2008 Holiday Short Story Celebration, with Amy S. Hansen
Sunday, December 21, 2008
With Amy S. Hansen reading her short story "She's Pregnant"
"Naomi and her best friend just turned 14. Now the friend is pregnant and Naomi is pissed. Pregnancy changes everything. It was definitely not part of the plans."
read more>>>
Interviewee: Amy S. Hansen
Date: December 21, 2008
Running time: 12:02
File size: 6 megabytes
Rating: G
Amy S. Hansen's Web site: AmySHansen.com
Download and listen to "She's Pregnant"
Which EBook Reader for Christmas?
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
With guest host Ricardo from Amigo Audio
Please join us as our Latin American correspondent, Ricardo from Amigo Audio, explores the pros and cons of various ebook readers.
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Interviewee/host: Ricardo from Amigo Audio
Date: December 17, 2008
Running time: 16:47
File size: 8 megabytes
Rating: G
The Amigo Audio Web site: AmigoAudio.com
Download and listen to EBook Readers
2008 Holiday Short Story Celebration, with Jamie Crothall: "A Flamin' Good Christmas Story"
Sunday, December 14, 2008
With writer Jamie Crothall and a reading of his story "A Flamin' Good Christmas Story"
"Some divine messages come from upon high, while some come from the East End."
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Interviewee: Jamie Crothall
Reader: Michael Austin
Date: December 14, 2008
Running time: 29:42
File size: 14 megabytes
Rating: PG for language and sexual references
Jamie Crothall's Web site: Jamie Crothall.com
Download and listen to "A Flamin' Good Christmas Story"
Read the text of Jamie's story here
How to End Your Screenplay: Storming the Castle
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
With screenwriter Blake Snyder
In this commentary, Blake explains how to end your movie.
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Commentator: Blake Snyder
Date: December 10, 2008
Running time: 3:57
File size: 2 megabytes
Rating: G
Blake Snyder's Web site: BlakeSnyder.com
Download and listen to Blake on Endings
Writing Historical Fiction
Sunday, December 07, 2008
With Christine Blake, author of Woman Redeemed, a story of Mary Magdalene
How do you write a historical novel about a person so shadowy that almost nothing is known about her?
ChristineBlake has taught literature and writing for many years and has served as a youth minister and speaker at schools, churches, and women's groups. She lives in Evergreen, Colorado with her husband and two boys.
read more>>>
Interviewee: Christine Blake
Host: Paula B.
Date: December 7, 2008
Running time: 42:39
File size: 20 megabytes
Rating: G
Christine Blake's Web site: WomanRedeemedNovel.com
Download and listen to Christine Blake
Roundtable #6: Getting the Most Out of Writers' Conferences
Sunday, November 23, 2008
With literary agent Kristin Nelson and writers Frances Julia Kemp and Del Landis
Writers' conferences can be expensive. Are they worth it? Get the lowdown from an agent and two veteran conference attendees.
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Interviewees: Kristin Nelson, Frances Julia Kemp, Del Landis
Host: Paula B.
Date: November 23, 2008
Running time: 01:09:35
File size: 33 megabytes
Rating: G
Kristin Nelson's Web site: NelsonAgency.com
Frances Julia Kemp's Web site: FJKLiterary.com
Download and listen to Writers' Conferences
Meet Our 2008 First-Chapter-of-a-Novel Contest Winner
Sunday, November 16, 2008
With Writing Show First-Chapter Contest Winner Linda Simoni-Wastila
Find out what our 2008 first-prize winner is all about.
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Interviewee: Linda Simoni-Wastila
Host: Paula B.
Date: November 16, 2008
Running time: 55:54
File size: 27 megabytes
Rating: G
Linda Simoni-Wastila's Web site: LeftBrainWrite
Download and listen to Linda Simoni-Wastila
How to Bury Exposition in Your Screenplay: "The Pope in the Pool"
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
With screenwriter Blake Snyder
In this commentary, Blake explains how you can sneak exposition into your script and entertain viewers at the same time.
In his 20-year career as a screenwriter and producer, Blake Snyder has sold dozens of scripts, including co-writing "Blank Check," which became a hit for Disney, and "Nuclear Family" for Steven Spielberg — both million-dollar sales. His book, Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need, was published in May, 2005, and is now in its tenth printing. It has prompted standing room only author appearances in major cities around the world.
read more>>>
Commentator: Blake Snyder
Date: November 12, 2008
Running time: 03:19
File size: 2 megabytes
Rating: G
Blake Snyder's Web site: BlakeSnyder.com
Download and listen to Blake on exposition
What Do Publishers Want from Query Letters and Proposals?
