Category: Writing
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Nemesis
Eliot Ness and Al Capone. Seinfeld and Newman. Harvard and Yale. Achilles and Hector. Enemies is the wrong word for the phenomenon. It is not an enemy. It is a nemesis. There is a difference. Nemeses could have at one point been friends. They have similar qualities. The things that make one great reside in…
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Write Like a Gangster, Class 20: Erasing Yourself
Hey, ho, let’s go! You’re gonna get in your way. You’re going to not be able to create a certain kind of character realistically because you can’t understand that character’s point of view. That’s not good enough. You have no excuse. You’re a writer. You don’t have the luxury of only understanding one kind of…
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Write Like a Gangster, Class 19: Dialogue Continues
Hey, ho, let’s go! Reading Assignment: “Collision” and “Mrs. Galvin” chapters from Teardrop Road The Vanishing Tag This is the lesson I have heard when it comes to dialogue: Don’t tag too often. Don’t get too specific with your tag. First, let’s define tag. A tag is very simple. He said is a tag. We…
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Write Like a Gangster, Class 18: Dialogue
Hey, ho, let’s go! Illusions of Dialogue I came from a family of storytellers, I mean, gifted storytellers. They could pick you up and lift you into a tale like none other I have ever known. I apprenticed under them, and it made me the writer I am. I have been telling stories all my…
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A New Time
I guess it was 2018, maybe 2017, but that doesn’t sound right. I had been up all night writing. Going around the Horn is what we used to call it. I would get up, eat, write, take the kids to martial arts, come home, cook dinner, go downstairs for a second shift, usually a writers…
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Write Like a Gangster, Class 17: Character
Hey, ho, let’s go! Reading Assignment for this class: “The Beginning of My Life” and “The Coming of Shadow” chapters from Teardrop Road, and the novella Seeds of Tarako. Writing Assignment for this class: The assignment from Class 14 is due today. Send it to jesseteller (at) yahoo (dot) com. Remember to rate and review…
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Write Like a Gangster, Class 16: Urgency
Hey, ho, let’s go! Reading Assignment for this class: “Smilin Jack, Part 1” and “Smilin Jack, Part 2” chapters from Teardrop Road Writing Assignment for this class: The assignment from Class 13 is due today. Send it to jesseteller (at) yahoo (dot) com. Remember to rate and review your performance at the bottom of the…
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Write Like a Gangster, Class 15: Plot
Hey, ho, let’s go! Reading Assignment for this class: “Darkness of Slinger Middle School Part 2” chapter from Teardrop Road Writing Assignment for this class: The assignment from Class 12 is due today. Send it to jesseteller (at) yahoo (dot) com. Remember to rate and review your performance at the bottom of the assignment. Plot’s…
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Write Like a Gangster, Class 14: Character Creation
Hey, ho, let’s go! Reading Assignment for this class: “Strong Urge to Fly” chapter from Teardrop Road We’re gonna talk about character creation today. I had you read “Strong Urge to Fly.” It’s a story of when Smear Lord of Ire was created. The one that, in my mind, we call Artist. I remember earlier…
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Write Like a Gangster, Class 13: Setting
Hey, ho, let’s go! Reading Assignment for this class: “Pop” and “Mrs. Galvin” chapters from Teardrop Road Donald Maass, he’s a New York agent, teaches writing all over the country. Said no two settings are the same. He’s right. Think about cities. Every city you have ever lived in has had at least one thing…
Jesse Teller 