Writing – Page 13 – John D Reinhart

Avast, Ye Readers!

Nothing says nautical mayhem like the word “avast,” doncha think?

Right out of the box you know the words that follow are coming from some seafaring devil, a maritime monster, a nautical ne’er do well. This is because good guy pirates and Navy types don’t use the word.

Networking Fool

That’s me. Look, Mom, I made a post! It’s vaguely stupid, and wouldn’t put it on my resume, but, hey, I made a post!

If you’re like me, you’re a busy person, with lots of interest. I know I am – you know, like me… whatever.

On Writing Nonfiction

You’re a writer. You know how it goes. That helpful idea is really great – it might even make a pretty good book.

I’ve been reading a lot of nonfiction lately, gearing up for a great adventure.

On Giving Up

When is giving up really giving up?

You’re a writer. You know how it goes. You work your keester off to create what you think is a great piece of art – and it is a great piece of art because you put your heart and soul and God knows how many hours of mindbending labor into it. And then you burned a gazillion more hours rewriting it – getting the characters just right, moving scenes so that it flows just as smooth as butter on a hot bun.

Facing Your Inner Fred

Do you think Fred Flintstone ever made it big? Do you think he owned an expansive place in the Hollyrock Hills, up next to the sign, and hung out with the likes of Dash Riprock, Stoney Curtis, and Ann Margrock?

And, do you think he ever expected to? That’s the big question.

The Droppington Franchise

I’m flashing my curtains at you – did you see it?

If you’ve read my novel Droppington Place, you’d know that flashing the curtains is how Penrose, the sawdust copy of an obscure 16th Century playwright, lures Byron into the world of Droppington Place. It’s a paper world, hidden from time, from which Byron and his middle school friends Hailey Shen and Kyle Rodriquez must escape before they, too, become paper.

If I may be blunt: it’s a pretty good book.

Character Thievery

Damn their eyes, these characters!

They say things you didn’t expect, do things you didn’t think of, steal your gosh darn story right out from under you.

About Yes And

Can you please explain this to me? Can you please sit me down in a chair, one that doesn’t face the window, because I’m obviously easily distracted, and use small words, because clearly I’m a bit dim in the “I get it” department, and tell me what is going on?

On Going Big or Going Home

When you were a little kid, remember how exciting it was to think about Christmas morning? All the commotion, the gifts, the noise, the screaming parents. Well, maybe not that one, or the barfing dog, but you understand what I’m saying – the anticipation. Oh, how great it was gonna be…

Getting Past the Past

You’re a writer, you know how it goes. Your job is to tell a compelling story that engages your reader.

Invariably, and inevitably, that story is about the past. You even tell it in the past tense. Like a good joke, you can’t tell it in the future tense: a priest, a rabbi and a duck will go into a bar…