Writing Advice and a GIVEAWAY with First Draft
Hey there! How's your November going?
If you did NaNoWriMo, I feel your pain! If you're taking the slower and still steady path, I can relate. With the draft I'm working on right now, I am moving forward with purpose, making sure the words I leave behind are strong enough to hold up what's to come. I'm trying something new, and it's fun. I wish you the same ✨🔮✨
I have SO much great advice to share with you in this month's newsletter -- not only in the *amazing* episodes out this month, but in other podcasts I appeared on over the last few weeks, and in a very special format-breaking First Draft where I brought in Zan Romanoff (YA author whose newest, Look, comes out in March!) to respond directly to your questions. 🗣️ You can listen to the episode wherever you enjoy First Draft, or you can watch Zan and I answer the questions in real time on First Draft's first ever IGTV episode!
🚨 I'm also hosting a GIVEAWAY of free, signed copies of ALL Zan's books -- scroll down a tad for more info! 🚨
The mailbag ep & IGTV special are the first of many steps I'm taking going forward to deliver useful and interesting information in a variety of formats. I hope you check it out!
You can still help shape the future of the show by taking a 5-minute listener survey, and send me your creativity and/or writing questions -- call 818-533-1998 and leave a voicemail that me and a future guest can answer on another mailbag episode!
Read on for...
🚨 More info for the GIVEAWAY!
📊 A link to the 2019 Listener Survey
📣 Fun clips & interviews!
🎧 Recent can't-miss First Draft episodes
✔️ Recs for ALL the media I consumed in November!
💎Plenty of links for you to buy TELL ME EVERYTHING!
🚨 Giveaway 🚨
Here's your chance to win signed copies of ALL of Zan Romanoff's books -- including an advance copy of Look, and a copy of Tell Me Everything -- over at the First Draft Instagram! Follow the account, tag a friend, and be automatically entered to win 💗
And don't miss Zan and I answering your questions in the most recent episode -- you can also WATCH our conversation on First Draft's inaugural IGTV special!
📊 Listener Survey 📊
Taking this short, 5-minute survey will help me plan future bonus content and special episodes, and seek out sponsors that are interesting to you! It'll help a ton, and make First Draft better.
📣 Clips & Interviews 📣
On The JV Club with Janet Varney, Janet and I talk about Stephen King's house, dad jokes, and nicknames for creatures in New Zealand.
I talked with Brea and Mallory of The Reading Glasses podcast about how social media has -- or hasn't -- changed our reading habits.
On the Smart Mouth podcast, I learned about the history of champagne - my favorite thing!
I had SO much fun talking to Traci from The Stacks podcast! Hear the episode about my reading life, and listen as Traci and I go in on Educated by Tara Westover. The Stacks is amazing and you should listen -- find the show on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!
🎧 Recent First Draft Episodes 🎧
Rick Yancey, Cindy Pon, Justin Reynolds, and Sarah Enni LIVE at YA-Hoo Fest
YA-Hoo Fest kicked off with this LIVE recording of the First Draft with Sarah Enni on Sept. 21, 2019. Featuring: Rick Yancey, New York Times bestselling author of the Fifth Wave series, the Monstrumologist series, and more; Cindy Pon, Want and its sequel Ruse, the Silver Phoenix series and more; Justin A. Reynolds, debut author of The Opposite of Always; and Sarah Enni, author of Tell Me Everything.
Listen to our interview here, on iTunes, or on Spotify!
Janet Varney
Janet Varney, Emmy-Nominated actor, comedian, writer, producer, and podcaster. She has appeared in dozens of TV shows, including You’re the Worst, Take My Wife, Burning Love, Stan Against Evil, and Fortune Rookie, and the voice of Korra in The Legend of Korra. She is also the co-founder, creative director, and producer of SF Sketchfest: the San Francisco Comedy Festival (now in its 19th year!), and hosts The JV Club podcast.
Listen to our interview here, on iTunes, or on Spotify!
Kyle Flynn
Kyle Flynn is the keyboardist with indie rock group Father John Misty, as well as writer of television and movies.
Listen to our interview here, on iTunes, or on Spotify!
Ruta Sepetys
Ruta Sepetys, #1 New York Times bestselling and Carnegie-winning author of Between Shades of Gray, Out of the Easy, and Salt to the Sea, talks about her newest novel, Fountains of Silence.
Listen to our interview here, on iTunes, or on Spotify!
📌 Recommendations 📌
🎙 Podcasts 🎙
We Went to School For This is a podcast featuring two women of color who went to film school talk about movies and TV shows so you don't have to!
🔊 Audiobooks 🔊
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb This was a mega-popular pop-psychotherapy book, but it did give me some insight into how therapists think during their sessions, both as people and as professionals. I mean, I'm also rewatching Frasier, so there's that too? Don't worry, I am absolutely talking to my therapist about this. Also, Lori Gottlieb also wrote this book -- Marry Him: The Case For Settling For Mr. Good Enough -- which sounds ... awful? IDK. Change my mind, if you've read it??
📽️ Film & TV 📽️
No-review list of television, movies & documentaries I've watched recently!
🤷♀️ Bits and Bobs 🤷♀️
One of you lovely readers mentioned in the listener survey (you can still take that right here, by the way!) that I should share things that have influenced me in the last month. I'm going to include links to some things that have come up in recent podcast conversations, so hopefully they'll be interesting to you, too!
"The President's Speech" chapter from Oliver Sack's 1985 book, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat.
Okay I know I can't shut up about Gretchen Rubin's The Four Tendencies, but take the quiz! Read the book! Get obsessed with me!
💅 ICYMI 💅
