By JT Ellison
Via: JT Ellison
3.14.15 – Your Saturday Bookish
3.10.15 – Your Tuesday Live or Laugh
Mardi Gras and beyond…
By Toni I cannot believe I haven’t updated since Christmas. Geeeeeeez, it’s been busy around here. There was Mardi Gras in all its abundance. I rode in the Nyx parade and had an absolute blast, then walked in the St. Ann parade Mardi Gras day–really wonderful experience. I loved all of the costumes and the camaraderie, and […]
Via: Toni McGee Causey
New Story Structure Extras List: The Wizard of Oz
And if you’re wondering why I don’t just post the full breakdown here on the blog, well, a couple of things.
I’ve been troubled by the discovery that some people are using this blog and then posting in writing forums or in Amazon reviews things like “You don’t need to buy the books, it’s all on her blog. Just print it out.”
Yes, seriously.
Now, first of all, the Screenwriting Tricks workbooks are written in an order, for a reason. I’ve put a LOT of time into structuring the books to take reader/writers through a process that introduces concepts for maximum understanding. Yes, you can get the same information by trawling through this blog, but it’s NOT the same as working through one or the other of the books in order.
Second, the workbooks are $3.99. That’s less than a latte at Starbucks. Printing out separate blogs is going to cost you at least ten times that in printer cartridges alone, not to mention the cost of the time it takes to do that. And I, the author, get nothing for it when you do that.
If you don’t want to pay it, that’s fine, that’s why the information is all here on the blog. But when people are going out and telling other people NOT to buy the books because it’s all free on the blog, I start to wonder why I’m blogging at all.
There’s a serious mental disconnect going on if people who say they want to be authors are taking the information I’m giving them to help them do that – and then sabotaging my living that way.
Karma generally sorts out that kind of behavior. 🙂 And my overwhelming experience with this blog is that you guys are honestly appreciative and generous in your feedback and support. Not to mention that I learn as much from your comments and questions as you’re learning from me.
But it’s made me think a little about how to proceed.
I want to do more movie breakdowns – I’d really like to work up to doing one a month. But it’s a grueling thing to do. Every one of them means several weeks of work, on and off, that I don’t really have time to do, since my core living is as a fiction writer.
So I’m experimenting, here, and for now the movie breakdowns I do are going to be for this new subscription list, so I know they’re going out to people who have at least enough commitment to this blog to subscribe to it.
But I’ll be re-posting at part of the breakdown here so that people who want to discuss the movie can ask questions in the comments of that post.
As always, all feedback appreciated!
Hope you’re enjoying your Spring! I’m sure we’ll get it in Scotland eventually….
– Alex
Via: Alexandra Sokoloff
7 Minutes With… J.D. Rhoades
By JT Ellison
J.D. Rhoades, known to those who love him as Dusty, is one of a kind. I had the pleasure of sharing an agent with him, which is how we originally met, and we spent several years together aboard the good ship Murderati. He always had the most fun blog posts – one of my favorites was when he had Satan, Prince of Darkness guest blog for him. The resulting poll was enlightening for this new writer, and ever since, I fall back on the idea of deals with the devil when it comes to my publishing career. We’ve been friends a long time, and while we may not agree on everything, we’ve had a blast debating life over the past decade, sharing many a meal at many a conference. I’m so happy to have him on the Tao today, and I can’t wait for his new book – I love his Jack Keller series. Here’s Dusty!
_________
Set your music to shuffle and hit play. What’s the first song that comes up?
Doc Watson, “Cannonball Rag” (Live).
Now that we’ve set the mood, what are you working on today?
It’s a secret project which will be revealed this summer. I can tell you this much: I’m doing it with several other authors and it’s paranormal suspense. I’m having a lot of fun with it.
What’s your latest book about?
DEVILS AND DUST is the fourth Jack Keller novel. Jack comes out of his self-imposed exile in the desert when his old friend and former employer Angela asks him to find her husband Oscar, Jack’s best friend, who’s gone missing while looking for his sons who have disappeared in Mexico. Jack has to confront his own unresolved feelings for Angela while running into some very bad people on both sides of the border. Characters from some of my other books make cameo appearances.
