Street Writers

‪The virus may be virusing, but we’re still Street Writing—socially spaced, that is, with Dan at his command center at home, and Mark sitting in his acoustically nifty car (the laundry room is on hold). Mark discusses writing habits when you’re holed up. Keep up with your routine, and don’t put undue pressure to increase your output. Experiment with additional writing if you want, but not if it stresses you out (we’ve all got enough of that). Dan reads a segment from the writer, John Angelo, which was published in 1997 (old school) in a pulp magazine called Writer’s Digest. And with Mark’s upcoming movie production on hold, he reads the opening page or so of the screenplay to see what you think.‬

We’re firing up the Street Writer mics for a pandemic podcast. Mark and I are out of the laundry room recording studio and Zoom-ing it for audio. Apologies for any sound glitches as we relearn our craft! We may not be surrounded by fabric softener for this one, but we are back with hard hitting writing segments. In “Take A Swing At This,” we start with the need to avoid rewriting while in a foul mood — and morph that into a quartet of interrelated ideas to keep you motivated for the page. “They Beat Us To The Punch” has Mark praising the dark humor murder words of Christopher Shevlin. And for “Hit Us With Your Best Shot” Dan reads from his first draft of his TEDx talk on “Hindsight”. Liking what you hear? Leave a review. Subscribe! And invite new listeners to join in: https://anchor.fm/streetwriters Hit us up with questions, comments, whatever you got at: streetwriters.podcast@gmail.com And send us an audio message so we can get your comments in future episodes: https://anchor.fm/streetwriters/message #amwrit

‪You’ve always wished you could just get in a cave and write. Well we’re all in social distance caves now, so there’s no better time to write. But first, get inspiration from this week’s episode of Street Writers. @danchichester warns us to be careful with quotes; they can become crutches and an easy way out of crafting your own story. He then reads an excerpt from an amazing obituary of reporter Ken Fuson, written by reporter Ken Fuson. Meanwhile, @markbellusci keeps chugging along (i.e. staggering) on his quantum screenplay. ‬

‪To be a poet, or not to be. A screenwriter, novelist and/or journalist? Mark wrestles with the big conundrum: hone your skills in one format or diversify into several. Dan then waxes poetic on the word, f**k, from an amazing scene in The Wire. He then revives a story idea of his after reading about scientists who are creating, well, an uttering mummy. ‬

‪Leading questions may be good for lawyers, but they can also be great for writers. @DanChichester explains how to use leading questions and statements to bridge sections or chapters, and to build audience intrigue and engagement. @MarkBellusci raves about the short story, The Last Conversation, by Paul Tremblay from The Forward Collection. And Mark describes a video he’ll create for The Harvest Fund using limited footage and images. Listen wherever you get podcasts or at the link below.‬

Remember fun? That can—and should—be your motivation to keep writing. Oh sure, there will days when writing will seem like anything but fun. But Mark talks about ways to make it fun—through music, a change of scenery and more. Dan reads a bit from the coolest weather report ever. He then touches on his hindsight to in preparation of entering a TedX challenge on writing about hindsight.

It's part 2 of more laughs and learnings with the energizing novelist Margot Berwin, author of the best selling Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire. Diviing deep on "They Beat Us To The Punch", Margot overachieves with six different titles that she digs and envies. And finishing strong with "Hit Us With Your Best Shot", she reveals the secrets of her new novel, "The Medium", which delves into her real world interests (and skills) in tarot. Find out about her tarot readings (and sign up for one) at www.margotreadstarot.com; and check out her author's page on Amazon, with links to grab her novels: https://www.amazon.com/Margot-Berwin/e/B001JRUVU2 Liking what you hear? Leave a review. Subscribe! And invite new listeners to join in: https://anchor.fm/streetwriters Hit us up with questions, comments, whatever you got at: streetwriters.podcast@gmail.com And send us an audio message so we can get your comments in future episodes: https://anchor.fm/streetwriters/message #amwriting #writing #keepwriting #wri

Author Margot Berwin comes out swinging in the first part of our 2 part interview with her. Margot is the author of the best-selling Hothouse Flower & the Nine Plants of Desire, as well as its follow-up Scent of Darkness. She's also a tarot card reader, and a hell of a lot of fun to talk writing with. This time out, she doubles up on "Take A Swing At This" with two heretofore untapped tips to strengthen your street writing: get a job; and "write from your other mind" — a transcendental technique to be sure your writing is anything but ordinary. Find out about her tarot readings (and sign up for one) at www.margotreadstarot.com; and check out her author's page on Amazon, with links to grab her novels: https://www.amazon.com/Margot-Berwin/e/B001JRUVU2 Liking what you hear? Leave a review. Subscribe! And invite new listeners to join in: https://anchor.fm/streetwriters Hit us up with questions, comments, whatever you got at: streetwriters.podcast@gmail.com And send us an audio message so we can get your comme

The good news? Keep working your writing craft and you’ll get better. The bad news? There’s always—ALWAYS—someone better. So @danchichester lets us down easy and inspires us to keep plowing ahead, because there’s always room for another great writer (even if there’s always someone better). Dan then gives a hysterical recount of a way better Twitter campaign, and @markbellusci describes how he re-edited someone else’s clay arts video to make it, well, better.

Here’s the second half of our interview with Nancy Kidder, an American University professor who teaches a course called Writing And Fighting (the perfect companion to Street Writers). Nancy describes her inspirations for developing the course, and lets us in on what she’s up to these days. Learn more about Nancy at writeandfight.com.

