Tag: writers

The Fun of Writing Screenplays by Michael Allen

Author Michael AllenI can’t speak for other writers. But when I write, it’s with the big screen in mind. When I’m writing a novel, I’m actually picturing it as a movie. So, it was only a matter of time before I started learning the art of writing screenplays.

My first screenplay was for a Walt Disney internship. I wrote a story about a writer. How novel! Anyway, I didn’t get the internship. But, I did get launched into a whole new writing direction. I have written over ten screenplays now and I can’t say that my journey is the best way to go about getting there, but it makes all the sense in the world.

Where to Look

It seemed like nothing I wrote was ever going to be made. I couldn’t get past the gatekeepers to save my life. Breaking into the industry as far as I’ve been able to get simply landed on my lap from a producer out of Maryland. He has a contract with a cable network and was seeking a writer to make a movie out of his concept. Continue reading “The Fun of Writing Screenplays by Michael Allen”

A Handy Tool for Authors: Google Alerts

The other day I mentioned to a writer friend that my Google Alerts didn’t seem to be catching everything. “What’s a Google Alert?” he asked. I was stumped. I thought everyone knew about Google Alerts. Every author should be using them.

I explained to him that you can set up Google Alerts to monitor subjects important to you, and it will send you email notifications any time a new search result is found.

For example, any time one of my new books is released, I set up a Google Alert for the title. That way, if my title gets any press, reviews, or is otherwise mentioned online, I’ll be notified. And the really REALLY cool thing about this is – you don’t have to have a Google or Gmail address to participate!

This is how to set up a Google Alert: Continue reading “A Handy Tool for Authors: Google Alerts”

Amazon Puts the Screws To Indie Authors by Boyd Lemon

Author Boyd Lemon

Electronic readers, mainly Amazon’s Kindle, and the ebooks they spawned have been a boon to Indie authors who could make a little money while providing their readers with a bargain. An author can publish his book in electronic format on Kindle without any cost. For example, my book, Digging Deep: A Writer Uncovers His Marriages, has sold about eight times as many copies in the Kindle format as it has in the print version with about the same profit per copy on both. The ebook cost the reader one-third or less of the cost of the print version.

It occurred to me sometime ago that Amazon in all its corporate greed would figure out a way to eliminate this benefit to Indie authors and turn it into more profit for Amazon. Last week Amazon through Kindle Direct Publishing announced a scheme that does just that. Continue reading “Amazon Puts the Screws To Indie Authors by Boyd Lemon”

What a writer looks like…

I majored in Creative Writing.  Not because I like writing – because I like Ferraris and fast women.  Majoring in Creative Writing in San Francisco was one of the smartest things I have ever done.  We drank wine during class.  We took lots of smoke breaks.  We were passionate and in love with writing and reading and the sheer bliss of it all.  I met a lot of great writers.  And I met some crappy ones, too.

I am going to make a huge generalization here.  That’s how I roll.  Most of the good writers I knew looked like your average citizen.  But there was always one or two kids…kids who actually wore berets and smoked those short foreign cigarettes.  Kids who wore scarves when it was warm.  Kids who carried notebooks everywhere and tried to sit in conspicuous spots and look like they had existential jock itch.  Man, they annoyed me.  And they never seemed to produce much actual writing. Continue reading “What a writer looks like…”