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That's a video of thriller novelist Jason Pinter reading from his new book, The Stolen. Pinter has three suspenseful novels under his belt, following the hardboiled adventures his fictional journalist, Henry Parker.

Today, for the conclusion of his exclusive visit to The Publishing Spot, he explains how to write crackling dialogue--one of the toughest tasks facing any thriller writer.

Welcome to my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality conversations with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.

Jason Boog:

Jason Pinter:
When I'm revising my novels, I actually read the dialogue out loud to myself. Continue reading...

That’s a video of crime novelist Jason Pinter describing how he built his third novel, The Stolen, from the ground up. It’s so important for aspiring writers to hear these stories, to remember that novels don’t magically appear out of thin air.

Today, Pinter is our special guest, explaining how he found time to balance his work-life and writing-life—a tough balance for any writer.

Welcome to my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality conversations with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.

Jason Boog:
While writing your series, you worked as a busy book editor. How do you balance your work-life and writing life? Any advice for harried writers struggling to find time to write with a day-job?

Jason Pinter:
I started to write my first novel--one that didn't sell--in college, before I worked full time (you can guess if I was a good student based on that). Continue reading... 

"As I lie in bed with Amanda, ignoring another late-night call from my ex, a shot rings out in the New York night and a beautiful starlet dies outside the city’s most popular nightclub. This is the kind of story I was born to chase but I never dreamed this story began over a hundred years ago.…"

That's Jason Pinter's hero remembering a violent episode that spawned Pinter's second book, The Guilty.

Pinter specializes in intricate mysteries, the kind of story that his reporter hero--the hardboiled journalist Henry Parker--can sort out for the whole book. Today, Pinter explains how he builds his plots--giving us a look at his next sprawling narrative.

This is part of my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions.

In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality conversations with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.

Jason Boog:
You said that your next two books will elaborate on a much larger conspiracy. Could you give us a little idea of what's coming next? Any advice for thriller and mystery writers looking to build a larger, more difficult story arc like this?

Jason Pinter:
In my first three books I touched a little bit on Henry Parker's life before he came to New York, but it's never been fully explored. Continue reading...

"[I was] thinking about that E.B. White passage you once showed me ... the swooning bit where he says that it's the native New Yorkers who give the city its stability, and the commuters who give it a daily tidal rhythm or something, but it's those dreamers from elsewhere, the striving poets and wannabe circus performers and so forth, who power it with enough heat and light to dwarf the consolidated Edison company..."

That’s one of Ed Park's characters paraphrasing a famous line from E.B. White.

Park's new book, Personal Days, explores how that idealism gets wrecked on the shoals of Manhattan office culture. In addition to his fictional work, Ed Park is a founding editor at The Believer and literary blogger over at The Dizzies.

Welcome to my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality conversations with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.

Jason Boog:
At the end of your book, you meditate on all the millions of pages of lost, dull prose produced by people in offices every year. When you worked in an office environment, how did you manage to stay creative and productive in your writing? Any advice for writers who feel dulled by their day-jobs? 

Ed Park:
Discipline will take you a long way—if you set aside time every day to write, you will find something to write, even if you don’t know what you’re doing as you approach the desk. Continue reading...

"Yes, I Drank the Kool-Aid--and I Went Back for Seconds"

"Three Easy Rules for Impressing the Powers That Be (and Maybe Becoming One Yourself, A Simpleton's Guide)"

"The Pegasus Plan: How to Get the Job You Want, the Respect You Deserve, and the Employees You Need in Order to Succeed for Life" 

Those are just a few of the imaginary self-help books that novelist Ed Park invented for his book, Personal Days. His office satire is jam-packed with exaggerated career advice from fictional gurus.

Today Park--a founding editor at The Believer and literary blogger over at The Dizzies--shows us how imaginary books can improve your fictional world. It's part of my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions.

In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality conversations with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing. 

Jason Boog:
Your book also features one of my favorite literary tricks--satirical imaginary books-inside-the-book. How did you craft these hilarious faux-self-help books? Any advice for writers looking to add some fake-book satire to their work?