Where do you write, and what tools do you use?
There are two main tools that make it possible for me to write: the laptop computer (because I’m a terrible typist) and the DVR (which keeps me from wandering away to watch TV, because I know I can catch JUSTIFIED and THE DAILY SHOW later). Beyond that, I’ve been using the PC version of Scrivener, which makes it a lot easier to plot things out and move bits around as necessary. I think I may be the only writer I know that doesn’t use a Mac. For jotting down ideas, quotes, etc. and for the occasional session where I write by hand, I have the good ol’ Moleskine notebooks scattered about the house and in my briefcase. I never run out because people keep giving them to me. For column writing, I use a free online tool called Instapaper that allows me to quickly save articles to a single site for later reference.
As for where I write, I mainly plug my laptop into an external monitor and keyboard at a computer desk in the front room of my house, next to the big bay window that offers plenty of sunlight. But that’s subject to change at a whim. Sometimes I’ll go sit in the big easy chair or the bed in the other room, or go out on the porch in good weather.
What was your favorite book as a child?
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE (no surprises there). Later, I devoured all of Robert A. Heinlein’s YA novels from back before there was a thing called YA.
What book are you reading now?
Right now, I’m reading Ann Lecke’s Hugo and Nebula award-winning science fiction novel ANCILLARY JUSTICE, as well as Michael Connelly’s 9 DRAGONS. I often read more than one book at a time.
What’s your favorite bit of writing advice?
“Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip.” –Elmore Leonard
What do you do if the words aren’t flowing?
Pick up one of my guitars and noodle around on it a bit. Walk the dog. Take a shower. Unplug the laptop from the external monitor and keyboard and take it out on the porch or the back deck. Write by hand. Anything to shake things up.
What would you like to be remembered for?
The multiple award-winning and incredibly lucrative movies and TV shows made from my books. And, of course, the books themselves.
_________
Born and raised in North Carolina, J. D. Rhoades has worked as a radio news reporter, club DJ, television cameraman, ad salesman, waiter, attorney, and newspaper columnist. His weekly column in North Carolina’s The Pilot was twice named best column of the year in its division. The author of THE DEVIL’S RIGHT HAND, GOOD DAY IN HELL, SAFE AND SOUND, BREAKING COVER, and BROKEN SHIELD, he lives, writes, and practices law in Carthage, NC. Follow him on Twitter at @jd_rhoades.
J.D. Rhoades’ latest Jack Keller novel DEVILS AND DUST is now available in stores everywhere.
And here’s a little more about J.D.’s recent release DEVILS AND DUST:
“You bring death,” the voice said, “and Hell follows with you.”
Relentless bounty hunter Jack Keller returns in Devils and Dust, the long-awaited fourth installment of the critically acclaimed series from award-nominated author J. D. Rhoades. Keller’s been in exile, living a quiet life in the desert, since his disappearance after the cataclysmic events of 2008’s award-winning Safe and Sound. Now his old friend and former employer Angela has tracked him down and needs his help. Oscar Sanchez, Angela’s husband and Keller’s best friend, has disappeared while investigating what happened to the sons he was trying to bring to America. If anyone can find Oscar, Keller can, but along the way he has to confront his own demons and his unresolved feelings for Angela — now his best friend’s wife. Keller’s quest takes him from a corrupt Mexican border town to a prison camp in the swamps of South Carolina and pits him against human traffickers, violent drug lords, and a vicious group of white supremacists perpetuating an evil as old as civilization itself in the name of God.
All of them are about to learn a hard lesson: if Jack Keller’s after you, he’s bringing Hell with him.
Via: JT Ellison
New Planner Love
By JT Ellison
We’re eight weeks into the new year, and I have a confession. I ditched a planner that wasn’t working for me, and went in a totally new direction. Now, I feel it incumbent upon myself to turn you all on to this.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE HOBONICHI WEBSITE
I am completely in love. I feel like I’ve FINALLY found the right planner.