Sunday, November 09, 2008
With Jennifer Silva Redmond, Editor-in-Chief of Sunbelt Publications
One of the most common questions writers ask is how to query agents and publishers. Here's one editor's take.
Jennifer Silva Redmond is Editor-in-Chief of Sunbelt Publications, an award-winning small press that celebrates the natural and cultural history of the Californias. She has written for publications as diverse as Science of Mind, Cruising World, and Dog Fancy; one of her stories is featured in Latinos in Lotusland: An Anthology of Contemporary Southern California Literature (Bilingual Review Press, March 2008). Co-founding editor of Sea of Cortez Review (1998-2001), Ms. Silva Redmond joined Sunbelt in 2000; she enjoys speaking to writers’ groups and guiding both well-known and first-time authors through the acquisition, editing, and production of their books.
read more>>>
Interviewee: Jennifer Silva Redmond
Host: Paula B.
Date: November 9, 2008
Running time: 01:06:12
File size: 32 megabytes
Rating: G
The Sunbelt Publications Web site: Sunbelt Books
Download and listen to Jennifer Silva Redmond
News & Articles
Our 2008 Holiday Short Story Celebration
Monday, January 05, 2009
Here are some of the terrific stories we received as submissions this year. Enjoy!
"Black Peter," by Gwenyth Love. "We all know that good children get a visit from Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, but few know the tale of Black Peter!"
"Wassail Hassle," by Don Walker. "Far from festive--closer to shell shocked"
"Holidaze," by Tim Lewis. "If you consider the holidays, do you think of food comas, shopping frenzies, Christmas music, and aliens? This is what you have in store for you when you read 'Holidaze,' a short story written especially for the Holiday Short Story Celebration.
"
"Jack in the Box," by Dorothy Piper. "High expectations of a small boy - and a clumsy one at that."
"Sanity Claus," by Anthony G. Craine. "Down on his luck, an unemployed man concocts a plan to strike back at all of the department-store Santas who have ruined his holidays since childhood.
"
"Marry Christmas from Moldova," by Terri Elders. "As much as I treasure 'Hello, Dolly' and 'Fiddler on the Roof,' I truly believe that marriages are made in heaven, and that mere earthlings lack the acumen to match one stranger with another. "
Would you like some one-on-one help with your writing?
Monday, January 05, 2009
Writing show host Paula B. offers expert mentoring for writers in a supportive, confidential environment. Discounts for repeat clients and contest entrants. Details available here.
New Ebook from Writing Show Host Paula B.
Purchase at Lulu or the Amazon Kindle store
Paula B's new book of 52 creativity exercises for writers is about 67 pages long and costs $3.60.
Table of contents and introduction
While you're there, check out our other Writing Show ebooks, such as Point of View in Fiction and our writing dialogue series.
Blake Snyder Offers Screenwriting Commentary Every Month on The Writing Show
Listen to Blake's insightful screenwriting tips:
October 8, 2008: "Working with Theme in Your Screenplay"
November 12, 2008: "How to Bury Exposition in Your Screenplay"
December 10, 2008: "How to End Your Screenplay"
Blake Snyder is the author of Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need and Save the Cat! Goes to the Movies: The Screenwriter’s Guide to Every Story Ever Told. Visit his Web site at BlakeSnyder.com.
Jurgen Wolff's Tips, Ideas, and Inspirations for Writers
Monday, January 05, 2009
They're conspiring to get you to write for free
If you think people are
conspiring to get you to write for free…you’re right. Here’s a quote from a
Business Week article by Stephen Baker called “Will Work for Praise: The Web’s
Free-Labor Economy”:
“Prahbakar
Raghavan, chief of Yahoo Research (YHOO), estimates that 4% to 6% of Yahoo's users
are drawn to contribute their energies for free, whether it's writing movie
reviews or handling questions at Yahoo Answers. If his team could devise
incentives to draw upon the knowledge and creativity of a further 5%, it could
provide a vital boost. Incentives might range from contests to scoreboards to
thank-you notes. "Different types of personalities respond to different
point systems," he says. Raghavan has hired microeconomists and
sociologists from Harvard and Columbia universities to match different types of
personalities with different rewards.”
I’m certainly not against labors of love—I don’t get paid
for doing this blog, for instance. But the idea that companies are out there
researching ways to manipulate that impulse for their own profit does worry me.
If it’s a true win-win, great. Otherwise, it calls for a closer look at
the request for free work.
(For monthly tips on how to be more productive--for yourself and maybe even for money--sign up for my free Brainstorm e-bulletin. Just send an email request to BstormUK@aol.com)
Download my free writing success mini-course as a PDF file here. And visit my blog here.
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