“First, you gotta get real. As I journaled, I kind of defined authenticity for myself as I allowed myself to own my thoughts and dare to put them into writing.”
These are the words of Bryan Beller, whose emergence as a popular magazine and web writer came as a surprise to him. After all he was a professional musician, not a wordsmith. He played bass in Dweezil Zappa’s band, “Z”, and later with Mike Keneally—among many others—and began sending his friends emails to describe his life on the road. This was all before the Internet or blogging was big and his pre-blog, email journaling became his stream of consciousness, which he entitled “The Life of Bryan”.
“This honesty generates action in me,” he continued. “Truthfulness about where the thoughts come from and what action they provoke generate my writing and how I exploit it.” Bryan found out that the more vulnerable and transparent he was as a person and a writer, the more readers swarmed around him. Buzz happens!
Bryan’s truthful, quirky style grabbed the attention of the Editor of Bass Player Magazine, who wrote an article about him as a musician and writer. Further impressed, the Editor asked Bryan to write a regular column for the magazine, using his journaling voice and blending his humor, love of political satire, and personal observations. He was given complete freedom to write on subjects of choice, and recently got the chance to interview superstar “Tool” bassist Justin Chancellor. After a stint in the corporate world with SWR, during which he eventually took over responsibility for writing the company’s entire catalogue, Bryan realized his true calling in his roots as a freelance writer and musician. The last six months have seen him as Contributing Editor for “Bass Player”. He now gets to see his name on the magazine masthead.
“Second, you gotta converse. Writing is a conversation. If you have a clear presence as the writer and are intentional, then you can have a conversation with yourself and with readers. The voices in my head are part of the natural human condition they reveal inner discussion which can be shared. Of course, if you can also turn off your internal agenda as a writer, you can become far more versatile. You can have a lot more conversations.” Paradox loves dialog!
Bryan recently put himself out there for “At the Table,” a weekly teleconference sponsored by Writers of the Round Table Inc. where participants have the opportunity to hear insider information from successful writers, producers, editors, and agents.
“Third, you gotta have a reason. Why write? Because, unless an event is documented, no matter how momentous or horrible or wonderful that event may be, it soon becomes only a memory to the participant(s)…and a fading one at that. And until something is documented, one can debate as to whether or not it actually occurred at all.”
As Bryan described his early journaling experience, he shared about the vulnerability of auditioning for a band and his false assumption of getting the position, followed by the processing, analysis, and acceptance of not succeeding the way he had hoped. He discovered that he was becoming more and more transparent and authentic in how he processed life, understood himself, and put himself out there for anyone to accept or reject.
“Fourth, you gotta use a process. Put your fanny in the chair, write for several hours without using the back space, put yourself out there, print it out, let it rest 15-30 minutes, read it out loud, and then edit.” Find the process that works for you. Work it, and work wonders!
To backtrack a bit, Bryan has formed a specific definition of himself as a writer. Realizing that the writing process required him to confront his unique and personal truths, he began to understand himself and the power of his unique and intentional voice. In the late 90’s he cloistered himself away and wrote a 625 page novel over about 18 months. He never published it, but says that the process of completing the novel allowed him to call himself a writer because the act of writing transformed his style and honed his craft and strengths. He found his style and the self-editing process that works for him.
His friend, Martha C. Lawrence - the award winning, blockbuster zodiac mysteries writer - mentored Bryan. She offered tough, alternative ways to approach writing. Bryan refers to the lessons learned as a “writers’ group for one.” The writing process she showed him resulted in few edits when publishing. He learned to not overwrite or describe too much and to allow the reader to fill in the blanks.
Bryan’s website will give you more writing advice and a plethora of fun reading: www.bryanbeller.com Feel free to subscribe to “BellerBytes”, too!
So, remember:
1. Get Real 2. Converse 3. Have a Reason 4. Use a Writing Process.
In the meantime, keep your rear in the chair, your fingers on the keys, and your writing reaching for the stars!
Writers of the Round Table Inc. is a literary development and author management company providing expert collaboration in crafting significant written works and bringing them to the market. Listen to our free teleclasses and view articles on the writing process at writersoftheroundtable.com writersoftheroundtable.com Click on “Teleclasses”. Be sure to join us every Wednesday for an enlightening and entertaining hour.