Last night I hosted a reading of a new and very funny screenplay in my living room. I love being surrounded by talent - actors, writers and comics - and it's wonderful to see a writer's growth on the page, when a draft has actually changed and has gotten better as a result of those changes. I've always believed that rewriting reveals a writer's true talent - do you have the bravery to "kill your babies" and to completely overhaul those first instinctive raw words? Are you able to retain the original intention in the process?
After the reading, a few people stayed behind to offer the writer feedback and it got me thinking about this component of creativity - the "notes sessions" that are part of the creative process. Certainly, we can lose sight of our own work while in the midst of it - we often speak about being "too close" to the material or feeling overwhelmed by the size of the task. Maybe the changes we're making seem to be unraveling every line, the paints we've chosen to "correct" have now "ruined" the original vision or an actor is "grasping" in the middle of a limited rehearsal schedule.
There is that moment, in the middle, when it seems we will never reach the end. It is often when we are feeling the most lost that we reach out and ask for help, ask for notes, ask for feedback -- I'm starting to think that is THE WORST time to ask. The work itself is fragile and the artist behind the work needs nothing but love and passion and support to keep going. If we aren't very careful as artists, we may hear words that STOP our creativity rather than SUPPORT it.
How can you keep this from happening?
HANDPICK THE PEOPLE IN THE ROOM.
If you need to hear something read, work with actors you trust and know. If the song isn't working, schedule a meeting with your mentor. If you're just about to throw the painting through a window, take a breath and track down an old classmate to talk shop.
If you can't handpick the people, is it possible to meet with a cheerleader in advance to boost your confidence? Or perhaps, you can visualize the meeting/notes session in advance and come up with a plan about how you can handle yourself if the going gets tough - ask for a glass of water or step out for a bathroom break to stop the flow if you're feeling overwhelmed.
CONTROL THE CONVERSATION, IF YOU CAN
Limit your audience to three questions you want answered during the feedback session. Write those questions down and have them in front of you. Give each person a limited period of time in which to answer those questions. When the time is up, it's up.
In industry situations, this may not be possible but have you tried? Some wonderful ways I've heard of artists dealing with executive notes sessions is to A. request written notes in advance of the meeting, B. to take a tape recorder to the meeting or C. to request that the notes sessions be broken into "acts" so that there is more frequent feedback but the information becomes very specific.
FOCUS ON THE POSITIVE
Don't ask what is wrong with your piece - ask what works, what moved people, what stuck out as really interesting, what they liked, what draws their eye, what makes them feel. Focus on ways in which those positive aspects can be enhanced.
As they say in the South - you catch more bears with honey...if you know what people love about your work, you'll focus on your strengths and hey, you may even be more motivated to finish!
Last night's screenplay had already been through numerous drafts and the writer was seeking very specific information from her audience. Her readers had read several drafts and were able to reference the changes and speak about the script with the full history of the project in mind. The tone was helpful and friendly and the notes were uber-specific.
But I've certainly witnessed NIGHTMARE situations with other creative projects where an artist is nearly being attacked by a well-meaning friend who actually harbors quiet jealousy or even worse, given notes by a room full of strangers who have no concept of an artists entire body of work and how this piece relates.
Maybe your piece is in an earlier state and needs more protection. Maybe it's ready to be seen and you're feeling super confident. Either way, the most important element is your own awareness of what you NEED from the feedback in order to continue the work.
Before you open yourself to feedback, listen to your gut then choose the format and venue and way that you WANT to receive your notes. We are only at the mercy of others if we allow ourselves to be.
How do you handle feedback?
Showing posts with label supporting your art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label supporting your art. Show all posts
July 13, 2010
July 07, 2010
the art of ritual
For the past two weeks, I've been a writing monster. I have churned out pages and I have worked non-stop for hours. It's been a long, long time since I've had such an uber-productive run and I was completely enjoying the flow until yesterday, suddenly, it all stopped. I got not one word on the page. Barely even opened up my laptop except to check Facebook. My agitation was palpable. I was easily irritated, grumpy and tired. I knew my emotions were a result of not being creative but I didn't know what had happened to stop the momentum.
