A Personal Update: Finding Mindfulness and Being Deliberate With Your Time

November 13, 2019 By mwmelugin

For the past few months, I’ve felt like I haven’t been in full control of my time. Life moves so quickly; between having a full-time job, doing chores and errands, and spending time with friends and family, I’ve been finding it difficult to carve out sufficient time for myself and my creative work. It’s so easy to “let your life live you” rather than the other way around. Throughout most of 2019, it’s definitely felt as though my life has been living me.

Social engagements and daily maintenance can pose an especially dangerous threat to those seeking to make a life in the arts. I’m constantly making plans with friends, which is a wonderful problem to have, but it comes at a cost. On top of that, there are so many hours that slip away from menial tasks like going to the grocery store and washing dishes. Individually, these chores and engagements don’t matter much. I’m happy to spend time with loved ones and certainly enjoy doing so. However, when combined with every other aspect of life, they become a serious imposition on my time and mental energy which could otherwise be channeled into writing or making music.

I’m not suggesting that we should never take the time to have lunch with mom or grab a beer with a buddy, I’m a big fan of doing both, but I’m finding the trick is to be more deliberate with your time and not make such choices impulsively. With the New Year right around the corner, I’ve been reflecting on my habits, identifying the ways in which I’ve been spending my time, and making a plan to take back control of my life and rededicate myself to my creativity. For me, that means making the extra effort to be more focused, disciplined, and overall more mindful in my daily activities.

Nowadays, “being mindful” has almost become a cliché. There’s so much content and so many services advertising mindfulness, specifically meditation, that it can feel like a marketing scheme rather than honest life advice. However, a cliché usually becomes a cliché because it’s true. I’ve made attempts at becoming more mindful many times in the past but it’s proven to be a difficult regimen to stick to, largely due to the aforementioned social obligations. In the past, I’ve gone through phases during which I would practice meditation. It’s no secret that meditating is a key component of becoming more mindful. I’ve realized, though, that there’s much more we can do. This is a list of steps I’ve been taking in order to become more mindful, more focused, and overall lead a healthier creative life.

Perfectionism: 3 Tips To Help Let Go

April 15, 2018 By mwmelugin

There’s a great bit in Seinfeld where Jerry gets overly excited about having drawn the perfect triangle. Then to his dismay, Elaine is terribly unimpressed. Anyone who has ever drawn a perfect shape can likely relate to Jerry’s enthusiasm. It’s exhilarating to feel as though you have done something “perfect”. However, perfection is an elusive and nebulous concept. Yes, of course, it’s a good and admirable trait to strive for great work. Although when one’s desire to achieve perfection encroaches upon perfectionism, it can be detrimental both to their work and mental health.

We Shouldn’t Expect Ourselves To Be Perfect

Many people struggle with perfectionism. Those who do are almost guaranteed to be aware of it and know the symptoms. If you’re unsure though, check out this article that outlines the different signs that you might be a perfectionist. While this personality trait may apply to persons across any and all areas of study or work, I feel it applies most insidiously to those in creative fields. Art can be somewhat oxymoronic in that one may be great at their craft, or even be considered the best in their discipline, but it’s nearly impossible to say someone or something is perfect due to the wholly subjective nature of art. This can foment a tendency to strive for perfection, even to expect it of yourself, while never quite being able to attain it.

In my own experience, perfectionism can be extremely detrimental to the creative process. It fosters both trepidation and anxiety while working, and a fear that the final product will inevitably be less than perfect. This can lead to an inability to start a new project or to finish an existing one. In more extreme circumstances, it can even lead to depression rooted in a feeling of “never being good enough”.

Perfectionism is much like any other form of anxiety in that it’s never as simple as telling yourself, “okay, don’t be anxious anymore”. However, there are steps you can take to reduce the negative impact of perfectionist thinking. Some of these may sound obvious, but occasionally it can help to be reminded of the obvious.

