The Written Scene

Carl Vonderau's path to novel writing took him through the dark streets of a banking career, which can be the perfect place to find a good villain.

In this episode of The Written Scene, Carl opens up about revisiting hard scenes that are part truthful, having the willingness to fail as a poet on public stage, understanding the minds of criminals, making up ghost stories as a kid, learning fast how good people can be at their craft, not being ready to put in the effort into being a writer, finding poetry in fiction, reading books that require interpretations, writing the hero's arc and giving morality to villains, craving empathy and connection with a character, being impacted as the writer as much as the reader is, preferring to write longer stories over short stories, why the first draft of his first scene is always written by hand, and much more.

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Music: Addis Ababa by Eshi Era

Authors often draw from what we have lived. In author Carl Vonderau's book, Saving Myles, he had to do the same, and it wasn't always easy.

Please enjoy this teaser ahead of next week's full episode of The Written Scene. You can also subscribe to our once-a-month newsletter by clicking or tapping here.

Music: Addis Ababa by Eshi Era

For author and writing coach Natasha Tynes, working for yourself is important. However, getting used to the feast or famine part of the job took some time.

In this episode of The Written Scene, Natasha talks about taking breaks between writing and other projects, getting her publishing start in journalism, feeling like there's no time to celebrate publications, choosing your creative path and not having creative freedom when working for others, the different struggles she encounters with authors early on on their path, knowing and accepting writing isn't a magical bolt of lightning but instead is actual work, using the Pomodoro Technique, leaving bread crumbs when struggling for the next writing session, the mise en place of writing, how to stay away from information dumps in fiction, having to first and foremost believe you have a story to tell, and so much more.

Please be sure to subscribe, rate, review, and share this and all episodes of The Written Scene. You can also subscribe to our once-a-month newsletter by clicking or tapping here.

Music: Addis Ababa by Eshi Era

For author and writing coach Natasha Tynes, having a full-time job helped her remain disciplined when it came to writing.

Please enjoy this brief teaser ahead of next week's full episode of The Written Scene.

Music: Addis Ababa by Eshi Era

Having been in the filmmaking industry for nearly three decades, filmmaker and author Scott Marcano has seen some things.

In this episode of The Written Scene, Scott discusses the many but expensive avenues to getting published, the weight of artists doing jobs others used to do, why it's important to read and how we schedule time for it, how he became the co-writer for the movie Bio-Dome, writing movie sequels vs. writing book trilogies, releasing small bits of art for free and watching who buys more, the exhausting and ugly full-time job of social media, how time may or may not change people we know from our youth, becoming a better person through personal challenges, writing non-stereotypical villains by understanding how they became a villain, a little family therapy, the lack of integrity in the arts and larger world, and much more.

Please be sure to subscribe, rate, review, and share this and all episodes of The Written Scene. You can also subscribe to our once-a-month newsletter but clicking or tapping here.

Music: Addis Ababa by Eshi Era

For filmmaker, artist, and author Scott Marcano, the writing part of any project is enjoyable. The actual production part? Well, that depends on the project.

Please enjoy this brief teaser ahead of next week's full episode of The Written Scene with Scott.

Music: Addis Ababa by Eshi Era

Author, researcher, and professor Robbie Maakestad is not lacking in confidence when it comes to submitting. At least not right away.

In this episode of The Written Scene, Robbie discusses what he's learned about writing through teaching, using a highlighter to organize notes, the formulaic nature of early reader books, how we learn to read and the impact it has on our reading style, falling in love with essays and essay writing, creating emotion when writing non-fiction, the various ways to find needed writing communities, submitting writing and his process, rarely paying to submit writing for publication, lessons learned as a writer from also working in publishing, being an early reader for a publisher as early as possible on your writing path, and much more.

Please be sure to subscribe, rate, review, and share this and all episodes of The Written Scene. You can also subscribe to our once-a-month newsletter by clicking or tapping here.

Music: Addis Ababa by Eshi Era

For author and professor Robbie Maakestad, the best part about being homeschooled was all the reading his teacher (aka his mother) implemented into the curriculum.

Please enjoy this teaser ahead of next week's full episode of The Written Scene and be sure to subscribe, rate, review, and share this and all episodes of the podcast.

Music: Addis Ababa by Eshi Era

Author Jill G. Hall knew early on she wanted to be a teacher. Little did she know how big a role being an author would come into play in her lifetime.

In this episode of The Written Scene, Jill talks about the research process of her new book "On a Sundown Sea," getting out of research rabbit holes, what the process of an intuitive writer is like, the obligations of a historical fiction author, being a mere vessel for the words, using prompts to get the writing day started, how poetry helped her write prose, finding your corner in a writing community, why having a professional running a critique group matters, when to know edits are needed through reader comments and critiques, reasons why your mom as a feedback reader is a bad thing, the joy of writing a villain or a character you're not used to writing, and so much more.

While the release date of the book is after this episode, be sure to pre-order Jill's newest novel, "On a Sundown Sea." There are many independent bookstores to choose from. My personal favorite? The Book Catapult in South Park. Or you can choose Jill's favorites, Warwick's in La Jolla or La Playa Books in Point Loma.

Please be sure to subscribe, rate, review, and share this and all episodes of The Written Scene. You can also subscribe to our once-a-month newsletter by clicking or tapping here.

Music: Addis Ababa by Eshi Era

For author Jill G. Hall, the nudge to write a new novel—even after vowing to never write a second one—came from a question that surfaced the memory of a strange story she heard as a child.

Enjoy this teaser with Jill ahead of next week's full episode of The Written Scene. Subscribe and listen everywhere.

Music: Addis Ababa by Eshi Era