Ed Park:
I’ve always loved the vertiginous method of including fictional books within a work of fiction, whether the author provides tantalizing passages or just titles. Continue reading...

"I've been stuck in the elevator, suspended in utter coffin blackness somewhere between the third and fourth floors—listening to the cables quiver, and every so often hearing the distant shouts of emergency workers saying, Hang in there buddy! or what sounds like a very heavy wrench clanking on assorted beams as it tumbles into the abyss—and even though my laptop’s on, it sheds no light...”

That’s one of Ed Park’s ever-suffering office workers trapped inside an elevator and typing a long love-letter in the void. It’s a single block of text banged out on a busted laptop-computer, the breathless conclusion to his first-novel, Personal Days.

In addition to dreaming up this surreal fable about contemporary cubicle culture, Ed Park is a founding editor at The Believer and literary blogger over at The Dizzies. He’s our special guest this week, explaining how he wrote his this book and giving us a glimpse into the mind of an editor.

Welcome to my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality conversations with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.

Jason Boog:

The final third of your book makes use of one of my favorite literary forms--for a lack of better term, I'll call it the long, one-sentence stream-of-consciousness slam-bam prose style. As far as I know,  no writer has ever given specific advice about how to handle this tricky form. How did you do it? 

Ed Park:
The final section is both my favorite part of the book and the one that caused me the most agony. I knew, relatively early on in the composition process, that the final portion of the book would be, at last, in the voice of a single, identifiable character. Continue reading...

“The cold-war era was a very special time to be a child. We were appreciated. World leaders hell-bent on universal destruction might be accumulating nuclear armaments like the lucky winners of a Nickelodeon-sponsored Toys 'R Us shopping spree, but even the homeliest child could send a hand-letter plea for peace … and land herself a spot on the evening news.”

That’s my favorite passage from Rachel Shukert’s new memoir, Have You No Shame? It’s a dark and comic look at my generation, a little bit of history spiced with deeply personal insights—exactly what a good memoir should be.

Today, Rachel explains how she takes these sparkling paragraphs on the road, giving us tips for building a better public reading.

Welcome to my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality conversations with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.

Jason Boog:
What role will readings play in your book promotion process? What's your advice for writers who want to engage the audience and read in a more dramatic style?

Rachel Shukert:
I'm a total exhibitionist, so I love doing readings!  I have several more lined up this summer and am  hoping to do lots more this fall. Continue reading...

“The American voice of the sixties I most identified with turned out to be less Ken Kesey and more Philip Roth. I didn't want to take peyote and have visions in the desert; I wanted to marry a nice psychoanalyst or film critic, live in a brownstone in Park Slope with books and really nice rugs, and send checks to progressive political causes. I didn't want to die young. In fact, I wanted to put off dying as long as possible.”

That’s author Rachel Shukert meditating on what the rock star Jim Morrison taught her about literary taste and her own life in high school, in an essay for Nerve. That teenager is all grown up, and just published her first book, Have You No Shame?.

Today Shukert takes us through her real-life influences, the writers who helped her shape her laugh-out-loud memoir. It's a hyper-linked reading list that will keep you busy all summer.

Welcome to my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality conversations with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.

Jason Boog:
You are a bit coy in your book, but you have some very literary influences--mixing up everybody from Joan Didion to the Torah. Who do you read for inspiration? What's the reading list you would give to an aspiring memoirist?

Rachel Shukert:
Well, certainly Joan Didion. Also, David Rakoff, David Sedaris. Follow this link to continue reading...

"Ah yes, the noise-canceling headphones. You could lock Rush Limbaugh, Phyllis Schlafly and Mullah Omar in a room together with a stack of Hustlers and 10 ounces of meth, and they couldn't come up with anything more misogynist. I storm back to my desk and type the phrases "my husband" "addicted" "video games" "HELP" into the search engine. Hundreds of links appear."

That's author Rachel Shukert turning her husband's videogame addiction into comedic gold on the pages of Salon.

In her new book, Have You No Shame?, Shukert takes that same exaggerated style to a  variety of queasy topics--I found myself laughing out-loud at things I never in a million years imagined laughing about.

