All Things Writing: Recent Episodes
Bryan the Writer
Love writers and writing? How about reading and finding out more about your next favorite author you just simply can't get enough of? Then All Things Writing is for you. Join me and a wonderful bunch of guests as we take a journey through the world of books and creativity. We will share our life stories with you, as well as advice, tips and tricks, insight, funny stories, and interviews with people from all walks of life.
Join a repeat performance from Eric Dreiling. He and I are going to chat about all kinds of things to include his up and coming new book, Twilight Hawk, which is volume two in his fractured timeline series.
Want to know more about this month's sponsor? Check her out at Jumpaster Press!
Support the showThank you for listening. Consider supporting an indie author by signing up to Patreon today. After you sign up, I will send you the book of your choice.
This week I had the amazing opportunity to sit and talk with the author of the Soup trilogy, Tom DeWitt. We had a great talk about his writing style, his books, life in the army, entrepreneurship, and UFOs of all things. We will find out more about his most recent book, A Time to Stand.
Want to find out more about Tom? Check him out here!
Support the showThank you for listening. Consider supporting an indie author by signing up to Patreon today. After you sign up, I will send you the book of your choice.
Join me today as we chat with author Tom Lucas on his extensive career, his unique worlds, his perspectives on writing, and what he calls Douglas Adams meets Encyclopedia Brown.
Want to know more about Tom? Check him out here!
Support the showThank you for listening. Consider supporting an indie author by signing up to Patreon today. After you sign up, I will send you the book of your choice.
The writer's strike has been all over the news. I really think we need to keep a close eye on this. There are so many things at stake here for writers. Check out this episode and you do your own research. Make up your own mind on the issue.
Support the showThank you for listening. Consider supporting an indie author by signing up to Patreon today. After you sign up, I will send you the book of your choice.
It has been a while since I went completely off the cuff and just ranted about whatever was on my mind. On this week's episode I am going to talk about why I want more subscribers on Patreon, but maybe the right kind of subscribers.
I want to build a relationship with people. That does not mean that I want a one and done kind of interaction. No! I want super-fans. The kind that come to my table at shows because they need my latest book and they bring friends. That means more to me than just money. It means I am connected with that person in a very real way!
Sit back, relax, and enjoy the latest episode of All Things Writing!
Support the showThank you for listening. Consider supporting an indie author by signing up to Patreon today. After you sign up, I will send you the book of your choice.
Welcome to the show today. I have the distinct honor of having back my good friend Sidney Williams to talk about his latest book in his Si Reardon series called Long Waltz. Join us as we talking the series, the book and his latest projects.
You can pre-order his new book, but I would recommend checking out the first book in the series, Fool's Run.
As always, thank you for joining us. I appreciate you taking the time to hang out with us.
Support the showThank you for listening. Consider supporting an indie author by signing up to Patreon today. After you sign up, I will send you the book of your choice.
I am so happy to convince Michael Thompson to take sometime out of his busy schedule and sit down with me again. He is not only a great guy, but a wealth of knowledge on the indie writing scene. Join us as we talk about what he has going on his life and maybe a little sneak peak into what is coming around the bend in terms of new releases.
Sit down and take a listen as we hear what is next with him and a little peak into his process and how he makes the magic happen. Check out his Facebook site here!
Support the showThank you for listening. Consider supporting an indie author by signing up to Patreon today. After you sign up, I will send you the book of your choice.
Good Morning Everyone!
Today let me try and offer some advice on how to decide on what to write next! It is never as easy as it seems. Also, I will have a review the books, Shadows Remainand Beneath Ash and Bone. Spoiler alert, I really enjoyed both of those books.
Tune in next week when we will interview my good friend Michael Thompson!
Support the showThank you for listening. Consider supporting an indie author by signing up to Patreon today. After you sign up, I will send you the book of your choice.
Enjoy this episode of All Things Writing where we sit down with the VP and one of the founders of Jumpmaster press, Kyle Hannah. He is also the author of some fantastic books you can find simply by going over to Jumpmaster Press's site and and checking them out.
Listen in as we talk about his work as an author, what made him want to start Jumpmaster, and their philosophy on how they work with authors. You will be amazed at how they take a different look at the life of a writer.
Want to know more about Jumpmaster? Click here!
Support the showThank you for listening. Consider supporting an indie author by signing up to Patreon today. After you sign up, I will send you the book of your choice.
Join me as I talk about "The Writing life; Reflections, Recollections, and a Lot of Cursing," by Jeff Strand. Additionally, I run through my analysis of Horror on Main. What went right and what went wrong. Fair and honest reviews are always my goal in life and I think I did that here.
I will also run down what show I will be at next as well as other shows taking place in the month of June.
Check out this month's sponsor, J.L. Lawrence here!
Enjoy All Things Writing!
Support the showThank you for listening. Consider supporting an indie author by signing up to Patreon today. After you sign up, I will send you the book of your choice.
I love it when the sponsor comes on the air and joins me. Take a listen while Jennifer and I talk about her career, books, and what influences her work. She has had a fascinating career and has written a lot of books. Her latest YA fantasy series sounds like a winner for all ages!
She is another amazing author from Jumpmaster Press and was the show sponsor for the month of May.
Support the showThank you for listening. Consider supporting an indie author by signing up to Patreon today. After you sign up, I will send you the book of your choice.
This week I get to feature another one of Jumpmaster Press's amazing authors. The author of the novel The Aztec Eagle, she has a lengthy background as a writer and librarian. Hear us talk about her writing process, a flying iguana, and what it is like to be a cross genre writer.
Want to know more about her? Check her out at her Amazon author site.
Support the showThank you for listening. Consider supporting an indie author by signing up to Patreon today. After you sign up, I will send you the book of your choice.
A tribute to Patrick Hodges, who will always influence my work. I will miss you my friend. In ways that I can not yet comprehend.
Support the showThank you for listening. Consider supporting an indie author by signing up to Patreon today. After you sign up, I will send you the book of your choice.
I am thrilled to be able to bring you the amazing author, Dale Kesterson. She is with us today through the courtesy of our good friends at Jumpmaster Press, where you can find her books.
We are going to naturally talk about her writing style, but also;
- What got her to pull up stakes and move to a small city in the middle of no-where?
- How she got her start as a young person and how does that keep going over the course of her life?
- The positives and negatives of co-authoring a novel.
- And of course we will talk about her latest book!
Want to find out more, check her out at her website or the Jumpmaster Press website.
Support the showThank you for listening. Consider supporting an indie author by signing up to Patreon today. After you sign up, I will send you the book of your choice.
Had the opportunity to sit and chat with a wonderful author who hails from the military. He writes military science fiction and writes the Fractured Timeline Series. Sit down and listen to us discuss how the military has influenced his writing. Of course we will talk about what got him into writing in the first place and most importantly, hear him talk about his book.
Want to know more about my good friends at Jumpmaster Press and Erik? CLICK HERE!
Support the showThank you for listening. Consider supporting an indie author by signing up to Patreon today. After you sign up, I will send you the book of your choice.
A quick update and let's talk about what energizes when you are feeling less than energetic. Hey, sometimes we all feel like there is nothing in the tank. I energized myself by going out to Authorcon in Williamsburg, VA.
Met some amazing people and had a lot of fun. Hung out with my tribe and listened to my fellow authors talk about how they became the successful authors they are.
Want to hear/read more about Jumpmaster Press? Click here!
Support the showThank you for listening. Consider supporting an indie author by signing up to Patreon today. After you sign up, I will send you the book of your choice.
Today we are going to talk about all of the great things we have to offer on my new seminar series, "Beyond the Seat." In the seminar series, I'm going to talk about how to do what you need to do after you have written your lines on the page. I want to help you move past that point and get to where you can publish.
Thanks for joining me on this episode of All Things Writing!
Want to know more about the class? CLICK HERE!
Support the showThank you for listening. Consider supporting an indie author by signing up to Patreon today. After you sign up, I will send you the book of your choice.
On this week's episode, we have the amazing and talented Mary Adkins. She is a writer as well as book writing coach. Her goal is to help you write your dream and have fun doing it.
We sit down and talk about writing from places within us that hurt. We talk about trauma and how to use that trauma to inform your writing without actually re-traumatizing yourself in the process.
We will also talk about her books and her writing process. This is a show you don't want to miss.
Do you want to know more about Mary? Check out her website here!
Support the showThank you for listening. Consider supporting an indie author by signing up to Patreon today. After you sign up, I will send you the book of your choice.
On this episode, I look at horror. What are the different kinds and why I firmly believe you should not just pass on a book because it is in the horror section. The reality is that horror fits into all kids of different categories and if you look hard enough, you will find a horror novel to your liking.
Enjoy!
Support the showThank you for listening. Consider supporting an indie author by signing up to Patreon today. After you sign up, I will send you the book of your choice.
On this episode of All Things Writing, we had the chance to sit down and talk with author of The Veil Saga, Steven Guglich. Join us as we talk about his series, inspiring creativity in children, and tons of other amazing things.
Want to know more about Steven? Click here!
Why not check out The Writer's Bone?
Support the showThank you for listening. Consider supporting an indie author by signing up to Patreon today. After you sign up, I will send you the book of your choice.
Join me and my amazing guest, Tracy Clark, as we talk about her amazing book, Hide. We also talked about her creative process, her approach to story telling, and balancing viewpoints to ensure the story line is genuine.
We also chat about life in Chicago. How black Americans have been historically not gotten the recognition they richly deserve for their contributions to society. We also talk about an author organization of authors of color, by authors of color, which drew me in.
Come join us. It was an amazing interview with an amazing author.
Find out more about the amazing Tracy Clark here!
Want to know more about Crime Writer's of Color? Check them out here!
-Bryan the Writer
Support the showThank you for listening. Consider supporting an indie author by signing up to Patreon today. After you sign up, I will send you the book of your choice.
Here is the thing. We know what we write and how we write it. Have you ever stopped to consider why you write? No, well maybe you should.
A great teacher once told me that we will be 100% likely to fail if we do not stop to ask ourselves why we want to do anything. Today I ask you to stop and look under the hood and see what you find. It may not be as easy as you think.
What makes you want to write. Seriously consider the question.
Do you want to know more about my good friends at Scott Ellis Reads? Check them out here!
How about finding out more about The Writer's Bone Network? Check them out here!
-Bryan
Support the showThank you for listening. Consider supporting an indie author by signing up to Patreon today. After you sign up, I will send you the book of your choice.
Welcome to the second episode of 2023! I am thrilled to announce that we are still bringing to the airwaves the best and brightest in the industry. Megan Edwards wrote the amazing book "A Coin for The Ferryman" and has graciously joined us to talk about;
- What led her focus on this period of time for the setting of her book?
- Was there a part of you that wanted to write a book like the coin for the ferryman?
- How did she decide that the main character, Cassandra, would start out in Las Vegas?
- Why Julius Caesar?
- Why didn’t she just choose someone who spoke English?
- What was the most fun to write?
- How important was it for her to to know the places in the book?
- What is the main message for "A Coin for The Ferryman?"
Want to know more about Megan Edwards and the book? Check it out here!
Do you want to take advantage of the wonderful offer of having Scott Ellis come speak to your writer's group? Check them out here!
Support the showThank you for listening. Consider supporting an indie author by signing up to Patreon today. After you sign up, I will send you the book of your choice.
Welcome to the 4th season of All Things Writing. I am so happy you are hanging out with me today. We have a great bunch of interviews coming up this season. However, before we get to that, I want to take some time and let you get to know me better.
Do you want to know more about the opportunity to have Scott Ellis come out to your writer's group and have them talk about audio book production? Check out this link and reach out to them.
On this episode we are going to talk about where we were, where we are, and where we are going as a podcast. I will talk about some ongoing projects I have in the works, and of course we are going to hand out a little advice on how to make that writing life better. It is my way of sharing some of the stuff I have learned along the way.
Please enjoy the first episode of the season and I will be back with the wonderful Meghan Edwards to talk about her book, A Coin For The Ferryman.
Thanks for listening!
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Support the showThank you for listening. Consider supporting an indie author by signing up to Patreon today. After you sign up, I will send you the book of your choice.
You are not going to want to miss a moment of this interview. I had an amazing discussion with Nate Warner about the craft of writing. He has a way of breaking it all down which I would love to bottle up and sell to all of you. Instead, here it is for the low price of free!
Nate and I talked about all kinds of great things. We talked about the book creation process, how to get involved in writing, the importance of having a good editor, and why you should not have to worry yourself if maybe you aren't the best at grammar.
Of course we are going to talk about his book series and what he has going on.
One of the things we talked about in the show was not only his very own website, but we also chatted at length about this really cool page he put together for budding authors. It is his own writing process as an example. While it is not a roadmap for everyone, I think it is a great starting point to help the budding author who wants some sort of direction.
He also has some examples of character sheets people can check out to give you some direction on how to put together your own.
Check out Nathaniel's website!
Do you want to take advantage of the special deal on training designed to put you in front of the microphone for audio book creation? Check it out here at Scott Ellis Reads Classroom!
Give the show a listen, you will be glad you did. Happy New Year and God bless.
-Bryan
Support the showThank you for listening. Consider supporting an indie author by signing up to Patreon today. After you sign up, I will send you the book of your choice.
Merry Christmas everyone! Please enjoy this holiday reading I have especially written for the show. Guaranteed to kindle the spirit of kindness within you for this holiday season.
By the way, if you want to take advantage of my special offer, just go to www.serclassroom.com
Support the showThank you for listening. Consider supporting an indie author by signing up to Patreon today. After you sign up, I will send you the book of your choice.
Welcome to All Things Writing. Today we have the honor of hanging out with Caroline Ailanthus. She is a writer who has considerable chops in the world of science and has written in that vein for some time.
Caroline is also the author of several blogs. Join us today as we talk about her writing process, how she views getting started, and what made her the writer she is today. We will dive into her books and how she came up with the ideas for those wonderful stories.
If you want to know more about Caroline, check her out her!
Do you want to know more about my offer from Scott Ellis Reads? Check them out here!
Thank you so much for checking out the show today!
Support the showThank you for listening. Consider supporting an indie author by signing up to Patreon today. After you sign up, I will send you the book of your choice.
This is easily the best book I have read this year. I got interview the Queen of African Horror, Nuzo Onoh, and read her book, A Dance for the Dead and I was completely blown away. The way I was sucked into this other culture and into this village in Africa was so masterfully done that I just had to have her on the show.
We talk about all kinds of things to include how culture plays a role in how we perceive a story, the role women played in that society, how the main characters are faced with giving up the things they held onto so dear so that their world could be set right, and lots of other things.
The interview is just as amazing as the book. Take a listen, you will be glad you did.
Want to know more about Nuzo? Check her out here!
Support the showThank you for listening. Consider supporting an indie author by signing up to Patreon today. After you sign up, I will send you the book of your choice.
I am thrilled to say that we get some amazing authors here on All Things Writing. Today we get the distinguished author of several true crime novels. Not only is she a former prosecutor, but she also served as a judge on the California State Bar, today we get to hear from The Hon. Lise Pearlman.
We talked about all kinds of things. Focusing on her book Suspect No 1: The Man Who Got Away, we delved into the mystery which has always surrounded the kidnapping and murder of the Lindbergh baby. Certainly one of the most infamous cases to have ever graced American newspapers.
We also talked about
- Her journey as a writer.
- Similarities between working in the criminal justice system and the work she does as a writer.
- Of course we are going to talk about the book!
- What is our fascination with unsolved crimes?
- The level of corruption in our news media.
- Getting her book made into an audio book and working with Scott Ellis Reads
- And of course where can we find her works.
Want to know more about Judge Pearlman? Check her out here!
Want to know more about Scott Ellis and how you can make your dream of an audiobook a reality? Check him out here!
Until next time! Thank you for listening.
Support the showThank you for listening. Consider supporting an indie author by signing up to Patreon today. After you sign up, I will send you the book of your choice.
Just a quick show on this American holiday to talk about what I am thankful for. So, drop that drumstick, put down the potatoes, and have a listen to this special, albeit short, podcast.
Support the showThank you for listening. Consider supporting an indie author by signing up to Patreon today. After you sign up, I will send you the book of your choice.
Welcome to all Things Writing. This week, we have an amazing guest. She is the author of the novels I’ll Get by and Please Tell Me More.Join me as we talk about where he ideas about her characters came from, her life, the emotion that comes with writing her characters, abuse, and of course. We are going to talk about her books. On this episode of All Things Writing.
Want to know more about Patti? Check her out here!
During the interview we give a shout-out to Alton's Keep Wildbird Rescue and Rehab. Check them out here!
Finally, don't forget to stop by and see my good friends at ScottEllisReads.com
Thank you again for hanging out with us!
Support the showThank you for listening. Consider supporting an indie author by signing up to Patreon today. After you sign up, I will send you the book of your choice.
It is my great pleasure to introduce to you, this week, a writer from Silicon Valley who has not only a fascinating story to tell, but an amazing outlook on life. He is a native to the valley and saw it grow from its roots to a symbolic representation of a city which may or may not be justified. I hope you enjoy this episode where I get the chance to sit down and chat with the author of the soon to be released book, The Cyclone Release, Bruce Overby.
Join us as we talk about his life, how his experiences figure into his writing style, the short story, Bookmarks, and of course we are going to get him talking about The Cyclone Release.
Check out his amazing works here!
Support the showThank you for listening. Consider supporting an indie author by signing up to Patreon today. After you sign up, I will send you the book of your choice.
Happy Halloween Everyone!
I am so happy to continue our tradition of special readings for my fiends! Sit back, ask the castle warden for an extra ration of bread, shoo the rats out of your cell, and listen to this classic Lovecraft tale, The Hound.
Your Horrifying Friend
-Bryan the Writer!
Support the showThank you for listening. Consider supporting an indie author by signing up to Patreon today. After you sign up, I will send you the book of your choice.
Thanks for joining me on this episode of All Things Writing. One of the greatest people I have met in writing is the guy I get to interview today. He shares of his experiences and wisdom so freely, that no mere podcast can contain him. He needed two episodes. Seriously, if you even follow half of his advice, you are going to be doing pretty great!
Take a listen as we cover all things writing like the publishing world, working with editors, what shows people need to attend, and all other kinds of things. It really is truly an amazing show.
Want to know more about Bill? Check him out here!
Check out our shared publisher, Dingbat Publishing!
Want to know more about Chris Kennedy? Click here!
Support the showThank you for listening. Consider supporting an indie author by signing up to Patreon today. After you sign up, I will send you the book of your choice.
Thanks for joining me on this episode of All Things Writing. One of the greatest people I have met in writing is the guy I get to interview today. He shares of his experiences and wisdom so freely, that no mere podcast can contain him. He needed two episodes. Seriously, if you even follow half of his advice, you are going to be doing pretty great!
Take a listen as we cover all things writing like the publishing world, working with editors, what shows people need to attend, and all other kinds of things. It really is truly an amazing show.
Want to know more about Bill? Check him out here!
Check out our shared publisher, Dingbat Publishing!
Want to know more about Chris Kennedy? Click here!
Support the showThank you for listening. Consider supporting an indie author by signing up to Patreon today. After you sign up, I will send you the book of your choice.
Today I get the pleasure of welcoming to the show Matty Dalrymple. We are going to pick her brain on things like framing, podcasting, and tons of other things. Not only is she an amazing author, but she is also the host of the podcast The Indie Author Podcast which I highly recommend, by the way.
I feel like we talked about all kinds of different things and in particular we are going to talk about.
- How did you get to the point where she started thinking seriously about the idea of framing a story?
- What are the biggest mistakes in framing?
- What is the largest benefit to framing a story?
- What would a bare minimum frame look like for a book?