The Best Opening Scenes In “The Office” and What We Can Learn From Them As Writers

November 7, 2017 By mwmelugin

Anybody who loves “The Office” surely knows about the show’s fantastic opening scenes. They’re sharp, funny, and always well punctuated. I recently rewatched most of the series and after a while, I started to pay closer attention to these scenes in an attempt to learn something from them. In doing so, I began to keep track of my favorite cold opens from the show, categorize and rank them, and think about how and why they work so well.

The Office Episode 514 - Dwight Burning Door Handle

I’ve broken my ranked list into three categories: My all-time favorites (or what I consider to be the “best” ones from a writer’s perspective), my favorite Jim and Dwight pranks, and some honorable mentions. Without further ado, here’s what I came up with.

My All-Time Favorite “Office” Opening Scenes

Fire In The Office (Season 5, Episode 14 “Stress Relief: Pt. 1”)
The DVD Logo Hits The Corner of The TV Screen (Season 4, Episode 3 “Launch Party”)
The Office Tricks Michael Into Thinking It’s 5:00PM (Season 5, Episode 28 “Company Picnic”)
Michael Shouts ‘Nooo’ When Toby Returns (Season 5, Episode 9 “Frame Toby”)
Stanley Doesn’t Notice Anything (Season 7, Episode 6 “Costume Contest”)

The thing I love most about a great cold open is how it functions as a story all its own, independent from the rest of the episode. I think that’s what truly makes these scenes so impactful, memorable, and effective. Some of these opening scenes manage to condense what could quite reasonably have been the plot for an entire episode (or at least a solid B plot) into a single scene.

Emojis: How They Could Impact The Future of The English Language

June 8, 2017 By mwmelugin

Given the impact emojis have had in written communication already, what if we were to take them as a more serious method of communication? What if we viewed them as essentially a new language, one which has been incorporated into English without our even knowing it? Then, what if we proceeded to evolve that language and iterate upon it? At what point would an emoji be able to convey what can currently only be conveyed with an entire sentence?

Our current emoji set is already extremely vast. It also boasts many emojis which do hold acute meanings within culture. However, I believe we‘ve only scratched the surface of emojis’ potential. Wouldn’t it be interesting to follow this line of questioning and create more emojis that could, in one simple character, represent such ideas as:

“Terribly sorry, I’m running late but I’m on my way and I’ll be there soon.”
“I don’t particularly care, you should choose.”
“I know that may seem a bit embarrassing but I’m proud of it anyway.”

In this article I’ll attempt to explore what emojis are, how they fit into the historical evolution of linguistics and orthography, and their potential impact on the future of human communication.

Nostalgia: 4 Reasons Why It’s Good To Be Nostalgic

May 16, 2017 By mwmelugin

I’ve been a nostalgic person for as long as I can remember. I still have stacks of homework assignments from elementary and middle school, drawings I did as a child, and countless scrapbooks my mom made. Like many people I enjoy looking back through these from time to time for a casual stroll down memory lane. For me, nostalgia has always been a positive thing. It reminds me of a “simpler time”, and makes me appreciate my life.

Nostalgia can be a double edged sword however. For those like me it can connect one with their past and bring an appreciation for a time that once was. Sometimes though it can induce sadness or a tendency to “live in the past”. Despite the possible consequences, I’ve found that to be nostalgic can be tremendously beneficial both in the writing process as well as in one’s day-to-day life.

An old photo of me reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, circa 1997. This scene is essentially the epitome of nostalgia for me.

HOW NOSTALGIA IS GOOD FOR WRITING

They say “write what you know” and that “all beginning writers write about themselves”. As far as I’m concerned, these maxims both ring true. There lies great creative value in holding on to the small, emotional bits of life so as to one day channel them into a character. To appreciate the significance of the past can aid in developing more complex characters in one’s writing.

