creativity

Write every day: Creating joy and managing anxiety during coronavirus

Christa Avampato
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Central Park by Christa Avampato

Thankfully spring has not been cancelled.

Now that many of us are spending more time on our own and at home, there’s a lot we can do to keep up our spirits and manage our anxiety:

-Take a walk outside
-Foster a shelter dog (you’re home anyway!)
-Offer to watch a friend’s child if they need to go to work or get out to run errands
-Donate to a nonprofit
-Support your open local businesses
-Help a neighbor who can’t get outside
-Thank everyone who still has to be at work – from grocery store clerks to first responders to public transit works to parks crews
-Write
-Create art and music
-Read that book and watch that movie that’s been waiting for us
-Call or video chat with a friend or family member
-Work on a home improvement project
-Learn something new
-Exercise
-Cook and bake; try a new recipe
-Rest, relax, and meditate
-Spend some time thinking about what really matters to you and how you might bring some dreams to life

Times like this can be difficult on many levels for many people. There’s still joy to be had and to make for ourselves and for others, even during a pandemic.

What are you doing for yourself & others right now that makes you happy? I’d love to hear about it.❤

creativity

Write every day: Here’s 5 minutes of joy for you

Christa Avampato

Here’s 5 minutes of pure joy for you today. I happy-cried through this and it filled my heart. We all have something to give, especially during difficult times. Musicians, artists, writers – we have the role of lifting up others with our creativity. We’re needed now more than ever.❤️

creativity

Write every day: I can help you set up virtual events

Christa Avampato

If your event is cancelled because of #coronavirus and you’re looking for ways to deliver a high-quality digital experience, I’d love to help you brainstorm, set it up, and run it. Ping me and let’s chat.

There’s so much anxiety, heartache, and difficulty right now. As a producer myself, I really feel for my producer friends and colleagues. The upside is we have tremendous technologies at our fingertips and they can be powerful tools for connection and community when used well. I’d love to help you figure out how to run a version of your cancelled event that’s inspiring and keeps your guests safe.

 

creativity

Write every day: The upside of coronavirus for writers is time

Christa Avampato

In the worst situations, I acknowledge how difficult things are and also try to find some kind of value. In New York City (where I live), coronavirus is a serious issue. We all take public transit and it’s a crowded place. A virus that has community spread is not an issue to be taken lightly here. My inbox is filling up with cancelled events, happenings that I was really looking forward to in the coming weeks and month. I understand—it’s for our safety and I know event organizers don’t take these decisions lightly. As a producer, I feel their pain.

To keep myself motivated, I’m reminding myself that coronavirus, for better or worse, is giving me a lot of dedicated time at home and that means I have a lot of time to write, read, and research. I set some very ambitious writing goals for myself this year to complete a number of large projects. I’m committed to making good use of this time. I’m reading a lot, writing a lot, and doing everything I can to keep up the spirits of others during this time.

Has the coronavirus impacted your daily life, work, and writing? How are you doing? Let me know in the comments.

creativity

Write every day: How to know where to begin a huge story

Christa Avampato

For a few months, I’ve been wrestling with an idea for a TV pilot I want to write. The trouble is that it’s a period piece (which are notoriously expensive because you often have to recreate a world that no longer exists) and the story is mammoth. I’ve been making lists of ideas, notes, and sources, but I wasn’t getting anywhere. And then last night, a break through.

I was reading a book about the heroine I want to showcase, and there is a key moment, a turning point where a choice she makes sets in motion a set of tumultuous events. So I’m going to start right at that key moment. I can see it so clearly now—how everything unfolds from there and changes the course of her life forever. The moment is small but the implications are huge.

With mammoth stories, it’s often those tiny moments, that one decision that tunnels into an entirely new world, that should be the beginning.

creativity

Write every day: Write your dreams into existence

Christa Avampato

There’s something to be said for envisioning the life and career we want, and then authentically reaching out to people we admire with whom we want to collaborate. We can create our own kismet. We can make our own luck. What a world!

creativity

Write every day: Feedback on my first feature-length screenplay

Christa Avampato

I’m over-the-moon with the feedback on my first feature screenplay. In 2 competitions, it scored in the top 5% for concept, top 20% for originality, & got high marks in plot, characterization, voice, & for its ability to be sold to producers. One reviewer compared it in concept to the film Hidden Figures and another to the film Mona Lisa Smile, both of which I love. More editing ahead to further improve it to producers, production houses, agents, and managers before I live pitch it in Chicago in April.

Thanks to everyone who’s been cheering me on in this process and special thanks to John Bucher, whose advice on this project (before I even really had any kind of concept at all!) is worth its weight in gold. ❤️🎥

creativity

Write every day: Your weirdness is your best asset

Christa Avampato

I’m working on a presentation I’m giving next week to graduate students interested in product development. One of my slides says, “What’s rare is valuable. You need to own your weirdness because it’s the rarest, most valuable thing you have. You’re the only one in world who has it.” And I stand by that.

creativity

Write every day: Editing is cake

Christa Avampato

Over the years I’ve learned to love editing. It’s cake frosting and decorating for writers. Once I’ve gotten something to work with, I can mold, shape, and add the flourishes that bring it to life. Do you have a way of thinking about the hard work of editing that makes it more enjoyable?

creativity

Write every day: Writing fellowships

Christa Avampato

Last week I submitted my first writing fellowship applications. It will be months before I know any news though just applying felt amazing. Writing our ideas into reality is a powerful act! Have you ever applied for writing fellowships? Have your ever gotten a writing fellowship? What did you think of the experience?