- In the Falcon and the Owl, how did she include the theme of transformation for her characters?
- Describe her podcast journey.
- Where to find her latest works?
Want to know more about her and her books? Check her out here!
Thanks for listening!
Support the showThank you for listening. Consider supporting an indie author by signing up to Patreon today. After you sign up, I will send you the book of your choice.
Today we are going to have a ton of fun with our good friend frank J. Edler who has written some of the most fun horror comedy books around. Join me while we talk about his amazing and zany comedy novellas.
Listen to him while we talk about exploding bears. That's right, you read that correctly.
Join us as he tells us what he things he writes. Horror comedy... comedic horror... whatever?
Okay, strawberry flavored critter butts? What the heck?
We'll discuss Deaths rather unjustified reputation.
Of course we will talk about his writing processes and how he makes the magic happen.
His next two books, Haunted Hamburger House and Reg E. Rat's Birthday Fun Center and Same Day Outpatient Care Facility
We had a great time chatting about all kinds of things on All Things Writing. Please check out the program and please take some time to check out all of Frank's amazing work at Amazon. As always, thank you for listening!
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I am excited to say we are sponsored by the wonderful people of Scott Ellis Reads and have the great pleasure of inviting our good friend, Scott Ellis to the show to talk about all things audiobook related!
Please be sure to leave a review wherever you listen to the podcast (ITunes, Apple Podcasts, Spotify...) It only takes a few minutes but it can make a big difference for our show. Share the podcast with your friends or anyone who is interested in learning to write, improving their writing or just listening to some fun interviews. The more ratings we have, the more people this podcast can reach and the more episodes we can create for you to enjoy.
Now sit back, relax, and enjoy all things writing as we talk with Scott Ellis about:
- What is Scott Ellis Reads, in his own words
- What does they do differently?
- What made him want to approach working with writers differently than just simply producing audio books for their customers?
- How can I best ensure I am doing he most I can to ensure the audio book production process is a success?
- What does he wish everyone keow about audiobook production?
- What is is most fun project he has ever worked on?
- What is the most rewarding aspect of what he does?
I have been telling people, all this month, to head over to www.scottellisreads.com and check them out. As they are the show’s sponsor, I am super excited they are onboard.
So, thank you Scott, very much for being on the show with me today and sponsoring this journey I call All Things Writing.
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Did you ever consider your own audio-book? You can actually do many of the of the work yourself. However, you may not necessarily want to.
Here me talk about my journey down this road and what I learned as I tried to do my own audio-book production. Also, hear a little bit about why I think you may want to consider hiring a professional to do the work at the end of the day.
Want more info? Check out my friends at https://www.scottellisreads.com/ and they will help you figure out what your next steps are.
In the episode I also talk about Matty Delrymple's podcast. She is worth checking out. I am really enjoying her shows. You can find her at podcast here: https://www.theindyauthor.com/
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Welcome to All Things Writing, sponsored by Scott Ellis Reads, who can help you will all of your audiobook needs. Did you know that every fourth readers is actually a listener? Check them out today!
On All Things Writing, we are going to be chatting with the wonderful Janet Carden of Crimson Streets. We are going to talk about no only how to get your manuscript past an editor, we will talk about first impressions and how important they can be.
You will also get to hear about their wonderful new podcast show, The Hafling and the Spaceman.
Take a listen and I am sure you will love this next episode of All Things Writing.
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On this episode of All Things Writing, we will tap dance over everything I can think of in about 30 minutes. We will talk about what is going on with me right now, my thoughts on global mergers, why I am super excited about a sponsor, and lots of other things.
Want to know more? Well then, tune in and take a good listen. You won't regret spending time with me on this episode of All Things Writing!
-B
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Join me on this interview of the multi-talented Kim Alexander where we are going to talk a little about her writing life and a lot about her writing, books, and other things. Join us for a fun and sometimes funny chat.
On this week's episode we are going to talk about:
- Her interview with the master himself, Stephen King
- What makes a good fantasy novel?
- Of course my favorite topic, character development
- Pitfalls that new authors make when they try and write fantasy
- What the heck is epic fantasy anyway
- What drove her to write fantasy
- She'll talk about her wonderful New World Magic series
- What drove you to write that series
- She's tells us about her other series as well
- And, the most important thing I ask, where do we find her books
During the show we talk about her editor, Carly. I wanted to give a shout out to her so people know where to find her information. Check out Book Light at https://booklighteditorial.com/
And of course I cannot forget my own wonderful editor, Katherine Mcintyre
You can find her here!
Thanks for listening and remember to check out her here!
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Historic fiction has become huge in recent years. However, did you know that right along with that is a resurgence in interest of old things as well? Join me and my very special guest, "All Things Tudor" host Deb Hunter where we talk about all kinds of interesting things Tudor and otherwise.
Join us as we talk about
- How she got into the world of the Tudors?
- What's it like writing posts and managing content for a FB following of 30,000 people?
- How does she keep content fresh?
- What advice does she have for new writers?
- What role does she play in find materials for her magazine?
- What drew her to a magazine format?
- Is there anything that shocks her?
- What is she working on right now?
She has an amazing story to tell and I most certainly hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Check it out!
If you want to know more about Deb Hunter, you can check her out here. All of her books, merchandise, and a link to her podcast is in one easy to find place.
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Come join us as we pick the brain of a legend in the horror writing world as we discuss his new book, Southern Fried and Horrified.
We'll dip into topics like how he got to where he is today, tips and tricks, what is different today compared to the past, and reflections on some time he took away from the writing community.
You can also check out his new book when it is released after September 6th 2022. Available everywhere you buy books! Check it out.
You can keep up on the goings on his life at his website. https://www.ronaldkelly.com/
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Today I have the honor to interview one of the busiest men in the business, Mr. Daniel Paisner who is the most prolific author you didn't even know you have read. Daniel is a ghost writer and has worked for people who have graced the halls of the white house to people who you may not know, but have an amazing story to tell.
Not only does he give voice to others, but he is a prolific writer in his own right and we will delve into his book, Balloon Dog.
We are going to talk about all kinds of things. Join us as we talk about;
- His life as a ghost writer.
- How much research is involved in building each project.
- How often is he handed something to work from?
- How involved is the celebrities staff?
- Listen as I ask him to talk about his latest book, Balloon Dog.
- To what extent did your own COVID lockdown influence Balloon Dog?
- Most importantly, where can people find Balloon Dog?
- He also mentions his podcast. Check it out here!
Want to know more about Daniel? Check him out here! How about Daniel's podcast called As Told To?
Thanks for joining us!
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Today I interview the amazing Alex Grass, the author of the book A Boy's Hammer, and many other amazing books. We talked about music, books, and how he cracks the nut that is writing.
Join us as we talk about all kinds of things like...
- His amazing background
- His connection to mortuary school
- How he discovered that he wanted to be a writer?”
- His writing process
- The importance the book Doctor Sleep has played in his life
- In his own words, what is A Boy's Hammer about?Tell us a little bit it about it
- What should they know about A Boy’s Hammer?
- Most importantly, where can people find his work?
Great interview that you will not want to miss. Check it out!
Want to know more about Alex? Check him out here!
Thank you for joining us today. And we mention a video on how Amazon makes books after you order them. Here is the link if you are interested in watching the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KjPcw64Izg
-Bryan the Writer
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Follow me on my adventures in Kentucky and Colorado. I was able to hit up some amazing places including a flooded mine, an award winning zoo, the Garden of the Gods and other places.
There are tons of writing prompts all around us. Tons of ideas and all we have to do is reach out and touch those thoughts.
I love taking some time and enjoying the chance to watch the world move around me and enjoying everything life has to offer.
-Bryan the Writer!
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This week I had the amazing opportunity to sit down and talk with Sara Baume who is the amazing author of the book Seven Steeples. Take a listen as we dig into her inspiration and how here art imitated life or maybe it was the other way around, but I promise you will not be disappointed.
At its core, Seven Steeples takes a look at a period of two people’s lives over the course of seven years, leading into their eighth. The characters Bell, Sigh and their dogs Voss and Pip occupy this rental house where they seem to have just kind of given up on what we would say is a normal existence. But you get the impression the author does not see it this way. Here her answer when I ask her.
- We will talk about her naming convention for her characters
- Whether or not they are hermits
- The symbolism of the mountain in the book
- We will talk about how it was so strange for me as a reader to see the world through these two seemingly strange characters, but then starting to envy them in some ways.
At the end of it all, I can highly recommend the book, Seven Steeples. Check it out. I think you will enjoy it as much as I did.
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Some of you will remember I did a review of the novel, The Playing Card Killer. I very much enjoyed that book and jumped at the chance to read and review Russell James's next book, Demon Dagger.
Join us today as we talk about his latest work, how he crafted his novel, why he did what he did, and why he did not do what he could have done on this episode of All Things Writing. We will talk about all kinds of things including;
- A walkthrough of your latest offering, Demon Dagger.
- I love the idea of a protagonist who can see demons. Where did that idea come from?
- In the beginning of the book, you make it clear that the relationship between Drew and his wife Anna is a difficult one. Tell us why you added that as an element to the story?
- Keeping in the theme of family, something happens to Drew and Anna’s only son. I have to tell you that I did not see that coming. But it sets up the rest of the book nicely. There is a conventional wisdom in writing that dictates we, as writers, should be careful when we are dealing with children in horror. Explain your thought process in framing what you did concerning their son.
- I love the idea of a rickety old dagger becoming a formidable weapon only in the presence of a demon. Where did that idea come from?
- Let’s talk cars for a moment or two. Gabriella, a classic muscle car, plays an important role in this story. Talk about the relationship between the car, Drew, and the character of Lincoln.
- What do you think is the central message of the book Demon Dagger?
- We leave Anna and Drew with their weapons. Will see them again?
- Where can people find you work?
Want to know more? Check out Russel James at https://www.russellrjames.com
Or at his amazon page at: https://www.amazon.com/Russell-James/e/B006BFIOKQ
Thanks for listening!
-Bryan
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On the 30th of April I had the most extraordinary opportunity of my life. I was asked if I would fill in as the moderator of the Ravencon chat with Mr. Terry Brooks. Yes, the Sword of Shannara author. The man who brought us the Landover series. An icon in the world of fantasy fiction who changed the playing-field and inspired generations of writers.
As you can imagine, it was a tremendous opportunity and I accepted.
What you are about to hear is the mostly unedited recording of our conversation. What I did cut out was only a little bit in the beginning where we were getting settled and the end where we were leaving the room.
Please enjoy this interview. It is truly amazing and it is really at the heart of why we do this show we call, All Things Writing.
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Do any of you remember who our guest is this week? Here is a hint. He is a novelist as well as an attorney who loves to write two fisted, hardboiled, blood and guts pulp fiction.
Why would I want to keep you in suspense? Welcome to my guest this week, Mr. Mark Mellon.
Listen to Mark while we talk about:
- What is his favorite genre and why
- How did he get interested in Noir
- How does the day job influence what he writes
- Longer fiction over short.
- How do you manage your writing life? I know that for me there are tons of other competing priorities, and I am sure with the day job it can get a little rough.
- What advice can you give someone out there who is trying to balance life with writing?
- What are you working on now?
- I want to remind everyone that next week is a week off for me, but after that I will be back with something amazing that you are just not going to believe you are hearing.
Tune in next week. I got to sit down with a man who has single handedly changed the world of writing and opened up a genre to tons of new readers. I will have that interview for you in a mostly uncut form. You won’t believe who I had the chance to sit down with.
Thank you again for hanging out with us. For all things writing, this is Bryan and Mark, signing off.
www.mellonwritesagain.com
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The term trope actually is derived from the Greek word tropos. Tropos means to "turn or, direction, or way". Derived from the verb, it suggests that something is being turned, to directed, to altered, or changed in some way.
By the way, tropes and their classification were an important field in classical rhetoric. If my sources are to be believed.
Literary terms.net defines tropes as referring to any type of figure of speech, theme, image, character, or plot element that is used many times. Any kind of literary device or any specific example can be a trope. Most often the word is used to refer to tropes that are widespread such as irony, metaphor, juxtaposition, and hyperbole, or themes such as ‘the noble savage’ or ‘the reluctant hero.’ It must be used multiple times to be a ‘trope’ but it is also possible talk about something that’s a trope in only one novel or one author’s works if it is used many times.
Are tropes bad? No. No where as bad as using tons of other different types of words and phrases we use in the English language. However, some can be overused. For example, there was a great commercial recently which played on tropes by showing a bunch of teens running from a crazed lunatic. They pointed to a spooky house, a barn full of axes, a hedge maze. One of them screams out something like, “Why don’t we just take the running car?” There was a running car in the background.
Stick with me for the discussion and a little later in the show I have a book review for you but before we get to that, I want to discuss a word with you. And that word is trope. Tropes and what are they is really the topic of discussion for today.
Thanks for joining us!
Want to know more about tropes?
https://www.skillshare.com/blog/literary-and-genre-tropes-make-your-stories-interesting/
Want to find out more about the book I reviewed?
https://www.amazon.com/Scattered-Smothered-Chunked-Monster-Hunter-ebook/dp/B00A6DT0P2
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/Bryanthewriter)
Greetings my writing friends!
This week I got the chance to sit down with the amazing Sirrah Medeiros and pick her brain about all kinds of things. An interesting gal with a passion for writing, service, and dogs. And, as you know, I love dogs!
Come with me as we talk about all kinds of things like
- How she became the moderator of a romance group
- What first made her want to write poetry
- How she got into horror
- What advice would she give to new writers trying to write the chilling things that go bump in the night
- What is her favorite kind of horror
- Who are her favorite horror authors living and dead
- How has her background influenced her writing over the years
- And of course what is working on now and where can people find her
Want to know more about Sirrah? Check her out at her website, https://sirrahmedeiros.com/
As always, thank you for joining us on All Things Writing. If you want to know more or have questions, hit me up at my e-mail bryanthewriter@bryannowak.com
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/Bryanthewriter)
Welcome to the show all of my wonderful listeners. For those of you keeping track, this is episode 83 of the show. You could be anywhere, but you are here with me and I appreciate it. Thank you all for tuning in on this fine day.
Today we are going to talk a little bit about what happens when you get the chance to meet your heroes. No, I don't mean like Superman, Spiderman, Bat Girl, and my personal favorite, the nice lady that makes my coffee at the stand at work. And yes, she is a superhero in my book.
I am talking about the heroes in the writing world that you admire not because they have amazing abilities. Well, okay maybe they do. Amazing abilities to write that is.
Who are mine? Well, before we get to that, take a listen and I will tell you about an amazing book by Darin Kennedy called The Mussorgsky Riddle. Check it out. It is amazing and you will love it just as much as I did.
But, back to my heroes. I will point back to people like Ronald Malfi, Jeff Strand, and Josh Malerman. Not because of numbers of sales, but there ability to tell a tale. That is what truly matters to me. These guys are impressive because of how they weave a tale and bring you into the story.
Still not convinced? Well, take a listen. I am sure you will agree that if you have the chance you should meet your heroes; more importantly you should learn from them!
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/Bryanthewriter)
I love nothing more than to interview great authors. Those of you who are with me and listen to the show every week will remember that I said this week we would have an interview with the amazing J.D. Blackrose. Join us as we talk about all kinds of things like,
Her razor sharp wit
Who she credits for her writing style
What she does when she is not writing
Her favorite and least favorite parts of the writing process and why
What she would tell the younger writing version of herself
What is her writing routine
She will talk about her Summoner’s mask trilogyOf course we will ask her about her Zombie Cosmetologist novellas
Come on and join us as we talk about all of this stuff and even more on this episode of All Things Writing.
Want to know more about JD? Check her out here www.slipperywords.com
Want to know more about Sheldrick Trust? https://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/Bryanthewriter)
So, you may ask yourself, how much am I writing? Well, Right now I am not writing a lot.
I suppose that is only partially true. I am writing a podcast script for all of you lovely people. However, book wise I am not writing a ton at the moment. A few things sort of conspired against me and that is the topic of today’s show. What can you do when you suddenly find yourself in between writing projects.
You will rightly ask yourself, “But Bryan, why not just start writing another project. I could but lately I have not been feeling great and that really saps my energy, but that is really only part of the reason. I have one book at the editor, another book at the publisher, and another first draft in the drawer, cooling its heels before I launch back into editing. I almost am afraid to start anything new right now. Although I am still going to be hitting the keyboard on other things (not serious efforts, more exploratory work), I am focusing on a few other elements of my writing world that need a little help.
Basically, today I want to talk about what those annoying little things that need to get done to enable you to write in the first place.
What are those things? Well, simply put, we need to work on
- Website maintenance
- Responding to emails
- research into open submission calls
- File maintenance
- Advertising
These things are a lot of work, I know. Plus, they really are not fun. But you have to do them if you want to make it in this crazy business we call writing. And more importantly, you have to do those things if you want to get noticed. Because, remember, that if you want attention you have to scream louder than everyone else who is shouting around you.
To be fair, I don't know everything. However, I am trying my best to change my little world for the better. So, sit back, take a listen, and hear me talk about these little things I concentrate on when I am not concentrating on my words!
Want to reach out to me? Hit me up!
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/Bryanthewriter)
Think fast my writing friends. What would you say is the single most important aspect of your writing game aside from butt in chair making the words happen?
I would argue that if you said anything other than the help of a good editor, you would be wrong. And our next guest has a passion of writing and editing and she is going to share with us the things she has learned.
If you listened to last week’s show you would already know that my guest this week is none other than Red Lagoe. Listen on as we talk about all kinds of things about how she got into writing, where did all those snakes come from, and...
How did she get into horror writing?
Who influenced her horror writing?
Let's talk about Lucid Screams and Dismal Dreams
How did she get started writing in the short story realm?
What is the key to great short story writing?
What drives her as a writer?
What kindled her interest in being an editor?
Check out Red at www.redlagoe.com or her Amazon page
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/Bryanthewriter)
This episode, and a few of the upcoming episodes are going to be special in that I am doing interviews of Horror Writer Association, Virginia Chapter members. I have been a member of that association for quite a long time now, as far as being a member of anything goes and I am happy to say that it has me pretty busy working with other authors on a bunch of different things.
It is that association which put me in contact with so many interesting people and I have been super fortunate to make some pretty long lasting friendships in the process.
One of the things we do is have a chapter table at various events where we get to talk about how the HWA is an international organization dedicated to horror and really is the only one of its kind anywhere. You don’t have to be a horror writer. You can be a supporting member if you just really like horror and hanging around horror authors.
So, it should not shock anyone that my next guest is a member of that organization with a pretty interesting tale to tell not just about horror, but he is a multi-genre author like I am. Want to know more, check out this episode where we talk with author Sidney Williams.
We are going to talk about all kinds of things;
- His history and the wide depth and breadth of things he has done.
- His favorite thing to teach.
- Three things every writer should know or do to make their writing stronger?
- His influences.
- His favorite horror novel and How about movie?
- What did he fall in love with first and how did his other interests come along?
- He'll tell us about Fools Run, his latest book and the follow-on book.
Visit Sidney online at https://SidisAlive.com
Facebook: https://facebook.com/SidneyWilliamsBooks
Twitter: @Sidney_Williams
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sidney_williams/
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/Bryanthewriter)
I want to tell you that I am super happy with the way the edits to my book "The App" are coming along. My editor has really taken me to task and made me work out the kinks in the system.
So today, I'm sharing with you some of the comments she has sent to me and exactly how I handled them. I'm also going to share with you an instance where I did not take her advice, although I did absolutely understand and value it.