This is the first half of our interview with Nancy Kidder, an American University adjunct professor who teaches a course called Writing And Fighting (the perfect companion to Street Writers). Nancy provides insightful tips on writing, and discusses some of her favorite writers. Learn more about Nancy and her course at writeandfight.com.

We talk about our perennial writing companion: rejection. We all get it, and dealing with it productively is crucial. Dan then delves into a creative Twitter thread by Christopher McQuarrie that discusses rejection among other writerly things. And Mark discusses his film that, after a few rejections, was accepted into a film festival (whew).

Level up your podcasting game with Pt. 2 of our interview with Evan Skolnick: author of everything from Marvel Comics New Warriors, to LucasArts Star Wars games, to recent video game hits like Cuphead and The Walking Dead. In "They Beat Us To The Punch", Evan calls out the writerly virtues — nay, nirvana! — of a solid set of dishwasher instructions. And in "Hit Us With Your Best Shot" Evan invites us into the particular joys and specialized skills he brought to bear as the narrative designer on the smash PS4 game Concrete Genie. (https://www.amazon.com/Concrete-Genie-PlayStation-4/dp/B07NKVW3CH/) Learn more about Evan at his website, evanskolnick.com — and be sure and grab a copy of his #1 guide to video game writing, Video Game Storytelling: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0385345828/ Liking what you hear? Leave a review. Subscribe! And invite new listeners to join in: https://anchor.fm/streetwriters Hit us up with questions, comments, whatever you got at: streetwriters.podcast@gmail.com And send us an audio messa

What better way to start 2020 than with a new episode of Street Writers? Better yet — the first part of our interview with Evan Skolnick, as he takes us through is writing career that's included Marvel Comics, LucasArts, hit video games like The Walking Dead, Cuphead and Concrete Genie — and the ins and outs of game instruction at the Game Developers Conference and Cogswell College. And in "Take A Swing At This" Evan hits us with the wisdom of "taking a pitch" — passing on writing work when it's not the right fit.  Learn more about Evan at his website, evanskolnick.com — and be sure and grab a copy of his #1 guide to video game writing, Video Game Storytelling: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0385345828/ Liking what you hear? Leave a review. Subscribe! And invite new listeners to join in: https://anchor.fm/streetwriters Hit us up with questions, comments, whatever you got at: streetwriters.podcast@gmail.com And send us an audio message so we can get your comments in future episodes: https://anchor.fm/streetwri

Here’s the second half of our interview with Josh Korda, a Buddhist teacher, lead instructor at DharmaPunx NYC, and author of Unsubscribe: Opt Out of Delusion and Opt In to Truth. Josh tells us what he’s been up to, and then we let our let our collective hair down (ha!), with a discussion of some our favorite shows.

We chatted with our friend Josh Korda, who is a a Buddhist teacher, lead instructor at DharmaPunx NYC, and author of Unsubscribe: Opt Out of Delusion, Tune In to Truth. In part one of our conversation, Josh discusses adjusting your writing schedule and technique based on what you’re writing. He also touches on a few books he loves. Come back next week for part two.

We all know that the hardest part of writing is getting started. So Dan discusses three story starters from fellow comic book writer and novelist, Neil Gaiman. Mark reads a paragraph from the deliciously dark writer, Christopher Moore. And Dan describes the writing skills he used as a panel moderator.

You can collect needles; you can stack hay. But using "a needle in a haystack" -- or any other cliche -- in your writing? Puhlease. Nothing can bring your writing down like cliches. Here's how to avoid them. Dan then raves about an excerpt from Tom Junod writing about Mr. Rogers. And Mark describes a mini documentary, The Brooklyn Buddhist, that he created with Buddhist Teacher Josh Korda that's on the film festival circuit.

We’re still swinging fistfuls of words with fellow writer Greg Monaco. Part 2 of our interview/conversation/sparring gets into his “They Beat Us To The Punch”, a paean to ad great Howard Gossage (https://ashley-pollak.squarespace.com). And for “Hit Us With Your Best Shot”, Greg gets into the making of his “On The Road With Monaco” video series (https://youtu.be/1VDhaD5G4Zk), as well as a new project that melds his storytelling skills with west coast meditation — a transformational experience that creates a conversation with your Future Self. Learn more about Greg and his work at letsgomonaco.com Liking what you hear? Leave a review. Subscribe! And invite new listeners to join in: https://anchor.fm/streetwriters Hit us up with questions, comments, whatever you got at: streetwriters.podcast@gmail.com And send us an audio message so we can get your comments in future episodes: https://anchor.fm/streetwriters/message #amwriting #writing #keepwriting #writingtips #creativity #productivity #streetwriting

We invite creative leader and personal branding master Greg Monaco to take it the Streets. In part 1 of this 2-parter, he hits us with his version of “Take A Swing At This” — a full on keyboard ranting to get the words rocking and rolling. Learn more about Greg and his work at his site, letsgomonaco.com Liking what you hear? Leave a review. Subscribe! And invite new listeners to join in: https://anchor.fm/streetwriters Hit us up with questions, comments, whatever you got at: streetwriters.podcast@gmail.com And send us an audio message so we can get your comments in future episodes: https://anchor.fm/streetwriters/message #amwriting #writing #keepwriting #writingtips #creativity #productivity #streetwriting