Buster Keaton is Better Than Charles Chaplin

I know. Controversial Hot Take on something that's a hundred years old. Happy New Year.

I’m halfway done with the second draft of this movie, and I figured out a big thing on my walk yesterday. One of the best ways of thinking about my writing is to not be at my laptop, and to be out in the world. Now out in the world counts as driving, hiking, reading a comic book, mostly anything up and out of that chair at one of my desks. As we covered last week, when I’m thinking about Dynamic Theme, and approaching scenes, I start to understand what kinds of decisions I need to be making. Where is that scene set? What is the conflict here? Are my characters on their journey in the right spot right now? And then as I bear down and focus on the second draft, I can really start cutting, adding, strengthening and getting the entire story lined up. All of this so I can be ready to do…the next draft. That’s right. There’s at least 4 or 5 drafts of a thing before I show it to my inner circle of peers. And I get notes from them because I will need to do more drafts before I share it wider. I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately, this idea of how many people think once it’s been worked over once, it’s good to go. It’s not. I promise. It’s one of the very few absolutes I will tell you. It’s very important to beware any person giving out advice who doesn’t couch it with, “This is how I do it,” or “For me, this is what works.” But I think this one thing is the thing that is an absolute – “do one more draft.” When you think it’s ready, read it again, and do one more pass at it. I promise you will be better for it.

Exercising that kind of patience with your work, whatever it is, pays off exponentially. One of my first jobs was as a desk clerk, working the graveyard shift. I was not at a place in my life where good habits were forming, but I was at a place in my life where I understood the idea of, “measuring twice, cut once.” The old carpenter’s advice to not have to go get more lumber. Check your work. I was supposed to mop the lobby, empty the trash and ashtrays, and balance the drawer before my relief shift got there at 7AM. What I’d do is all that work around 2AM, after the bar closed and the lobby was emptied. It took about a solid hour, and then I’d reward myself with a small nap. Which is not exactly an agreed part of the employee work plan, but I was usually the only awake person in the building, so who was going to stop me? And the lobby doors had no locks on them, by the way. The only way to have a nap was to take the doorstop wedges and kick them underneath the door. That way if anyone did want to come inside while I was napping, there would be a huge CLATTER and CLUNK as the doors swung open and the wedges were sent scattering. You’ve now received two valuable tips:

1. Do one more drafts of anything you’re turning into anybody.

2. How to nap when you are working a graveyard shift at the Hotel Congress.

Let’s make the first article of 2025 one that is about some tips and tricks that I can share that will make your lives better. And I promise the rest of them will be more valuable than the second one I listed, which is super specific and would only apply to people in Tucson who work the graveyard shift at that hotel.

3. When you’re bearing down on a project, in my case writing, take small breaks after an hour or so. You’ve heard this before, “Stretch your legs, don’t be sitting so long, etc.” But my tip involves your brain, too. Take a small break and text a friend. Go for a quick drive to treat yourself with that coffee you like, or that gum that was out of style and is now being stocked at the drugstore.

4. Give away credit and take all the blame. This is a hard one. It was born out of a lot of misery and cyclical feelings. But in the end, it’s so much better to go ahead and take the blame and give away credit for things. I suppose this is ultimately a cousin to other things I’ve said about not being precious with your idea. Not feeling like if you tell people, they’ll steal it. In that piece of advice, it’s about having confidence that you have more than just one good idea in you. In this tip, it’s about having confidence that you aren’t defined by your failures or your successes, but by how you treat people you work with.

5. If you know something, and it’s not your information to give out, then keep that mouth shut. More bad things than good things can come from you feeling like having information is powerful and you sharing it with folks is you showing how much in the know you are. It’s cool. I suppose another way to look at this is, “Am I telling someone about something because it will be helpful? And if so, how?” I understand this will be somewhat controversial for some. And I get it. But I can tell you from experience that if you hold true to this, there will be others that will respect you for keeping your mouth closed.

6. I have no problem with putting money in someone’s parking meter if I see it’s expired. Just a quarter or a dime. I’m told that it’s against the law to do that now. You can only do that if it’s your car, apparently. I started the practice back in college as a way to do a small act of kindness for people. If a city or a county has made that illegal because they really don’t want the money from the meter, they NEED the money for giving tickets, then I say you went ahead and made me a criminal, I wasn’t born one.

7. I’ve covered this one before, but I love it so much I want to repeat it. There’s a point in most projects/scripts where I am so confused and I feel so lost, I think I should give up. This is almost always when I’m very close to figuring out how to solve it. Take heart, not lose heart, when this happens. It just means you’re getting closer to the end. See opening paragraph. I felt like I was losing my way on the rewrite, had an idea, kept it in my head, but the idea just made so many other parts confusing and it all felt like I was, “Icing the cake before baking it.” Putting an unnecessary bell and whistle on it without figuring out the hard part. Then… boom. There’s the unifying thing I needed which wasn’t what I thought at all. Also, when I’m done with this draft, I think I’m going to have a reading of it, and maybe I’ll share a scene or two with you all.

8. When I was a sophomore in high school, this kid who was in my graduating class died. It was some dumb thing, and he wasn’t a close friend, but it sent shockwaves through the school. When I got to Geometry class that day, my teacher, Ollie Mayfield said we weren’t doing math that day, but instead we were going to put our desks in a circle and talk about life. He never mentioned Matt’s death, and he didn’t do it in a sad way, he just said, “How about we do this right now, instead of math?” It showed me that acting with kindness and taking a pause are acts of strength, not weakness. It’s also why I’m not afraid to tell you that I cry when Linda Ronstadt sings. Because I’m strong, okay? Coach Mayfield was the best teacher I ever had. And even made me like Geometry. I bet he’s why I’m a teacher.

9. Read more. Of anything. I beg you. I’m finishing up a novel, “The Eternal Return of Samuel Johnson,” and also a guide to an electric razor for my head. I’ve always just used a disposable razor in the shower with no mirrors or soap. And after awhile, no cuts! I got real good at it. Pro level of dry shaving with a cheap razor. But you never know when you might want to switch it up, so I got an electric shaver and I’m trying that out. I’m also reading a history of the Aztec Empire, “The Fifth Sun.” See? Just read stuff.

What? You thought I’d post a picture of one of the books?

10. Have an enemy or two. They don’t need to know it, but it will keep you on your toes and will remind you to stick to your guns and show them something. Yup. I know who mine are, who are yours?

There. A list of tips, some about writing, some about other things. Here’s a lightning round to finish us off for the day.

Buster Keaton is better than Charles Chaplin

Rolling Stones are better than the Beatles

Fred Astaire is better than Gene Kelly

St. Elsewhere was better than ER

Han is better than Luke

Baseball is better than Football

Blood In Blood Out is better than American Me

High socks are better than no shows

These are facts. I didn’t make them up. There were studies done by experts in their fields. Grants were given and people were sent into the country to take measurements with devices like spectrometers. Going against these things is like insisting the earth is flat, or that vaccines don’t work. Happy New Year!

Thanks for reading, tell someone about this, and share this. Word of mouth works! Still the best way to grow things.

The last part is for paid subscribers and it’s about a time in my career where I almost worked for Bill Lawrence. Ohhhhhh, name dropper, right?