I have a fairly stringent self-editing process I utilize to ensure that what I am sending an editor is not crazy and too disjointed. I do this because I really don't want to send her udder nonsense. And yet, there are tons of things she can find wrong with it and plenty of things she can help me focus on as I go through the process.
I did, by the way, get permission from her to share this with you. My editor for The App is a wonderful lady called Katherine McIntyre. And those of you have been with me for a while will remember that she is also the author of the Take to the Skies series I love so much. Although I am not a huge steampunk guy, I loved those books.
Maybe if I do this right, we can convince her to come on the show?
Want to know more? Check out the links above and you will find some amazing work by her!
-Bryan the Writer
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Good Day to you!
I had the greatest fortune to meet author Darin Kennedy at a show we were doing. Wonderful show and a great time. I recently read his book, Necromancer for Hire and I wanted to get him on the show to talk about the book, his current works, and everything in between. Check out Darin and I as we talk about all kinds of things to include writing, art, music, and his bird watching habit. We will also chat about:
- What got him started in horror?
- Necromancy? Was there some particular attraction?
- How does being a medial professional look at how the main character approaches her job?
- How did the idea of April the Necromancer come about?
- How did he decide on the Janus Blade as both a weapon and a tool at the same time?
- Where does her love interest, Gavin, end up in the grand arc that is April's life?
- We leave Julian LaMorte in an precarious place. Interesting. One gets the impression this was certainly on purpose. Why did he leave the story line where he did?
- Is he a just a fan of classical music or just Pictures at an Exhibition in general?
- How does art influence his writing?
- Being a doctor is a busy job. How does he find time for it all and what does he get out of it at the end?
- He and I will discuss his writing process.
Want to know more about Darin? You can check out his website here!
You can also check out his Amazon Author page here!
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/Bryanthewriter)
Welcome to the show everyone! Hope you are doing well. This is All Things Writing and I am your host, American author, Bryan Nowak.
let’s get hooking?
Have you ever read a book that was so woefully lacking in any kind of hook that you put it down and never picked it up again? I most certainly have and if you have too, you are not in the minority. If you are not hooked, then why should you continue reading?
In an article written by Sharon Short in Writer’s Digest there were five characteristics of a great beginning. I will make sure and post the link to writer’s digest in the show notes so you can check them out yourself. Well worth checking out.
She focuses, in the article, on five characteristics of a great beginning.
The first is an overall sense of immediacy. She says that readers must have a reason to read, even if that reason is visceral or lies in the subconscious.
It was like I was saying, you need to present your audience with some reason to continue reading or they will just put the book down and walk away. And no one wants that.
She suggests that it is perfectly fine to start with dialogue or action, but you need to still pique your reader’s curiosity.
The second characteristic is the tone you set. She also uses the word tone in the article.
You must ensure that word choice and overall tone in the beginning of your work will tell the reader what to expect. Are they going to laugh? Are they going to cry? Will they be terrified? You need to make sure and build that into the beginning.
Third is suspense. I am a fan of saying that all books are mysteries since you are starting with something you have never read so you have no idea how it is going to end. It is a mystery in that sense.
Sharon says, “just hint at what’s to come.”
A great example is in the first paragraph of the book Watchers by Dean Koontz. It is stated that the main character is taking only “…a package of Oreo cookies, a large canteen full of orange-flavored Kool-aid, and a fully loaded Smith and Wesson .38 Chief’s Special.”
To me, that is a great hook. You know this guy is planning for something and not something good.
Next Sharon’s article mentions something that drives me crazy. She specifically calls out specificity as an important characteristic of the writing.
What she is getting at is the importance of getting to the point when you are still hooking the reader.
And lastly fair play. In my own words, don’t offer them a steak dinner and then serve them linguini. Or maybe I am just hungry?
You want it to work, so there has to be foreshadowing of something fixin’ to go wrong. You cannot just let it lay on the page there if your reader expects horror, mystery, scifi, etc. Let your reader know that there is enough in store to keep them moving through the pages.
Remember the idea that your first chapter is essentially a contract with your readers. Don’t mislead them.
Want to know more? Check out Writer's Digest here!
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/Bryanthewriter)
As most of you know, I love doing cons. Why? Well, not only do I get to meet some amazing readers, but I also get to spend time with other amazing authors. The last show I did in 2021 I got the chance to hang out with my next guest for three days of fun and mayhem. This effin’ guy was so much effin’ fun that I’m sure I had more fun than a whole sackfull of Collared Observer Penguins who would rightly tell you to sit back, relax, and get some fucking popcorn, it’s shitshow time.
Bryan, what, did you just say?
You heard me right. Sit back and grab your thesaurus of expletives, my next guest is Aaron Reynolds, author of Effin’ Birds, A field guide to identification. Aaron, welcome to the effin’ show.
Join us as we find out more about our good friend Aaron and how Effn' Birds came into being. We will talk about all kinds of cool things.
- What started first, the jokes or the deep and abiding interest in what birds?
- I have, for years, and idea for a coffee table book, but it has stalled on me because of the whole novel writing and podcasting thing. Something about needing more time for stuff. But when was it that you knew you had an idea for a coffee table book?
- How does a coffee table book differ in terms of writing that versus a novel do you think?
- What things surprised you about writing Effin’ Birds?
- If you can go back in time, and tell your writer self anything, any bit of advice, what would that be?
- What bit of advice we were given when we were first starting out that we did not need at all?
- So you wrote an amazing effn’ book. Then you decided to get into the cards. I think we sometimes forget about the idea of merchandizing outside of just our books. I am curious what led you to the cards.
- What’s effn’ next for you?
If you are so inclined, any support you can offer the show would be most appreciated. You can hit me up on Patreon where I am actually doing readings of my books. You can also donate to the show directly through paypal.
If you have any questions about the show or would like to chat about anything, reach out to me at bryanthewriter@bryannowak.com .
If you would like to find out more about Effn' Birds, check it out here.
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Happy New Year!
Welcome to the show all things writing. This is our 3rd season and we are happy to reintroduce ourselves to you.
For those of you who don’t know me, I am Bryan Nowak, the author of The Dramatic Dead, The Reverent Dead, Crimson Tassels, Riapoke, The Bagorian Chronicles, the Dean Cordaine books, the soon to be released second book in the Bagorian Chronicles series, as well as another horror novel which I am putting the finishing touches on now.
What is all things writing? We are talking about writing, books, fans, editing, publishing, and all things in between. In reality, as long as it is book related, we are going to chat about it.
I got my start writing in 2013. Funny story that I think I have told loads of times, but not really on the show, so I will share it here. I was in a meeting and for the most part, the meeting had nothing to do with me. So, I pulled out a pen and paper and started writing a little story in the back of my notebook. I still have that original manuscript and I sometimes pull it out and look at it.
People ask me about my style of writing, and I love to point out that in reality I am 100% committed to the idea that I am first and foremost an entertainer. That is the one thing actors, musicians, singers, and other artists have in common, we entertain people.
To be an effective writer, you have to get that idea firmly entrenched in your head or there is no reason to write in the first place. That book you are writing must entertain at least one person, that is you.
I also want to be a writer who lifts you out of your place and time and transports you to a world more entertaining than our own regular lives.
When I was in high school we read the book The Great Gadsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and the book Gentlehands by M.E. Kerr. Those books painted pictures for me that I could never get out of my hands. In the book Gentlehands there is a chapter where the kids are sitting around playing a game where each of them has to throw in an article of clothing. Each of the others tries to figure out which of the other kids has what. Buddy, the main character, has a polyester sweater he throws in when the other kids, rich kids, throw in expensive articles of clothing.
The way Kerr writes this is so amazing to me that it sticks with me all these years later. That is truly great writing. The dialogue, the world, everything is just so perfect.
But isn’t that what amazing writing needs to do?
Give me fun prose and some amazing dialogue. Give me characters that I will weep for when something goes wrong. That is good writing.
Welcome to the show and enjoy. Remember to hit the like button so you can keep up on everything we have going on and remember to tun in next week when we will have Mr. Aaron Reynolds on as our guest. He is the author of the fantastic book, Effn' Birds.
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/Bryanthewriter)
Welcome friends! A happy holidays to all of you. I am finally doing something I have wanted to do for a long time. I am recording the classic tale, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I have wanted to do this for a long time and present it to people in its 1847 edition. This week we tackle the fifth and final chapter in this most famous of holiday tales.
Pay close attention to the reading and compare it to the way we traditionally see the story told today. It is amazing to me how many similarities to the original text made it through time and what, oddly enough, just didn't.
For those of you interested, and to show my appreciation, I am giving you a link to what I am reading from. This is the version provided free of charge by the good people at the Gutenberg Project. Want to know more? Click here!
Like what I am doing? Hit that like button and if you are so inclined, head over to my Patreon and support my endeavors. If you sign up at the $5 a month level, I will send you a novel every time a new one comes out. Hard copies in the U.S. and an e-book of your choice if you are anywhere else in the world. Click here for more information!
And, as always, thank you so much for listening!
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/Bryanthewriter)
Welcome friends! A happy holidays to all of you. I am finally doing something I have wanted to do for a long time. I am recording the classic tale, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I have wanted to do this for a long time and present it to people in its 1847 edition. This week we tackle the fourth chapter in this most famous of holiday tales.
Pay close attention to the reading and compare it to the way we traditionally see the story told today. It is amazing to me how many similarities to the original text made it through time and what, oddly enough, just didn't.
For those of you interested, and to show my appreciation, I am giving you a link to what I am reading from. This is the version provided free of charge by the good people at the Gutenberg Project. Want to know more? Click here!
Like what I am doing? Hit that like button and if you are so inclined, head over to my Patreon and support my endeavors. If you sign up at the $5 a month level, I will send you a novel every time a new one comes out. Hard copies in the U.S. and an e-book of your choice if you are anywhere else in the world. Click here for more information!
And, as always, thank you so much for listening!
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/Bryanthewriter)
Welcome friends! A happy holidays to all of you. I am finally doing something I have wanted to do for a long time. I am recording the classic tale, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I have wanted to do this for a long time and present it to people in its 1847 edition. This week we tackle the second chapter in this most famous of holiday tales.
Pay close attention to the reading and compare it to the way we traditionally see the story told today. It is amazing to me how many similarities to the original text made it through time and what, oddly enough, just didn't.
For those of you interested, and to show my appreciation, I am giving you a link to what I am reading from. This is the version provided free of charge by the good people at the Gutenberg Project. Want to know more? Click here!
Like what I am doing? Hit that like button and if you are so inclined, head over to my Patreon and support my endeavors. If you sign up at the $5 a month level, I will send you a novel every time a new one comes out. Hard copies in the U.S. and an e-book of your choice if you are anywhere else in the world. Click here for more information!
And, as always, thank you so much for listening!
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/Bryanthewriter)
Welcome friends! A happy holidays to all of you. I am finally doing something I have wanted to do for a long time. I am recording the classic tale, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I have wanted to do this for a long time and present it to people in its 1847 edition. This week we tackle the second chapter in this most famous of holiday tales.
Pay close attention to the reading and compare it to the way we traditionally see the story told today. It is amazing to me how many similarities to the original text made it through time and what, oddly enough, just didn't.
For those of you interested, and to show my appreciation, I am giving you a link to what I am reading from. This is the version provided free of charge by the good people at the Gutenberg Project. Want to know more? Click here!
Like what I am doing? Hit that like button and if you are so inclined, head over to my Patreon and support my endeavors. If you sign up at the $5 a month level, I will send you a novel every time a new one comes out. Hard copies in the U.S. and an e-book of your choice if you are anywhere else in the world. Click here for more information!
And, as always, thank you so much for listening!
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/Bryanthewriter)
Welcome friends! A happy holidays to all of you. I am finally doing something I have wanted to do for a long time. I am recording the classic tale, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I have wanted to do this for a long time and present it to people in its 1847 edition.
Pay close attention to the reading and compare it to the way we traditionally see the story told today. It is amazing to me how many similarities to the original text made it through time and what, oddly enough, just didn't.
For those of you interested, and to show my appreciation, I am giving you a link to what I am reading from. This is the version provided free of charge by the good people at the Gutenberg Project. Want to know more? Click here!
Like what I am doing? Hit that like button and if you are so inclined, head over to my Patreon and support my endeavors. If you sign up at the $5 a month level, I will send you a novel every time a new one comes out. Hard copies in the U.S. and an e-book of your choice if you are anywhere else in the world. Click here for more information!
And, as always, thank you so much for listening!
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I am ready to announce my award winner for best book I have read. Yep, I have a clear winner. And, to be honest, this was not even much of a competition. This year, I deem Mr. Ronald Mafi’s novel, Come With Me as my overwhelming winner.
Seriously, I am not trying to make it sound like this is a commercial for the book, Come with me, but it is going to be unintentionally so.
So, the big question is why did I like it so much?
Imagine, if you can, careening down a path you thought you knew so well that every twist and turn of the path was known to you even before you had a chance to see the next turn in the road. I mean, you knew that path well enough that no matter what happened you thought you could handle it.
Next, I want you to imagine what it would be like if that path suddenly no longer made any sense to you and as matter of fact, now you found that monsters lie in the darkness on either side and the slope became so impossibly steep that you had no choice but to continue on for climbing back up the hill was impossible.
Ronald Malfi is a master at putting his protagonist in. I argue that this is quandary we find our protagonist Aaronn Decker in. As a matter of fact, he is so good at descending people through the levels of insanity, that I am amazed with his talents to bring you through the depths of insanity and make it feel completely natural.
Truth in advertising, I have been a Ronald Malfi fan for son long. It is hard not to love his work. You have not heard of Ronald Malfi? Have you never heard of Stephen King, or Josh Malerman? How have you never heard of Ronald Malfi, the master of true psychological horror? Well, read on and pick up a copy of this book.
In his latest offering, "Come With Me", we see the life of Aaron Decker as he is after the death of his wife. Guilt and grief stricken, we find a man searching for a way to get out of this miasmic existence when a series of strange occurrences lead him to discover something his wife, Allison, tried to keep hidden for so many years.
What was she hiding? I would argue her personal obsession as well as cross to bear. An obsession which quickly becomes Aaron’s to see through when he discovers a file of notes along with a handgun. This grabs Aaron by the nose and leads him to see the truth and complete the quest his wife was on.
By the end of the book, you finally are left to ponder what Allison means in the very beginning of the book, when she implores Aaron, “Come with me.” I know it certainly left the question in my head. A question I will certainly bother Ronald for an answer for, next time I see him. That question, and I don’t think I am giving anything up here, is this. Was Aaron supposed to die with Allison that morning? And yet, you have to read the book to understand why I ask this.
Amazingly well written, there is a danger in reading this book as it will ensure you forget about eating and sleeping. You simply have to know how it all ends and that is the challenge with a book like this.
I really don’t say this very often, but this book really needs to become a movie and if that doesn’t happen, I will feel there is little justice in the world. And yet, no film adaptation would ever do the book justice. It is just not possible to improve on this work.
Check it out here!
As always, thank you for listening. If you like what I am doing and want to support me, head on over to my Patreon page and see what else I have out there for content. CLICK HERE
Until next time, this is your host, Bryan Nowak, with All things Writing, signing off.
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But today I want to talk about Characters and where they come from.
Recently, an article came out on a newsletter that I am a huge fan of, “Writer’s Write”. And it was basically a collection of quotes from famous authors about the issue of character development. It was a fascinating list and I want to read a few of them here for you and discuss them a little in terms of how they impact my own writing life.
Naturally, I will share that link in the show notes for those people interested in taking a look at it. And, if you are a writer, feel free to sign up for their newsletter. I get it and I enjoy it. Not a terribly long read, but some great links in there.
Huge thank you to Jim Wink who is an active supporter through Patreon. Won't you consider joining him in helping the show along?
Recently, an article came out on a newsletter that I am a huge fan of, “Writer’s Write”. And it was basically a collection of quotes from famous authors about the issue of character development. It was a fascinating list and I want to read a few of them here for you and discuss them a little in terms of how they impact my own writing life.
Take a listen and I hope you love it as much as I do. Check it out here!
You can find out more about Dingbat Publishing here.
See you again soon!
-Bryan the Writer
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Wanna know what makes me afraid of things going bump in the night?
Well, this time last year I did a show about what makes people scared. I thought that was a fairly interesting topic to talk about since it’s Halloween, and this is the time to be scared. I think my earliest memories about being scared probably were in a movie theater in Steger Illinois where we were watching a movie and I remember burying my head in the seat of the chair because I was terrified of whatever it was that was on the screen. Fast forward a few years I remember watching another movie, this time I was scared but I still watched it.
The movie was called Funeral Home. Funeral Home and it was originally released as Cries in the Night. A 1980 Canadian slasher film directed by William Fruet. Basically a teenager, played by Lesleh Donaldson, spends the summer at her grandmother's inn. Of course it is a former funeral home.
How about literature, what scares you and how?
I remember reading a book about ghosts when I was little and not being particularly scared. In reality, stories about ghosts, even supposedly term ones, don’t really frighten me. Never quite understood why. Although I highly suspect that has to do with my own experiences with the paranormal as a child. Generally speaking they weren’t terribly scary. I just never experienced a terrifying situation with the ghost.
However, I did read a book when I was younger called The Oddkins by Dean Koontz. That book scared the crap out of me. Just the way it’s written rose really kind of terrifying. The only reason I think it scared me as much as it did was because the book itself is deeply unsettling.
If you look up on Amazon, you’ll find the following description, “The Oddkins, secret toys that aid and inspire children facing serious problems or sorrow, battle a band of evil basement toys in their search for a magic-sustaining toymaker.”
The terrifying part for me is that evil toys can exist. It kind of goes back to the old school poltergeist seen where the clown comes to life. I don’t care who you are, that’s one of the scariest things you’ll ever see on film. And we love it. Fact of the matter is we love being scared.
Want to know more about what scares me in literature? Take a listen!
As always, thank you for listening. If you like what I am doing and want to support me, head on over to my Patreon page and see what else I have out there for content. CLICK HERE
And always I appreciate every single listener, you make my world go around. Next week, will be a bye week for me, so I won’t have a show. However, I’ll be back after that was some new episodes. This is Bryan the Writer, at all things writing, signing off.
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There’s a lot of things going on in the writing world today, hopefully first and foremost in your writing lives you are writing. After all, those poems, short stories, and novels, won’t write themselves. I want to talk about something that we don’t normally talk about on the program. As a matter of fact, this episode is entirely about this subject in one crucial way. You see, today’s guest has a wealth of knowledge to offer us on the topic of scriptwriting.
Tune into today's episode to hear what was, for me, one of the most amazing and interesting interviews I think I have ever done. My guest, Joe Maddrey, has worked in television doing something that I have always found fascinating, writing a script. Today we are going to talk about all kinds of things.
- Join us as we chat about his book and documentary, “Nightmares in Red, White and Blue: The Evolution of the American Horror Film.”
- What started it all for Joe Maddrey in terms of your interest in the writing world?
- What was your attraction to scriptwriting?
- Tell us about what kinds of things have held him back and the best advice he had ever gotten which helped him move past that internal block.
- How much creative license does he get when he sits down to write a script for a television show?
- His editing process.
- What the timelines are like for writing a project looks like for him.
- He is going to tell is about his recent book, Adapting Stephen King and what his inspiration was for that book.
I'm not kidding folks, this is one of the most interesting interviews I think I have ever done. Check it out!
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Do you want to know the truth? Taking care of yourself ensures you can take care of others. In reality, blowing off your own health only hurts the ones around you.
Worst of all, it hurts your writing.
So, in this episode of All Things Writing, we are going to talk about what it takes to take care of you so that you can take care of business.
Mentioned in the show this week are quite a few links, so, here you go!