I’d started the year in a Quo Vadis Journal 21 with a day to a page. It was huge. Thick. Heavy. So big, I couldn’t comfortably carry it with me. Not that I really do carry it, but it just felt so bulky. I figured it was the day to a page—I’ve always done weekly, until I started keeping a “log book” in October of last year and realized I liked having a day to a page. So maybe it was the paper? I use fountain pens—a Lamy Safari, in this instance—but I wasn’t enjoying writing in it. I bought a bunch of new inks, loaded them up, and while I liked them better for the Safari, the planner was still making me go meh.
Photo courtesy of the Hobonichi website
Enter a midnight, full moon, couldn’t sleep read of Tools and Toys, and a review of the Hobonichi Techo. I keep seeing people rave about this unique planner. How it has a cult following, it’s filled with Tomoe River Paper, which is brilliant it was for fountain pens, how thin the paper is. I had one big issue holding me back. The Techo is A6 size. (Japanese A6 though, which is bigger that our A6) I’m an A5 girl all the way. Or so I thought.
It was late. It wasn’t too expensive. I decided to check it out. What the heck, right?
From the moment it arrived, in its Japanese overnight air pouch, holding a green box, I was in capital L love. The size was perfect. Not too small as I’d feared. The paper inside was incredibly thin. So thin, I was certain there’d be huge bleed through. Nope. I used my new fountain pen, a Pilot Knight, and the nib slid along the page in a way I’ve never seen before. I’ve always been partial to Clairfontaine paper—no more. Tomoe River is where it’s at for me. The gorgeous Clairfontaine feels almost too slick, too smooth in comparison. And it’s grid, which I also have always steered away from. Guess what? Grid + fountain pen = perfection.
The paper sold me, but the planner has more little secrets. Quarterly planning, monthly planning, spots for monthly goal setting, in addition to the day to a page—all in half the thickness of my Journal 21. Sold.
Knowing I will be making a permanent change to the Techo planners from here on out, I finished out my new little lover with a splurge—a handmade leather case from One Star Leather. Keegan customized the cover to my exact specs, and it is stunning.
Three weeks later, I can’t wait to pick up the planner and write in it every day. I carry it around the house. I put it in my purses—it fits in them all. I grabbed a Pilot Metropolitan on sale at the Pen Chalet for good measure, since my Pilot Knight internal plastic broke the first time I changed the cartridge. (It’s off being repaired.) I was surprised at how awesome the Metropolitan is to write with. Exactly the right weight, posted and un, and it has the finger rest the Knight is missing. Who knew? Combined with the new Techo, I am now an unstoppable planning machine.
Since my early work days, twenty years ago, with my Coach planner (they stopped making the inserts—waaah), I haven’t had anything I’ve loved so much. Man, it is the little things, isn’t it?
I can’t recommend the Hobonichi Techo planner enough. And get Keegan to hook you up, he’s an incredible leather artist.
Via: JT Ellison
The indie publishing journey
By noreply@blogger.com (Alexandra Sokoloff)
Thomas & Mercer and Amazon KDP both did a series of video interviews with me a couple of months ago. In this first one I talk about how I started writing and why I moved from screenwriting to traditional publishing to indie publishing – and then partly back again! It’s actually an amazing lot of information in a short piece; they did a brilliant job of sketching out the transitions of my writing journey and the reasons I switched media each time.
The shoots were done over two days by a couple of wonderful production teams, and included a ton of still photograph (you can see some shots below….)
Upcoming interviews will include pitches of all my books in 15 seconds or less, a piece on Dangerous Women that gets more thematic, and more individual interviews, all of which Amazon is giving me to use in my own promotion.
Traditionally published authors may have had to read that last bit twice.
I never had a traditional publisher do that level of promotional work for me. But that’s the way Amazon thinks. It’s smart business and shouldn’t be so shocking, but in traditional publishing authors are usually left to do and pay for the bulk of promotion on their own.