I wanted to know why.
So this morning, I'm taking a look at my ritual. I'm asking myself, "What are the actions I take from the moment I wake up until the moment I sit down to work?"
In the past two weeks, I started my mornings with breakfast then a meditation that calmed me. I also announced out loud to the Universe or whoever else may be listening, my creative intentions for the day such as, "Today, I will write 5,000 new words." or "Today, I will revise the first 30 pages." My mornings were quiet, disconnected and completely focused on creation. There were no phone calls. There was some email checking and Facebook posting but mostly, there was the wonderful nothingness of being. I fed myself and I had a deadline: at 3:30 pm, my fiance would return from his rehearsals and my writing day would end.
So, my effective ritual had been...
Get Up Quietly
Tend the Body -- Clean & Eat
Social Stuff on Computer
Meditation -- Announcing Daily Creative Intention Aloud
Writing Until Imposed Deadline
That had worked. How did it get stopped yesterday? Yesterday, I woke up and immediately returned a phone call while I was still in bed. I didn't eat or shower first thing. My fiance had the day off so I didn't meditate or announce my intentions and there was no deadline so the day seemed entirely free for my use. How did I use it? Cleaning and piddling about and "computerizing" which is being on a computer with no results to show for it.
Then I got angry at myself for not writing and that turned into aggravation and grumpiness and snapping and the anxiety that comes when you feel like you should be doing something other than what you are doing at that exact moment in time.
Sound familiar?
TODAY'S CREATIVITY EXERCISE
What is your most effective ritual? Do you have one? Do you need one? Take a moment today to analyze the ways in which you support your creative work. On a good day, what did you do? On a bad day, what did you do? How did they differ? What aspects or actions are helpful to your creative process and which are damaging?
It can be as simple as looking at what you are eating or drinking. Is coffee necessary for your wake up? Does sugar give you a lift and then drop you like a hot potato halfway through the work? Are you hung-over and slow to start? Are you treating your body like an extension of your creativity or is your intellect/talent dragging that body around with you? Can the two learn to work together?
Just take the next few days and pay attention to the way you work. In what ways can your creative process be enhanced, further supported? Do you need noise? Do you need quiet? Do you need more light?
When you spot a problem, fix it. If something works, keep it.
And please, feel free to share your helpful suggestions through the comments section below.
February 17, 2010
God bless the NYFA!!!!
In response to the current economic downturn, NYFA is opening its Affordable Workspace program to artists and organizations who have been directly affected by the recession—be it through loss of office space, employment, etc. Activity must be arts, literary, or culture-related; artists and organizations working in all genres, graphic designers, creative writers, journalists, and art historians are welcome to apply.
Affordable Workspace Program Benefits:
- A private workstation within the NYFA space dedicated to you
- High-speed wireless Internet access
- Meeting space available by appointment (in NYFA’s small conference room and library)
- Free scanning (black and white)
- Free printing quota of 200 pages per month (discounted printing fee for larger printing projects)
- Discounted rate for copying
- Fully equipped kitchen with hot coffee, tea, and filtered water
- Individual phone service available for additional fee
For more information and an application, click here.
New York Foundation for the Arts
20 Jay Street
Suite 740
Brooklyn, NY 11201
http://nyfa.pmailus.com/pmailweb/ct?d=K_w4gAJqAAEAAAqiAAOjrw
December 04, 2009
grants
Sundance Documentary Fund Announces Deadlines for Spring 2010 Grants Round
The Sundance Documentary Fund is dedicated to supporting international documentary films and videos focused on current and significant issues and movements in contemporary human rights, freedom of expression, social justice, and civil liberties....
Posted on December 3, 2009
Deadline: February 9, 2010
Haitian Memorial Foundation Invites Pierre Toussaint Art and Essay Entries
Project budgets of up to $500,000 will be awarded to artists, sculptors, or high school students for their artwork, sculpture, or essays depicting a solid understanding and appreciation of Pierre Toussaint and his achievements....