Link to Heidi's article
https://introvertdear.com/news/6-ways-to-calm-your-overthinking-introvert-mind/
Want to know more about floating... and the magic peace and quite can bring?
https://www.omfloat.com/
Think you could be a Highly Sensitive Person? Take the test, you may find out a lot more about yourself than you expected.
https://hsperson.com/
As always, thank you for listening. If you like what I am doing and want to support me, head on over to my Patreon page and see what else I have out there for content. CLICK HERE
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/Bryanthewriter)
If you live on the East Coast, you know the name Pamela K. Kinney. She is a fixutre in the writing and paranormal investigation world. So it's fitting that we have her on the show talking about all kinds of things from her life as a writer, to her life as a ghost hunter.
Join us as we talk about
- Her work in anthologies
- Where she gets her ideas from
- Her writing process
- How did she start writing
- Where did she learn her craft
- What was her first paranormal experience
- What frightens a seasoned ghost hunter
- What is one place she would love to investigate and why
- Is there an investigation special to her
- And where can we find her
Want to find out more about Pamela? Check her out at her website at https://www.pamelakkinney.com/
Or you can check her Amazon page
As for me, come on over and check me out on Patreon where you can help make the magic happen! CLICK HERE
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Good Morning Everyone and welcome to another episode of All Things Writing.
Labor Day 2021 was amazing fun for me. I am the father of an autistic adult child. He is currently down in Fishersville, Virginia attending a special tech school just for people with his kinds of needs.
I love Labor day for a couple of reasons. The first is that I really feel that at the end of summer we need a day to just sort of celebrate all things summer and enjoy hanging out with our family and friends. It is a time to unwind.
However, that is not what the day started out to be.
You see, Labor Day got its start in September of 1882. The unions in New York City decided to have a parade to celebrate their members being in unions and to show support for all unions. According to some sources, at least 20,000 people showed up at the event.
Other areas of the country followed in the footsteps of New York and soon gatherings sprung up and in in 1887 Oregon, Massachusetts, Colorado, New York, and New Jersey all made Labor day a state holiday.
Grover Cleveland, in 1894, signed a law making Labor Day a national holiday. This was only after most states had already passed their own laws establishing a Labor Day holiday.
Labor Day is the unofficial end of hot dog season. Although I argue hot dogs are pretty much an all year thing. I am apparently not in the minority on this one as according to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, Americans eat around 20 billion hot dogs annually.
Why do I tell you any of this?
This labor day my wife and I stopped in a wonderful little bed and breakfast called The Buckhorn Inn and Tavern. It is located in Churchville, Va. It is an amazing place. First off you should know it was built in 1811. While it was destroyed in a fire, but was rebuilt exactly as it was. The first floor houses this amazing little dining area, a check in area, and a few rooms.
The Innkeeper is named Rob. Super amazing host. He ran his hind end off to make sure our stay was as amazing as possible. The room we stayed in was in the second floor. Super comfy beds and really just a nice layout.
The Buckhorn was once host to Confederate Army Commander Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson. As I stood on the balcony overlooking the street, I considered what it might have felt like in those times to look down at the carriage receiving area in front of the building.
The Buckhorn was a carriage stop along the road and likely played host to any number of famers persons throughout history who thought it only a minor occurrence to stop at a house along the route of a carriage.
I tried to put myself in the shoes of those people exiting their carriage ride, dusty and maybe a little sore from the trip, and being welcomed to the home. What was it like to see a home like that for the first time as a child of these families who looked upon the place with wonder?
What does this have to do with Writing? Passion! Restoring a home takes passion, getting a new holiday on the books requires passion. So does writing.
Want to know more about the Buckhorn Inn? Click here!
How about Hunter and Christii Darden's Retro Flex? Click here!
Want to know all about Labor Day? Click here!
Thanks for listening,
Bryan the Writer
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Welcome everyone to All Things Writing. In case you wandered onto our little podcast and did not know it, I am your host, Bryan Nowak, podcaster, and fiction author of dark tales, SciFi, and suspenseful mysteries.
My guest today is none other than the author of the book “The Playing Card Killer” Mr. Russell James.
Join us while we talk about all kinds of things like;
- When did you get your start in writing and what influenced you to write?
- Reading the playing card killer, I am reminded of the Russian Chess Board killer Alexander Pichushkin, because you use the symbology of the playing cards in your book. I am curious, how did you come up with this idea?
- How did you build his character profile? Was it based off someone?
- I am really curious why you chose a shipping yard as a setting. Is there a personal connection? I know that a lot of times I have a personal connection to the kinds of places I center my characters.
- You have quite a few books out, I am going to ask you to pick out a favorite, and why?
- Do you find that when you write, you have to put together an outline to follow?
- Where do you start from in the creative process? For me, I have to start at the main character’s point of view and then work them toward where I want to ultimately find them.
- Did you actively study to be a writer? What did you have to learn to perfect your craft?
- I am pretty sure I make mistakes daily. What mistakes do you think you made at the beginning?
Want to know more about Russell? Click Here!
Want to support the show? Click here!
Support the show (http://paypal.me/BryanNowak)
At All Things Writing, we not only have great guests, but I like to think we have great content too. Join me as I read out of my upcoming book, The App!
Be the first to hear the first how it all begins for our hero Cece in this thrilling first chapter (prologue, really).
Join me as I read what happens in the deepest, darkest woods.
Want to buy a fella a cup of coffee? Well you can. Check me out at buymeacoffee.com/bryanthewriter
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/Bryanthewriter)
Greetings friends!
Sit back and relax while I talk with the amazing Mr. Jim Nettles. Jim has a background that I am not sure any other guest on the show can even begin to hold a candle to. James Nettles has a thirty-year career consulting for clients from startups to Fortune 100’s, media contributor, speaker on the I0T, privacy, business continuity and disaster recovery, futurism, coming disruptive technologies and their impact on businesses and individual daily lives. He teaches workshops on Intellectual Property, Marketing and Branding, Social Media, book development and publication, and the business of creativity.
Listen while we talk about;
- What made him write mostly non-fiction and how does he chose to write what he writes in the fiction realm?
- What does he see on the horizon which will shake up the way authors do business in the future?
- Let me pick his brain on his basic advice to get people on the road to marketing success.
- What the heck is Author Essentials and how do people get it.
- What educational courses does he offer?
- What are his favorite genres to write in?
Want to know more about Jim? Check him out at all these wonderful places.
Non-fiction, speaking and consulting at https://JamesPNettles.com
Short stories, new releases, and more can be found at: http://www.jim-mcdonald.net/
Author Essentials: https://www.authoressentials.net and https://www.authoressentialsworkshops.com, with resources and workshops dedicated to the business of being an author.
ConTinual: ConTinualConvention.com
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ConTinual
Email: jim@jim-mcdonald.net
jimn@authoressentials.net
Twitter: @ JPNettlesAuthor
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jimmacauthor
https://www.facebook.com/james.nettles
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorEssentials/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/BooksandBeerCLT/
https://www.facebook.com/booksnbeer/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jpnettlesauthor/
Check him out and all the amazing things he has to
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/Bryanthewriter)
Good Day to you all, my wonderful listeners. I’m thrilled that you have, once again, tuned into the show that makes the world go round, or at least my world, All Things Writing.
We have a lot of authors and writing related people on this show and that is great. But remember that there is a cast of thousands who work in the creative world and they all add that subtle bit of awesome sauce to what we do.
I do have some podcasters on, but really none like this guy. He does something truly unique. Please take some time to get to know the voice The Wandering Tavern podcast, Mr. William Smith.
Today we are talking about;
- How did you first think to yourself, you know, this is something I want to do?
- Have you always been into voices and voice acting?
- What were you like as a kid?
- When did you first realize you had a good idea?
- Walk me through the process of creating a character in your head.
- There seems to be a good amount of audio mixing that has to go on, how long does it take you to do an episode, lets say for an hour or so of audio?
Want to know more? Check out William's work at:
Project Smythical or The Wandering Tavern
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/Bryanthewriter)
Welcome everyone to this next episode of All things writing.
This year I was fortunate to be a vendor at ConGregate 2021. It was my first time back in the convention waters in a long time and it was really nice to know that we are getting back to the regular routine of things. When we go to Cons, authors do spend time talking with our colleagues about what is going on in the business. I lucked out to get a spot next to my next guest.
Welcome to the show, Mr. Patrick Dugan! Join us as we talk about all kinds of things including;
How did your early writing experiences shape you?
You read a lot as a child. What would you say was the biggest influence during that time and why? What did those early influences give you?
Tell us about “The Darkest Storm” series.
You also wrote “Fate and Flux”, which is steampunk. I am fascinated how connected SciFi and steampunk are connected in many ways. And, for that measure, paranormal thrillers can be added to that mix. Would you consider yourself to be multi-genre?
You mentioned Fallstaff Publishing and John Hartness. In the “about” section of your website. How did that relationship start?
For people looking into finding the right publisher, what would you say are the most important considerations?
I know that at the Con we were at, you gave a discussion on how to use tools for helping you in your writing career. I think we are sometimes awash in tools and a new one comes out every few minutes to solve all of our problems. What would you say are your favorites?
Want to know more? Check out Patrick on the links below!
His website: https://www.patrickdugan.net/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/patrick.dugan.3781
Twitter: https://twitter.com/P_Dugan
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patrickduganauthor/
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/Bryanthewriter)
There are some books you read which really tell you a ton about the author and how they have grown. Roadside Attractions is that book for friend of the show, Eric Lahti. Come with me as we talk about what I liked about the book!
I will give you a hint. I love good characters and amazing dialogue.
Want to know more? Check it out here!
-Bryan the Writer
Support the show (http://paypal.me/BryanNowak)
As I am sure you know by now, this is All Things Writing and I am your host Bryan the Writer. Thank you for joining me on this huge milestone of a show. We have done it, dear listener. We have broken through the barrier that is 1,500 downloads and are already well on our way to the next milestone.
I could not have done it without the support of the people listening and the people who have come on the show to be my guests since I started this.
Alright let’s talk notes!
As you know this show is really about my journey and sharing some of my tips and tricks as I have stumbled and bumbled my way through my writing life. One of the things I have had a really hard time with over the hears is keeping track of, and taking good notes.
Creativity lives in the back of the human brain, not in the front. If you tried to will yourself, right now, to come up with five great book ideas in ten minutes, I want to suggest that is really hard to do. The best idea for a short story, which ended up in a magazine, came from a nightmare I had. Again, it was that back part of my brain that was fully engaged. But, and here is the important bit,
I had to get up, run downstairs, and jot things down on a piece of paper. Then I let out a yawn and went back to bed. Early morning, and the middle of the night are the best times for the rear of the brain to do its best work.
But that is the thing, we have all done a similar thing. So, what do you do with all those bits of paper and scraps of napkin you collect when the back of your brain is living its best life? Listen to the show and find out.
Also, if you have not checked her out, head over to Ann Kroeker's site and check out her podcast. You will be glad you did. https://annkroeker.com/
Appearances coming up soon!
· 9-11th of July: CONGREGATE; Winston Salem, NC: http://con-gregate.com/
· 17 July: Book Signing at the Book Warehouse at 5625 Richmond Rd. in Williamsburg, VA.
· 30 July – 1 Aug: Scares That Care; at the Doubletree Hotel at 50 Kingsmill Rd., Williamsburg, VA
· 3 October: Fredericksburg Indie Book Festival; We will be located on Sofia Street this year (although maybe in the park next to it). Come one and come all. I have done this event a few times in the past, and it just keeps growing every year.
· 13 November: Hannover Book Festival; 8700 Bell Creek Rd, Mechanicsville, VA. For those of you unfamiliar, that is in the area of Richmond
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/Bryanthewriter)
Welcome to the show! Today I have the distinct pleasure of talking with the amazing writing coach, Ann Kroeker. Join Ann and I while we talk about all kinds of things. Here are only a few topics we covered during this episode.
- What is it that a writing coach can do for a writer?
- What are reasonable goals, do you feel, for a new writer who is just starting out and trying to navigate these waters we call writing?
- Outside of hiring a writing coach, what advice would you give someone in terms of resources to explore?
- Where do you see the writing world going and what is the best way to prepare for that?
- What media do you like in the future and do you think it is time for us to start looking away from Facebook and twitter to the next thing? What is that thing?
- When should we engage writing coaches?
- What are my options for right sizing a relationship with a writing coach? And maybe tell us a little bit about what we should look for in that relationship.
Are you interested in knowing more about what Ann can do for you? Check her out at https://annkroeker.com/
As I always remind people, if you like the show, hit that like button, as many already have. This way you can know when new shows come out. Also, if you would like to sponsor a show, please reach out to me at my e-mail. At Bryanthewriter@Bryannowak.com.
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The Impromptu Show:
I was on my way to Glenwood Springs, Colorado. What’s in Glenwood Springs, you might ask? That is the last place that the world’s most famous dentist lived and where he died. The world’s most famous dentist? Why on earth would we even want to talk about the world’s most famous dentist? I did leave out the part where I should have said he is not famous for being a dentist.
Of course, I’m referring to the legendary Dr. John Henry Holliday. Most people just knew him as Doc Holliday.
When I was a kid, and some of you older people will remember this, Time Life Books came out with a special edition dedicated to gunfighters. As a child these fascinated me. The idea of gunslingers calling out their enemies to the Main Street at high noon fascinated me.
While I was on the trail going up to the cemetery, I met a family. The man I met was an obvious stoner, his wife was desperate to get downhill, their kids were dressed in dirty pajamas, and tuckered out.
It would be easy to dismiss these people and ignore them. I had a nice chat with the father. For them it was an early morning walk outside. They were enjoying the day.
My author brain went into high gear and it was easy to paint these people into a story where this family was running for their lives from the unsettled spirits in the graveyard just up the hill where Doc Holliday and Kid Curry were battling for supremacy over their final resting places.
In my version of the story the family would have to take refuge behind headstones of deceased spirits implored them to take cover or end up joining them in the great beyond.
The day after my trip to Glenwood Springs I found a masseuse in Colorado Springs who could address my pulled muscle in my back. As I was driving to the appointment, I began thinking about what my trip to Glenwood Springs really meant. What did it truly leave me with?
I suppose, for me, it left me with a deeper appreciation of what life must’ve been like on the frontier in the 1800s. I now see Doc Holliday in a different light. While it would be easy to paint him as this steely eyed gunfighter, I saw another side of him. I saw the once infamous gunfighter, wracked with tuberculosis, laying there in the bed dying.
It’s a different side of him to be sure, that we normally see. And that is how you write characters who are three-dimensional. Don’t see them as what is simply portrayed at first glance. Walk around in their shoes a bit, or in my case their boots and try to see the world through their eyes. Not just at their best, but also their worst.
This is Bryan the Writer for All Things Writing, signing off.
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No, I am not talking about the Golden Globes or the People's Choice awards, I am talking about the literary awards which shine a light on your amazing work!
Like me, you probably once thought that the New York Times bestsellers list was compiled by how many books were sold in the US. As it turns out, that’s only mostly true in terms of sales numbers.
According to a recent New York Times article dated 23 September 2020, come hell or high water the New York Times list is published every Wednesday at 7 PM Eastern standard Time.
So, who are the people actually make the selections? A tiny staff of three with a lot of help from computers.
Bookstores throughout the country send in their sales data to this team. Who are these stores? Literally they are stores big and small and in between. It took me two seconds to find the point of contact I would need to send in information if I was a small bookseller and wants to report my sales.
Okay, so if we accept the fact that it’s impossible to buy your way into the New York Times best-selling list, although there kind of is if you have a huge marketing campaign in your back pocket, then we have to consider some other options. You can either buy your way into a competition, which also could give you the side benefit of getting some reviews out of the deal, or you could participate in more genre specific competitions.
Undoubtedly, you have all heard of the Reader’s Favorite awards? It is, as I suggested, and award program where you pay to be listed as one of the competitors. They do promise to give you a fair review of book in exchange for the fee in addition to being considered for the award. And I have heard from other authors they do a really good job of writing a review.
I believe that winning the reader’s favorite award is a high honor and is worthy of praise.
However, you do have to be careful with these kinds of awards. There are a few out there which have come and gone which pretend to offer prestigious awards to authors for a fee.
Be careful and do your homework. Don’t just send money to any operation. This is where it comes in handy to be involved in the author writing groups. They can tell you if a particular award program is legitimate or not. There are plenty of people out there who will stop at nothing to try and steal those precious dollars from your wallet.
The other option for you to receive recognition is to participate in various groups. For example, I participate in the Horror Writers Association. Every year they give out the Bram Stoker awards. These awards are actually quite competitive. You submit your book to the team doing the evaluation who examine it for quality. If you pass that Mark, then the book is included in the competition that year.
Thanks for listening!
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Have you ever read a book where the world played as much of a role as the characters did? I don't mean strong writing in the sense of world building, I mean in the sense that the world itself was a living, breathing thing?
How about characters who were as much a part of the world building in the sense that their dialogue actually made the scene work?
Truth is that a lot of time we, as writers, intentionally blur the lines between setting and character. In Terry Brooks, "Magic Kingdom for Sale", the fictional land of Landover plays a magical role and it senses the illness or the health of the kingdom. It reflects the way the kingdom is being held hostage.
Want to read the article I talked about in Publisher's Weekly? Check it out here!
In the movie, Citizen Kane, the sled takes on an almost legendary role. It embodies the younger version of the main character.
Glad you could join us for this episode of All Things Writing. If you like the show, please hit the like button. Consider donating to the show to keep me going. Any little bit helps. Listen to the end of this episode for a chance at a prize!
-Bryan the Writer
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You’re ready to go. You have your swim trunks packed, enough T-shirts to ensure you only have to wear them two days in a row. You recounted your underwear twice. And you’ve made sure you have access to your best socks. You remember to throw in your toothbrush, and off you go. Ready for a wonderful vacation. Or so you thought.
Vacations don’t have to be a complete drain in your productivity. There are a few things you can do while you’re on vacation to ensure that you still are productive, while enjoying yourself. Let’s discuss three different types of productivity you can achieve on vacation.
1) Passive writing activities
2) Actually writing first drafts
3) The other little nitpicky things that we all have to do is writers which sometimes get pushed aside.
So what do I mean by passive writing activity? We don’t often think about it, but reading is a type of passive writing activity. Laying on the beach is something that everybody can do to enjoy themselves and unwind. And, it’s not uncommon that people doing such an activity have a look at their side. With a little bit of preparation, you can do the same thing. I like to bring our copy of a book with me when I’m doing something like hanging out at the beach. This will make sure you have something in hand that you can put down in an instant and not worry about it.
You can also do some actual writing work.
Work on something new. You don’t even have to bring you computer with you for this. For example, you can write gasp long hand on paper. I do this sometimes when I am stuck waiting for something or someone. As a matter of fact, a good portion of my first book was written long hand then transcribed after the fact. This is a great way to work on new short stories you had been interested in doing.
You can also work on things that you have been putting off for a while.
Sitting around the pool is a great time to work on some correspondence, search for new shows to attend, maybe check in with the fans a bit. You don’t even need to haul that big old laptop around. You can use your phone for a lot of things with the voice to text feature your phone likely already has.
Build it into your schedule where you are going to have some time to sit by yourself and write. Don’t just pass on this because you are on vacation. Bring something along with you to do, even if it is sitting down and sketching out a short story you have been thinking about for a while now. Don’t skimp on this!
With some creative planning, that vacation time away form the day job can be creative worktime for you!
See you next time!
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Welcome to this next episode of All Things Writing. I am your host, Bryan Nowak.
Do you hate rejection? Naturally, you do, we all hate rejection. However, rejection is a part of life when you are a writer. Most of us avoid rejection like we would avoid the day-old package of gas station sushi. And yet, dear writer, I am going to let you in on a little secret about rejection.