Today, she teaches us how to write funny, part of my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality conversations with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.

Jason Boog:
You take topics that nobody ever dreamed of making jokes about (the Holocaust, STD's, anorexia and religion), and make us laugh. What kind of writing process do you follow to take this serious material and make it laugh-out-loud funny? Any advice for making our prose funnier?

Rachel Shukert:
This reminds me of something: I had this teacher that told us once, when we were doing some kind of comedy scene "don't worry if you're not funny, because you'll just never be cast in a funny role.  You can't learn how to be funny, so forget about it." Continue reading...

Writing is a scary field--it requires lots of work with little rewards, it's tough to break in, and worst of all, there isn't an ounce of job security.  

Despite all these risks, author Donald Ray Pollock left his solid job at a paper mill and followed his dream to become a writer. Today he tells us how he left his day-job and emerged with a book of rough-and-tumble short-stories about his Ohio hometown called Knockemstiff.

Welcome to my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality conversations with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.

Jason Boog:
You took a big risk and left your job to become a writer. You said in one interview, "I was really not satisfied. I wanted to do    something else before I kicked the bucket. I told my wife I was going to try to write and I would give it five years." How did you cope with the frustrations and insecurities you faced along that journey?

Donald Ray Pollock:

"It was 1 o’clock in the morning on a rainy Sunday, and Sharon was sitting at the kitchen table debating whether or not to stuff another slice of American cheese into her mouth when Aunt Joan called.” 

That's an opening line from author Donald Ray Pollock, a writer who demands your attention from the very first second.

This former paper mill worker joined Ohio University's MFA program and started telling stories about his hometown--creating the fictional world of the book, Knockemstiff.

Today, he explains how he found his agent in my feature, Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality conversations with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.

Jason Boog:
When your short-story collection was finished, how did you go about finding an agent and a publisher? How long did that process take? Any advice for aspiring writers who don't have any experience in this publishing world? 

Donald Ray Pollock:
I was extremely lucky, I’ll tell you that.  I finished what I thought was a book in the fall of 2006, maybe the end of October.  I entered it in a couple of short story contests and sent it to a couple of publishers who would read unsolicited manuscripts. Continue reading...

"I'm so insanely happy, and I kept wishing you could've been there, but, you know, here we are in Vegas and Zane was on this crazy nonstop winning roll, and there was the chapel, and it was like, I looked at Zane, and said, 'So, what are we waiting for?' and then, there we were at the altar, and--" 

Read that out-loud a couple times. It sounds like real life cellphone chatter, but it's one of DeLauné Michel’s fictional characters describing her ill-fated wedding night.

Michel's new novel, The Safety of Secrets, is packed with juicy conversations like that, bringing trials and tribulations of two California women into vivid life. Today, Michel explains how she wrote that dialogue, in my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions.

In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality conversations with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.

Jason Boog: 
The first thing I noticed about your book was the vivid, life-like dialogue. How did you go about creating these pitch-perfect conversations between your characters--especially the best friends? Any advice for aspiring writers looking to create better dialogue?

DeLauné Michel:
I basically just listen to my characters talk. As I write, I see the scenes playing out in my mind, and can hear the characters speaking. Sometimes they say things that completely surprise me. Continue reading...

"Zane. Whenever I hear the name of Patricia's boyfriend of six months, I imagine some woman in a lonely rural town stuck with dusty old videos of 'Shane' and 'Zorro' to get her through her pregnancy, then in the delirium of her labor, naming her child Zane in deference to them. In reality, he was probably named Jim."

That’s a witty moment from DeLauné Michel’s new novel, The Safety of Secrets. The book focuses on the life-long friendship (and secrets) of two women, a plot that dives deep into anxieties about growing older.

While her characters tip-toe into motherhood, Michel wrote her book with a toddler wandering in and out of her writing room. Today, she shares writing secrets that will help all writers with a day-job or children.

Welcome to my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality conversations with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.

Jason Boog: 
You wrote this novel with kids running around the house. What is your advice to the over-worked writer with a day-job or family? How did you cope with the stress of balancing so many different parts of your life and still finding time to write?