Posted on December 3, 2009
Deadline: Various
National Geographic All Roads Film Project Offers Seed Grants for Indigenous Storytellers
Grants of up to $10,000 will be awarded to filmmakers for the development and production of a film or video that showcases indigenous or underrepresented minority-culture storytellers....
Posted on December 2, 2009
Deadline: Quarterly
The Sundance Documentary Fund is dedicated to supporting international documentary films and videos focused on current and significant issues and movements in contemporary human rights, freedom of expression, social justice, and civil liberties....
Posted on December 3, 2009
Deadline: February 9, 2010
Haitian Memorial Foundation Invites Pierre Toussaint Art and Essay Entries
Project budgets of up to $500,000 will be awarded to artists, sculptors, or high school students for their artwork, sculpture, or essays depicting a solid understanding and appreciation of Pierre Toussaint and his achievements....
Posted on December 3, 2009
Deadline: Various
National Geographic All Roads Film Project Offers Seed Grants for Indigenous Storytellers
Grants of up to $10,000 will be awarded to filmmakers for the development and production of a film or video that showcases indigenous or underrepresented minority-culture storytellers....
Posted on December 2, 2009
Deadline: Quarterly
November 24, 2009
health insurance for artists
California Lawyers for the Arts is pleased to present...
HEALTH INSURANCE 101: HOW TO OBTAIN INDIVIDUAL, FAMILY, AND GROUP HEALTH INSURANCE
A Free Workshop for Self-employed Artists, Families, and Individuals
With Michael Grodsky, AIF®
Wednesday, December 2, 2009, 7:00-8:30 p.m.
DESCRIPTION: Choosing a suitable health insurance plan in the individual or small-group market can be a daunting task. How does one compare plans from the hundreds available, when they are all so different? Can a
self-employed person qualify for guaranteed-issue group insurance? How might health insurance reform affect me? If you want answers to these questions and more, this friendly, interactive workshop is for you.
Topics include:
* Terminology and design features of health insurance plans.
* How to select a suitable plan.
* How self-employed entrepreneurs can qualify for guaranteed-issue small group health plans.
* Group insurance for artists who teach college part-time.
* What health insurance reform may mean for you.
What to bring: a notebook and pencil.
SPEAKER: Michael Grodsky (http://aquariusfinancial.com) is a financial consultant helping businesses and non-profit organizations implement employer-sponsored group health insurance and retirement plans, with an
emphasis on socially conscious investing. Michael also provides investment management and insurance services for individuals and families. He is a frequent guest lecturer at
About GYST: Getting Your Sh*t Together (http://gyst-ink.com) is an artist run company that applies the creativity of an artist's mind to the complex and daunting world of professional practices in contemporary
art. Their mission is to support artists and arts organizations with an integrated mix of software, services and information in order to keep artists working. Michael and GYST have teamed up to present health insurance workshops at locations throughout
About California Lawyers for the Arts: C.L.A. empowers creative people and their organizations by building the capacity of artists and arts organizations to handle the legal and business aspects of their creative activities, increasing the awareness and involvement of the legal community in issues affecting artists and the arts community, and increasing the law's responsiveness to the needs and interests of the arts community.
WHEN: Wednesday, December 2, 2009, 7:00-8:30 p.m.
WHERE:
ADMISSION: FREE!!!
REGISTRATION: Call CLA at (310) 998-5590, or email Angela (please include your contact info and specify the workshop date(s)) at: clasocaled@aol.com>
These workshops are made possible, in part, by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, the Department of Cultural Affairs, and the California Community Foundation. Additional support provided by the California Arts Council.
July 18, 2009
Finishing Funds for Docs
The International Documentary Association's Pare Lorentz Film Finishing Award will provide $25,000 to one deserving film project in need of financial assistance for completion. In keeping with the nature of Pare Lorentz's films—a successful candidate for the Pare Lorentz Film Finishing Fund award will demonstrate one or more of Lorentz's central concerns—the appropriate use of the natural environment, justice for all and the illumination of pressing social problems—presented as a compelling story by skillful film-making. Past projects submitted have a broad range of subject matter. A committee of documentary industry professionals will choose the winning selection.
