your story should have a relationship with food. Food forms part of the fabric of our day. Find out about the food your characters eat and how they eat and where they eat and why they eat and who they eat with because it opens up all kinds of insights into their social life, attitudes towards spending money, how they interact with other people, and who they choose to spend time with.

It makes your characters human.

But we don’t just hunger for food – we hunger for love and understanding – power and money – knowledge and happiness. Which means maybe instead of asking what your characters want to eat or want in life you should be asking what your characters hunger to eat and hunger for in life?

Want is weak. Hunger is strong.

Hunger comes from a deeply rooted need. Want is a preference – like gravy with your French fries – or ground pepper on your pasta. I want it but if I don’t get it – I’ll get something else. Macbeth doesn’t want power – he is hungry for power. Hunger drives us – it makes us take action – it makes us take risks – and consequences of our hunger going unsatisfied can be emotional devastation – the feeling of a life wasted – the regret of a lost love…or when our hungers are satisfied we might experience the joy of finding our one true love – if such a thing exists and so long as she lives in the neighbourhood and frequents the pub you go to with your friends for wings on Wednesday.

So, if you want your characters to be human, you need to find out what they hunger for in both food and life. Within the context of your story, as your characters take action to get the girl they want, defeat the bad guy, or come up with a cure for cancer, give them something to drink when the get thirsty – give the something to eat when they get hungry. If you want to know your characters better feed them and discover what they hunger for in life.

Bon Appétit!

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