You need it.
Rejection hurts, but not as much as flat-out failure. Each rejection you get is like Thomas Edison’s proverbial failed lightbulb experiment. When asked about having failed two thousand times, he responded that each failure was one way he now knew would not work.
As a writer you’re going to face rejection in many forms. Whether that rejection comes from a reader, an editor, or a publisher it still stings.
In this episode I’m going to talk about rejection, how to take it on board and learn from it. You want those rejections; you need those rejections. Print them off and tacked them up on the wall. And sometimes, you’re going to want to print them off and put them into your three-ring binder so you can reference them from time to time. Because, buried in that rejection there’s gold.
As always, thank you for listening to the show. If you like the show and want to make a donation, feel free to PayPal me at bryanthewriter@bryannowak.com. And if there are any burning topics you want me to talk about, feel free to email me at that same email address. I’ll be happy to discuss anything in the world of writing.
If you would like to read any of my novels, check me out here.
Until next time, this is Bryan the Writer, signing off.
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Today I am joined by my friend, fellow author, and podcaster Kenneth J McKay who is written the books, Your Story is Worth Telling, Level Up, 30 Days of Thankfulness, and a couple of companion books as well. He is also the host of the podcast show, author your dream, he was born here in the US, but lives in the United Kingdom.
In this show we are going to tackle:
Q1) What was it that brought you to writing?
Q2) So, how do we integrate our own faith journeys into our writing, be it a non-fiction or a fiction story?
Q3) How is being genuine to who we are critical to our ultimate success?
Q4) How do we, as authors, rise above that din and make ourselves more noticeable in a world that is inundated with books.
Q5) What keeps Ken going?
Q6) What made you want to pivot to podcasting?
Q7) What was your favorite podcast episode and why?
Q8) Have you ever been in the middle of a podcast and had an interviewee say something that just knocked your socks off? What did they say?
Q9) What is the target of “Author Your Dream”?
Q10) Lastly, and most importantly, how can people get a hold of you, read your books, and listen to the aswesomesauce you are creating?
Check out Author Your Dream here!
Find Kenny on Amazon.
Thank you very much for checking out All Things Writing! Remember to hit like and consider making a donation to the show so I can keep producing more episodes like this one.
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Show versus tell... show versus tell... show versus tell...
If we are true to ourselves, no other bit of writing advice has been given out more times than any other. Editors are perpetually yelling at us to show and not tell.
For old hands at the wheel, we know it when we see it and usually say something. Editors have magic red pens that can write "Show... not tell" on your manuscripts automatically by saying some sort of incantation.
For the rest of us in the world, we have wonderful insights from other authors and some great articles we can consult from time to time to help us on our writing journey. Won't you join me?
By the way, the articles mentioned in this podcast are:
- From Writer's Write, https://www.writerswrite.co.za/5-instances-when-you-need-to-tell/, by Amanda Patterson
- From Autocrit, https://www.autocrit.com/editing/support/showing-vs-telling-indicators/
Please, if you enjoyed this episode, hit like and consider a financial donation to help keep things rolling.
Have a blessed day,
Bryan the Writer
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Some days are just cooler than others in all respects and this is one of those days. Why? You might ask? Well, I have as a guest today guy that I’m happy to call a friend and fellow horror writer. But his talents do not just stop there. I became an instant fan when I read his books, The Night Parade and Bone White. You may know of him from the band Veer. Of course, I am talking about Mr. Ronald Malfi.
Join us as we talk about all kinds of different things. On this episode we talk about:
- How many books he has written.
- When did he start writing and how it all began.
- How do you write characters with such depth and substance to them.
- His top three bits of advice for aspiring writers.
- When did he know he had made it as a professional writer and he was going to dedicate his life to the craft?
- Hear him talk about his new book, Come With Me.
- Where can people pre-order Come With Me?
- Ronald will discuss the main characters and what inspirations he took them from.
- We are going to discuss settings for Come With Me.
- I talk Ronald into giving us his elevator pitch.
- Most importantly, where can people find the book to pre-order.
- Pre-order your copy of Come with Me, today!
Find out more about the talented Mr. Ronald Malfi, here.
This has been another episode of all things writing. I want to remind the listening audience that if you liked the show, hit that like button so you know when new shows come out and to see all of the old ones. Also, if you want to support the show you can hit the link in the show notes, or paypal me directly. Remember we have tons of sponsorship slots available. If you are interested, contact me and let me know you are interested in sponsorship.
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Back to horror. Horror, at least the term horror, really is an umbrella. It covers a lot of different things from the stories which make you want to close the cover of the book and put it down to the stories that cause you to sniggle wildly at something that should not be funny, but is. Like a plant, shooting its head off. That to me is impossibly hilarious. Now the implications of the story are essentially that planet earth is doomed as an alien plant is about to take over the world, but still, a plant shooting itself is hilarious.
In this episode we talk about the following examples
The Oddkins by Dean Koontz
Riapoke by Bryan Nowak
Crimson Tassels by Bryan Nowak
Gutted; Beautiful Horror Stories by various authors
Unbury Carol, by Josh Malerman
Cold Cuts, by Robert Payne Cabeen
Dracul, by Dacre Stoker and J.D. Barker
Paid in Full by Rachel Rawlings
Payable on Death by Rachel Rawlings
Literally anything by Ronald Malfi
We have come to an end of another episode of All Things Writing. I am going to take a week off and work on some more guests for you, but when we come back I plan on doing a show about pitches for your books. What works, and what doesn’t?
Remember, that if you like the show, hit follow so you know when new episodes are out there. If you are interested in sponsoring a show or shows, you can hit me up at my e-mail, Bryanthewriter@bryannowak.com. Remember, that is Bryan with a Y.
Until then, thanks for listening, this is Bryan the Writer, signing off.
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Last show was all about mysteries. We talked about different types of mysteries, stuff I have read, stuff I loved to read and some of you will remember I made an admission that day. I admitted to liking a good cozy mystery from time to time.
Which brings me to something amazing that happened. I am so happy to announce my next guest, someone who wrote a book I loved, called “Death is Long Overdue.” So yes, I am talking about the wonderful Amy E. Lilly.
In this episode we talk about all kinds of things like:
- What inspired you to write the cozy mysteries in the first place? Was there a particular attraction to the genre you had?
- Phee Jefferson hits on one of the most important aspects of characters I need to see in order to be truly into a book is if I care about them. And I found myself caring about her. Where did you come up with her?
- I know you have a thing for libraries, and so does Phee who works in a library if I remember correctly, what part of you is in Phee?
- Let’s talk about the series, how many are there in the Phee series. Actually, why don’t you tell us a little about all of your books.
- Why do you think people like cozies? I know why I enjoy them, but I am curious what your fans have told you
See you next week where I think we are going to dissect the horror genre. Thanks for joining us. This is Bryan the Writer and Amy E. Lilly, signing off.
Check out Amy here! http://www.amyelilly.com
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Welcome to the show!
So, what the heck is a mystery? I would love to claim to have come up with all of this stuff myself, but I didn't. Valerie Peterson wrote a wonderful article on the topic. So good, in fact that I would have a hard time improving on it. So, instead of doing that, I am going to follow her outline closely and add my own commentary.
But You Can Read The Article Here
I think we can all agree that ultimately when we write or read a Mystery the most important element of that work is having a question or a puzzle we are trying to solve. The antagonist (and in some cases a protagonist) can be the person trying to solve a mystery.
Tradition has had it in the past that the protagonist is a detective or private investigator of some sort. By the way, we make the mistake of calling Sherlock Holmes a detective when we discuss him. He would correct you and tell you that he is a consulting detective. But those are not the only types of protagonists we have. It is not uncommon for regular old people to become the protagonists involved in solving a mystery. Remind me when we get to the topic of cozy mysteries to tell you a story about one of my favorite cozy mystery novellas.
As Valerie would remind us in her article, the mystery can include easily a theft or kidnapping. Lies, deceptions, and red-herrings (false clues) and these add to the story. One of the things that I hate in a mystery is if I have figured it out in the first chapter. That is just wrong. Give me something to go off of. Make me thing. The best books are ones that make you lay in bed wondering about that next page and what is going to happen to the characters.
Mysteries fall into a few general categories.
- Hard-boiled
- Soft-Boiled
- Cozy Mysteries
- Procedurals
- Criminal Fiction
- And lost of sub categories
Victoria does, in her article, make a few other distinctions, but I will keep my distinctions truncated. There were a few on here list that I would not necessarily agree with, but I understand why she put them on there.
I also mention the book, Death is Long Overdue, by Amy E. Lilly. If you want to check out her book, see it here!
Remember that next week there will be no show, but then I will come back with a couple of new shows. I want to do another show like this where I dissect, pun intended, horror novels and what the different types are.
Then, I want to do a deep dive into my Dramatic Dead series and talk about them a bit.
At any rate, thank you for spending some time with me. This is Bryan the writer, for all things writing, signing off.
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As a reminder, if there is any topic you want me to cover on the show, I am more than happy to entertain requests. Just drop me a line at Bryanthewriter@bryannowak.com.
The show, thanks to you all, is going to smash, or will nearly smash a thousand downloads in the month of February or get really close. Most of you are listening to me on iheart radio. Love iheart radio, and no they did not pay me to say that. I actually do listen to iheart radio as well as SyriusXM when I listen to tunes or podcasts.
Do you like vampires? Of course you do, who doesn't. Okay, other than Dr. von Helsing. But, I promise you that most of the world does, if the gazillions of dollars that has been spent on the genre is any indication.
The vampire novel I am writing is called, The App. It is, naturally, a working title, subject to change, but that is what I am going with for now since calling it That One Book I am Working On, just seems silly.
In todays show I am going to dive into The App and talk about the main characters a bit. Where they came from, and why I wrote them the way I wrote them. Hope you enjoy this week's episode of All Things Writing!
This week, in addition to talking about the book I am working on right now, in depth as it turned out, I am also thanking the good people of Old Ox Brewery. Come on out and visit their locations in Ashburn or Middleburg, Virginia.
As always, any donations to the program are greatly appreciated!
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Hey everyone and welcome to this, our fourth show of the season. I want to thank all of you for joining me today.
Welcome to a cold and snowy day out here in Northern Virginia (at least when I recorded this).
On this episode I give you a quick update on what is going on in the life of Bryan the Writer and then I launch into a discussion about ISBN. Not necessarily what it is, but where did it come from in the first place.
You know the company as R.R. Bowker. But do you know who R.R. Bowker was? Did you know there was a connection between R.R. Bowker and the founder of the Dewy Decimal System? No, well, take a listen and find out about something we take for granted.
http://www.bowker.com/about/Bowker-History--Milestones.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._R._Bowker
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I know copyright doesn't sound like and interesting topic for a podcast. But there is more than meets the eye in terms of history where copyright is concerned. Plus you get to hear me do my best British accent.
For more info about copyright and its implications, check out these resources.
Wikipedia has, at least as of this recording, a pretty good page on the issue.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_copyright
The U.S. Copyright office has an excellent page dedicated to the history as it pertains to U.S. law. You can also find the current version of Title 17, which I reference in the show.
https://www.copyright.gov/history/
This is the site where you can see The Treaty of Anne. It is worth reading if you really want to see where we get some of our legal concepts of what copyright should look like.
http://www.copyrighthistory.com/anne.html
As always, thank you for joining me! If you would like more information on how you can be a show sponsor, or just want to reach out and say hello. Click here and send me a message.
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I want to give a big shout out to the listeners in San Jose California who are listening the heck out of the show. I greatly appreciate it, you guys are the best.
As a reminder, if you like anything you here please remember to hit that like button. But enough of that, now onto her show. At the beginning I read a quote and that quote comes from a book written by a good friend of the show, Michael Thompson.
World of the orb fits into what could rightly be considered the midgrade and young adult categories. So why what I read it? After all, Bryan the Writer is a horror, mystery, and science fiction Writer. However, that really doesn’t do justice to what I read.
I know I’ve mentioned it before, but it’s really important to remember that if you are an author, reading far and wide is really important. The example I read to you at the beginning of the show is a wonderful example of world building.
Let me read you the back of the book, so you can get an idea of what the storyline is about. “Best friends Marvin and Andy have just discovered the Museum of Natural History’s unnatural secret: the orb, a mysterious relic that plunges these two modern teens into a medieval world of monsters, myth, and magic. To return home, they must embark on a global treasure hunt to unite five elemental crystals, all while eluding the eye of a tyrannical warlock bent on conquering the realms. This isn’t the field trip they expected.”
The world that Michael has built is called Enkartai and is divided into six different lands. In order to complete their quest, this band must cover all of the different lands to retrieve these crystals.
Intrigued yet?
The transitions that Michael uses to get from one spit of land to another are equally as engaging. You feel the chill of the air when the characters are moving through snowy landscapes. You feel the grit of the dirt when you’re on rocky and barren lands. When the characters first arrive in the dark lands, there’s a wonderful passage where you’re getting a description of the change in atmosphere. You can feel the oppressive change from the other parts of Enkartai.
Fortunately, no matter how much we say we grow up, in some respects we never really do. There’s a part of us that still loves to watch animated cartoons, no matter how old we are. There’s a part of us that still likes reading comic books, chewing bubblegum, feeling the wind through her hair a bike ride, there’s a part of us that always will want to go on a grand adventure.
That’s why reading this book is such a great experience. You get to tap into these emotions which are latent inside of you. In some ways you’re always going to put yourself in the place of the main character, as you live in this world that was created. And that’s what Michael does particularly well.
That’s it this week for all things writing. Next week is a bye week for me, so there will be no show. However, after that I am going to cover the topics of copywriting and what the heck is an ISBN anyway, and why should you have one.
If you enjoyed today’s show, remember to hit that like button and also feel free to donate to the show, you can do so by hitting the button in the upper right-hand corner which will take you to a page where you can donate directly to my cause.
Until next time, that’s it for me. This is Bryan the writer, signing off.
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Welcome to 2021!
My plan this year is to do 35 shows in 2021. This first show really is a kind of reintroduction to me. However, that doesn't take very long so I am going to spend more time discussing how to plan out your writing year.
Well, if you are new to the show, I would encourage you to go back and listen to the shows I did last year. There are some amazing shows, with some great interviews. But, in the meantime, let me re-introduce myself. I am Bryan Nowak. I am the author of the novels No Name, The Dramatic Dead, The Reverent Dead, Dean Cordaine and the Diamond Studded Legs Matter, and The Fallen Oath Matter, Riapoke, Crimson Tassels, The Bagorian Chronicles, and I also took part in the anthology, Bizarre: 14 Horror Stories.
I am primarily a horror writer, but I also work in the closely related genre of mystery and I dabble in some science fiction. I have been writing for over seven years, pretty much non-stop and I have been podcasting for a year.
I want you to reach out to me with your questions and suggestions. Hit me up at https://bryannowak.com/contact-me
Planning your Year:
- Have an honest assessment of where you are at in your writing journey
- Set honest goals with yourself
- Pull out a calendar and set benchmarks for yourself or buy a planner like this one that I recommend
- Figure out what you want to get our of the writing year and back plan from there
- Decide how you want to a achieve that goal
- Have an honest discussion about the physical and temporal limitations in your life
Be realistic with yourself. For example, if you are a stay-at-home parent of four, carving out precious time will be hard. If you work 50 hours a week to support that same size family, then it will also be hard.
You will notice I said hard, but not impossible. Figure out when you can put your butt into a seat and write. It may take an honest talk with your spouse about making sure those kids stay in the basement while you write. You may only find ten minutes a day to write. Then, guess what? Write the hell out of those ten minutes. It isn’t how many words you can write that matter. It is how consistently you can commit to that time.
So, that is the first episode of All Things Writing in season two (the first of 2021). Remember to tune in next week to hear my book review of Michael Thompson’s “World of the Orb”. I am a fan and friend of Michael’s and he has been on the show. I totally want to get him on again to talk about the book, but we will have to figure that out.
Plus, next week, I want to revisit the idea of an editing process and how to negotiate those waters without making yourself nutty. And yes, you can make yourself nutz.
Thanks again for hanging out with us today on All Things Writing. We will see you next week. Until then, this is Bryan the writer, signing off.
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Welcome and Merry Christmas!
As you undoubtedly know by now, this is my favorite time of the year. I love the decorations, the lights, I love the stories. I know I mentioned my love of A Christmas story, but what you may not know is that I have a favorite Christmas poem. I love it so much in fact that this week I am dedicating a whole show to it.
Not only is it an amazing poem, but it is also one of the oldest and most popular Christmas poems ever written. The poem, originally titled, “A Visit from St. Nicholas”, now more popularly called “Twas the Night Begore Christmas” was written in the early 19th century.
Considerable controversy surrounded the authorship for many years. It is believed that either Clement Clark Moore or Henry Livingston, Jr. were the authors.
Clement Clarke Moore lived between 1779 and 1863. A writer and American Professor of Oriental and Greek Literature, he also taught Divinity and Biblical Learning, in New York City. He rose to prominence and eventually donated the land which would become a seminary, which continues at Chelsea Square.
It is believed that Professor Moore wrote the poem for his children. Initially he didn’t want to publish it as he was afraid of his reputation as a scholar. As the story has it, he eventually did publish the story anonymously on Dec. 23, 1823 in the Troy Sentinel newspaper in upstate New York.
Henry Livingston Jr., although there is really no evidence he claimed authorship of the piece during his life time, is also credited with writing the piece.
Henry Livingston Jr., was a revolutionary war soldier and late became a poet. His children had claimed that the poem, “A visit from St. Nicholas”, was something they remember their father reading them a number of years earlier.
One of the descendants claimed to have had the original story, with cross outs, in the text, but that was destroyed in a house fire in Wisconsin. So, there is no way to authenticate his story.
The two men didn’t know eachtoher, although one of the Livingston relatives did marry a relative of Moore’s. There is no evidence Moore could have gotten a copy from Livingston or vice verse.
Based on the facts surrounding this strange case of who is the real author, I would argue that likely Professor Moore is the author. However, there is one other fact you may want to know.
A fairly recent study of the grammatical structure of the piece and the writings of both men suggest that Livingston may have been the actual author.
What is also tantalizing is that in the original version of the poem, what we commonly name the reindeer, “Donner and Blitzen”, are spelled “Dunder and Blixem”. Which is Dutch. Livingston was Dutch, while Moore was not. Moore did not speak Dutch either.
So, maybe I change my vote to Livingston?
I am not going to wade farther into this controversy. But I think it is fascinating that after all these years there are still some mysteries out there which cannot be solved objectively. And isn’t that what a good story is? A mystery?
For when we pick up a book, short story, or a poem, there is a quickening of our heartbeat, a more rapid movement of our blood, a tingle on our skin as we have no idea how that story is going to end. That is what good writing does for us. It provides mystery.
As the poem ends, Happy Christmas to All, and to All a Goodnight!
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Welcome to another special holiday edition of All Things Writing. This week I have another special guest with me to spread the joy of the season. I have invited Samantha Parish, the author of Inglorious Ink to join me to talk about the book and anything else she is working on.
We are going to talk about:
- How she got into the tattoo theme of her work?
- Going to, of course, ask her to tell us about her book?
- How does she describe her writing style? What is her process like?
- What is she working on now? Will we see another in the same series or are you working on other storylines.
- Naturally I am going to ask about her holiday traditions and what she is excited about this year.
- And of course, where we can find her work and find out more about Samantha Parish?
Vocal - https://vocal.media/authors/samantha-parrish
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/parrishpassages/
TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@themysticalspacewitch
And you know me, we are going to talk about all kinds of other things. Take a listen!
