Lawrence C. Connolly's Blog, page 34

Writer at Work: Standing up for Your Writes

“The art of writing is the art of applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair.”

C.S. Lewis gave that advice in 1937, in an article titled, “Breaking in Print.” But it didn’t originate with him. He got it from his mentor Mary Heaton Vorse, who seems to be the source of the oft-repeated advice.

You may have heard that advice in its more condensed form, a terse little maxim attributed to writers as varied as Oliver Stone and Stephen King:

“Writing equals ass in chair.”

As with most m...

Writer at Work:Out of the Stories and into the World

It’s been a while since I’ve posted here. There’s a good reason for that. I’ve been working.

I’ve always regarded blogging as a leisure activity, fun when there’s time for it, but readily set aside when big projects hit.

Last June, with a new film script sold and an ambitious novel expanding beyond expectations, I realized it was time to focus on fiction. And that’s pretty much where I was until I finished the book early last week. At that point, with the manuscript mailed off and fending for...

Flash Fiction @ Sewickley Public Library

This Friday, June 17, I’ll be taking a break from working on the new book to drop by the Sewickley Public Library, where I’ve been invited to talk about one of my favorite subjects–flash fiction.

It’s a presentation that I’ve given before at various workshops and conferences, and I’m looking forward to dusting it off and giving it again. It’s always a good time.

The talk starts at 10:30 AM. If you’re in the area, I’ll hope to see you there. Either way, you can get a preview at this vintage po...

From Page to Screen:Talking about Writing @ The Penguin

It all beganwithRobert A. Heinlein.

Back in the 1940s, Heinlein gave what may well be the best writing advice ever given, a five step approach to achieving success as a spinner of tales. And last week at The Penguin Bookshop, an attentive crowd joined me in a consideration of those rules andhow they apply to the writing, selling, and adapting of the story “Traumatic Descent” (a.k.a. “This Way to Egress”).

From the story’s first appearance in Tom and Elizabeth Monteleone’s anthology Borderland...

Penguin Bookshop, Nightmare Cinema, & “This Way to Egress”

Don’t go to sleep! Nightmares are coming.

On Wednesday, April 27, I’ll be visiting the Penguin Bookshop in Sewickley to talk about writing stories and adapting them for film. Along the way, I’ll be sharing some of the latest news about Nightmare Cinema, the forthcoming feature film that will include. . . [Read more at The 21st-Century Scop].

Spring Events: April is the Coolest Month

Apologies to T. S. Eliot, but I couldn’t resist the headline. And there will indeed be some cool things happening now that the winter that “kept us warm” has come to an end.

First up, I’ll be giving a talk at the Penguin Bookshop in Sewickley on April 27,sharing details surrounding the adaptation of my story “Traumatic Descent” for the upcoming anthology film Nightmare Cinema.

Although I coverthe process of adapting “TD”inVoices and This Way to Egress, the Penguin event will. . . [read more a...

Parade Day 2016 @ Riley’s Pour House:“the sweetest melody”

“I thought I heard a piper play the sweetest melody / People gathered round a’ dancing and singing so merrily. . .”
– “Caledonia” by Dougie MacLean

But we didn’t just think it. If you were one of the 1,000-plus revelers who packed the tent and pub at Riley’s Pour House on Parade Day, you saw and heard it for real.

Here’s how it happened.

As band mate Duane Davis and I were midway through our second of four sets on Riley’s outdoor stage, wenoticedbagpiper John Walsh standing in the wings. We’d...

St. Patrick’s Day Shows: Music Marathons

If you want to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in style, Pittsburgh is the place to be. That’s according the Niche, who also says:

Pittsburgh has one of the highest percentage of its population identifying as Irish, great access to bars, a thriving St. Patrick’s Day Parade that boasts over 20,000 participants, and a staggering amount of St. Patrick’s Day hype on Facebook.

And Pittsburgh also has Riley’s Pour House, where bandmate Duane Davis and I will be performing under the big top on Riley’s O...

From Page to Screen: A Story’s Journey

It’s the journey, not the destination. Emerson said something like that once.

He might have been talking about screenwriting.

The path that “Traumatic Descent” (a.k.a. “This Way to Egress”) has taken on its way to the screenis the subject of anewspaper article in a recent issue of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

On the whole, the paper provides a good summary of the details, althoughit doessuggest that “TD” wasunder option for a quarter century. That’s not exactlytrue, even ifit has sometimes....

From Page to Screen: A Story’s Journey

It’s the journey, not the destination. Emerson said something like that once.

He might have been talking about screenwriting.

The path that “Traumatic Descent” (a.k.a. “This Way to Egress”) has taken on its way to the screenis the subject of anewspaper article in a recent issue of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

On the whole, the paper provides a good summary of the details, althoughit doessuggest that “TD” wasunder option for a quarter century. That’s not exactlytrue, even ifit has sometimes...