Tee Morris

Writer, podcaster and video game streamer

Writing

Take Me to the River: The 2019 James River Writers Conference

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Back in August, it was GenCon and the Key City Steampunk Festival. In September, it was TwitchCon 2019. Now in October, I am heading home to Richmond, Virginia, for the James River Writers Conference. Pip and I were guests at the event a few years ago, where we met Bill Blume who went on to appear in a trailer I shot on (truly) the coldest night on record that year…

This year “Twitch Dad & Twitch Mom” return to the James River Writers Conference, and we have a schedule. Here’s where you will find me (and my better half) throughout the weekend:

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The Importance of Asking Questions (or Yes, ANOTHER Blogpost about Research)

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So this week I head off to the 2019 James River Writer’s Conference in my hometown of Richmond, Virginia. (I’ll post my finalized schedule before Friday, promise…) It got me thinking about how there is going to be a lot of writerly advice given at this event, which is fantastic if you are looking to launch a career in storytelling, reboot your authorial pursuits, or take yourself in an entirely new direction with your word-herding.

Thing is, even when you are hearing from the experts, it’s never a bad idea to ask questions.

You see, an author lamenting over her unexpected twists and turns in the publishing industry really hit me in the feelz. I mean it — I felt for this author who was coming clean in this hardcore Medium Mea Culpa as success, much like Shakespeare described it in Twelfth Night, had been thrust upon this author.

But then, she said this…

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Embracing the Dummie in Me

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“Why would we need you? There are no dummies here.”

The year is 2006 and I had just wrapped for the day presenting at a conference, recording interviews for a client, and giving a seminar on the potential of podcasting. One of the things I had talked about at length was the podcasting community — really cool people who loved talking shop, meeting other podcasters, and making connections.

Then I met the charming fellow quoted at the beginning of this blogpost.

What had caught my eye was a sandwich board pointing to a podcasting class being taught at a different event in the conference center. I was always excited to connect with others and see what their approach to podcasting was, so I swung by the classroom to make a quick introduction.

My introduction did not go well. At all.

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Are You Paying Attention to Your Social Media?

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It’s a good idea, if you have a Twitter account, to pay attention to it.

Check Twitter. Like NOW!

While the much-maligned platform seems to be dominated by cyberbullies — some of whom occupy large white houses in historic districts of the United States — there are some people in the Twitterverse that will make your day at the most unexpected of times.

And let’s be honest — those times are the ones most welcome.

Case in point: my Saturday morning started off with a lovely tweet from someone I deeply admire in the Destiny and Twitch Community…

I mean, wow! I’m blushing over here. Seriously.
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The Art of Reading a Room

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“What advice would you have for someone who wants to write professionally?” is a pretty tall order. It’s a question that, while I love answering it, remains one of the toughest to answer because you are being asked for that “One Ring” kind of answer. What’s the one takeaway you want people to have after meeting you? Well, apart from buying my latest book, there’s no one thing that makes an aspiring author a success. A lot goes into building a professional writing career.

But one thing I’ve rarely, if ever, hear an author offer for advice is this: Learn how to read a room.

If you want to see a really good dramatization of this, watch the Amazon Prime movie, Late Night. It’s a terrific watch for many reasons (like you need any reasons beyond Mindy Kaling and Emma Thompson) but one scene in particular is a masterclass in how to read a room. At a stand-up comedy cancer benefit, late night talk show legend Katherine Newberry (Emma Thompson) takes the stage in an impromptu stand up set, and she is bombing. You watch Newberry look the length of the audience; and the camera switches angles, looking at the world from her perspective. She takes a moment and changes her “opinions on this wacky world” approach to self-deprecating comedy, a change that not only helps her recover gracefully but also makes a connection between her and the audience.

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If Social Media Is So Easy, Why Is It So Hard?

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I’m a little worried if I’m a canary and the people I work for are running a coal mine.

Let me explain…

Recently, I accepted an opportunity where the client’s entirety of a social media strategy was Twitter and a blog, both posting updates when time allowed. (In other words, infrequently.) I was asked to not only work with the tools given, but build on them and make something better, provided the resources were free. While I was there…

  • Twitter went from occasional updates to three tweets a day, on average. The content included news stories, promotions over upcoming events, and special tweets featuring the client front and center.
  • A new LinkedIn page launched, reaching a completely new audience from Twitter, also posting two-to-four updates throughout the day.
  • On the dates of special events, both platforms would host images, quotes, and, if possible, video.
  • Video, a medium completely new to this client, had reached enough demand for a Vimeo channel to launch.
  • The client’s blog went from “a post when time allowed” to a managed editorial calendar, offering original weekly content.

After a lot of positive feedback and encouragement during my stay, I was told by my superiors they wanted a fresh start and new perspective on their digital strategy. Yep, I had been replaced. I respected their decision, left behind a detailed Communications plan (which included a look ahead to what I was planning), and hoped their new social media manager would take their digital presence to higher levels.

Within a month…

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