-Bryan the Writer
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What would be the holidays without our favorite holiday movies? These movies hold a special place in my heart, and they still pretty much make up a cornerstone of my Christmas traditions, and some of the traditions that I’ve imparted to my children.
It’s a Wonderful Life came on television seemingly on every station at least once a day. At any given moment, you could easily find a station that was running that movie. To me it still represents one of the great holiday movies of all time.
This idea that your life, no matter how small you think it is, represents an integral part interlocked with all the lives around you is a tale as old as time. And it’s a central theme that I’ve used in writing before. No matter how insignificant you think you are, you leave a fingerprint on everyone you talk to, email, or associate with in any way. You are a piece of them, and they are a piece of you. Either of those ingredients suddenly go missing from the equation, the result isn’t right.
Miracle on 34th Street
Most people don’t know this, but the version with Natalie Wood and Maureen O’Hara was not the original version. But it is perhaps the most famous.
For me one of the things that stands out is the central character of Santa Claus, played by Edmund Gwenn, and this willing suspension of reality that Santa Claus truly was there with them. He is very much what I believe Santa Claus would be like in the real world. I especially like the fact that when he runs into his troubles at the department store, after striking Mr. Sawyer on the head, he displays a certain type of despair over the situation. He feels like the world doesn’t need him anymore, or perhaps it’s more likely that the world has just simply discarded him. A feeling I think we’re all too familiar with sometimes in our lives today. He needed to be reminded, just like we have to sometimes, that we are valuable and loved.
A Christmas Carol
I have seen about 100 different versions of the story. Anywhere from stage productions, some of them better than others, to television adaptations to include Bill Murray’s, Scrooged. The two stage performances that stand out for me are the ones which involve my family.
But as a child the version which I saw on TV most often, and what I would come to understand as one of the more true to the original work when seen on television is A Christmas Carol starring George C. Scott. He is, at least for me, the quintessential Scrooge. The portrayal is cold, mean, and unforgiving. A man whose heart is so hardened and so chilling that the only thing that could change him is the visit of four specters.
I think the most poignant part of A Christmas Carol is this idea that the spirit of Christmas is something that shouldn’t exist in us just one day a year. The idea of charity, humanity, love, and an open heart are ideas we should have all year long. But the movie also reminds us that being able to open our hearts in such a way is a hard thing to do.
A Christmas Story
Yes, you’ll shoot your eye out.
Any of you have seen videos of my renovated office know that behind me, on the wall, is an official Daisy red Ryder BB gun, 80th anniversary edition. And yes, it’s one of my favorite presents ever.
The movie is set in Hammond Indiana, which is about 20 minutes away from where I grew up. While the year in which the movie takes place is certainly earlier than when I was growing up, there’s a lot of symbology and references that are very specific to those of us that grew up in that Chicago metro area.
Thanks for spending time with some of my favorite memories.
In case I haven’t said it, happy holidays to you and yours.
-Bryan the writer
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I am super excited about this time of year. I have to tell you that the holidays are easily my favorite time of the year. Ever since I was a kid I loved all of it. The smells, the sights, my grandparents spoiling us kids to death. It was a great time.
I know what you are going to say and you would be right, 2020 is not that kind of year, but I say bully to you and am going to try and get back some of that holiday spirit with holiday themed shows until the end of the year because … well I can. It is my podcast.
And, since it is my podcast I can do cool things like bring in my next guest who has graciously offered to join me today. So, grab yourself a cup of hot cocoa with a peppermint stick in it and lets welcome my next guest, Erin Mackey.
Questions we are going to dive into in this episode:
How did you get into writing? What was your motivation?
What is the magic sauce which keeps kids, and sometimes parents, into what you write?
I know I said this is holiday themed, but there are plenty of great ghoulish stories which surround the whole idea of the holidays. So, hear me out. Being a horror writer, I love these kinds of works. What was the driving force behind that project?
What were your favorite holiday stories growing up?
What is your favorite thing about writing? What is your greatest reward?
Lets talk traditions.
Want to know more about Erin Mackey? Check her out at the following links!
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Erin-Mackey/e/B00L705V9C
Her Website: https://www.erinmackeyauthor.com/
How about a podcast? https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/everything-kids-books-1442235
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The show this week has to do with an experience I had recently which, while not intending to be writing focused, has profound implications for me and my fellow writers. So, sit back and enjoy the show. This one is going to be deep.
Never before have we faced a situation where four generations simultaneously have access to social media networks that allow them to reach across the world instantaneously. While this sounds like it would be a good thing, it poses some very interesting problems for writers.
Question, how do you reach those different audiences? Even at a more basic level, how do you write books which are going to appeal to those different demographics. The answer that question is that you’re really not.
But the differences are not necessarily just one of size. The baby boomer generation was told early on that if they stuck with their jobs, at retirement that job would take care of them. My generation, Generation X, was told that we couldn’t rely on our jobs and therefore we needed be prepared for layoffs at any moment and we would have to rely on Social Security. Paradoxically, at the same time, we were being told that Social Security was in trouble and might not exist when we were ready to retire.
The millennials coined the phrase move on to move up. They look at a job, not necessarily as a career in one company, but a career path which may actually include several different companies. Generation Z, will likely have a very similar type of outlook, while in some ways they have a lot in common with the GenXers.
In terms of writing, a millennial reader is not necessarily going to understand if a character in a book remains committed to one company, or one organization for their entire lives. That character may not seem real to them. It’s also true that a Gen Xer is likely going to look at a character in a book which moves from job to job to job as unfocused and unreliable. Where a millennial would look at that character and consider that really the norm. Because remember, “move on to move up.”
Millennial’s were always taught that there is a world which is in constant peril. They are all in on social justice, and what they see is a balancing out of fundamental rights. This means that they’re going to generally be attracted to books and movies which have a social undertone. There is a huge market for works with a social message behind them which may have been completely lost or just seem preachy to readers even ten years ago.
For me this is especially difficult because I don’t generally have a social undertone in my work. I write purely to entertain, an idea that would seem strange to a millennial, but be perfectly at home with the baby boomer. A Gen X or would also see it in the same way, but would be likely more attracted to books which show a truly bad antagonist if I write that antagonist as big business.
A millennial or generation Z member likely would see an evil antagonist more in terms of the moral relativity which can spring from trying to understand that antagonist’s point of view.
I do want to stop here and just say that I don’t necessarily see anything bad or good in any of this. It’s just different ways of looking at the world. And again, the issue is that all of these generations exist in the exact same time and space. It makes writing to maximum appeal especially difficult. Write to one and you alienate the others. Try to write to all of them and you may lose any chance to hook them.
It isn't easy, but you can do it as long as you keep in mind how different generations are going to see your writing.
Thanks for listening!
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Michael Thompson and I have been friends for a few years now. He is a multi talented author whose work I instantly took a liking to. So, this week, on All Things Writing, I sit down with him and we talk about tons of things! There may even be a couple of exclusive revelations in this weeks show. So, sit back and enjoy as we talk about,
1) What got you started in writing?
2) You are a huge fan of the whimsical. What pushed you toward that?
3) What you think is the next great adventure for us authors out there? What’s next f or us as far as being authors?
4) Are there areas of literature you want to explore but haven’t?
5) What would you say is the biggest shock you have had as an author?
And I am serious, we went off script at a bunch of points. Check it out. While you are listening, hop over to his website. https://michaelthompsonbooks.com/
Or you can find him on Amazon at; https://www.amazon.com/Michael-Thompson/e/B01M4LDLT3
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Welcome to this week’s show and welcome to Halloween in a year that has been definitely one of the annals of human history.
This year I thought maybe it might be kind of fun to inject a little Poe back into everyone’s life. So instead of doing something about writing, I thought it could be fun to recite a couple of my favorite works by Edgar Allen Poe.
Edgar Allen Poe, or Poe as we call him, was born on January 18th 1809 in Boston. In 1811, the family moved to Richmond, Virginia and forever he would be associated with that city. As a matter of fact, if you go to Richmond Virginia today you can visit the Poe museum.
In 1826 he began his studies at the University of Virginia where he studied ancient and modern languages. He would eventually join the Army and you can see a small display to him at the casemate museum at Fort Monroe. You can visit the entire fort today. I remember having to go the Fort Monroe when it was still an active installation.
Poe wrote and had several positions in magazines and literary journals. Always having issues with gambling, he was constantly in debt. Though he still managed to amass quite a stable of literary pieces while alive.
On October 7th 1849, he passed away. And although many people had provided accounts of his last days, no one is really sure how he died.
If you ask me what pieces of his work I love the best, I would have to tell you the poem the bells and the story, A Cask of Amontillado are my favorite.
The Bells is one of his works which was not published in his lifetime. Published in November of 1849 (one month after his passing), it is evocative of the movement through life. Each of the stanzas gets longer until the reader gets to the final tolling of the bells, so to speak.
Speaking of bells, did you catch the bells at the end of The Cask of Amontillado? They are jingling on the hat of a jester which is supposed to be a source of merriment. You have to ask yourself if the bells were Fortunato’s true character or was it just a disguise and Montresor murdered someone who did him little harm?
Speaking of symbols, the Cask of Amontillado certainly has tons of it. Published in 1846 in the magazine Godey's Lady's Book, it is dripping with irony.
It chronicles the murderous intentions of Senior Montresor and his adversary, Fortunato. Fortunato was said to have caused him a thousand insults.
Thank you very much for listening. Happy Halloween everyone! This is Bryan the Writer, signing off.
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Why do we like horror?
One of my earliest memories I had was watching King Kong on the big screen at a local theater. I remember being scared. This is probably the first time I remember being scared while watching something fictional.
I was very young, but later on it would lead me to wonder why it was that something that didn’t really exist could scare me. Consider fear. It’s a natural reaction which hinges on self-preservation. But when you’re watching a movie, it should be clear to your brain that what is happening on the screen couldn’t actually hurt you. And still, you react to it.
For example, every year there’s a new crop of movies which involves a ghost in one way or another. As children we love to watch Scooby Doo which inevitably includes some old guy wearing a ghost costume. We love to go to haunted houses where we are literally paying for someone else to scare us. And yet we know those ghosts are not real.
I’m fond of saying that horror is really an umbrella. A lot of people get the wrong impression that horror is what they see on the big screen. They equate the term to Jason Voorhees or Michael Myers. I do think that Hollywood has been disingenuous to the greater world of horror in that it focuses so much on the intense visual aspects of gore. To me that’s kind of lazy. It also cuts off an entire part of horror that is wonderful. My favorite kind of horror is the horror that just unsettles the reader.
It doesn’t have to be awash in blood and that’s the best kind of horror to me. In my book Crimson Tassels, there is a good amount of blood. However, it’s not so much blood that you’re going to focus on that. It’s the story line that really matters. I want you to feel one of the main characters descending into a sort of insanity brought on by the malevolent actions of another. Honestly, I don’t think I could necessarily do that all that well if I’ve covered everything in blood. The reader would focus on that exclusively and I would lose them.
There is definitely an audience for blood-soaked fiction. I know this because I’m a member of that audience. As a writer, I don’t write that way.
Subtlety is a wonderful device in horror and has been used to great effect over the years. Sometimes, it isn't about getting in front of people's faces as much as it is getting them to squirm in their seats.
Want to read some amazing horror? I can highly suggest this one! I fell in love with it a few years ago and you will too. Read Gutted here!
Thanks for listening! Have a great week.
-Bryan the Writer
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Welcome to the podcast. I am Bryan Nowak, the author of The Dramatic Dead mystery series, the horror novels, Riapoke and Crimson Tassels. I also wrote the book The Bagorian Chronicles, a wonderful little SciFi novel, and I wrote the Dean Cordaine novellas.
Thank you so much for joining me. If you like the podcast, please remember to hit the subscribe button so when new ones come out you can get them delivered. Also, it is not required, but please consider giving me a thumbs up and making a donation to the show. It helps me defray the costs of some of the things I have to buy to keep the show running. Anything is helpful. A few dollars, a few cents, pocket lint, anything really.
This week, I want to talk a little about etiquette in the writing world and how it is essentially one of the most important things you can keep in mind while you are working in the business. Believe it or not, this is a huge deal and can be crucial to your future success.
The rules of etiquette are easy to follow.
- Don't be a jerk.
- Treat people fairly.
- Don’t be pushy and mean.
- On social media, please read the rules and follow them.
- Don't get into fights on social media. You will never come out on the winning end anyway.
- Relish those moments when people reach back. Even if it isn’t to buy something. At least your voice was heard and that means something. It means, dear writer, that you have connected!
A review of Stoker and Barker's Dracul
I would argue that this is the book we have needed for years. For those of you have taken the time to get to know the Dracula mythos, you will know what I mean intuitively. And there is no better person to tell the story than Mr. Barker and Mr. Stoker. Dacre Stoker is the great grand nephew of Bram Stoker himself.
This story was taken directly from the annuals of the original work by Bram and would likely have been part of the original story no matter what.
Well written with characters you are going to find yourself thinking about while you are trying to sleep at night, this is a solid piece of work.
The story centers around young Bram and his siblings Matilda and Thornley. Central to the story is their nanny Ellen who is not only much beloved, but she also seems to harbor some secrets of her own. It is only later that we discover the true nature of those secrets and her connection to the darker world of Dracul.
The Dracula mythos is one of my favorites. Bram Stoker’s Dracula is undoubtedly one of my favorite books of all time. I can’t tell you how much it warms my hear to see this come out after all these years. Yes, it is a prequel, but it stays very true to the mythos and the story that became one of the most iconic characters in the world of horror.
If you loved the original story, as much as I do, then you need to read the book that lays it out where it all began. Check it out here! https://www.amazon.com/Dracul-Dacre-Stoker-ebook/dp/B079WNXNXS
Thanks for listening to "All Things Writing!"
By the way, as a reminder, if you have any questions you would like to ask, feel free to send them to me at bryanthewriter@bryannowak.com or you can always email me at bryannowak.com through the contact portal.
Remember to tune in next week when we talk more about the world of writing. Until then, this is Bryan the Writer, signing off.
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One of the best parts about this program is being able to hang out with friends in the writing world. Today, I have the greatest honor of welcoming New York Times, and USA Today best selling author C.J. Ellisson.
On this episode we are going to talk about all kinds of things including;
- What was her path and what started her down that road.
- What attracted her to the genre she finally settled on.
- What her process is for planning out her next book.
- What drives authors to rewrite books.
- What challenges did she face with her family and how did she overcome those obstacles.
- How to face health challenges and still make words happen on the page.
Wanna know more? Check her out at
cjellisson.com/
C.J. Ellisson on Facebook
Remember, if you like the show, please hit "Like" and follow the show. You can also buy me a cup of coffee to help support my efforts at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/bryanthewriter
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Some of you are at home right now, listening to his podcast, making spaghetti sauce, trying to keep your three year old from terrorizing the dog, while trying to keep the dog from stealing the ingredients you have gathered to make the sauce.
So, when are you going find time and space to write?
Remember that creativity, to an artist, is as essential as air or water.
Find a spot in your house where you can focus. For me it’s essential that it’s not anywhere near a television. Currently, I am next to a television, and it’s driving me crazy. I notice that it is slowed my productivity way down. Frustrating, yes. However, it’s also only temporary.
Don’t overlook the places in your house that you wouldn’t normally consider. For example, some of your condos being built today have incredibly large closets. Really you don’t need much room for a laptop and could even build a little desk in that space. I even know of a few authors that work from local coffee shops rather than try and write at home.
If you have a 9-to-5 job there are other ways in which you can work and still have a life. I know one author who uses recording software on their cell phone and a microphone they bought online. While they’re driving to and from work, their speaking their narrative into their cell phone and then downloading that information when they get home.
You could also utilize a basement. Even if that basement isn’t finished, you could buy materials and any home improvement store to quickly turn that space into something usable. Just find yourself a small desk or stand put your computer on.
It is really important to have a conversation with your family about allowing you the space to work. If you don’t make it clear that writing is a priority for you, then it will never be a priority for them. I’ve made it clear my family that interrupting me while I’m working needs to be a very rare occurrence.
Look for times to work when your spouse and children are at home. And remember that although it would be great if you could sit down and write for hours at a stretch, that isn’t necessary. You could carve out several blocks of shorter time and get the same amount of work done.
You have to be willing to turn off that part of your brain that is calling for you to check your Facebook status every few seconds. It is far too easy to want to reach for that phone when you’re stuck in a particularly difficult sentence.
I don’t know what it is about the morning, but that is the time that I work the best. It seems that any time before noon I am at my most productive. Around noon I start to flag a little bit have to turn to doing something like going for a walk or maybe reading for a while recharge my batteries. Any time after 230, I just can’t write. Since I suffer from fibromyalgia, it can make working in the afternoons difficult.
I’ll tell you this, if writing is truly in your heart, and it’s meant to be a thing, then you will put in the time it’s necessary.
Next week, I am going to have New York Times and USA Today best-selling author C. J. Ellison on with me.
I want to particularly pick her brain about what attracted her to the genre of romance. I’m very curious what her journey was to bring her to this point in her career. She also has some wonderful tips as a writer on how to organize your project you’re currently working on.
So remember to tune in for that show, it’s going to be great.
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Welcome to Podcast #26!
On this weeks podcast, we are going to be talking about a bunch of different topics ranging from the attraction of anthologies, the attraction, essence, and nature of horror.
Join me and my friend Liam Bradley where we delve into these and lots of other topics on this week's episode of "All Things Writing".
I want you to take a moment and check him out on Amazon. You will also find a link to the book, Bizarre, which we worked on together along with tons of other amazing authors.
Check him out here!
Do you like what I am doing? Consider making a contribution so I can continue to do the work I do. I cannot do it without continued support from people like you. CLICK HERE!
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Start with a strong character. The true essence of a good story line is a strong central character. That character begins in your mind. Before you ever put pen to paper, you really need to think about how it is that that character is going to live in whatever world you’re going to create. What I mean is that who is that character as a person? For reference you may want to check out my podcast dealing with character sheets.
Remember that it has to be believable. There’s a little bit of confusion when writing fiction that you can just write something and your audience is going to believe it. Storytelling 101 really should include a short discussion on the importance of building believable fiction.
Don't forget your minor characters. So we understand the importance and storytelling of having compelling characters, but what about the minor characters. I’d argue that your minor characters play a very important role in that they help build the framework around which stories being told.
A good example of this is characters that people interact with in cases like stores, movie theaters, gas stations, and other places where they have to be in their world. Don’t ever underestimate the power of tangential characters to your story. It may just be that those characters provide some witty dialogue and interesting insight into your story.
World building is also very important in storytelling. Remember the five senses rule. Essentially, the rule states that we have five senses. Congratulations, now you know the five senses rule. What is your character smell, see, taste, or feel. How about the sounds going on around them. Perhaps your Romeo type character just came in off the street. If you go from a hot street in a city into an air-conditioned building what does that feel like?
Be relatable to your target audience. I recently read a movie script which was written by somebody who is not an American. The problem with the movie script is that it uses a lot of comparisons that American audience just isn’t going understand. You need to make sure that you are using metaphors which were target audience is going understand. Your descriptions need to be able to resonate with your target audience as well.
The ending. You’ve got to be careful not to rush from climax resolution to quickly in your storytelling. It’s critically important that you don’t abandon the basic principles of keeping this story believable at this point.
It is true, this is fiction, and you do have the ability to make things up but that doesn’t necessarily mean you should. That is it for this week’s podcast, thank you very much for joining me.
Next week, make sure you definitely tune in as I am going to be interviewing author Liam Bradley who I got to know when we work together on the anthology Bizarre: 14 Horror Stories.