Documentary projects meeting these areas of interest and concern are encouraged to apply for this $25,000 finishing fund award. Preference will be given to projects that have a strategic plan for and reasonable chance of securing public distribution in the following arenas: theatrical release, broadcast or cable television, or educational/ancillary distribution (to schools, museums, or other institutions).
To apply for the Pare Lorentz Film Finishing Award, please use the online submission process at Withoutabox.com. Read about eligibility requirements, timeline, FAQs, and more.
Documentary projects meeting these areas of interest and concern are encouraged to apply for this $25,000 finishing fund award. Preference will be given to projects that have a strategic plan for and reasonable chance of securing public distribution in the following arenas: theatrical release, broadcast or cable television, or educational/ancillary distribution (to schools, museums, or other institutions).
To apply for the Pare Lorentz Film Finishing Award, please use the online submission process at Withoutabox.com. Read about eligibility requirements, timeline, FAQs, and more.
May 31, 2009
Esther Robinson on Looking Debt in the Eye
This article is posted at:
http://www.nyfa.org/nyfa_current_detail.asp?id=17&fid=1&curid=769
What’s the upside of the current recession? Clarity about credit. It’s time for us to finally recognize that no gallery, grant, agent, or god is going to make our credit woes disappear. The economy is bad and getting worse, but it’s giving us a gift. There are actions we can take—actions we must take—to guarantee that we can make our art going forward. These actions all center on our relationship to credit.
Think fast: When was the last time you used a credit card? Probably pretty recently, if you’re like most people. These days, using personal credit as a constant source of financing is so common that we barely even register the individual transactions. My first film, A Walk into the Sea: Danny Williams and The Warhol Factory, was made possible by personal credit. Granted, I was conservative (I never took on more debt than I could handle, kept balance-to-available-credit ratios low, used zero percent cards, and paid off the amounts regularly). Still, the cards were a godsend, allowing me to fly to interviews and take calculated risks against future infusions of cash. But what if all that disappeared?
Here’s the kicker: “About 45 percent of U.S. banks reduced credit limits for new or existing credit-card customers in the fourth quarter of 2008,” according to a January 2009 Federal Reserve survey of senior loan officers. And a November 30 report by Meredith Whitney, a former Oppenheimer analyst, states that financial institutions may slash $2 trillion in credit-card lines in the next 18 months.
In other words, your credit card limits are likely to be lowered, and getting new lines of credit is going to be a lot harder. In some ways this is good news. None of us should carry more credit than we can pay down, and lower limits can keep us in the safe zone. But credit is still a useful tool. Like any businesspeople, artists often need access to cash more quickly than our bank balance allows (deadlines to meet before the grant check clears, for example). And as long as we can afford to pay it back, credit can be a lifeline. So what to do?
The first step is to rid yourself of current debt. The truth is, the money that you spend on interest payments is money you can’t spend on making art. If you finance a current project with personal credit you can’t pay down, you’ll still be making payments on that project five years from now—instead of using that money to make new work. You need to look your debt in the eye and:
Figure out how much you owe.
Figure out what your upcoming costs will be.
Determine how much you can realistically spend each month to pay down your balances.
Use on-line credit calculators to determine the fastest way to rid yourself of debt.
A number of websites feature great tools to help you analyze your different cards and their respective balances and interest rates to determine which ones you should pay down first to garner the greatest savings. In general, you should attempt to pay down the highest interest rate debt first. A “debt snowball” calculator allows you to enter up to 20 different debts and their respective APRs. You then enter in how much you can spend each month to pay down this debt, and it will tell you what order/amounts to pay for each card to get you out of debt the fastest.
Power Payment works on the same principle—and the site also has online budgeting, which is very helpful if you first need to figure out how much you can spend on debt payments.
