part time writer

Curb Your Enthusiasm is the funniest show currently on television. There–I said it. And you don’t have to agree with me. But quite frankly, you’re wrong if you don’t. Whatever show out there you think is funnier…it isn’t. Not unlike Seinfeld, the show is just plain smart. Which only serves to prove that Larry David is the brains behind all of it.

Now being a freelance writer, I have this really annoying habit of trying to compare everything in the world to my writing career. And I also have this annoying habit of comparing every life situation to something that happened on Seinfeld or Curb Your Enthusiasm. Having said that, I’ve been thinking, why not take a look at both? Sort of meld them together?

So with that in mind, I’ve come up with a few simple truths about our business that we can learn from watching Larry. Here goes…

Don’t be afraid to piss people off

Here’s a secret: pretty much every episode of Curb has the same formula. And it begins with a good intentioned Larry pissing someone off. And while he doesn’t mean to, at the same time he isn’t afraid to. Why? Because he stands up for what he believes in–his principles–no matter how ridiculous they may be. And he doesn’t apologize either.

Now when it comes to blogging, you’ve got to take chances. Meaning, you need to put your real views out there, no matter how silly or unpopular they may sound. The fact is–when a post is created with passion, readers can tell. They can also tell when you’re just throwing out some empty drivel to fulfill the need for “another post.”

And sometimes these controversial posts are better for business anyway. For example, my last post about Google killing Facebook–let’s just say there are quite a few people who don’t agree with me. In fact, I was at a writer’s meeting for a magazine the other day and a web guy basically laughed at me when I started talking about my post. But hey, guess what? I think it will happen. And I’m going to laugh my butt off and be overly obnoxious about it when it comes to pass. And if it doesn’t? Oh well. I’ll deal with it somehow then. maybe deny ever saying it? Hmmm.. wonder how Larry would handle it?

Now at the same time, be careful not to write stuff that screams “hey look at my crazy off-the-wall opinion!” because your readers will see right through what you’re doing. Obviously, you’re just begging for attention. And who likes that?

Know when to let things go

While Larry is great about speaking his mind and not stepping down, he’s also not very good about knowing when to walk away, which makes up another piece of the show’s formula. He will keep something going, an argument for example, way longer than necessary. To the point where it’s extremely uncomfortable and you have your hands over your face, shaking your head in disbelief. And laughing too, of course.

Case in point, episode one of the new season. ***SPOILER ALERT*** If you haven’t seen it yet. Stop reading now! Otherwise…continue.

So Larry’s working on getting back with his ex-wife and it looks like everything is going great. They’re starting to make out and just when you think it’s on, so to speak, he has a realization: his ex-wife was the one who made a water stain on a wooden table at a friend’s party. And he was blamed for it. A seemingly unimportant event of the past, right? Well not to a man of principle like Larry.

As a result, he proceeds to tell her she needs to call his friend and explain that she made the water stain. Obviously his ex wanted nothing to do with it. Yet Larry persisted. And persisted. And persisted. Until eventually she got up and left.

And divorced him.

Now, as a blogger, there are going to be times when we get into it with people. Perhaps commenters. Perhaps clients. Whatever the case, you need to know when to stop. Whether it’s arguing back and forth in the replies or it’s bickering via email…at some point you have to know when to close your mouth and walk away. Otherwise you;re going to pull a Larry and start losing readers and/or clients.

Be spontaneous

Did you know that each episode of Curb has a very loose script that acts more like an outline than anything else? So Larry and his fellow actors basically make everything up as they go along. The benefits here are obvious:

• It feels more real to the cast.
• It feels more real to the audience.
• Natural humor comes forth because nothing is forced.

That said, I have a confession to make. I’m making this all up as I go along. I didn’t even type a draft into Microsoft Word or anything. I decided before starting that I was going to open up WordPress and fire away. And whatever came out, that’s what I’m going to post. Hell, I’m not even going to edit this. As soon as I’m done I’m hitting “Publish.”

So I’m putting this point to the test. And you can let me know if you think the whole idea of “flying by the seat of your pants” really works. This can be sort of a case study, right? Please feel free to dissect this idea in the comments.

Please cue the Curb theme music in your head. No wrap up. No conclusion. Doo-do-doo-doooooooo-do-do….