I'm doing a free teleseminar next week (Wed. Sept. 8 at 12:00 noon Eastern, 9:00 am Pacific) with writing coach Lisa Tener about how to put more 'me' in your memoir. And of course by 'me' I mean you not me. Click here to register for the teleseminar and/or get a taste here in the pre-interview:

Lisa: Greg, I know we’re going to cover this in more detail on our call, but what are some of the factors that make a best-selling memoir, like Eat, Pray, Love?

Greg: My theory is that the major factor that made it such a publishing phenomenon is that it embodied a compound fantasy. 1) That Gilbert had the house and relationship to begin with. 2) That she was willing to walk out. 3) To chuck it all and just go traveling (which is a fantasy because, she got paid to write the book so she wasn’t really chucking it all: she was doing a job plus getting to eat in Italy, pray in India and find love again).

Get ready for a Summer of Love - if you love laughs and enlightenment!

TUESDAY, JULY 20, 8pm
Beth hosts and curates THE OTHER NETWORK at Club Oberon, 2 Arrow St. Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA. $15 at the door / $10 advance. Call 866.811.4111 or click here.

THURSDAY, JULY 22, 8pm
100% HAPPY 88% OF THE TIME at Club Oberon, 2 Arrow St. Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA. $15 at the door / $10 advance. Call 866.811.4111 or click here.

WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY, JULY 28 & 29, 9pm
100% HAPPY 88% OF THE TIME at The Triad, 158 W. 72 St., NYC. $15/$10 advance. Call 212-362-2590 or click here.

MONDAY-FRIDAY, AUG 1-6
THE COMEDIAN'S WAY WRITING & PERFORMANCE WORKSHOP at the prestigious Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in the beautiful Berkshire mountains of western Massachusetts. Call 866-200-5203 or click here for more info and registration.

WEDNESDAY, AUG 4, 7:30pm
100% HAPPY 88% OF THE TIME at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, Stockbridge, MA.

WEDNESDAY, AUG 29, 1:00pm
100% HAPPY 88% OF THE TIME benefit performance for the National Women's Political Caucus at the Renberg Theater, LA, CA. Call 951-461-4828 or click here for more info and tickets.

SUNDAYS, SEPT. 12, 19, 26, OCT. 3 (1-4 pm)
THE COMEDIAN'S WAY WRITING & PERFORMANCE WORKSHOP at MBar 1253 N Vine St. Hollywood CA. Ongoing. Results oriented. Creative satisfaction guaranteed. Audit any class for just $20. More info call 323-717-4731 or click here.

Please join us for the maiden voyage of THE SUNDAY SALON, a new collaboration between comedy guru Beth Lapides ("Un-Cabaret") and brilliant cabaret impressario Clifford Bell ("Cabarabia").

Sunday, May 16, 4PM at MBar, 1253 N. Vine St. That's right. 4PM on Sunday. That moment when your Sunday Sadness kicks in?

Come taste the wine... Or beverage of your choice.

Come hear the band... We promise, Beth won't bring her cymbals!

No cover! Invitation only! The bar is open!

Musical direction by the magically gifted Mitch Kaplan. Sandra Bernhard's collaborator for more than twenty years, his music has been recorded by Chaka Kahn, Thelma Houston, and Sister Sledge, to name a few!

Special musical guests this Sunday: Kelly Mantle ("The Confusion Of My Illusion!"), A.J. Teshin ("The Kurt Weill Project") and Raspin Stuwart ("We Do What We Do").

RSVP: 323-769-6447 or e-mail.

The Comedian's Way workshop for Writers, Performers & Other Humans is the place to develop your authentic voice and deepest material for one-person shows, personal essays, books, scripts, blogs, or just to have a better attitude about life.

Each class starts with a Q & A and an inspirational rap from Beth about some aspect of the creative process. Here for your entertainment and edification is video of a recent talk about the 7 Questions Every Writer Should Ask Themself Before Sitting Down To Write.

Read more about the workshop on Beth's site and the Un-Cabaret website.

Class meets most Sundays from 1-4pm at M-Bar, 1253 N. Vine St. LA 90038. For more info, call 323-717-4731 or e-mail us.

Any single class $60  
Any 4 classes $200

Audit (observe) any class for just $10
Audit 4 classes for $25

Spring into Summer right now.

Escape to The Comedian's Way week-long retreat, August 1-6 at the magnificent Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health. Call 866-200-5203 or click here for more info and registration.

Take a break from your grind in August and devote an entire week to your creative practice in this breakthrough creativity workshop led by Beth Lapides & Greg Miller.

There'll be special writing & performance exercises, sessions devoted to generating fresh material, defining your individual goals and challenges and mining your latent veins of creative gold. This workshop is for professional entertainers and entertaining professionals, speakers and seekers.

Kripalu is a self-contained campus that also offers yoga, tai chi, delicious healthy food, swimming and kayaking, hiking trails, an inspirational labyrinth and a world-class spa, all surrounded by the splendor of the Berkshire Mountains in Western Massachusetts. 

If you haven't gotten started on your own personal Fool's Journey, this summer is the perfect time. More about The Comedian's Way. More about Beth. More about Greg.

Don't let another season slip through your fingers!

Greg is offering a SPRING FORWARD SUPER SALE on his creative consulting. Get 12 hours for the price of 10 and commit to weekly check-ins for the next 3 months while you...
Draft your script
Write your show
Outline your book
Finish a book proposal
Create your online profile
Transform your standup act

Veteran screenwriter, story editor, teacher and writing coach Greg Miller will get your creative work on track with concrete suggestions, fresh perspective, strategic planning and regular deadlines.

"It's like magic!" - Parker (outlined and drafted article)

If you have material you've already generated, e-mail your pdf or link(s) or mail to: 137 N. Larchmont Blvd. #107 LA CA 90004. Greg is an expert reader and will help you focus the project, re-ignite your excitement for the material and chart a course to a finished draft (or performance).

"Terrific insights!" - Noah (re-wrote a script)

If you don't have any material generated... then you really need to saddle up and get started. Call Greg directly at 323-717-4731, explain your particulars and schedule your first session today.

Once you're writing and the words start flowing, you can get totally carried away.

A little carried away is a great thing for creativity. Too much and you hit hurdle #4: Losing Perspective.

This is tricky because a crazy person doesn't know they're crazy, right?

So here are several ways you'll know when you've lost perspective -- and what to do about it:

#1: Your latest version of the material seems oddly familiar and you realize that you're re-written yourself in a circle and have arrived back at your original version of the material.

Last week we announced the finalists in the Other Network Comedy Contest. This week we're happy to announce...

The runner up in the comedy contest is Derek Taylor Kent, primarily for his "Original Sketch Packet", but also for his other entries, all of which were very nicely done.

And the winner is...

Deborah Gross for her blog "Conversations With Deb".

We admit that we're a little partial to reality, but we admired the way wrote her own lines in life - and found the funny as it unfolded around her. Also, for finding a way to put the work out as it happened without having to wait for a greenlight from anyone else. Since, let's face it, the green lights are getting harder and harder to get, even for seasoned professionals.

Congratulations to Deb and to all the entries for your hard work.

You've started generating material. You've defined the boundaries, genre and format of your writing project. Now get ready for hurdle #3: Making a lot of words flow.

I’ve seen many writers define their project clearly and even get as far as a detailed outline that is completely ready to draft and then… they hit a wall.

Why aren’t the words coming out?

Reason #1: It’s not the right project. It's completely possible that with every rational reason to write the project you're trying to write, it's just isn't the right project for you right now. (Or maybe ever.)

Solution: