Welcome, JABs Subscribers!

Thanks and welcome to everybody who leapt off the cliff with us and signed up to receive a year’s worth of Black Irish JABs. The response has been beyond our hopes. Thank you!

Click here to order a year of JABs 

To anyone still teetering on the fence, lemme take today’s post to give you the old-fashioned hard sell. (Then I’ll stop, I promise.)

On second thought, let me just list the titles and premises of some of this year’s coming JABs:

JAB #1 (December): How Does a Story Start?

This one’s about the Inciting Incident of a novel or a movie. It talks about the hero acquiring in this moment his or her intention (the drive that will carry him or her through the story), about making the internal external, about the two “narrative poles” that are established here and how they keep the reader turning pages. Etc, etc.

JABS #7 and 8 (June and July): Bad Guys, Part One and Bad Guys, Part Two.

An in-depth look at villains. Why does our story need them, how to make them memorable, what characteristics do all the great villains possess?

I cite these three as a way of describing what JABs are and how they can help every writer—rookie or seasoned pro.

I know they helped the hell out of me, just writing them and getting my thoughts straight by doing so.

JAB #4 (March), The Professional Mindset.

This mini-book doesn’t talk about craft at all. It’s exclusively about you and me as professionals. What is the optimal mindset for a writer or an artist? How do we manage our emotions, contain our expectations for ourselves and others? How do we keep from being our own worst enemies?

JAB #5 (April), Learning to Say No.

Another aspect of professionalism. Becoming tough-minded, kicking the habit of being a “nice guy” or girl. How to stop saying yes to time-thieves, even well-intentioned and deserving ones.

JAB #9 (September), Dudeology.

An in-depth dive, for fun and profit, into The Big Lebowski. What does genre mean, how did the Coen brothers use it (and subvert it to devastating effect) in this greatest of slacker comedies? What does the Dude have in common with Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe and J.J. Gittes? Why, in the end, does he abide?

I know it’s daunting to plunk down a serious chunk of change on a subscription. But by the end of the year you’ll have twelve of these mini-books, a regular library of wisdom from the writing trenches . . . with more coming in Season Two. And if don’t wanna continue, bail then with no hard feelings.

Have I convinced you? If so, here’s the link to sign up now.

One last sales point:

Each subscription comes with a gift code so you can give a digital subscription of the JABs (eBook and audiobook) to a friend.

I love these little books and I hope you will too.

Thanks again to everyone who leapt into the pool with us.

Back, next week, to our regular posts.