Roberto Scarlato's Blog, page 24

37 Lectures Every Writer Should Listen To

Now I know you're probably thinking, 37? How are you going to give 37 lectures in one blog? Well, I'm not. Other authors are going to do it for me. This post comes from one reader by the name of Jesse. Thanks Jesse for the post.

Just click HERE for some of the best writing tips from the best writers. The five main topics covered are Advice from authors, improving your skills, inspiration and motivation, getting published, and writing in society. There's a lot of great stuff in these videos t...

The Goodreads Giveaway

About a month ago, I decided to give away 15 free copies of my new book For What It's Worth. I first learned of this whole giveaway thing by way of another blog. This guy Todd Newton over at Initial Draft was giving away copies of his fantasy epic The Ninth Avatar. Never found out how it all turned out but just for curiosity sake, I decided to give it a try. As an independent author, you have to learn to give away a lot of copies in order to promote yourself. Some give away thousands of free ...

A reading with Roberto Scarlato

On the 4th of February I had my first ever public reading event.

Three weeks beforehand I called some bookstores and found that the Borders in Oak Park had an Open Mic Night. You can do music, skits and a bit of storytelling. The night was a blast! I invited my friends and they came to support my work as a writer. It was the best feeling in the world. Also the most nerve-racking. I signed my name in the fourth column on a list thinking, great, this will give me time to panic and get it out of...

The Pitter-Patter of Patterson

James Patterson has written over 70 books. He releases two to three books a year and I've always seen his books on the endcaps in the book department of every grocery store you can think of. It helps that he comes from an ad marketing background. He was the one who coined the phrase, "I wanna be a Toys-R-Us kid." His stories know no boundaries. He's written fantasy, young adult, adult dramas, adult crime thrillers and a couple of non-fiction books. I admire this guy's zeal, even though I...

The Job of a writer

Sometimes I browse books on Amazon just to see what is new and fresh. One fear of mine is that one of my ideas will be written by another author and I will be forced to abandon the project, or respectively bow out, without cursing, if necessary. I've come across a novel which at first had me panicked. The Last Bookstore in America was the book, written by Amy Smart. I panicked because I thought I would have to abandon one of my favorite projects. Thankfully, this was not the case...

I can't read Guts!

Chuck Palahniuk is known for such works as Diary, Rant, Invisible Monsters, Choke, Survivor and Fight Club.

Chuck is one of the weirdest writers I've ever read, working in a genre all his own - Disturbing.

I've seen Fight Club and read Choke and that was enough for me. I think I need a break of one to two years in between each Palahniuk book.

He makes me sick.

And I don't mean that in a negative way. I mean it in a literal way. Let me explain. Over the years I've heard that one of his infamous...

Notable Movies #5

It isn't surprising that some of the most successful authors out there are plagued with problems and become the neighbohorhood recluse. But what I like most about Nim's Island is how Jodie Foster portrays that paranoid reclusive writer in all of us. She writes out of the comfort of her apartment, second guesses herself and argues with her main character. To it's credit, Nim's island is a little cheesy but also fun. First PG movie I've seen in a long while. One scene I loved was when Jodie...

The Passing of a Legend

J.D. Salinger passed away on the 27th. He was 91 years old and died from natural causes. Salinger's Literary Reprsenative stated that he was in remarkable health until the new year when things started to decline.

I first read J.D. Salinger's controversial novel Catcher in the Rye when I was showing a copy I had to my girlfriend. "Have you ever read it?" she asked. "No," I said, "I always thought it would be to hard to understand." She shoved the book in my hands excitedly and said, "Read the f...

My Thoughts on The iPad

Not Impressed. To me it's just an over sized touch-screen-gizmo that will be harder to hide and easier to steal. Put simply, It's just a bigger iphone without the phone. Funny, I always knew there would be a day, like in sci-fi B-movies, where people would be walking around with computerized tablets for all their Internet/document needs. But, man, I guess I really grew out of that. The whole concept is as ridiculous to me as Jack Donaghy's gargantuan microwave with four doors on wheels from 3...

Notable Movies #4

One stereotype about writers is that we tend to be neurotic. We're always trying to fix our own problems. In this movie, the master of wit Albert Brooks, takes on the guise of a science fiction writer who has trouble keeping a relationship. This has not only damaged his home life but it has also blocked his writing progress. In order to figure out his womanly troubles he moves back in with the first woman in his life; his mother. I love this movie becuase it shows that us writers see things d...