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Now that's what I call product placement.

Thanks to www.fantagraphics.com/blog

"I never bought beer before. I never went on a joyride, I mean, a reckless one; was never in a car accident; never, well, I've been beaten up, but never with that many spectators; never broke in anywhere; never skinny-dipped, and I almost did, I was going to; never eluded the authorities before..."

That's Larry Doyle's hero ticking off just a few of the underage taboos he broke over the course of one cinematic novel, I Love You, Beth Cooper. Doyle has written the Ulysses of high school novels, chock full of allusions and dreamy imagery.

The book is cinematic because Doyle cut his teeth in the world of television. Doyle has written for The New Yorker, The Simpsons, and HBO, and this week he sharing some writing advice with us. 

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 interviews with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web publishing.

Jason Boog:

What did television teach you about writing? How are the first steps that aspiring script writers and television writers should take? Any resources you would recommend for this kind of writing? Continue reading...

"Heathbar was neo-Georgian, meaning it had red brick on the front. It was otherwise a 6,000-square-foot conglomeration of awful architectural ideas throughout history executed in 21st-century Vulgarian; chief among the offenses was a wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling bay window that cantilevered out like a bodybuilder who spent way too much time on his abs." 

That's Larry Doyle describing an obnoxious suburban McMansion in quasi-Victorian terms in his novel, I Love You, Beth Cooper.

Doyle has written for The New Yorker, The Simpsons, and HBO, and this week he sharing some writing advice with us.

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 interviews with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web publishing.

Jason Boog: 
You wrote this novel in a whirlwind. How did you budget time and outline the novel so carefully? Any advice for fledgling writers looking to get more organized about their fiction writing process?

I’ve been a vegetarian for over a decade and inevitably, when I meet someone new, they end up asking me questions. How and why did I stop eating meat? Do I miss it? Do I cheat? Long ago I stopped telling them the real story (which is dreadfully boring) and started recounting the scene below from The Simpsons.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJqx-AvUjCg

I imagine I’m not the only one out there that uses The Simpsons to prove a point. Well, our friends over at the DNB have created a very special happy birthday treat for The Simpsons fans. Keep reading!

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