All the Write Stuff

The short answer to that question is: there is no definitive answer. According to the United States Constitution and the Copyright Act, a limited monopoly is vested in authors at the time the work is created. The fair use doctrine is a complex exception to this monopoly and the most common legal issue arising in the publishing industry. The intent behind the fair use doctrine is to make reasonable public access available to copyrighted works for limited purposes. There are no specific guidelines regarding the number of words one can use of another’s copyrighted work.

The fair use doctrine is enumerated in Section 107 of the Copyright Act. This section of the law was created to strike a balance between the public’s need to know information and the author’s incentive to create literary works. Under Section 107, fair use of a copyrighted work without permission of the author can be allowed, with such use not resulting in the infringement of a copyrighted work, for purposes such as:

• Criticism and comment
• Parody and satire
• Scholarship and research
• News reporting
• Teaching

Understandably, authors and publishers lean toward a more restrictive opinion of the fair use doctrine; users of copyrighted material lean toward a more liberal view.

Section 107 of the Copyright Act lists the following four factors which must be considered in order to determine whether a particular use of a copyrighted work constitutes a fair use of that work.

1. The Purpose and Character of the Use — In evaluating the new work, courts look at whether it was created primarily as a commercial venture or if it was created for a noncommercial or educational purpose. A preference for fair use is often granted for works created for noncommercial or educational purposes, but every commercial use is not presumptively an unfair use. Next, courts ascertain whether the new work fits within one of the provisions specifically intended by the fair use provisions of the Copyright Act (criticism and comment; parody and satire; scholarship and research; news reporting; and teaching). Then courts look at whether the new work merely copies the original copyrighted work or whether it adds something new to the copyrighted work. When the new work alters the copyrighted work by adding new expression, meaning or message to the copyrighted work, this adds more support to the argument for fair use.

2. The Nature of the Copyrighted Work — This factor acknowledges that some works are more deserving of copyright protection than others. Courts must thus determine the scope of protection that should be afforded the copyrighted work. The scope of fair use is greater for an informational work—a work of facts, scholarship or news reporting—as opposed to a more creative work, such as a work of fiction. Courts look to see if a work is created to inform or educate rather than to entertain. Courts also consider whether a copyrighted work has been published or not. Courts have been far less willing to consider as fair use the unauthorized taking of an unpublished work than that of a published work.

3. The Amount and Substantiality of the Portion Used of the Copyrighted Work — Next courts look at the amount and substantiality of the copying in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole. The key here is whether the quality and value of the materials copied are reasonable in relation to the purpose of copying. There’s no definitive quantity of words test that’s utilized. Copying an entire copyrighted work may constitute a fair use under some circumstances; using a small portion of a copyrighted work may not qualify for fair use under other circumstances.

4. The Effect of the Use Upon the Potential Market for or Value of the Copyrighted Work — Courts consider the extent of harm to the market or potential market for the copyrighted work caused by the new work. This factor examines the potential as well as actual financial harm to the original copyrighted work, and to current and potential derivative works. The United States Supreme Court has stated this fair use factor is the most important element of determining what constitutes fair use. Thus, authors who desire to use another author’s copyrighted materials without permission must determine whether or not their utilization of the copyrighted work will likely harm either the present or potential market for that copyrighted work.

Courts have determined that unauthorized use is not fair use if the unauthorized use tends to weaken or negatively impact the potential sale of the original copyrighted work, interferes with the marketability of the work, or fulfills the demand for the original copyrighted work. However, this factor does not make the presumption that all commercial gain is automatically unfair use.

One can look at the criteria courts consider when determining whether an author’s use of another author’s copyrighted work is fair use. There are no absolute rules concerning fair use because each case is unique. Courts consider the factors enumerated above on a case-by-case basis. Authors who don’t wish to deal with potential fair use issues need to obtain permission for the portion(s) of copyrighted material they wish to use.

Note: This document is not legal advice and is not intended to be construed as such. Consult an attorney who works with publishing law for legal questions relating to your specific publishing issues and projects.

The following is the fifth in a series of twelve articles based upon the twelve guideposts listed in Audition: Everything an Actor Needs to Know to Get the Part by Michael Shurtleff. The author was the casting director for many of David Merrick's Broadway productions. He also worked with Bob Fosse and Andrew Lloyd Webber. His book is known as the actor’s bible. If you take a college acting class, it will likely be required reading. While Shurtleff’s book is aimed at actors, his principles are beneficial to both writers and directors as well. This series is geared toward writers.

Opposites

Whatever a writer decides is the character’s motivation in a scene, the opposite of that motivation is also true and should be placed in the scene. The writer’s creation of opposites within a scene develops conflict, and therefore drama, and therefore interest within the reader. What is critical in developing opposites within a scene is the process of the character dealing with his pain, not the act of him resolving it.