Just something for the authors out there to consider when making those publishing decisions. Of course, the bottom line is that we have more choice of how we get our books to readers than ever before, and that’s only good!
– Alex
Photo credit: Israel David Groveman
Via: Alexandra Sokoloff
2.26.15 – 7 Minutes With… Courtney C. Stevens
By JT Ellison
Courtney C. Stevens blazed onto the scene last year with her stellar debut FAKING NORMAL, a young adult novel about the pain and secrets two teens are holding on to. The book completely captured my attention; I read it quickly, closed the cover, and knew I’d just experienced something special. I’m lucky enough to know Court in real life – she’s part of the Nashville literati, influencing so many of the young adult authors around town, and is possibly one of the nicest, sweetest people you will ever meet. I’m thrilled to have her on the Tao today. Meet Court, everyone!
_________
Set your music to shuffle and hit play. What’s the first song that comes up?
“Let’s Be Still” by The Head and the Heart
Now that we’ve set the mood, what are you working on today?
Mostly emails. My time is very blocked and scheduled, but what I want to be working on is (a) finishing Pass Pages for my upcoming book and (b) drafting the final 5k of the project I’m turning in on April 1st.
What’s your latest book about?
It is a young adult, contemporary realistic, aftermath story. THE LIES ABOUT TRUTH is the story of five friends, three boys/two girls, four alive/one dead, and three huge lies they tell each other. If you want to know more, check out the trailer.
Where do you write, and what tools do you use?
I wrote all of THE LIES ABOUT TRUTH in a covered shelter at Percy Warner Park near my home in Nashville. I use Scrivener and a Mac, although I’m quite fond of my pen and notebook. This summer, I’ll be writing on the John Muir Trail in California with a pencil and Moleskine.
What was your favorite book as a child?
I loved ANNE OF GREEN GABLES. Still do. I’m always checking for affordable flights into PEI and treasure the trip I made their for the 100 year celebration of Anne.
What book are you reading now?
I’m splitting time between ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE (Doer) in print and BIG LITTLE LIES (Moriarty) on audio.
What’s your favorite bit of writing advice?
I’m not sure who said it, but I love: “If the muse is late, start without her.” We want writing to be this dreamy process, but quite honestly, I don’t receive scrolls from fairy writing godmothers or download plot map from Shakespeare. I write it wrong, and then try my very best, to re-write it right.
What do you do if the words aren’t flowing?
I try three things: 1- Keep writing. 2- Exercise 3- Take a shower
What would you like to be remembered for?
Loving people for who they are rather than who they might be someday.
_________
Courtney C. Stevens grew up in Kentucky and lives in Nashville, Tennessee. She is an adjunct professor and a former youth minister. She is also the author of FAKING NORMAL, as well as the e-novella THE BLUE-HAIRED BOY. You can visit her online at courtneycstevens.com or follow her on Twitter/Instagram – @quartland
And here’s a little more about her new book THE LIES ABOUT TRUTH:
Sadie Kingston is living in the aftermath. A year after surviving a car accident that killed her friend Trent and left her body and face scarred, she can’t move forward. The only person who seems to understand her is Trent’s brother, Max.
As Sadie begins to fall for Max, she’s unsure if she is truly healed enough to be with him—even if Max is able to look at her scars and not shy away. But when the truth about the accident and subsequent events come to light, Sadie has to decide if she can embrace the future, or if she’ll always be trapped in the past.
And if you want to meet Courtney, you can catch her here:
March 11th
Lexington, KY
Joseph Beth Booksellers
March 31st
Cincinnati, OH
Joseph Beth Booksellers
April 18th
Bowling Green, KY
Southern Kentucky Book Fest
April 21st
Young Adult Georgia Author Celebration
May 16th
Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center
South Caroline Book Festival
Via: JT Ellison
What does it take to write a story set in space?
By Tess
Those of us who make our living as writers know the basics of storytelling: plot,… more »
The post What does it take to write a story set in space? appeared first on Tess Gerritsen.
Via: Tess Gerritsen