The CNN Money debt planner has a regular pay-down calculator but also allows you to type in when you want your debt to end. It also tells you how much you need to pay each month to make this happen.The second thing you need to do is safeguard your access to credit by improving your Credit (FICO) Score. Your score determines your credit limits, and whether you’ll be offered new credit lines. The lower your score, the harder the credit crunch will hit you. Fortunately, there’s a lot you can do to improve your score. Here are some solid credit repair tips: Order a copy of your credit report, review it carefully, and correct any significant errors.
You are legally entitled to receive one free report a year. You can go to www.annualcreditreport.com and order your free credit report or to www.myfico.com and www.experian.com to order reports for a charge. Changing a mistake on your report (like a mislabeled late payment) can take 30 days to four months or longer. I think this step is best done with friends. Truthfully the report can be a bit daunting, so if you’re with your friends you can have a good laugh at how poorly designed the report is, have some good snacks and plow through finding mistakes. Then write the letters and send them off….
Next, pay your bills on time. I know, it’s a recession. But, now more than ever, it’s important to stay on top of things. A recent missed payment is more likely to lower your score than an isolated late payment from way back. What this means is, forget how you did or didn’t pay your bills before and just start paying them on time now.
Make AutoPay your friend. If you’re traveling a lot or are prone to forgetting, you can set up AutoPay for automatic payment of your credit card’s minimum balance (just be sure to always have enough money in the bank to cover it!). Scared of Autopay? Set a date every month that is “credit day” and stick to paying your bills on that date. The good news is that if you’re serious about debt reduction and you’re paying on-time using the tools on analyzing your credit in the links above, your credit score will improve.
Other tips? Here’s a counter-intuitive one: Use the credit cards you have as frequently as is prudent. A perverse result of the credit crisis is that if you don’t use your credit accounts, the banks may close them or lower the limit. And having your limits reduced can lower your score. The banks are looking for ways to reduce their risk, and an inactive account gives them a great excuse. But remember to use them responsibly; this is not license to go wild. Also, it’s important to keep your overall balance low in relation to your available credit. If your credit limit is $10,000, keeping your balance below $2,500 (25%) will improve your score.
Pay off your credit card debt rather than moving it to lower rate cards. This is important because you want to avoid drastically changing the ratio of your overall balances to your overall available credit. Example: You owe a total of $2,000 on four credit cards, each with a $2,000 limit. Your total limit is $8,000, of which your balance ($2,000) is 25%. If you transfer all your balances to two cards and cancel the other two, your total credit limit is reduced to $4,000 and your $2,000 balance is now 50% of the limit. To the banks, this looks worse than where you started.And what if you have a really questionable credit history?
Open a few new credit accounts, use them responsibly, and pay them off on time. Payment history is 35% of your credit score (new credit makes up 10%; types of credit in use, another 10%; length of credit history, 15%; and amounts owed, 30%), so if you’ve hurt your credit, establishing a good payment history is key to getting your credit score back together. However if you have a short credit history (you’ve never had credit or haven’t used much credit in the past), don’t open a lot of new accounts over a short time period. The banks will think you’re about to go on a spending binge, and new credit is 10% of your score.
How long will it take to improve my credit score? Negative items affect your credit score much more quickly than positive items. Late payments will have a negative impact in just a few months, whereas paying bills on time may take 6 to 12 months to generate a significant improvement. But it’s important to remember that starting right now gets you closer. And remember, a great credit score makes other good things happen. You can qualify for a mortgage, get better rates from the credit cards you do have, and a great score can help with apartment rental and job applications that often include credit checks. Plus, you’ll have the peace of mind of knowing that you conquered the credit demon.
Finally, if this is all too daunting and your bills are mounting and you are having trouble making ends meet, contact your creditors or see a legitimate credit counselor. The key is not to shut down, or pretend a problem doesn’t exist. Remember that you are a resilient creative person, and can use your creative skills to build your way forward through the challenges. Learn from past mistakes—and change them.