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Podcast #24
There is no easier way to clear a room of writers than telling them you want to sit down and dissect their marketing programs. Truth be told, most of us do not have a program, but that is something that needs to change. And I gotta be honest, for me, it is a very hard thing to do. But I have some great news.
Last week I told you how freaking excited I was to have the author of the book, “The Golden Toilet” on my show and finally that wait is over! In this week's episode Steve and I discuss:
- Do people that talk themselves out of marketing and why?
- How do we, as authors, move beyond just being able to sell individual books into a world where this is our sole occupation?
- Walk me through the steps in how to build a bridge between myself and my customers.
- What marketing outlets excite you right now? What are the marketing outlets you see shaping the future?
- In “The Golden Toilet”, you are kind of hard on the way websites are traditionally used. Tell us why.
- So, in a nutshell, describe to us how to make this marketing system work.
After you are done listening to the podcast, check out his website here: https://thegoldentoilet.com/
Check out ROI Online at https://www.roionline.com/
And if you are interested in more great content from Steve, you can check out his podcast here: https://www.roionline.com/podcast
See you next week and thanks for listening!
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So you’ve written the greatest book, the cover looks great, the editing is top-notch, and you’ve posted it to Amazon, drafted 2 digital, or wherever. Now what? Rest on your laurels and let that sweet, sweet, author cash flow in, right? Well, no.
The convention circuit is something that you can do which puts you into direct contact with your readers. I would highly encourage every author who is looking for a way to meet individual readers in the real world to consider this route.
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/BryantheWriter
I can highly recommend attending Scares That Care. Every year we have an amazing group of people gathered to talk about scary stuff and we raise a bunch of money for an amazing cause. Check them out here! https://scaresthatcare.org/
Recently I finished reading a book entitled “The Golden Toilet; Stop Flushing Your Marketing Budget into Your Website and Build a System That Grows Your Business” by Steve Brown. This a marketing book. I usually don’t review non-fiction books, but here goes.
Well written, and delightfully unapologetic in word choice, I found a real connection with the way the information is laid out.
The thing I really appreciate is that Steve is not just telling you to buy his product. As a matter of fact, he actually talks about resources and ways of doing things which are not only free, but also findable in your local library. He is truly sticking to the old adage that you should only sell 20% of the time and then use the rest of your time to provide something useful. Which strongly suggests to me he is the real deal and not some guy who only talks about something rather than actually applying it.
The book also offers plenty of other free resources from his website which will help you put into practice what he is talking about in the book and that is something I can totally get on board with.
I really enjoyed reading the Golden Toilet and I really hope you will too. Find it here. https://www.roionline.com/ or https://www.amazon.com/Golden-Toilet-Flushing-Marketing-Business-ebook/dp/B082VKW99Y Check it out. It may not completely fit your situation, but take what you can from it and you can adapt it to make it your own.
Safe to say that I highly recommend this book. Quick read and well worth the time. But that is not just enough for All Things Writing, ladies and gents. Nope, I want to take this book review one step farther. I want to get Steve on next week’s show! Yep, Next Saturday, check out the show to hear me interview Mr. Steve Brown of ROI. I am going to press him on marketing for the indie author. Actually, just based on my interactions with him and reading his book, I suspect it should be a fun interview and I am really looking forward to it.
So that’s it for this week on all things writing. Thank you for joining me, this is Bryan the writer signing off.
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In this week's show I mention how to develop your own character sheets. Although I borrow much from other writers, I am taking the discussion farther by walking you through one of mine. I admit up front that my sheet structure was borrowed from Jenna Moreci. If you want to take a look at her videos (and I highly suggest you do), look her up at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQcQ-As2BU0.
The attributes I use are as follows.
Character Name:
Category 1: Basic Stats
- Sex (Physical)
- Gender
- Age
- Race
- Ethnicity
- Culture
- Lineage
- Physical
- Height
- Weight
- Body Type
- Lifestyle
- Where are they from?
Category 2: Relationships
- Family
- Friends
Category 3: Sexual
- Orientation
- Attraction
- Why the Attraction?
- Experience
- Romantic Experience
Category 4: Skills
- Training
- Hobbies
- Schooling
- Occupation
Category 5: Personality
- Intro/Extrovert
- Right/Left Brain
- Strengths
- Weakness
- What makes them Heroic or Evil?
- Fears/Insecurities
- Beliefs and Values
- What do they Honor
- What would they die for?
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I want to talk about writing a quick and easy review of a book. But more importantly, I want to tell you why you should.
Reviews should be simple and easy and not take much time. A while ago, I did a youtube video about it. You can find it here.
But the bigger question is why should you? Fair question.
It doesn’t matter how many books I’ve written, or how much money I spent in advertising, ultimately the algorithms rely very heavily on the information provided by the purchasers themselves. There is a difference between books that get one review an books that get 20 reviews. If you have a book that gets 20 or more reviews, it is more likely that this book will be picked up by the advertising algorithms that Amazon or any other book seller uses. At the end of the day, it is all about sales. This is indeed significant, because when it’s picked up by the algorithms it gets in front of more faces.
Reviews don’t necessarily only amount to a monetary reward. In fact, many authors will tell you that a good book review will float their boat for many weeks. I don’t mind telling you that there is been times that have been tempted to give up writing completely only to have a really nice review sent to me. The review can make all the difference in the world.
So, it could be that those kind words you wrote are the kind words that keep your favorite author at their keyboards.
A simple review includes the following three elements:
- State if you like the book. Ex. “I just read book X, I really enjoyed it.”
- State what you liked about the book. Ex. “It is really well written, and I love how the characters came alive on the page.”
- State an intent. Ex. “I can’t wait for the next book in the series.” or “I can’t wait to read the rest of his/her works.”
Here is an example of something similar. An actual review of my novel, Riapoke. “Very entertaining for sci fi lovers. Quick enjoyable read.”
Quick, concise, and easy. It didn’t take them more than a few seconds to write that and then hit submit.
Next we will move on to what I consider more of a mid-level review. Mid-level reviews are little bit more in depth, they’re typically the ones I leave when I write a review. They consist of the following.
- A little bit about the beginning part of the story.
- Some of the aspects of the book that I like.
- A recommendation about what to do next.
Here's an example of one from my book Riapoke.
Stories of ‘strange’ neighbourhoods and remote towns have existed for years and will continue. The premise of something being ‘not quite right’ is a superb vehicle for a tale of terror. Mr Nowak draws the reader in with a rapidly evolving plot which all sounds very normal, and then things start to go wrong for a few of the characters, and in a bad, almost irretrievable way.
The sense of foreboding is related well and feels like the stuff of nightmares. I was impressed that when the pace picked up the action rarely eased, which if not done well can be exhausting.
Paranormal activity in such a story is fitting, rather than added as some authors produce a sort of ‘copy and paste’ section, so once again, this was an area where the author succeeded in my opinion.
A good terror/horror tale staged in
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On August 3rd, 2020, my wife and I celebrated our 24th wedding anniversary. So I thought it might be fun if, this week, I bring her on the show to talk about being the spouse of a writer. We talked about what she likes to read, things that surprised her about my writing, and what she enjoys about being the souse of a writer.
I asked her to talk a little bit about how important patience is when you are the spouse of a writer. Turns out, you need a healthy dose of patience when dealing with me (her words not mine).
So, without further ado, here is my wife and I in a conversation about what it is like living with a writer.
-Bryan the Writer
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I think we often underestimate how our silly little jobs impact us. I tell my kids, well not really kids anymore, to value the first jobs they had since those jobs are the ones which will set the tone and flavor of what they will do the rest of their lives.
Jobs Bryan the Writer has Had:
- Paper delivery boy
- Golf Caddy
- Burger King
- Old Country Buffet
- Excelo Bakery
- Lightly Epicurean Deli and Catering
- Pizzahut Delivery Driver
- Famous Footwear as a shoe salesman
- Sheriff’s Department Uniformed Volunteer
- Morries Subaru as a parts driver
- Fire Fighter
- Hilltop Family Restaurant as a cook/dishwasher
- Mankato State University as his assistant
- School Bus Driver
- City Bus Driver
- Taco Johns restaurant in Mankato
- Correctional Officer
- Geographer at a bible camp
- GIS analyst
- Gas Main Inspector
- Car Salesman
- Concrete laborer
- U.S. Army soldier
- Analyst
- Author
- Podcaster
Now I am sure I have missed a few jobs in there someplace. Before you accuse me of not being able to hold down a job for very long, I think I should explain that every case where I left a job it was to seek out something better. I am not a huge fan of staying in one place too long as I like to try different things and indulge in my intellectual curiosity.
Those voices and experiences speak to you in a way little else can. It is because those experiences form the building blocks of who you are and who you will be in the future.
So, if you are young, and just trying to find your voice, I tell you to not give up too easy. The bumps and the bruises ahead of you will add to your personality and tell that little bard inside of you what to put on paper.
If you are not quite what might be considered young … or a more experienced writer, as it were … dig deep into yourself. Think about things that have happened to you in your life and draw upon those things in your life that bring you the pain the joy of yester year.
Writing is as much about feeling and emotion as anything else so if a memory brings a tear, then use it. Dive into that feeling and get it out on paper. Equally, if something made you smile, get that down on paper as well. It will result in the most genuine of stories.
Let me just give you a sneak peak of next week. You are going to get to hear from my beloved wife! She is going to be my guest and will talk about what it is like to the wife of an author and maybe offer a few tips and tricks to help your spouse or significant other deal with this crazy writing life we are all participating in.
-Bryan the Writer
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In this week's episode I try to convince you that having several good dictionaries, thesaurus, and other reference material by your side is critical to your success as a writer. Yes, looking up things on Google has its advantages, but you miss out on a ton of things like related words which have similar roots.
Take some time and explore your dictionary and thesaurus. If you don't have a good set, hit up you used book store and poke through their reference materials. Don't be afraid of older volumes, you will be amazed what words have fallen out of usage which could fit perfect with what you are writing.
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Years ago I started to compile books for reference. The reason behind this task is that at the end of the day the power could fail and the world could come to an end, but the books would still be around.
Here is a good list of books you really should have on your shelf
The Chicago Manual of StyleMine is a 16 edition. When I am in doubt, I consult it. But here is why you need a hard copy. If you look at mine you will se notes in the margins, highlights, and all kinds of other things. I have added these over the years to remind myself of things that are either interesting or things I really need to spend more time learning. My editor is good about telling me where I can find the information on in the CMS. And any editor worth their salt will use it.
Business Writer’s Handbook I don’t know about you, but I am not actually sure how to do that, but I am willing to bet that if you got it wrong, someone is going to skewer you over it.
There are also tons of things in there about determining which kind of pronoun to use and the meaning or words in a business setting. Trust me when I tell you that if you are in your favorite used book store, try and pick up a copy. Well worth having on the shelf as a resource.
Elements of Style is important to have around as well. If you have this around only for the section on misused words, it is a good one to have access to. Well worth the read, it is a fun little book to look at on occasion. Not terribly long, it has been required reading for master’s students for years. Again, this is something you can find in a used bookstore or just order on Amazon, it is cheap enough.
For Dummies books produced by Wiley. My personal favorite is forensics for dummies and I turn to it every time I am looking at writing anything about poison. Before you dismiss a resource like this, I want to point out one very salient point. They are written by experts in their field.
Everday Life in the 1800s. When I write, I like to put in some antiquated phrases for things just to keep the writing fresh and fun for the reader.Now I would have to have another character make a joke of it to explain it all. And yes, it adds some words,
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Welcome to Bryan the Writer's podcast on All Things Writing. Today, I have a treat for you. Today's episode is an interview I did with one of my favorite authors in the world, Mr. Eric Lahti.
In this episode we talk about
- When he got started in martial arts
- When did he start tying in martial arts to his writing
- What makes for good tactical fighting scenes
- What makes for bad fighting scenes
- The role of humor in writing and what is the perfect balance between realism and fictional accounts of fighting
- What are his favorite fighting scenes
If you want to know more about Eric, and his work, check him out at his website at http://ericlahti.com/
Or his Amazon page at https://www.amazon.com/Eric-Lahti/e/B00HUWZM2M
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We writers are not immune to the trouble time can cause.
It used to be that years ago we spent a ton of time writing things down on calendars or writing things down in day planners, but those fell victim to the ascension of the smart phone and laptops.
Ask yourself this critical question. What time of day do you best write? I know it seems like it wouldn’t matter. I had the same feeling myself. I mean, really why would it matter when I am putting pen to paper? Well, it does.
I work best in the morning. My real no-go times are around 2:30-4:30. That two hour time period, I am likely to stare at my computer screen and get nothing done. That is not to say I am actually that productive later in the evening. As a matter of fact, I really have a hard time doing any work on my current work in progress at night.
The afternoons seem to be a sweet spot for writing podcast scripts. And yes, I do write a script. If you ever decide to do a podcast, I just want to reinforce the importance of a script. Unless it is an interview segment, but even those must have a script as well, so you let the interviewee know what questions you are going to ask before you ask them.
After dinner, around 7:00, it’s editing time. I am not sure why it is, but I have a better go at editing in the evening than I do during the day. I have tried to do it first thing in the morning, but it is an utter and complete failure. So, editing is an evening activity for me.
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And we are back. Now I know that there are few things which scare me more than the idea of having to schedule something. My friend and award-winning author, C.J. Ellison, actually puts together a whole series of planners which help people keep their writing straight. If you are a planner, then these things are for you. Check them out, they are amazing. I am going to leave a link in the show notes for more information.
https://www.facebook.com/PlotYourWork/
Now, I secretly envy her organizational skills, don’t tell her that. I can’t do that kind of organizing thing generally speaking. I like my hap-hazard style. However, there are some things that I absolutely need to schedule.
Next is the all-mighty sub-op. A sub-op is a submission opportunity. When you see a submission opportunity, put it on your calendar right away. The last thing you want to do is see something you are really jazzed about then forget to hit the submit button on your e-mail.
Do your homework when you first see it come up. Publishers put together a list of things they want to see when they post something like this. So, save yourself, and them, some additional steps and make sure you are putting it in the correct format. This is critical. Most publishers will literally hit the delete key if they see anything not sent in the right format.
Also, take time to look at what they have already published and try to write in such a way which will appeal to them. If they say no ghosts, then no ghosts. If they want only stories about lesbian goldfish who want to escape their fishbowl to find the magic unicorns who will help free their people from bondage, then guess what you are gonna write?
This week, or the next, I am going to have, the write
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Welcome to the 4th of July!
This weekend, most of you will be out and about enjoying the warm weather here in the United States. So, I am going to keep things simple. A reading of The Embersville Demon. That short story was published in an anthology entitled Bizarre: 14 Horror Stories. If you like the story, why not pick up a copy for yourself? Just follow this link.
https://www.amazon.com/Bizarre-Stories-Dane-T-Hatchell-ebook/dp/B07ZG7NSM3
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Until then, enjoy the holiday weekend.
-Bryan the Writer
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Thank you for joining me on this hot and sticky June day. I think our temps are supposed to be into the 90s. Offda, as my ancestors might say. I want to send a quick shout out to my listeners out there. For those of you who have hit follow and look forward to my show it is greatly appreciated. You guys are making this show an actual thing and I really appreciate it.
If you like this show and want to see me continue on what I call my epic journey, please consider a small donation to show you care. Clink the link at the top of the page and it will take you to a paypal link which you can show your appreciation. Any little bit helps and it will allow me to upgrade my gear. I am serious, tips are greatly appreciated. I need new headphones.
I don’t care what your art is, it can get stressful. Take your fingers off the keys once in a while. Life happens and it is alright to give yourself a break from time to time.
Take a walk around the block, grab a lemonade, pet the dog, do something else for a little while. I love writing, but even I run into issues from time to time when I need to just walk away.
Set firm boundaries with your family so they understand that this is your time to write and you are not to be disturbed.
Celebrate those victories when they happen! Celebrate the little things because there will be periods in your writing careers where nothing seems to happen from time to time.
What is it that drives me bonkers in books?
I partially stole this idea from Youtuber Jenna Moreci who does some excellent videos on writing. If you have not checked her out, I would suggest you hop on over and take a look. I’ll throw a link to her page on Youtube in the show notes. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS_fcv9kBpDN4WWrfcbCrgw
1 Don't drone on about scenes. A big part of your job, as an author, is to ensure your story is well paced.Things should move along a at clip that is appropriate to the genre you are writing in. Extraneous descriptions will hurt that pacing. Sometimes a tree is just a tree.
2 The next thing that drives me up the ever loving wall is when authors constantly describe things to you over and over again. If there is a cabin in the woods where the souls of the damned are forced to live, please do not go over that fact over and over again.
3 Get to that hook in the first page or two. If you don’t get me at that point, then you aren’t going to. I will put your book down.
4 I don’t want to see physical issues with the book. Don’t use a font that no one has ever heard of because you want to be edgy or something.
Book Review: The book is entitled Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens. Now, I know some of you may be rolling your eyes at me right now, but I want to point out that I spend most of my time reading horror novels, so don’t judge me for not having read this yet.
If you are someone who has not read the book, well, I can tell you to get on it. I am thrilled to throw my whole recommendation behind this book. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Check it out here: https://www.amazon.com/Where-Crawdads-Sing-Delia-Owens/dp/0735219095
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Welcome to the show. This week we are going to talk about why you should not restrict yourself to just one genre.
1 You should never stop learning new ways to say the same thing.
Our alphabet is made up of just twenty-six different characters. However, those characters build an army of words that can say just about anything.
Here’s the thing. You can rewrite many a sentence a gazillion different ways and say the same thing. Authors will do this, and you need to pay attention. Think about the simple sentence, The cat is black. Okay, simple right. But what about the cat? Is it a Main Coon? Is it an American Shorthair? What about an all black Siamese? Black is also a word you can work with. Onyx, black as the depths of hell. Dark as night. Black as if all the light in the world would flee from its presence. You can do a million things with this simple sentence.
2 Language changes.
I don’t care if you are writing in French, English, Germany, or Martian. We don’t speak in old English anymore and you shouldn’t write that way.
I love the classics. You want a trip, read the original French to English translation of Alexandre Dumas’s classic, Three Musketeers. I, for one, loved it. Hard to read though. It takes considerable time to work your way through the text. Once you hit the rhythm though, and look a few things up, you can have an amazing experience.
3 Learn what is selling and get a feel for why they are selling.
This one does occasionally backfire on me though; I will be the first to admit. If I know something has become insanely popular, I try to read it if I have time. It helps me keep a pulse on what people like and what is trending. Sometimes I can catch trends before they blow up into something so big that everyone gets lost in the whirlwind of books coming out.
For example, there was an adult book which came out a few years ago which I read because I was curious what the hype was about. To be honest, it was not my cup of tea, but it gave what I was looking for. Right now I am reading a book which became super popular really fast. I have to say that this time, it was worth the hype.
4 What trends you want to follow and which ones you definitely don’t. I am not a big fan of following trends. But I can see in the short stories and what is happening on television what is likely going to be big in the near future and I am going to write that direction. I am certainly not suggesting that you write young adult if you are primarily a romance novelist. But I would take note of what is trending in the YA world right now and use it to inform my story lines since that may be the next big thing.
5 My last reason is simple. Reading is fun.
It should not be work. Never forget why you got into writing in the first place. If you are anything like me, you enjoy a good book.
Please don’t mistake my advice for telling you not to read in your chosen field. Yes, if you are into police procedurals, read them. If you are into Rom-zom-coms, well then, read them. But I am not sure how many romantic zombie comedies you are going to find. But, good luck. If you are into horror, delve into horror.
Ever thought about starting your own podcast?
