Joe Surkiewicz's Blog, page 3

Screenwriting Tricks for Authors by Alexandra Sokoloff

Stealing Hollywood: Story Structure Secrets for Writing Your Best Book by Alexandra Sokoloff

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


An easy to understand, concise and enjoyable method book for aspiring novelists that uses movies as the vehicle to understand the underlying structure of successful mysteries, thrillers, whatever it is you want to write. Definitely falls into the "why didn't I think of that?" category, although, of course, one would have to be a successful screenwriter to pull it off. It also serves to deepen one's understanding of movies, since you now have the expertise to analyze what, exactly, is happening on screen. I'll never see Chinatown quite the same way again, which is very good, because now I have a better understanding of Robert Towne's brilliant screenplay. Sokoloff provides in-depth, virtually minute-by-minute breakdowns of some great films, including the aforementioned Chinatown, Groundhog Day, and The Wizard of Oz, among others. She really lays out the three act, eight-sequence structure that virtually all films (and literary works) adhere to. She also provides the nitty gritty on life as a Hollywood screenwriter, thus bursting that balloon (it sucks). Sokoloff makes it a fun read and comes across as a genuine person who wants to help people become better writers. I've read a lot of "be a better writer" books, and this is the best.



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Switchblade Issue Eleven

Switchblade: Issue Eleven by Serena Jayne

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Another collection of hard-hitting crime noir shorts. Men will find "The Lady Urologist" by David Rachels particularly disturbing, so of course it's highly recommended. The lede: "I'm complaining again about how my piss burns when Seymour asks me if I've got the clap. I say, 'Not unless you can get the clap from your fist.'" I'm particularly prone to humor in my noir and this flash fiction nails it. As do the other stories in this edition.



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Switchblade Issue 12

Switchblade : Issue Twelve by Jon Zelazny

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


How's this for a lede: "The motel room smelled like cooked dope and sex." Kinda hard to stop reading. I couldn't and neither will you. It's C.W. Blackwell again, this time with his short story "From Dusk to Blonde," a revenge tale that will leave you slackjawed. Yep, that good. "They Call Me Cuban Pete" by Andrew Miller is another keeper. What can you say about a hitman story featuring, of all people, Desi Arnaz? It resonates, like all the crime stories in this edition. Switchblade is my go-to source for dystopian, hard-hitting noir. Just in time for the end of the world.



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Switchblade Issue Ten

Switchblade: Issue Ten by Jim Wilsky

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A great collection of hardcase crime and "gutter noir" (from the blurb). C.W. Blackwell's "For Love or Money" kicks it off. If it was the only story in the collection, it's worth the price of admission. Paige is a femme fatale for the ages and I won't spoil it. (Bonus: Blackwell is the subject of mini-interview in the back of the book.) Yet the always reliable Serena Jayne gives Paige a run for the money in "The Nature of Nurture," with this winning opening line: "Cynthia preferred her men big and dumb." I'm catching up with all the Switchblade issues; they don't disappoint.



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Stupidiocy by Cindy Rosmus

STUPIDIOCY by Cindy Rosmus

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


One definition of noir is the MC starts out fucked (can I use that on GR? guess I'll find out) and it goes downhill from there. In this collection of short stories, Rosmus gets into the heads of her characters as they spiral down to rock bottom, which is sometimes left to the reader's imagination (very effective). Murderers, crack whores, demented children, struggling alcoholics and druggies populate this collection of short, sharp, poignantly drawn glimpses of lives lived hard. The illustrations by Coates Walker are suitably disturbing and a reward for springing for the print edition.



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