Writing the Wrong Way with Jonathan Ball, PhD

How can writers best deal with rejection? I analyze an old rejection letter from WEIRD TALES in order to help reframe what rejection means and suggest some methods of dealing with the anxiety that rejection can cause.

A short story, "As We All Should Lie." SF/Fantasy. PDF download version at www.jonathanball.com/25

My recommendations for Top 11 Best Screenwriting Books, in the order that you should read them. More screenwriting resources available at www.jonathanball.com/bestscreenwritingbooks

What is experimental art, why should you fear it, and why create it? I discuss the nature of experimental, innovative, radical, avant-garde art and what I think artists as wide-ranging as Dan Brown to the Weeknd to Anne Carson have in common. www.jonathanball.com/23

Michael Sanders, GMB Chomichuk, and Jesse Hamel give notes on the script for my short film MASK. Read the script and more insights on this revision roundtable at www.jonathanball.com/22

A discussion of how a writer's essential mindset is expressed in concrete details like manuscript format, with some notes on proper format and how to professionalize. Show notes at www.jonathanball.com/21

The #95books reading challenge is simple: commit to reading 95 books over 12 months. At www.95books.com, I offer a free ebook called You Can Read #95books This Year that you can download through this link, which offers my best tips to help you read more. Ryan Fitzpatrick and I discuss our 2018 reading, some of the standout books we came across, and how you can read #95books in 2019.

Christmas Day has come, and my gift to you, as it is every Tuesday, is a new episode of the podcast. This week (in keeping with the holiday), I want to talk about generosity. I believe writers should be generous. At its heart, to me, writing entails both creating and sharing your creations. Show notes at http://www.jonathanball.com/19

If you want to create great art, you have to sit down at your desk and push all thoughts of that goal from your mind. Instead of the hoped-for product of your work, you need to focus on the work itself: on your process.

Over the years, I have struggled to carve and keep the space for writing in my life, when massive workloads during my PhD studies and the post-PhD work-world threatened to destroy me. Now, as I struggle to take care of two young children (aged four and two), while working both as a teacher and a writer, I have had to further develop and refine my systems.

This week’s podcast focuses on the sometimes surprising things I have learned about being a productive writer over the years. I share my Top 5 Tips:

1. Pick One Priority

2. Don’t Multitask, Doubletask

3. Batch Your Baking

4. Just Quit

5. Start Right Now

Show notes available at www.jonathanball.com/18

Angie Abdou discusses doing research for writing fiction. More info at http://www.writingthewrongway.com