by jdsmeaton | Jun 1, 2022 | Behind the Scenes, News
Can you be happy as a creator? This post is different than my typical entries that focus on some educational aspect of craft or how-to instructional. Today though, I’m going to talk about happiness as a creator. Figuring out how to be present. Finding happiness in the...
by jdsmeaton | May 4, 2022 | How To, Storytelling, Writing
In television writers’ rooms, there is a practice called “beat the joke.” The idea is that there’s a joke written for a scene but can it be better? So the writers will all pitch variations or new jokes. Sometimes the original joke ends up staying but more often than...
by jdsmeaton | Apr 5, 2022 | How To
How To Get A Book Agent Let’s talk Literary Agents. I’m specifically talking about agents that rep graphic novelists but the majority of this info is the same for regular novelists. The major publishers for the most part only accept book submissions through agents....
by jdsmeaton | Mar 4, 2022 | Uncategorized
I made a font from my handwriting for lettering my comics & I’m going to show you the steps so you can too. People learn differently so I’ve posted the video as well as the written step by step. You’ll need: Adobe Illustrator Fontself A way to...
by jdsmeaton | Mar 2, 2022 | How To, Storytelling, Writing
So you want to know the secret to writing a best-selling middle-grade graphic novel. I’ll tell you now, the answer is not satisfying. It’s like the question, “how do you make a viral video?” This is the formula for a viral video. Make video Release video Tap into...
by jdsmeaton | Feb 1, 2022 | Storytelling, Writing
You may have noticed the different banner above. I changed focus a few months back from writing about random things of interest to focusing on the craft of writing middle-grade fiction. So I have rebranded from The Newsletter of Awesomeness to The Middle-Grade...
by jdsmeaton | Jan 5, 2022 | Recommendations, Storytelling, Writing
Stupid, inbred, cro-magnon, idiot, loser, jock, punks. That was a line I had a character say when some jock gatekeepers wouldn’t let him into a party. I was in a writing class years ago and brought in the piece that had that line in it. The writing teacher called it...
by jdsmeaton | Nov 30, 2021 | News, Storytelling
Is your main character likable? It doesn’t matter. The question you should be asking is are they compelling? Curb Your Enthusiasm is a huge hit and Larry David is the antithesis of likeable. He’s a selfish misanthrope but we root for him or who knows, maybe against...
by jdsmeaton | Nov 3, 2021 | Storytelling
So the newsletter is going to be different this month. No recommendations. I’m pivoting here and will be talking about something that I have been obsessed with for as long as I can remember, stories. I spent the first half of my life consuming them and the second half...
by jdsmeaton | Oct 6, 2021 | Behind the Scenes, News, Recommendations, Tyrannosaurus Recs
October is my favorite month and Halloween is my favorite Holiday. I like the cooler weather, changing leaves, sweaters, pumpkins and spooky stuff. So much so that I wrote Haunted, a graphic novel about that kind of stuff. I described it as Goonies in a haunted...