DeLauné Michel:
Life is never going to be perfect for me to write. And I think it is better that it isn’t. One of my acting teachers used to say that one’s work can’t be precious; it has to live in the real-world. Continue reading...

In the pinnacle of my literary geekiness, I’ve started reading acknowledgements pages in books.

You can learn a lot—how many people it takes to make a book, how many friends contribute and the professionals who supported the writer.

Today, Joie Jager-Hyman tells us about everybody who helped her book get written--proving once and for all that no book is an island. Fat Envelope Frenzy--a non-fiction look at the college application process.

Welcome to my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality conversations with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.

Jason Boog:
I know your writing group played a large role in writing this book. Can you describe that experience? What was the moment or aspect in your book that your writing partner helped you the most? How can writers find these kinds of relationships?

Joie Jager-Hyman:
My writers group helped me at every step of the process. Continue reading...

Here at The Publishing Spot, we specialize in one thing: practical tips for the working writer.

This site is for writers with dayjobs, families and other commitments. Everytime I meet a published author, I ask them how they managed to write a book with all the distractions that can keep you away from the computer. Today, I asked Joie Jager-Hyman describing how she found time and motivation to write Fat Envelope Frenzy--a non-fiction look at the college application process.

This is my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality conversations with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.

Jason Boog:
While writing this book, your life sounded pretty busy. How did you find time and energy to write your book with such a busy schedule? Any tips for the writers out there with dayjobs and other commitments?

Joie Jager-Hyman:
Unfortunately, there's no magic formula other than to just make the time to write and stick to a schedule. Continue reading...

Write about what you know.

I can't tell you how many writing teachers told me that, and how long it took me to figure it out. It's even more important to think about while planning a non-fiction book. Readers respond to the enthusiasm and expertise of a writer who has actually lived a story.

That's why I picked Joie Jager-Hyman's new non-fiction book, Fat Envelope Frenzy for The Publishing Spot. This former college-admissions officer followed five students from the application process to the final acceptance and rejection letters.

Today she explains how she turned her work-life into a book, part of my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality conversations with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.

Jason Boog:
You have a pretty impressive academic background. How do you turn the theories, statistics and sometimes dull prose of academia into such readable material? On a very practical level, how did you weave these heady concepts into the gripping, human stories of these high school students?

Joie Jager-Hyman:

Making the transition from writing for an academic to a general audience was probably the hardest part of writing this book. Continue reading...

"If I knew nothing about these students, I could ignore the fact that the vast majority of them (about 80 percent of Dartmouth applicants at the time) would eventually be turned away. Like the students themselves, I focused on the positive. I persuaded every high schooler I met to take a chance at applying to the Ivy League."

That's Joie Jager-Hyman describing how she survived as the Assistant Director of Admissions at a highly competitive college. After that experience, she followed five high schoolers from one end of the country to the other as they struggled to get into school.

She recorded that journey in her new non-fiction book, Fat Envelope Frenzy. Today she explains how she chose her characters, and how these important relationships developed. 

This is my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality conversations with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.

Jason Boog:
As readers, we really get wrapped up in the lives of these characters. How did your subjects feel about the intimate portrait you made of them? How did you build and maintain these relationships? Any tips for journalists looking for deep relationships with their subjects without being too intrusive?

Joie Jager-Hyman:
I interviewed about 20 kids before selecting the 5 for this book and only chose students that I truly respected and thought had a decent chance of getting into a top college. Continue reading...

"[I]t is harder today than ever before to get into a selective college. Harvard College turned down almost 21,000 candidates--including thousands of valedictorians and students with perfect SAT scores--in 2006-2007. That same year, Columbia University denied admission to about 16,500 high-achievers. And Stanford University sent out approximately 21,500 rejection letters." 

Those are a few depressing statistics from Joie Jager-Hyman's new non-fiction book about the mind-numbing struggle to get into an Ivy League school. In Fat Envelope Frenzy, she followed five students from the application process to the final acceptance and rejection letters.

