Desk of Amy Suto

TV writer who eats danger for breakfast

4 Lessons Writers Can Learn from Yoga and Meditation

by 1 Comment

As I’ve mentioned before on this blog, I’m in the middle of training for my yoga certification so I can teach yoga for writers. As someone who loves to experiment with ways to improve my writing and creative mind, yoga and meditation were always something I turned to in order to find space for my process. Now, I’m taking a deep dive, and it’s been transformative.

You don’t have to spend eight hours like me every Sunday doing a million chatarangas to get the benefits of yoga in your writing process. Here are some of the lessons and tools from yoga that anyone can use, regardless of your ability to put your foot behind your head:

[Read more…]

I’m Hosting Writing Workshops in Los Angeles!

by Leave a Comment

It’s official — I’m partnering with AirBnb to host writing workshops on select Saturdays in Los Angeles this spring!

This space is this gorgeous coffeeshop in mid-city. We’ll be meeting in the back room, a beautiful light-filled studio known as MiMoDa Studio @ Paper or Plastik that was also used as a ballet studio where Natalie Portman trained for BLACK SWAN.

I’ve been wanting to teach writing workshops in Los Angeles for awhile, but haven’t had the time. At the beginning of this year, one of my resolutions was to create safe spaces and communities for writers out here — and I’m so glad to be able to do it now in one of my favorite places.

I’m limiting each workshop to small groups to keep it small and intimate. Admission includes a free latte or coffee drink, a TV writing workbook I’ve created specifically for this writing workshop, and an hour-long seminar/workshop in the studio space followed by a half-hour of one-on-one discussion and work in the main cafe area.

I wanted to create a workshop that is accessible to everyone and group-oriented. I’ll adjust the subject matter to who’s attending and the level of experience of the group, as well as what people want to learn. Then, I’ll open up the floor to you and your ideas. We’ll move pretty quickly — which is why we’ll then move to the main cafe area to finish up our discussion from 4-4:30pm as to make sure we have time for everybody’s ideas!

More info can be found on the event page — I’d love to see you there! Get at me on Twitter if you have any questions!

I’m also going to be teaching some yoga classes for writers later this spring. Get more info about upcoming yoga classes and more here!

Hope to meet you at one of my events!

Method Writing: Exercises to Experience the Stories You’re Writing

by 1 Comment

I love collecting weird hobbies and experiences, and often joke that I’m a “method writer.”

It’s only partially a joke: I’ve been known to seek out adventures in the same flavor of what I’m writing. (See: this deep cut from my archives where I shot guns and learned about them six years ago for a novel I was writing. Baby Amy was — and still is — a die hard method writer.)

When I was writing a story about my hometown, I made the trek back to Middle of Nowhere, Arizona, and made a point of meeting up with as many old acquaintances as possible. I visited gun ranges to learn about what my characters would know about owning and firing a gun, I hung out with tumbleweeds in the desert and watched the sunset. (The sun setting in the desert is probably the only beauty I’ll admit exists in the wasteland that can be endless stretches of brush and plants that want to fight you. Jumping cacti, anyone?)

The stories I’m working on now are being continually reshaped by the experience I’m seeking out — and vice-versa. I make an effort to be a method writer, and it pays off.

I truly believe the more wildly we wander, the better our words become.

So here’s how I approach “method” writing. [Read more…]

How I Made My First $10k as a Freelance Writer on Upwork

by 4 Comments

I just passed my $10,000 milestone on Upwork, time to pop the champagne and share some tips for those of you also looking to jump into the freelance writing world!

As I mentioned in my previous post (Day in the Life of a Freelance Writer) I do freelance writing full-time when I’m in-between writers’ rooms. It’s a great way to keep my skills sharp while doing interesting freelance writing for amazing clients all around the world, and a flexible schedule means I get to travel and have time to do other creative projects during the week (like the immersive theater event I’m working on with my writing partner!) It’s a luxury to be able to abscond to somewhere like Lake Tahoe to do some writing on a Tuesday.

I do most of my freelance work through this platform called Upwork, which connects freelancers with people who want to hire us.

So, here’s how I made my first $10k, and how you can, too! [Read more…]

Day in the Life of a Freelance Writer

by 7 Comments

san francisco cliffs
cliffs outside of San Fran

Hello friends! I’m back from doing some travel (San Fran for work, Tahoe for play) and also just moved into a new apartment with my best friend who also happens to cook the best Italian food you’ve ever tasted.

I thought I’d share a little bit about what my days are like as I’m in a weird hiatus period for the TV show I work on, which is more and more the norm for those of us who work on shows with short orders that don’t fit into the traditional, 22-episode broadcast television season.

When I’m not working in a writers’ room, I work on my own projects and moonlight as a ghostwriter. My bread and butter is ghostwriting people’s memoirs and helping them find the right words to tell their stories. I work for fascinating clients I can’t really talk about here, but they include accomplished lawyers, former professional athletes, and people dealing with great loss and tragedy and finding strength through their experiences.

Oh, and I also write blog posts and short stories and op-eds for various companies and publications, so I keep busy. What’s nice is that I only take on work I believe in, and every writing project I’m working on I love. I also get to make my own schedule, which is so important.

Here’s a day-in-the-life of what it’s like being a freelance writer/ghostwriter: 

//7am: coffee & planning the day

I have a Google home, so as soon as I wake up I tell it “good morning” and it turns on all my lights, my coffeemaker in the kitchen, and starts playing the news. (Creepy or efficient? Probably both but the faster I can get caffeinated the better my morning is.) It takes about 30 seconds of hearing about how much of a mess the world is in to get me to get out of bed and stumbling toward the coffee that’s waiting for me in the kitchen.

Coffee in hand, I immediately get to work plotting out my day. I use a BestSelf journal to track habits, record what I’m grateful for, and set my intentions and goals for the day. I’ve been using these for the past six months and love the pen-and-paper organization. I always have a mess of projects, to-do list items, habits, and other responsibilities I need to hold myself accountable to get done. It’s important to me to get everything I have to do on paper and out of my head so I can clear up brainspace for the work I have to do. [Read more…]

Tweeting Into the Void

Recent Posts

Because I’m a Millennial

sutoscience

Amy Suto