As artists we’re skilled at making a lot happen with little money. Let’s use that skill to shape our lives and our work. Let’s use the recession to determine what we want our future to be like—recognizing that with hard work this difficult economic moment will pass both for our country and for us.
Esther Robinson has worked on behalf of America’s artists for more than 14 years in many capacities, including foundation program officer, television and film producer/director, technology entrepreneur, and arts activist. She is the founder of ArtHome a nonprofit “change agent” that helps artists and their communities build assets and equity through financial literacy, credit access, and home ownership. Robinson is also a filmmaker. Her prize-winning film, A Walk into the Sea: Danny Williams and The Warhol Factory, is currently in worldwide release.
http://www.nyfa.org/nyfa_current_detail.asp?id=17&fid=1&curid=769
What’s the upside of the current recession? Clarity about credit. It’s time for us to finally recognize that no gallery, grant, agent, or god is going to make our credit woes disappear. The economy is bad and getting worse, but it’s giving us a gift. There are actions we can take—actions we must take—to guarantee that we can make our art going forward. These actions all center on our relationship to credit.
Think fast: When was the last time you used a credit card? Probably pretty recently, if you’re like most people. These days, using personal credit as a constant source of financing is so common that we barely even register the individual transactions. My first film, A Walk into the Sea: Danny Williams and The Warhol Factory, was made possible by personal credit. Granted, I was conservative (I never took on more debt than I could handle, kept balance-to-available-credit ratios low, used zero percent cards, and paid off the amounts regularly). Still, the cards were a godsend, allowing me to fly to interviews and take calculated risks against future infusions of cash. But what if all that disappeared?
Here’s the kicker: “About 45 percent of U.S. banks reduced credit limits for new or existing credit-card customers in the fourth quarter of 2008,” according to a January 2009 Federal Reserve survey of senior loan officers. And a November 30 report by Meredith Whitney, a former Oppenheimer analyst, states that financial institutions may slash $2 trillion in credit-card lines in the next 18 months.
In other words, your credit card limits are likely to be lowered, and getting new lines of credit is going to be a lot harder. In some ways this is good news. None of us should carry more credit than we can pay down, and lower limits can keep us in the safe zone. But credit is still a useful tool. Like any businesspeople, artists often need access to cash more quickly than our bank balance allows (deadlines to meet before the grant check clears, for example). And as long as we can afford to pay it back, credit can be a lifeline. So what to do?
The first step is to rid yourself of current debt. The truth is, the money that you spend on interest payments is money you can’t spend on making art. If you finance a current project with personal credit you can’t pay down, you’ll still be making payments on that project five years from now—instead of using that money to make new work. You need to look your debt in the eye and:
Figure out how much you owe.
Figure out what your upcoming costs will be.
Determine how much you can realistically spend each month to pay down your balances.
Use on-line credit calculators to determine the fastest way to rid yourself of debt.
A number of websites feature great tools to help you analyze your different cards and their respective balances and interest rates to determine which ones you should pay down first to garner the greatest savings. In general, you should attempt to pay down the highest interest rate debt first. A “debt snowball” calculator allows you to enter up to 20 different debts and their respective APRs. You then enter in how much you can spend each month to pay down this debt, and it will tell you what order/amounts to pay for each card to get you out of debt the fastest.
Power Payment works on the same principle—and the site also has online budgeting, which is very helpful if you first need to figure out how much you can spend on debt payments.
The CNN Money debt planner has a regular pay-down calculator but also allows you to type in when you want your debt to end. It also tells you how much you need to pay each month to make this happen.The second thing you need to do is safeguard your access to credit by improving your Credit (FICO) Score. Your score determines your credit limits, and whether you’ll be offered new credit lines. The lower your score, the harder the credit crunch will hit you. Fortunately, there’s a lot you can do to improve your score. Here are some solid credit repair tips: Order a copy of your credit report, review it carefully, and correct any significant errors.