Jager-Hyman is our special guest this week, explaining how she used her experience as a college admissions officer to pitch, research write and promote this captivating book. 

Welcome to my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality conversations with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.

Jason Boog:
How did you go about proposing this book? What did you do to make your idea stand out in the field of college-prep books? Any advice for journalists looking to propose a larger project?

Joie Jager-Hyman:
I hadn't seen any books that talked about the college application process from the students' point of view, so I guess I'd tell other writers to look for something that hasn't been done. Continue reading...
 

"'Awesome' was a word we used a lot in Iraq. How to use 'Awesome': If someone says, 'Dude, it's your turn again to do shit-burning detail,' you say: 'Awesome.' 'Holy shit, those idiots in Delta company shot at second platoon,' 'Awesome!'"

That's a grim vocabulary lesson from soldier and writer Jason Christopher Hartley, our special guest this week and author of Just Another Soldier.  

Ever since I read about the deaths of Andrew Olmsted (a soldier and blogger) and Scott Lange Kirkpatrick (a poet and soldier), the stories of soldiers have haunted me.

All week Hartley has reminded us how writings by soldiers in Iraq get misunderstood or buried under political rhetoric. Spend some time reading the writers who are caught up in this war.

If you want to even go farther, tonight, Kirkpatrick's family is holding a fundraising event to support wounded soldiers. As we end this week's writing interview, take a few minutes to remember the soldiers writing about this war: the active soldiers, the veterans, the wounded and the fallen.

Jason Boog: 
How has the military blog community evolved since 2005? What do we need to be reading about? 

Jason Christopher Hartley:
War is f**king weird as hell and if you don't feel conflicted and confused after reading about it, it's bad writing. Continue reading...

“I refuse to call this a war. World War II was a war. This is a fight. And a dirty one at that. The way I see it, our enemy simply wants to kill as many Americans as possible, thereby convincing the CNN-watching public that the price is just too great … It’s cheap and has a good chance of working. I pray it doesn’t.”

That’s an excerpt from Jason Christopher Hartley's Iraq War memoir, Just Another Soldier.

No matter what you think about this conflict, you need to understand it. Too many Americans are dying out there, and writers cannot ignore this story.

Today, Hartley's reading list can help you think and write about this war, sharing his literary influences in the process.

Welcome my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson's mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality conversations with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.

Jason Boog:
You wrote a memoir about your experiences as a soldier. How long did it take you to turn that overwhelming experience into a memoir? Who are your influences? In your opinion, what are the best books for people to read to understand the conflict in Iraq better?

Jason Christopher Hartley:
Just Another Soldier is composed of about 50% of stuff I wrote in Iraq and 50% of stuff I wrote when I got back. Continue reading...

"If I were cool, I’d join the friggin’ Ranger Battallion and start talking shit about how I’m gonna try out for Delta or SEAL team six. In real life I’m a geek. I’ve never read Black Hawk Down. I miss the city and I just want to get back and finish school. This 'war on terror' crap has totally ruined my semester."

That's a blazing post from Jason Christopher Hartley's old blog he kept as an active duty soldier. As Hartley details in his memoir, Just Another Soldier, that blog got him in lots of trouble with the National Guard.

So how does one of the first so-called "military bloggers" feel about the current state of digital writing from soldiers? Well...

Welcome my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality conversations with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.

Jason Boog:
In 2005, you told NPR: "Coincidentally, the [military] blogs that remain up are the ones, in my humble opinion, that are very insipid." Do you still feel like that? How has the military blog community evolved since 2005? Who are your favorite military bloggers right now?

Jason Christopher Hartley:
I don't read military blogs.  It's literally the last thing I want to do.  I have enough to think about with regard to the military; I don't want to clutter my already militarily-overdosed mind with more military slog. Continue reading...

"Alpha team takes the first room, then Bravo team—the team I led—takes the second. Once the first room is clear, my team enters the building and lines up against the wall next to the door of the room we are about to enter. This is called a ‘stack.’ Once the door is kicked in, the stack flows into the room.”

