It all started one year ago today
I remember looking out my my window into the backyard and saying “It’s now or never.”
Write what you know? No.
Every writer has beenĀ told at least once in their lives to “write what you know”.Ā I hate this piece of advice, mainly because it’sĀ misunderstood.
Read to write
When I write screenplays, my mantra, borrowed from Scott Myers at Go Into The Story, is “Watch movies.Ā Read scripts.Ā Write pages.” What about adapting that to writing books?
Working in coffee shops
How many writers out there work bestĀ in coffee shops? I’m guessing there are many of you that swear by it. It’s a great place to observe the people going about their daily lives. But how safe are you?
Ideas are a dime a dozen
It’s true. Ideas are everywhere. Some are better and more compelling than others. The trick, and the skill, I think, is deciding which one to spend six months to a year of your life on. That’s why outlines are so important. But I digress…
Social media is like a shark
Part of self-promotion is engaging with social media, using platforms like WordPress, Facebook, Twitter and others. I use some and I’ll admit that sometimes it’s difficult to keep up with it all.
Rod Serling on writing
I could listen to Rod Serling talk all damn day. Thereās something about his straightforwardness and honesty about writing that just just boils concepts down to their essence.
Google Analytics, everything and the kitchen sink
I am self-publishing my books. If I’m extremely lucky, maybe I won’t have to in the future, but for now, I have to take on everything a publisher would do. That includes marketing and knowing the whos, whats, wheres, whys and hows of my website traffic. Google Analytics is perfect for this.
Stephen J. Cannell: How to write an outline
An ongoing debate between writers is whether to use an outline or not. From what I’ve posted before, my preference should be clear. This is what Stephen has to say about it.
Believe in yourself
For the longest time I resisted writing a novel. I would read novels, and say to myself I can do that, but I never started. It was a frustrating time in my life, especially after writing several screenplays. It was like this fantastic adventureĀ was right in front of me, but forever out of my grasp.