I have a walkie-talkie by the gearshift in my VW Passat. I hear the command: “Roll sound.” And the reply: “Rolling sound.” More whispering—all the directions are being given inside the café a half-block away, where the scene is being filmed. “Roll Camera” in a quiet whisper. Wait, wait … An assistant director stands outside…
Last month I mentioned (I mean, announced) that I’ll be the guest writer/teacher next summer for Ireland Writer Tours. I got the invitation from Ireland Writer Tours organizer Fiona Claire a few months ago. As far as I was concerned, it came clear out of the blue. It was incredibly flattering. (A quick update: the…
Come fly away with me. (I’ve always wanted to say that. Or write that.) To Ireland. Next summer. I’ve been invited to teach for a week with Ireland Writer Tours. My co-instructor will be a fabulous literary agent, Moe Ferrara, with BookEnds. One week—and only a dozen writers in the entire group. Intimate? Personal? Yes…
It’s a cocky thing to say, but I’ll say it: I rarely get stuck when I’m writing. (Notice I didn’t say ‘never.’) If I feel slightly stuck, here’s what I do: I start writing down everything my character is feeling in the moment, in the “now” of that character’s situation. If the character isn’t feeling…
Did you get all July Fourthy this year? For me, not so much. It’s hard to feel that star-spangled pride when there’s so much strife, upset, misery, and death. The shine, this year, is off. Don’t worry. I’m not going to turn the RMFW blog into a political platform. But those brutal, long minutes in…