Do you know what that is? That’s the simple mechanics of what patrol troopers do in Iraq every day—entering hundreds of rooms, never knowing what lies on the other side. I didn’t know how a stack worked—or how unbelievably dangerous it is to go through that broken door—until I spent an afternoon with Jason Christopher Hartley.

He’s a Iraq veteran, a memoirist and blogger, and he’s currently working on a brand new performance art piece called Surrender. The play will dress the audience up in battle fatigues and run them through real training exercises—letting civilians feel what a combat situation is really like. 

Today, Hartley gives us a sneak peak of what Surrender will look like when it premieres in July--part of my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions.

In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality conversations with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.

Jason Boog:
The Surrender workshop was one of the most overwhelming theater experiences I've ever had. Could you describe your project for my readers? How did your workshop audiences respond to the project? What can we expect in July? 

Jason Christopher Hartley:

"But hey, who cares! We have fun in my blog! If you want news about Iraq, congratulations, you've come to the wrong fucking place! If you are distrustful of the media and want to know exactly what's going on in Iraq, you'll have to pray for divine enlightenment, because only god knows what the hell is going on over here!"

That’s Jason Christopher Hartley writing from Iraq in 2004, trying to describe the inexplicable, chaotic situation our soldiers face in the Middle East.

Everybody's got an opinion about the Iraq War, but most of us have absolutely no idea what that war is really like. That's why I brought on Hartley--he was one of the first bloggers to write from the front and published a memoir (Just Another Soldier) about his experience.

It's not pretty (and lots of language this week), but I think all writers should be thinking, grappling, and writing about this war. For the rest of the week, Hartley will turn all your pre-conceived ideas upside down and then dance on top of your wrecked stereotypes.

Welcome to my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality conversations with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.

Jason Boog:

When you were in Iraq, how did you find time to write? More generally, how hard is it to actively write or blog about your experiences while still working as a military officer? Any advice for aspiring writers in the military?

Jason Christopher Hartley:

I did most my writing during the wee hours of the night when most my platoon was asleep. Continue reading...

"God, I was so happy, seeing them like that, hearing the laughs and screams, seeing their grins flapping in the wind as they tore around the track. I had to wipe a tear from my eye before they could get off the ride and meet me across the street. Samantha had a huge smile on her face, and her eyes were the size of saucers."

That’s a blog entry that Janice Erlbaum wrote in 2005 about her trip to Coney Island with a young runaway. Over the next few months, her troubled relationship with that teenager would change dramatically--an emotional process recorded in Erlbaum's new book, Have You Found Her.

Today Erlbaum explains how her stories move from diary to blog to final memoir shape, giving us a glimpse--just like that video--behind her pages. 

Welcome to my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality conversations with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.

Jason Boog:

On page 225, you have a great scene with Sam and your domestic partner at Coney Island--it's a gorgeous, kinetic scene. Could you just walk us through the process of writing that scene? How did you build it from memory and how did you edit it into this final shape?

Janice Erlbaum:
I originally wrote the Coney Island scene the day after it happened – it’s posted on my blog as an entry called “Coneyworld,” dated August 28, 2005. Continue reading...

“That handwriting—careful, shaky, spiky, every letter distinct, straight up and down, like it took hours to etch, and that was with her good hand. The poem was about watching the stars fall from the back of a pickup truck, hitchhiking by the constellations. You could feel every bit of it: the piney smell of the Oregon trees, the jolt of the rocks in the road."

That’s a gorgeous bit of prose from Janice Erlbaum’s memoir, Have You Found Her. In that passage, Erlbaum reflects on the writings of a teenaged runaway that she befriended in New York City.

The pair bond over writing—two struggling authors trying to make sense of the world—and I think their friendship will be familiar to most of our readers. Today, Erlbaum explains the ups and downs of negotiating her two book deals.

Welcome to my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality conversations with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.

Jason Boog:
You've now published two books. Which mistakes did you avoid the second time around? More specifically, could you describe the process of publishing this memoir--how did the looking for an agent/publisher process change the second time around?

Janice Erlbaum:
Again, I’m a lucky bastard, because I sold Girlbomb in June of 2004 as part of a two-book deal. Continue reading...