You are legally entitled to receive one free report a year. You can go to www.annualcreditreport.com and order your free credit report or to www.myfico.com and www.experian.com to order reports for a charge. Changing a mistake on your report (like a mislabeled late payment) can take 30 days to four months or longer. I think this step is best done with friends. Truthfully the report can be a bit daunting, so if you’re with your friends you can have a good laugh at how poorly designed the report is, have some good snacks and plow through finding mistakes. Then write the letters and send them off….
Next, pay your bills on time. I know, it’s a recession. But, now more than ever, it’s important to stay on top of things. A recent missed payment is more likely to lower your score than an isolated late payment from way back. What this means is, forget how you did or didn’t pay your bills before and just start paying them on time now.
Make AutoPay your friend. If you’re traveling a lot or are prone to forgetting, you can set up AutoPay for automatic payment of your credit card’s minimum balance (just be sure to always have enough money in the bank to cover it!). Scared of Autopay? Set a date every month that is “credit day” and stick to paying your bills on that date. The good news is that if you’re serious about debt reduction and you’re paying on-time using the tools on analyzing your credit in the links above, your credit score will improve.
Other tips? Here’s a counter-intuitive one: Use the credit cards you have as frequently as is prudent. A perverse result of the credit crisis is that if you don’t use your credit accounts, the banks may close them or lower the limit. And having your limits reduced can lower your score. The banks are looking for ways to reduce their risk, and an inactive account gives them a great excuse. But remember to use them responsibly; this is not license to go wild. Also, it’s important to keep your overall balance low in relation to your available credit. If your credit limit is $10,000, keeping your balance below $2,500 (25%) will improve your score.
Pay off your credit card debt rather than moving it to lower rate cards. This is important because you want to avoid drastically changing the ratio of your overall balances to your overall available credit. Example: You owe a total of $2,000 on four credit cards, each with a $2,000 limit. Your total limit is $8,000, of which your balance ($2,000) is 25%. If you transfer all your balances to two cards and cancel the other two, your total credit limit is reduced to $4,000 and your $2,000 balance is now 50% of the limit. To the banks, this looks worse than where you started.And what if you have a really questionable credit history?
Open a few new credit accounts, use them responsibly, and pay them off on time. Payment history is 35% of your credit score (new credit makes up 10%; types of credit in use, another 10%; length of credit history, 15%; and amounts owed, 30%), so if you’ve hurt your credit, establishing a good payment history is key to getting your credit score back together. However if you have a short credit history (you’ve never had credit or haven’t used much credit in the past), don’t open a lot of new accounts over a short time period. The banks will think you’re about to go on a spending binge, and new credit is 10% of your score.
How long will it take to improve my credit score? Negative items affect your credit score much more quickly than positive items. Late payments will have a negative impact in just a few months, whereas paying bills on time may take 6 to 12 months to generate a significant improvement. But it’s important to remember that starting right now gets you closer. And remember, a great credit score makes other good things happen. You can qualify for a mortgage, get better rates from the credit cards you do have, and a great score can help with apartment rental and job applications that often include credit checks. Plus, you’ll have the peace of mind of knowing that you conquered the credit demon.
Finally, if this is all too daunting and your bills are mounting and you are having trouble making ends meet, contact your creditors or see a legitimate credit counselor. The key is not to shut down, or pretend a problem doesn’t exist. Remember that you are a resilient creative person, and can use your creative skills to build your way forward through the challenges. Learn from past mistakes—and change them.
As artists we’re skilled at making a lot happen with little money. Let’s use that skill to shape our lives and our work. Let’s use the recession to determine what we want our future to be like—recognizing that with hard work this difficult economic moment will pass both for our country and for us.
Esther Robinson has worked on behalf of America’s artists for more than 14 years in many capacities, including foundation program officer, television and film producer/director, technology entrepreneur, and arts activist. She is the founder of ArtHome a nonprofit “change agent” that helps artists and their communities build assets and equity through financial literacy, credit access, and home ownership. Robinson is also a filmmaker. Her prize-winning film, A Walk into the Sea: Danny Williams and The Warhol Factory, is currently in worldwide release.
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