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Jon Reisfeld

Goodreads Author

Born

in Baltimore, MD, The United States

February 10

Website

http://www.jonreisfeld.com

Twitter

JonReisfeld

Genre

Mysteries and Thrillers, Historical Fantasy/visionary, Science Fiction & Fantasy

Influences

J.R.R. Tolkien, Ernest Hemingway, Mark Twain, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Phi ...more

Member Since

May 2011

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/jonreisfeld

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Hi, I'm Jon. I'm an Amazon best-selling author, writing coach and editor.

I write thrillers, historical/visionary fantasy and sci fi books.

And today, I'm giving a 5-chapter sneak preview of one away!

Just go here: http://jonreisfeld.weebly.com to get your FREE preview of the First 50 pages of The Reform Artists -- my legal-suspense / spy thriller, published on January 5, 2016.

Now, if you're REALLY interested in learning more about me, here's my version of a Dewar's Profile:

Most dare-devil moment: skydiving for the first time (almost ended up impaled on a tree.)

Shakiest moment: Thirty-odd seconds in August, 2011, when I experienced my first 5.6 earthquake ... in Baltimore!

Most light-headed moment: Standing in the hospital delivery room, watc ...more

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Popular Answered Questions

What’s the best thing about being a writer?

Jon Reisfeld The best thing about being a writer? You really want to know the 'best thing?' It's not commuting 10 feet to the office. It's not being able to work a…moreThe best thing about being a writer? You really want to know the 'best thing?' It's not commuting 10 feet to the office. It's not being able to work all day in your underwear, either. It's not that the work gives you a chance to take an occasional 'nap' for creative reasons. It's not that virtually everything you do, everyone you see, everything that happens to you: the good things, the bad things, the crappy people you must deal with ... and the saints, it's not that all of that is grist for the mill. It's not that you can create an unpleasant, fictitious character with traits, annoying ticks or a wealth of other characteristics that remind you of someone you loath. It's none of that. The 'best thing' about being a writer is that, after you've created your own little world, populated it with a diverse mix of people and places and put them through all kinds of situations in service of a strong story line or plot, the 'best thing' is that you occasionally get to discuss your creation with others who have read it, and in some way, made it their own. What other job offers you anything close to that?!(less)

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How do you deal with writer’s block?

Jon Reisfeld In my past, I have gotten writer's block under one of two conditions: either I was extremely anxious about what I was trying to write/say or the subje…moreIn my past, I have gotten writer's block under one of two conditions: either I was extremely anxious about what I was trying to write/say or the subject matter had some sort of deep emotional connection that, literally, was getting my way. I found several strategies effective. In the first case, the block often occurred because I was trying to get into the writing part of the process too soon, before I either had researched the material enough or organized it adequately. So, the answer was to slow everything down, recognize that I was rushing the process and calmly complete the work I had only partially done. (It's really important for writers to understand that the actual 'writing' of the first draft comes toward the middle to the last third of the writing process. Prior to that point, the writer should be gathering, internalizing and organizing the material. Failing to understand this key reality of writing, I'm convinced, is what causes some writers (me included) to get anxious in the first place. Another way to look at this is that the writing -- which should be the "easy" part, follows all the hard work involved in researching, ruminating over and organizing the material. So, when you're engaged in those phases, you not only are 'writing' you're actually doing the hardest part of the work!) Whenever I followed this prescription and went back to the earlier phases in the process, before resuming the 'writing,' I typically found the problem would resolve itself. The other case -- with the deep, emotional issue -- required me to obtain some detachment and distance from the work that was causing me to get blocked. People use all sorts of diversions at this point. Some hit the track or the tennis courts, go walking or seek other physical activity to take the mind away from the issues. Others go to movies, attend sporting events or watch them on TV. The key is to find something so engrossing that you lose yourself in the moment. Until you can relax enough to get your conscious mind off the block, it will not resolve itself. But once you free up your subconscious mind to sort through the issues while your conscious mind is otherwise engaged, things generally progress rather rapidly. Another thing every writer should do to help "cure" themselves of writer's block is to understand how the concsious and subconscious portions of our minds work. The subconscious mind does all of the creative problem solving necessary to come up with the best plot twists, similies and metaphors for driving fiction and nonfiction prose. We get blocked when we forget this and try and force solutions through hyper focusing our conscious minds on the problem. I recommend the book "Psycho Cybernetics" by Maxwell Maltz, as required reading for every author who really wants to rid him or herself of this plague to creativity and productivity.(less)

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Jon Reisfeld’s books

Average rating: 3.82 · 249 ratings · 44 reviews · 2 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Reform Artists 3.94 avg rating — 160 ratings — published 2010 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Last Way Station: Hitler's Final Journey 3.60 avg rating — 89 ratings — published 2011 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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15 posts
Jon Reisfeld's Blog

A Mile Wide and an Inch Deep: Review of Michael Chrichton’s Next

In Next, Michael Crichton delivers another fun, intellectually stimulating read as he explores the topic of today’s completely unregulated world of genetic science and genetic engineering. The story takes the reader from the wilds of Borneo to the NIH’s primate … Continue reading →

Topics Mentioning This Author

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The Bookish Snob ...: Free eBook for Reviewers	2	38	Feb 18, 2013 08:09PM
Genre Specific Re...: Thriller Review Group 2 (finished)	67	56	Jan 30, 2016 08:18AM
Around the World ...: Free and Cheap E-Books	695	7683	Nov 03, 2025 07:34AM

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Jon’s Quotes

“The first draft of anything is shit.”
― Ernest Hemingway

tags: attributed-no-source, writing

4216 likes

“The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are special too.”
― Ernest Hemingway, Men Without Women

tags: love, pain, relationships, self

5536 likes

“All good books are alike in that they are truer than if they had really happened and after you are finished reading one you will feel that all that happened to you and afterwards it all belongs to you: the good and the bad, the ecstasy, the remorse and sorrow, the people and the places and how the weather was. If you can get so that you can give that to people, then you are a writer.”
― Ernest Hemingway

tags: authors, good-books, truth, writers

2753 likes

“Courage is grace under pressure.”
― ernest hemingway

tags: courage

2250 likes