The more extreme the opposites the writer selects for a scene, the more likely everything in between will be developed instinctively and naturally as the character comes to life between these extremes. There are opposites in every scene and some of them may be implied under the surface of the character, in the subtext. Writers should seek the extremes within their characters in every scene. The more each character can face the internal debate of I love you versus I could kill you with the other characters in a scene, the more riveting that scene will be. To successfully deal with the opposites within her characters, a writer must know each character’s strong feelings, prejudices and limitations. Confront your characters’ idiosyncrasies. If they remain unknown, the characters and the scenes can be victimized by them.

The following is the fourth in a series of twelve articles based upon the twelve guideposts listed in Audition: Everything an Actor Needs to Know to Get the Part by Michael Shurtleff. The author was the casting director for many of David Merrick's Broadway productions. He also worked with Bob Fosse and Andrew Lloyd Webber. His book is known as the actor’s bible. If you take a college acting class, it will likely be required reading. While Shurtleff’s book is aimed at actors, his principles are beneficial to both writers and directors as well. This series is geared toward writers.

Humor

Shurtleff reminds actors, writers and directors that humor is not jokes; it’s not being funny. Humor is the coin of exchange between humans that helps us endure the tragedies of life by providing balance. It helps us get through the day. Every life situation and every scene, no matter how serious the topic, contains humor. Humor is more important in drama than it is in comedy. Write your serious scene without humor and it’s too dark. You’ll lose your reader/audience. Actors must become conscious of it and put it in their performances. Writers must infuse it within their stories and find it as they explore their characters. Directors must guide actors in applying humor in their performances.

Humor allied to a character’s passions, his kind of dreaming, his own unique personal fight makes the character and the actor’s performance of that character a legend. Shurtleff cites the unique ways in which Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart utilized their senses of humor in their performances in The African Queen. Think of some of your favorite films and stage performances. What made the characters come to life for you? How much of your remembrance of those performances involved the unique portrayal of the characters’/actors’ humor? Wasn’t it the humor conveyed, particularly in the darkest, most tragic scenes, that helped make the characters/actors more memorable? Some of my favorite uses of humor in a role were utilized by Claude Rains as Captain Renault and Humphrey Bogart as Rick Blaine in Casablanca. I have a hard time imagining anyone else bringing the same vitality to those characters, mainly because of their use of humor, particularly in the scene in which Rick holds Captain Renault at gunpoint.

Be mindful of humor in every scene of your story. It is the tool that makes your characters/actors attractive, seductive and irreplaceable.

I just submitted a contract to one of the confession magazines. One of my short stories, FAREWELL, PURPLE TUTUS; HELLO NEW BEGINNINGS is tentatively set to run in the August edition of True Love magazine. I'm very excited, and continue to work on more stories.

If you’re interested in participating in Internet groups comprised of writers working in the short fiction market, some of the good ones out there include yahoo’s True Writers group for those interested in writing for and sharing information concerning Dorchester Media’s confession magazines (True Story, True Love, True Romance, True Confessions and True Experience) and yahoo’s WWWriters group for those who want to send submissions and network regarding Woman’s World magazine. There are many of these specialized writing groups out there. I’m relatively new to both of these groups, but they’re very active and I’ve found them very helpful for getting back into the short story market. If you’re a member of some online writers’ groups that you’ve found beneficial, please share in the Comments section. Thanks!

I'm sending the good vibrations of my sale your way and hope this finds you all writing!!!

: )

The following is the third in a series of twelve articles based upon the twelve guideposts listed in Audition: Everything an Actor Needs to Know to Get the Part by Michael Shurtleff. The author was the casting director for many of David Merrick's Broadway productions. He also worked with Bob Fosse and Andrew Lloyd Webber. His book is known as the actor’s bible. If you take a college acting class, it will likely be required reading. While Shurtleff’s book is aimed at actors, his principles are beneficial to both writers and directors as well. This series is geared toward writers.

Every scene an author writes begins in the middle, and it is the author’s responsibility to provide what comes before. This is true whether you’re writing the opening, middle or final scene of the story. Something has always preceded what the character is doing. This is the moment before.

However you want to create this moment before—utilizing dialogue, action, reaction, narrative expression—can be best selected depending upon specific factors concerning your character’s relationship in the scene you’re drafting. What is your character fighting for in the relationship brought to life in the scene? Exactly where are the character’s feelings at the specific moment before? The more specific, the more focused the moment before, the more flow and connection will be presented in the scene, and the easier it will be to write.

The moment before requires an important emotional commitment from the character. A great deal of action may have taken place in the moment before, but emotion drives action. Authors need to know their characters’ minds, but this is never enough. When developing character, the mind is only useful if it leads to feelings. These feelings and what springs forth from them keep readers turning the pages of your story. Have your character become overcome with feeling in the moment before. Authors must know how their characters will complete the following statement in the before moment:

“I must fight to (character goal) because (character motivation).”

