Thriller Guy in either of his two iterations – TG or Allen
Appel – is never above stealing someone else’s blog material to use here,
though he always, yes always, declares he is stealing when he does so. Which
makes him what? A thief with dubious honor? or simply a writer who is willing
to do what it takes to feed the ever-hungry blog entity. But often he runs
across blogs and or essays that are simply too good to steal wholesale, or,
usually, too long to fit on a normal Thriller Guy template. So TG is going to
pass a couple of these along from the actual Internet home where they were originally
written so you can go to the source and read them. They’re long, but they’re
funny and well worth your time. Besides, what else do you have to do? If you
weren’t willing to fritter away your time, you wouldn’t be reading this blog in
the first place.
The first is a blog entry at Vulture.com that is essentially
about movie scriptwriting, but as TG has tried to make clear over the years,
writing Thrillers is essentially another form of writing action movies: the
same basic rules apply. Thriller writers are advised to read this very funny
essay and follow these rules in their novels. The article is Star Script Doctor Damon Lindelof Explains the New Rules of Blockbuster Screenwriting, by Scott Brown.
The
second blog essay is from theawl.com, where Heather Havrilesky talks about the fantastic life of a writer, one who actually works at the craft for money. TG has often
written about many of the same experiences as Ms Havrilesky, but she is far
funnier. Havrilesky is The Awl’s existential
advice columnist. She’s also a regular contributor to The New York Times Magazine, and is the author of the
memoir Disaster Preparedness (Riverhead 2011).
Consider these two essays as TG’s holiday gift to
his many followers. And speaking of gifts, what about a Kindle copy of Allen Appel’s The Christmas Chicken for some lucky loved one on your gift
giving list? Or how about as an audio book performed by the fabulous Brad
Wills. Really, the guy is incredible. If you don’t laugh at his fabulous
chicken imitation TG will return your money. (True.) Find the the audio book version here. Start your own Christmas tradition, the
yearly holiday reading or listening to The Christmas Chicken.
Or, buy a copy of any of Appel’s novels and preload
them on a brand new Kindle for that hard-to-buy-for friend or relative on your
list? Trust Thriller Guy, it’s a great gift suggestion.
Really.
Really really really.
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