Or, Long Live the King!
Today was a banner day in the Hendrickson Writing World.
* I had a producer who has asked to read one of my screenplays show some interest and request a release -- which is always very cool.
* I finished tying up every single loose end on my long-term V.I.P. client's Major Project. (Rah! The project is now in the client's hands, awaiting commentary and revisions.)
* I finished tying up all other loose ends, dotting i's, and crossing t's on smaller projects. (My desktop is cleared. Sticky notes are gone. To-Do lists are full of crossed-out items. The spirit soars!)
* And I did some work for a new client which was just plain fun.
This client contacted me after reading one of my articles on how to write a Foreword. (This is a perennial favorite. I regularly hear from total strangers who take the time to write and let me know that they found it of use.) He had an interesting dilemma -- after soliciting forewords from two powerhouses, both agreed. So he decided to use one for his book's foreword and the other for the introduction.
He wanted to enlist my help in polishing up the two pieces. His staff had done a fairly decent job on the first edit, so I said "yes."
(On a side note, I found it funny that in contacting these two movers and shakers, he mentioned my name and quoted my "Forewords" article. Which would have been great, except he called me "Ami Henderson." Doomed to obscurity... That's me...)
So, this morning, I found myself writing for what can only be called royalty in certain industry circles. I went through the process I always follow when ghosting:
First, I read several transcripts of interviews and short articles by the person in question.
Then, I made note of any turns of phrase or consistent speech mannerisms I could find.
Then I read a few of the person's actual interview transcripts aloud to get a feel for cadence, tone, and sentence structure.
Armed with that information, I approached the Foreword. It was already structured fairly well, so I just worked it over with an eye toward duplicating the Royal Voice.
As an exercise in dialogue, character, and voice, it was truly fun. Plus, it was all billable. If the Powers That Be decide to use my work, it will be icing on the cake to look at the Foreword when the book is in print and know that I wrote for royalty.
Finding Followers
Imagine my surprise the other day when I discovered that this blog had a follower! I didn't even know such things were possible. Now that I do, I've made it easy for my loyal readers (both of you... you know who you are!) to make themselves known. Just click on the "follow this blog" text on the left hand side of the page and -- voila! you're on the list of the Chosen Few. Welcome!