The following is the second in a series of twelve articles based upon the twelve guideposts listed in Audition: Everything an Actor Needs to Know to Get the Part by Michael Shurtleff. The author was the casting director for many of David Merrick's Broadway productions. He also worked with Bob Fosse and Andrew Lloyd Webber. His book is known as the actor’s bible. If you take a college acting class, it will likely be required reading. While Shurtleff’s book is aimed at actors, his principles are beneficial to both authors and directors as well. This series is geared toward authors.

What Are You Fighting For?

Shurtleff notes that actors often break a scene down into “beats” or sections, and then find a motivation or goal for each beat. He states that this is a good method, but that it doesn’t go far enough. He says that when he asked an actor what his or her goal was in a scene, he often received the response, “I want to get away from this person. I want to run out of the room.”

Then he asked, “Why don’t you run? What keeps you there?” The answers to these questions made the actor more effective in the scene. Instead of using “goal” or “motivation” or any other standard acting terms, Shurtleff regularly asked his actors, “What are you fighting for?” Authors would benefit from asking this question of their characters. They must find a positive motivation for their characters, since this will serve them in a more forceful, stronger, more emotional way than a negative choice will. Characters may appear negative or languid on the surface, but authors must dig deeper into what motivates the characters in the strongest, most positive terms.

If a character states, “I’m bored,” the author must know what the character wants instead of the boring condition he’s in and open him up and let him fight for that. Shurtleff uses the word, “fight” because he feels that nothing less than the strongest, most positive goal possible will do.

Authors must make the most active choice possible for every character in every scene. When each character makes the strongest choices of what he is fighting for in every scene, life is being breathed into the story, and keeping readers turning the pages.

So if all your characters are pitching hard for what they’re fighting for in every scene, how do you achieve balance in each scene? Shurtleff says it’s through relationship, through a heightening of the awareness of each character has in life toward other people. Authors need to know each of their character’s perceptions of give and take in a relationship, the character’s consideration for the other characters in each scene, their characters’ sensitivity to their other characters’ reactions to what they’re fighting for and a heightened awareness of how the characters tend to affect each other.

Characters need conflict; it’s what drives drama. Authors don’t create characters in the normal course of their everyday lives. We thrust our characters into the extraordinary, the unknown. Find the maximum conflict for your characters. Look at each character individually in each scene and ask not only what is he fighting for, but also determine who is interfering with your character getting what he’s fighting for. Do battle with her; fight her; woo her; charm her; revile her. Find as many ways as you can for your character to go about getting what he’s fighting for. Each way can spawn new ways, insightful dialogue and other possibilities limited only by the author’s mind. The more ways you find, the more interesting your scene.

According to Shurtleff, all of life is a fight. We always want something. What seems like defeat is just another way of fighting. We always want something and are always fighting toward that end, no matter how guised our actions might be. Authors must determine what the basic fight is in every character in every scene. The various ways in which each individual fight is waged is what propels the story forward. Instill each relationship in each scene with what your characters are fighting for.

When it comes to relationships specifically and life in general, fantasy shines head and shoulders above reality. We don’t live for reality, but for the fantasies, the dreams of what might be. It’s the dreams that keep us going, and that’s what authors need to inject into their characters. Romance is everyone’s secret dream. Look how many songs and movies are written about it. Never distrust romance. Nothing could be stronger. Most stories of any genre contain some amount of romance. Look for the opposites. Trust that romance is strong. Tenderness is stronger than screaming. Whenever you have two considerations which seem to cancel each other out, do both. Find the positive in the characters in your scene so you can play off of the opposites and add dimension to your characters. Look at the most you can find in a relationship between characters in your scene.

The bottom line: Don’t settle for anything less than the biggest dream for your character’s future. Fight to make your characters' dreams come true.

Shortly after the unauthorized release of a partial copy of the fifth and final book in the young adult “Twilight” series on the Internet, author Stephenie Meyer puts the official release of the book on hold in protest. The novel tells the love story of a human teenager named Bella and her vampire lover, Edward. Meyer is the author of Twilight" and its sequels "New Moon," "Eclipse" and "Breaking Dawn.”

The author reports on her Web site that she had given draft versions of Midnight Sun to trusted individuals for a good purpose, and that due to little changes which were made to the manuscript at different times, she has a pretty good idea of how the leak happened. Meyers hopes that her fans will not read the flawed draft version of the story online since this was a flawed, draft version of the tale.

"This has been a very upsetting experience for me, but I hope it will at least leave my fans with a better understanding of copyright and the importance of artistic control," wrote Meyer. "I feel too sad about what has happened to continue working on "Midnight Sun," and so it is on hold indefinitely."

Be mindful of the people you let see the draft versions of your story.