Ania Ahlborn's Blog, page 12
April 23, 2013
On Writing: Questions from Twitter & Facebook
Jacob Asks:Do you ever not feel like writing when you need to write? If so, how do you handle those situations?
Yes! Many author hopefuls think, “man, if I could only write all day…”, but that blessing has its pitfalls.Sometimes I wake up and all I want to do is watch Project Runway reruns in my pajamas, and when you work from home and have free reign over your work schedule, resisting temptation can be difficult… because who would know? I mean, other than the dog, but I can buy that guy off w...
April 2, 2013
Amazon Studios’ “SEED” Screenwriters on Horror, Inspiration, and Adapting Books for the Screen
Horror stories that are grounded in reality, and yet not bound by rules … these inspireand(The Haunting in Connecticut). And it’s what they appreciate aboutSeed, a powerful and terrifying novel written by Ania Ahlborn. Simon and Metcalfe have been selected by Amazon Studios to adaptSeedfor the screen.
“Ania’s character insight and scenic eye managed to do what few horror writers even attempt, let alone succeed at – and that is, create a fictional world we instantly recogn...
March 26, 2013
Joss Whedon’s Ten Writing Tips
1. FINISH IT
Actually finishing it is what I’m gonna put in as step one. You may laugh at this, but it’s true. I have so many friends who have written two-thirds of a screenplay, and then re-written it for about three years. Finishing a screenplay is first of all truly difficult, and secondly really liberating. Even if it’s not perfect, even if you know you’re gonna have to go back into it, type to the end. You have to have a little closure.
2. STRUCTURE
Structure means knowing where you’re goin...
March 18, 2013
22 Tips on Storytelling from Pixar
Writing is hard, and as I’ve learned over the past few years, it doesn’t get any easier–the stories only get more complex the better you get. It’s always nice to get a fresh perspective on the creative process, and some of the best perspectives can come from people in an entirely different facet of the creative world (novelists don’t only inspire novelists). That being said, I found this list of twenty-two “rules” by Pixar’s Emma Coats to be a pretty interesting read. Not all of these apply t...
January 10, 2013
Uncertainty At Its Finest
[image error]There comes a moment in every authors life where we’re torn between what we’re expected to write vs. what we want to write. That is, at least, what I tell myself if only to not feel so absolutely uncertain.
If there’s one thing I hope my readers understand about me, it’s that I never want to be disappointing. I put everything into my work. I am, in essence, the perfect example of the tortured artist cliché. I toil. I worry. I toil some more. I have anxiety attacks and momentary breakdowns. One...
December 15, 2012
As an author who straddles genres, I found this quote abo...
As an author who straddles genres, I found this quote about J.K. Rowling particularly enlightening.
After reading and lovingThe Casual Vacancy, Ann Patchettwrote, “So when on the morning of this fine novel’s publication I read the scorching review by Michiko Kakutani inThe New York Times, I felt both irritated and dismayed. If this book had been written by anyone other than J.K. Rowling, it would have been heralded as a triumph, but Rowling has been too successful, too rewarded, and now people...
December 14, 2012
Columbine: Who’s Fault Is It? By Marilyn Manson, June 24th, 1999
Inlieu of what’s occurred in Newtown, CT, I thought this was appropriate as a reblog. -Ania
Marilyn Manson, June 24th, 1999
It is sad to think that the first few people on earth needed no books, movies, games or music to inspire cold-blooded murder. The day that Cain bashed his brother Abel’s brains in, the only motivation he needed was his own human disposition to violence. Whether you interpret the Bible as literature or as the final word of whatever God may be, Christianity has given us an i...
November 18, 2012
October 20, 2012
Four Writing Rules That Will Get You To The Top
During a recent trip, I was flipping through an in-flight magazine and stumbled across an interesting article. So interesting that it inspired me to write a blog post about it. The article was called Office Pace, and while it was about how to achieve inter-office greatness, I couldn’t help but be struck by how relevant Cal Newport‘s points were to writers as well.
Writing is a tough industry to break into. While self-publishing through the likes of KDP and others make it much easier for author...
October 18, 2012
The Last House On The Block
It was cold that night, way colder than any Halloween should have been; so cold that my mom and her best friend, Melinda, didn’t bother to get out of the car while my best friend and I stomped the sidewalk. I don’t remember what we had dressed up as, just that my breath puffed out ahead of me and I could hear gravel crunch beneath the tires of my mom’s puke-yellow hatchback.
I posted this over a year ago, but since it's nearly Halloween, lets revisi...