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Statement on Racism and Rioting
I am 100% against racism in any form. It is a cancer which belittles us all and hurts us as a society. Racism in all its forms needs to be called out from the darkness and pointed at until we banish this disease from our landscape. I am also 100% against rioting. Anger should never find an outlet by burning and looting businesses. Who does that harm? A minimum wage worker who is struggling to make ends meet and now has no job since it has been reduced to ashes? A small business owner who has a hard enough time keeping enough customers coming in to cover their costs?
Treating each other as categories rather than people is everything that is wrong today. Republican, Democrat, black, white, and a million other things which partially define us will never overcome the largest thing that unites us. We are all human beings and will find more unity in mutual understanding than categorized hate.
A Review: Payable on Death
Now, onto less weighty matters. I read a book written by a friend of mine and I fell in love with it. The book is called “Payable on Death” and was written by Rachel Rawlings.
I can highly recommend this book for people who love a good paranormal thriller. There is enough darkness to make it fun for the die-hard horror fan like me and enough intrigue to keep the ordinary reader reading. Check Rachel out at her website at https://rachelrawlings.com/ or at her Amazon author site which is
Writing those hard to write characters
Sympathy is the relationship between two people where when something happens to one, it effects the other. Whereas empathy is the capacity to feel feelings as if you were someone. The difference between these two is important. If you want to make sure your writing is not as dull as a box of rocks, you must have a healthy dose of empathy. But, here is the good news, you already have it.
I want you to start off by thinking of the character Dracula. Yes, the blood sucking vampire of old who is the antithesis of a dark character. The thing to keep in mind about our friend Dracula is that the good Count was, before turning vampire, someone’s son, brother, maybe father, maybe he was a grandfather. My point is that someone loved him at some point and now … well, he turned.
We are all born in the same manner, naked and wet. We look like reptiles and that can’t be helped. So, what of it? Well, you have to consider that even the worst, most lothesome person on the planet was also born that same way.
When I go to write a character that I don’t particularly care for, a serial killer for example, I do my best to introduce a hint of humanity in their character to make sure that connection is real. I do like a good morally ambiguous character so if I can get you to reconsider a vitriolic hatred for the bad guy, I am pleased with myself.
The reality is that no person on planet earth is either all bad, or all good. The nicest person you have ever met probably did something bad for their own good even if it was something minor. Even the most evil of us are not pure evil.
Remember that when you are hammering out your characters. Yes, drip them in evil, but don’t forget to inject them with some humanity as well. This is critical if you are going to make your character believable.
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Questions feature on this week’s podcast.
Q1: I know that you are a cross genre writer, like me, so I think one great place to start this conversation would be maybe talking a little bit about why you decided to augment your writing style. What made you decide, you know, I think I want to try something else for a while?
Q2: What was the hardest part you found about writing something other than young adult?
Q3: Okay, you know the companion question was coming. What was the easiest part about writing something other than YA?
Q4: I know that sometimes I am surprised by my reaction to writing something completely different. For example, when I write the Dean Cordaine novellas, it fascinated me how easily it was for me to slip into the clothes of this misanthrope who is essentially a terrible person. I found myself understanding his point of view. Not sympathizing, but simply understanding how and why he is the way he is. Did you have a similar experience?
Q5: The Wielders series is set in a female dominated world. What was the driving factor that put your world into that frame?
Q6: Who was your most challenging character to write in that series?
Q7: Who were your biggest literary influences growing up and who are they now?
Want to know more about Patrick? Check him out at his Amazon Site. You can also find out more about him at his website.
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Impostor Syndrome: Defined by the oxford dictionary as the persistent inability to believe that one's success is deserved or has been legitimately achieved as a result of one's own efforts or skills.
There is always a small person in the back of your mind who does everything in their power to talk you out of your own success. As a writer you will reason it away. You will blame play the success on your editor, your graphic artist, the insanity of people who came to see you.
Procrastination: Every author has a moment when their current project feels like that. I know I will, at some point in my current project convince myself it is no good and should be abandoned. But I don’t.
I recently posted something on Facebook to the effect of having a runner’s high after writing, and it turns out, you do actually get one. A study from 2016 by Centennial College pointed to a likely release of endorphins after a good writing session.
Being Introverted: It can be really hard to come out of people’s shells. If it were only about writing books, then it would sound like a perfect thing for introverts. However, there is the whole business side of things. You have to go out and talk to people, meet readers, talk at conventions, and all kinds of other things that require you to people.
Taking on Too Much: For writers it is far worse than just that since on the back end we have things like editing, graphic arts, and then prospects for a series. As was perfectly stated, it is all the practical stuff after writing which is a time suck and we would love nothing more than to not have to do it.
How do we keep ourselves from doing too many things? Focus on the thing you are passionate about. if you need to go off and indulge your muse for a day or two, that is okay, but come back and finish!
Overthink Everything: Spending most of the time writing a book under the misguided impression that it is a waste of time. We continue out of spite and I do this too. I convince myself that I have to finish this project.
At the end we go back and review what we have written to realize that it's not as bad as we think. Yes, sometimes we work ourselves into corners and are not entirely sure how to get ourselves out of it. But we do. And when we do, that magic happens, and it all works itself out right.
The ‘Day Job’ and Accepting What You Can't Change: Most writers have a day job. That is reality in the indie world and unless you are a retiree who doesn’t have a day job or you are independently wealthy, you are stuck in two worlds.
Balance is important and that means making sure you don’t do so much that you wear yourself out. Yes, sometimes it will mean staying your hand and not submitting a short for a submission opportunity. It may mean you put in more hours on Monday so you can take off early on Friday to make it to the writing convention you want to go to.
https://indieauthorsupportanddiscussion.com/
To check out the study from 2016, CLICK HERE.
Ruth Coulson, Grace Hudson, Theresa Jacobs, Eric Lahti, Cherime MacFarlane, Max Power, Lisa Shambrook, Sarah Stuart
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Do you have a creative child? Do you work with creative children? Join me and my special guest, educator Peter Kroneman, while we discuss creativity and what it takes to foster it in children. Or, just as importantly, how not to be a barrier to it.
In this issue we will discuss the following questions (and tons more):
- As an educator, what would you say you see as signs of creativity in your kids?
- How do you foster that creativity or, in the interest of ensuring progress in your class, how do you maybe sideline that creativity so you can get some work done?
- Are kids more apt to be creative than adults? Why do you think so?
- What are the barriers to creativity we throw in front of our kids?
- What is the best way to foster that creativity into things like writing, or arts in general?
These questions and tons of others are explored in this episode. Mr. Kroneman also mentions a particular TED talk in his discussion which he highly encourages people interested in the topic to listen to. It is by Sir Ken Robinson, entitled Do Schools Kill Creativity?
As always, you can find more information out about Bryan the Writer at www.bryannowak.com or you can check out my Amazon Author page.
Thank you for joining us and if you like what you heard, remember to subscribe so you can find out when the next podcast is uploaded.
-Bryan the Writer
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Show Notes for Episode 8:
This week, I thought it might be fun to talk a little about books I love. However, as I started working out the script for this week, I realized I was really telling you more about the writers I enjoy reading. So, here, for your listening pleasure are five authors which I totally love and am pretty sure you will love too.
Eric Lahti: Well, I am a huge fan of those awesome stories which are really just a roller coaster ride. I am not kidding when I say I couldn’t put this book down. It held me in its grips and refused to let me go. I was so delighted to find the entire series was this way. The action is consistent throughout and the fighting scenes are so incredibly well done, you can visualize the fighting with absolutely no prompting at all. Amazing ride from start to finish and his other books are just as amazing, btw! Check Eric out at http://ericlahti.com/
Katherine McIntyre: Author of the Take to the Skies series which consists of three books, An Airship Named Desire, A Tale of Two Airships, and The Airship Also Rises. Another book series which grabs you by the nose and pulls you through. Battle scenes which will quench a pirate’s thirst for battle. There is some romance which is handled works for both guys and gals. Don’t be scared off by a little kissing, gents. There is plenty of guns and sword fighting in world where nothing ever seems to go right. Check Katherine out at https://www.amazon.com/Katherine-McIntyre/e/B00J8U4VNU
D.B. Corey: It's not just about the action, although there is plenty, it is getting the feel of the characters push and pull. Filled wit tons of struggle, great fighting scenes, it’s a great story built on amazing characters, which those of you who have followed me for a while know, is kind of my thing. Check D.B. out at https://www.dbcorey.com/
Ronald Malfi: I think the first book I ever read of his was Little Girls. Ronald amazing is that the story line flows in an almost episodic melody. Each chapter feels like a story unto itself and that is a hard thing to master. He does such an amazing job of painting his antagonists in a way that they don’t seem threatening, but you can also tell, something ain’t quite right. And that is where the magic and the mastery of Ronald Malfi is at it’s best. Check Ronald out at http://ronmalfi.com/
Stephen King (one book in particular): Tons of people out there who want to be writers, are working to become better writers, and maybe even want to just learn about how writers do what they do for their own curiosity.
The next book I am going to recommend is On Writing, and every serious writer I know has read it at least once. I personally have read it three times.
The first half of the book is about his life and how he came to be who he is. The second half of the book really does have to do with things he learned from his career. These are observations and life lessons which are specific to writers.
All I will say is that if you are serious about writing, you need to pick up a copy of this book and read it carefully. There are lots of things you can learn from it.
You can find it here, https://www.amazon.com/Writing-King-Stephen-Paperback/dp/B00NYI71B6
-Bryan the Writer
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In this episode I am going to talk a little about the big influences in my writing life and how I got to where I am now.
Good Afternoon good people of the podcast world, I am your host, Bryan and before I get too far into this, I want to make sure and send a shout out to all of the mother’s out there. This is Mother’s day weekend so remember to call your mother, mother type equivalents, and mother analogues. If you can’t be with them, send them a virtual CORONA hug.
In this podcast we are going to delve into my own personal writing journey.
I have oft gained some very irritate glances in high school English classes when I said in front of a room of impressionable young people that there is absolutely nothing they can do to become creative writers in school. While I mean this statement, left to its own devices, it gets misconstrued.
I truly believe in education. But I truly do believe that schools only teach us how to form decent sentences and proper paragraphs. In no way do schools teach you how to think and feel about the world around you. Only experience can do that.
It is life that makes us good story tellers and writers. It is that experiences that I call up when I am trying to write how a person thinks and feels. If I hadn’t had experiences, it would make it impossible for me to write that aspect of a story.
That is not to say you can’t write as a young person, but as you get older and have more life experience, you become a better story teller.
I was always a creative kid and that got me into trouble. I was considered unusual as a child. So much so that my parents and teachers had me go visit the school councilor twice a week for thirty minutes at a time.
Mrs. Sone, I think her name was. Nice lady and actually I liked going to see her. Smoked way too much and her breath smelled like what I imagine the mythical Kraken’s breath smelled like. It think it is Master Gibbs in the Pirates of the Caribbean movie that says it reeks with the smell of a thousand rotting corpses. Yeah, her breath was amazingly bad.
But she sat me down and gave me the opportunity to write for the first time. Schools can be problematic for budding writers. Look they tell you to write and they want you to write, but only what they think you should write, for how long they proscribe, and when you should write.
Don’t get the wrong idea here. I am not anti-teacher at all. They have one of the hardest jobs on the planet which is made far more difficult by their dark overlords in school administration, but that is another discussion for another time. But they do have to stay within the strict cinctures of their pre-programmed schedules. They have a tough job. And they had to teach my kids!
I mention the name of Ronald Malfi in the podcast as being one of those authors I admire. Find out more about him here. http://ronmalfi.com/
For more information about Bryan the Writer:
www.Bryannowak.com
https://www.amazon.com/Bryan-Nowak/e/B018GX2I20
Thanks for listening.
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Make a decision: Are you going to be a traditional author or go indie? Both have their advantages and disadvantages. If you have specific questions, send them to me at bryanthewriter@bryannowak.com.
Beware of these sites that tell you they are publishers and will make you a New York Times best seller in six weeks. They can’t and they won’t. These predators pray on new writers and are chiefly responsible for people getting out of writing before they have had a chance to really do any real work.
There are all kinds of things you need to do to submit, but I will tell you that there are literally tons of sites out there who deal with how to prep a manuscript for an agent and how to write a letter to the agent.
Instead of trying to walk you through all the rules, I am going to send you to a couple of useful websites. https://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/the-10-dos-and-donts-of-writing-a-query-letter and https://www.janefriedman.com/query-letters/. Both have some great information.
Remember that. An agent works for you in the sense that they get a percentage of what the book sells for.
You need to make sure your manuscript is in whatever format the agent tells you to put it in. Agents get a gazillion submissions and they don’t have time to waste on a manuscript where the author demonstrates they don’t want to follow the rules.
Indie publishing is a whole different taco. You are in the driver’s seat, and responsible for the success or failure of your work. It pays to keep a weather eye on everything you do.
Go to Amazon and scroll all the way to the bottom you will see a link to Kindle Direct Publishing, or KDP. There is a reason Amazon is the big boy on the indie stage right now. They made it easy. I won't post a link to Amazon.
Draft to Digital is another big one out there. https://www.draft2digital.com/ They will not only allow you to upload your books, but they will also distribute them to more than just Amazon. However, the downside is that they don’t do hard copy. KDP will and that is a big seller for them.
A big competitor with Amazon right now is Ingriam Spark. I have only had limited experience with them. They charge a set-up fee for each book. I can only say that a lot of people use them and seem to be happy. https://www.ingramspark.com/
Before posting though, consider using a professional formatter. I use one because I am not very good at it.
My formatter charges thirty bucks and ten for revisions. I have been super happy with her over the years. Her name is Michelle Macqueen and she is an author of Young adult. Her website, if you want to contact her about her raft of services is https://michellelynnauthor.com/
But it all comes down to you as an indie. There are no shortcuts in the world of writing whether you go the traditional route or the inide. Do your homework and make sure you do your best writing. Most of all, remember why you got started writing in the first place.
If you liked this podcast, consider subscribing so you can stay on top of whenever a new podcast comes out. If you heard anything which piqued your interest and want to know more, you can contact me at
bryanthewriter@bryannowak.com
www.bryannowak.com
YouTube channel by searching on the name Bryan Nowak.
My books are also available on Amazon, Barnes and Nob
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Podcast #5 Shownotes!
Greetings intrepid listener.
So, you’ve finished writing and wonder what to do next. Well, here you go. I will lead you though my editing process up to the point you shove it out to your editor (and yes, you need one).
Now, truth in advertising, this isn’t an all exhaustive list and I am sure I am missing things, but the advice is still sound.
Best free writing programs? I am going to direct you to go to a Tech Republic article at https://www.techrepublic.com/article/5-free-alternatives-to-microsoft-word/.
- I read it completely on the screen. I am looking for large plot holes in this step. Things that I started writing and forgot to continue. Stuff like that.
- Print the manuscript off and reading it again, in paper form. Make notes in the margins, correct things, etc. Still looking for plot holes, but also things which are obviously wrong.
- Windows 10 came with a thing called ‘Read Aloud’. I think you can download it from their app store too. It is a great tool.
- Let someone else read it. What you are looking for is someone who is going to read through it and give you their honest opinion.
- Share it with some trusted beta readers. A trusted group of super friends who would be willing to read through your manuscript for you. Avoid people who say things like, “Oh, I liked it.” And that is it.
- Provide a word document with specific questions you want them to answer. I like to use from Writing Cooperative. You can find them on the internet, posted for people to steal and use. https://writingcooperative.com/15-questions-to-send-beta-first-readers-please-steal-3ff9fa198b5
- It is time to shove it into the realm of editors. In reality you can find editors that specialize in just about anything at all. The most common are copy editors who will just handle the grammar and anything glaring. However, consider the use of a developmental editor or a proofreader. The latter will shine a spotlight on your weak spots and a proofreader will assess it for overall content and clarity. I use http://editing.xterraweb.com/, but there are tons of great editors out there in the world.
It is usually during this time that I start working the graphics angle. There are millions of different graphics artists out there. My word of caution, and one that another author gave me when I was starting out, was to make sure they can provide examples of their work. My own preference has always been to use Aspire Book Covers. https://aspirebookcovers.com/. But that is just my preference. I have used major graphics companies and I have used some guy working out of his apartment in South Africa. He actually did a really nice job for me. Again, ask for samples of their work.
In the next show I will talk about that, ISBN’s, making an audio version. And other things. Make sure you join me and remember to subscribe to this podcast!
- My website: www.bryannowak.com
- My Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Bryanthewriter
- My Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Bryan-Nowak/e/B018GX2I20
By for now!
-Bryan the Writer
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In this episode of Bryan the Writer's Podcast on All Things Writing, I am responding to a friend's request for me to talk a little about where my creative ideas come from. I walk you thought each of my books and explain where the ideas came from.
In the last part of the episode I talk about my "sound booth" and where the idea for it came from. I'll also explain how you don't have to spend a ton of money to build a sound booth for your recording needs.
If you like this episode, please follow me so you know when new episodes come out. If you want me to talk about anything specific, hit me up and let me know.
As always, you can check me out on my website at www.bryannowak.com or check out my Amazon author page here!
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Hey everyone! In this episode I am going to talk a little about how I see a protagonist and antagonist in the story line. In addition, I will introduce you to my favorite brewery in the Northern Virginia area. To round things out, I have a special surprise for everyone in store that you just have to listen to believe.
If you like what you hear, please hit the subscribe button to find out when more of my podcasts are posted.
For more information about this or how to buy any of my books that I am talking about, hit me up on my website www.bryannowak.com.
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There is a silver lining to COVID-19, if we choose to see it. We are social people and maybe we can choose to look at this as an opportunity to get closer to the ones we love, the people who we have relied or or the people who rely on us. Also, what the heck is mind mapping and how do we use it? Lastly, at what point do we examine what is the measure of our literary success?
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Welcome to the show, All Things Writing. Your captain on this journey is Bryan Nowak.
No matter what the driving force is, welcome to the show and I am so happy you are here.
What is All Things Writing?
Looking for any help at all seemed like a difficult task. So, I thought I might start to chronicle my journey into writing for other people to listen to. Sure, not all of my advice is going to be helpful, but lots of it will be. We are also lining up some amazing authors to talk with about their personal journey into the world and writing and what that means to them.
My personal journey into writing started in 2013. It was then that I started working on my first novel, called No-Name. It still stands out in my mind is one of my favorite storylines. One of these days I’m gonna go back and rewrite the book.
The journey for me started one day while I was in a meeting. I really had nothing to do in the meeting, I was just there as a notetaker who didn’t have very much that he had to take notes on. So, I started working on my own story that I had bopping around my head. A week later, I had about 17 pages written. They were hand written notes, and not very good, but the story was there.
A good story comes from the heart. It’s a conglomeration of your life lessons, and so, a reflection of you.
My goal is always to entertain.
When I write a book, I want you to feel the thrill and exhilaration that comes with reading. I want you to ingest a story that is fun, and not a burden. And so too is the goal of All Things Writing. Each episode, is designed to be at least partially entertaining. Certainly, we get in the heavier topics of the writing world, but we have a little bit of fun to.
I want you to be able to ask questions, and I’ll do my best to answer them. send them to me at Bryan the Writer. I want you to listen to these episodes and ask yourself how the information applies to you. Once again, I’ll point out, not all of it is going to apply to you.
It is the willing expression of imagination that produces good fiction. I would also argue that a good sense of imagination is also critical in nonfiction writing as well. For it is that imagination that allows us to show our creativity on the written page.
So, join me on this epic adventure I call all things writing and you can learn, laugh, and generally have a good time along with me. And if it any point you want to ask any questions, I’m always here for you. Now, let’s get to it.
Check me out here!
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