Lifewriting: Write for Your Life!

In this episode, Tananarive and Steve talk to #1 New York Times bestselling author Joe Hill (The Black Phone, The Fireman, Strange Weather, NOS4A2) about how his first major success was followed by his life's darkest times, the power of horror and the horror community, and how he's balancing his life with new twins. He also talks about how much he loves Tananarive's novel The Reformatory! 

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In this episode, Steve and Tananarive talk to award-winning author Victor LaValle and burgeoning writer Stephanie Malia Morris about their experiences with Shudder/AMC's Black Horror anthology film, Horror Noire. Steve, Tananarive ("The Lake" / "Fugue State") and Victor ("Daddy") adapted their own short stories for Horror Noire, and Stephanie was an author who got a dream call when she heard that her story, "Bride Before You," would be adapted for the screen. On adaptation, Horror Noire, and the future of Black Horror. 

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In this episode, veteran television and comic writer Marc Bernardin (Star Trek: Picard, Castle Rock) discusses his journey from being a journalist to a television writer, how he started writing for Star Trek, his secrets to succeeding in Hollywood, the state of the industry - and his new Star Wars: Mace Windu comic! 

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Tananarive and Steve talk to poet and author Cynthia Pelayo, the first Latina Bram Stoker Award (2022) winner. The author of CRIME SCENE, CHILDREN OF CHICAGO and THE SHOEMAKER'S MAGICIAN talks about the challenges of growing up in inner city Chicago, balancing her growing popularity with being a wife and mother, and the support of the horror community. Her upcoming novel is FORGOTTEN SISTERS (3/19). 

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What does every writer get that every writer hates - but every writer needs? It's NOTES. Strong feedback is the most effective to grow as a writer, but getting feedback can also feel like getting your guts clawed out. How do writers know which notes to listen to and which notes to ignore? Why can't execs just leave our "perfects" scripts alone already? What kind of notes can do more harm than good? And which notes can take "good" writing and make it GREAT? 

Steve and Tananarive chop it up! 

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In this episode, Steve and Tananarive talk to Shane Hawk, a horror author and co-editor of NEVER WHISTLE AT NIGHT, a bestselling Indigenous horror anthology with an introduction from Stephen Graham Jones. Hawk, who is of Cheyenne-Arapaho, Hidatsa and Citizen Potawatomi descent, is a history teacher by day and a horror writer by night. Hawk's literary contributions include his debut story collection Anoka, alongside short fiction featured in numerous anthologies.

On Hawk's incredible journey from being a non-reader to transforming himself into an influential writer and literary community builder. 

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After a recent setback, in this Best of Lifewriting episode from April of 2022 Steve and Tananarive look back their history in Hollywood and moments when everything went wrong. Plus, tips for coping with stress as artists trying to navigate new, difficult territory - including visualization exercises. 

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In this episode, Steve and Tananarive talk to author and screenwriter Ezra Claytan Daniels, who is in Jordan Peele’s “Out There Screaming” Black Horror anthology and has also been tapped by Monkeypaw Productions to write the reboot of Wes Craven’s classic THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS. 

They talk about how he broke into Hollywood with his award-winning comic, UPGRADE SOUL (which he wrote and illustrated!), which was 17 years in the making - and he also adapted as an Audible series. On creating his own path into Hollywood and how he tries to stay balanced. 

Sign up for our upcoming virtual screenwriting webinar (2/17/24) at www.screenwritingwebinar.com 

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In this Best of Lifewriting episode, Steve and Tananarive talk to director Luchina Fisher THE DADS/NETFLIX, MAMA GLORIA) about the importance of making short films -- not just for filmmakers, but for writers. Luchina's previous short, TEAM DREAM, was produced by Queen Latifah. Advice on how even a novice can make their own short film! 

This replay marks the 10th anniversary of the short film DANGER WORD, directed by Fisher, produced and written by Steve and Tananarive.

Starring Frankie Faison and Saoirse Scott, Danger Word (2013) was a groundbreaking short crowdfunded under a call to create more Black Horror. You can watch it free at www.dangerwordfilm.com - Danger Word was adapted from their YA novel DEVIL'S WAKE (Atria Books). 

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In this episode, Steve and Tananarive talk to Horror Writers Association Lifetime Achievement Award winner Linda D. Addison, a poet and writer whose collections include How to Recognize a Demon Has Become Your Friend. On her pioneering work as a Black horror creative, how she pushed past her scary bout of early COVID in 2020, and how she has moved past adversity to create and thrive. 

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