Time Lapse Poetry #1 – “Debt”

May 9, 2017 By mwmelugin

When I write poetry, sometimes I handwrite and sometimes I write on my iPhone. I find it funny how regardless of which I do first, I inevitably copy the poem over to one or the other. When I handwrite I usually copy the poem digitally just for the sake of posterity and safekeeping. With this one, I wrote the original draft in my Evernote because I was out and about without paper when the idea struck. I liked it, so I later transcribed it to a notebook for no reason other than feeling like it’s more fun and poetic to see it handwritten.

A side by side view of the original draft of this poem and it transcribed to a notebook.

The same day that I wrote this poem down in my notebook I randomly came across an advertisement for an app called Camera Lucida. I investigated and ended up purchasing the app for a few dollars. It’s not the most robust application but it’s proven a fun tool and very good for recording time lapses. This video is the result of my early experimentations with the app. Side note: I used to own a small iPhone tripod which I seem to have lost. So, this video was recorded with my phone taped to a tall stack of DVD’s. I also propped the notebook up with one and you can see a sliver of the DVD jacket for Wes Anderson’s Bottle Rocket in the bottom left corner.

Commercials and Product Placement: Why They’re Good For Us As Artists

May 8, 2017 By mwmelugin

Commercials are everywhere. They’re on our televisions and social media, in our movies, and play before our YouTube videos. It’s true that their omnipresence can frustrate me from time to time. Ads can be exhausting and occasionally make me feel like I’m being bombarded by capitalism. However, there remains a wealth of reasons why commercials are a great thing for us both as consumers and artists.

1. They Provide Jobs

Being an artist and/or filmmaker is classically one of the toughest fields as far as job security goes. I might not enjoy every car or fast food commercial I see on cable but I appreciate how they provide work for thousands of people. It’s tough to get experience as a director, cinematographer, editor, sound engineer, etc. Thankfully, there’s not likely to be a shortage of commercial work anytime soon. Each commercial made, whether it be video or audio, offers more opportunity for all of us to secure work in these positions. While these can still be difficult positions to get, this is a valuable professional resource for burgeoning artists as we work toward whatever it is we truly wish to be doing, such as working on films or shows. And, if your ultimate goal actually is to work on commercials, even better.

Behind-the-scenes of a Mini Cooper commercial.

2. Commercials and Product Placement Provide Budgets

Product placement in movies and TV shows has seen a dramatic increase in the past decade. Companies have learned that they prove more effective than traditional TV ad spots. These placements give products more context for the viewer. They force the viewer to emotionally connect the product with whatever show or movie they’re watching. Unfortunately, this form of advertising doesn’t exactly provide jobs like standard TV/radio/YouTube/etc commercials. However, they provide another very valuable service to the creative process. They furnish additional budget to the creators of the films and shows that feature them. Movies and shows are expensive to make (obviously) and making placement deals with companies is a brilliant way to provide artists with the high budgets they require to produce quality content for us to enjoy.

A Blog About Writing and The Creative Process

April 15, 2017 By mwmelugin

I am fascinated by language, words, and the way they both work. Language is arguably the foremost characteristic which separates us from other animals. And yes, I do consider us animals not unlike deer or fish. I know, language is merely one unique feature of our species among countless others like opposable thumbs, tools, and agriculture. However, I tend to think that words are what it’s all about. They’re what allow us to communicate (obviously) and to share in what it feels like to be human. They allow us to connect on an emotional level, to understand each other, and to feel empathy.

“Words are what it’s all about.”

Art is largely a form of communication. With it we’re able to share our experiences and perspectives in a thought-provoking and beautiful way. That then fosters further artistic thought and commentary in response. I don’t exaggerate when I say that artistic expression is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful aspects of life. That and feeling love, perhaps. For me, great art comes down to what a work makes you feel, and whether it generates a conversation in the viewer’s mind. In this way I believe writing is an unrelentingly powerful art form.

Handwritten Kin