Real Writers Top 10

Real Writers Top 10

1. I’ve promoted them before and I’ll likely do it again, but the Scriptnotes Podcast (which focuses on screenwriting) is terrific stuff for regular old fiction writers, too. John August and Craig Mazin are writers first and screenwriters second. A wealth of insight. They make it easy to skip the industry stuff, too, if that’s not your thing. Their enthusiasm for writing stories is contagious and they know how to break down a story like nobody’s business. I’m tellin’ ya.
2. I’m not the biggest John Grisham fan in the world, but his novella “Fetching Raymond” in the Ford County story collection is a master class in building suspense.  One fabulous story, too.
3. Hey, it’s a pandemic. Cut yourself some slack. If you’re not in the mood (for whatever you’re not in the mood for) it’s okay. Repeat: it’s a pandemic. Ain’t none of us been through anything like it. 
4. Thanks to all those behind making the decision to cancel Colorado Gold this September. (Of course: damn!) But it was the right thing to do. Tough choice; good call. We can hope all we want—and wish all we want—that things will all be better and back to normal (was it ever ‘normal’?) by September, but do any of us know for sure? For sure for sure? No, we don’t.
5. Speaking of pandemics, what if you just published (April 28) a novel about pandemics? If you’re Lawrence Wright, you shrug it off. His extensive research paid off, though. He got lots of things right. The End of October sounds fascinating. Here’s a thoughtful interview on the New York Times Book Review podcast. Are you more prone to read about pandemics during a pandemic? Or more likely to read about anything else?
6. Speaking of podcasts, the Rocky Mountain Writer just passed the five-year mark. The two guests on that very first show were Shannon Baker, Charles Senseman, and Suzie Brooks. (Trivia answers for the future!) This week we’ll hit episode No. 212.  Care to hop on? Send an email to podcast@rmfw.org
7. Spend a day in quarantine keeping track of all the ways the creative class helps you endure it. Movies. TV shows. Music. Games. Books. Art. Etcetera. Worth noting! Truly, why don’t writers run the world?
8. If you’re stuck with your story, try writing down everything your protagonist is thinking and feeling. Everything. Somewhere in those thoughts and reactions is the next action in your story. If it’s not in there, you need a character with more opinions (and better reasons to act).
9. Varmint Rumble publishes in early June. It’s the last of nine novels in The Asphalt Warrior series by the late Gary Reilly. Here are a few sentences from the book, which of course has the wisecracking Murph at the helm of his taxi—and the story.  “I would probably down my last drink while being lowered into the ground. A burp, a tossed can, and you could write on my tombstone: ‘Shoot low, sheriff, they’re riding Shetlands.’ I’ve always wanted to die with a non sequitur on my lips. Just before Oscar Wilde died, he is reported to have said, ‘Either that wallpaper goes, or I do.’ I’ll admit it. I’m jealous.”
10. Check out this very cool online thesaurus: OneLook. That search box can handle just about anything you want to throw at it. Amazing!

Final thought: it’s a pandemic! Cut yourself some slack, okay?