Tue, 17 September 2019
First Draft Episode #210: Josh Gondelman Josh Gondelman, comedian, TV writer for shows like Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and Desus and Mero, and debut author of memoir Nice Try: Stories of Best Intentions and Mixed Results, talks about coming up in comedy, fumbling his breakout moment with the viral Modern Seinfeld Twitter account, and learning that being a “nice” person isn’t the same as being a good person. Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode -
In addition to Nice Try, you should also check out Josh’s standup specials: Dancing on a Weeknight (2019); Physical Whisper (from 2016); and Everything’s the Best! (2011). -
Nancy Kerrigan was the subject of one of the most bizarre crimes in all of sports (really worth watching The Price of Gold, an excellent 30 for 30 documentary about the Kerrigan-Harding incident), which was documented in the film I, Tonya, which Josh’s parents did not see out of loyalty to Kerrigan -
Early on Josh performed in the chorus of The Music Man -
We decide that literary humor is to comedy as Garrison Keillor is to Chris Rock -
Josh wrote a spec script for It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia -
Josh was contributing to places like McSweeny’s and New York magazine when he first moved to the city -
Josh co-founded the @SeinfeldToday Twitter account with his friend Jack P. Moore (playwright and sitcom writer for shows like Dear White People), which went viral and got him lots of professional opportunities -
Josh made an impression on Jim Gaffigan with a joke about the wisdom of the justice system in D2: The Mighty Ducks when he was getting his feet wet as a standup in New York City -
Josh talks about establishing authority as a standup onstage, which reminded me of Pete Holmes addressing how he looks (more like a youth pastor than a comedian) on his 2013 special, Nice Try, The Devil. You can see a great example of Josh doing something similar in his 2019 sets on Late Night with Seth Meyers and The Late Late Show with James Cordon. Josh also got advice and encouragement about this from fellow comedian Pete Lee. -
Josh got a big win when he was able to write for Billy on the Street, featuring Billy Eichner -
One of the notable segments from Last Week Tonight with John Oliver was an early one about net neutrality, with a bit at the end (which Josh credits to Geoffrey Haggerty, a comedy writer for shows like The Daily Show and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver) calling for viewers to write in to the FCC. So many viewers wrote to the FCC that its system crashed, and the government investigated whether the onslaught of feedback was from actual citizens or a coordinated DDoS attack. -
Tim Carvell, head writer for The Daily Show who left with John Oliver to create Last Week Tonight with John Oliver -
Josh is now the producer and writer for Desus and Mero on Showtime. Before he wrote for them, he was a fan of Desus and Mero’s podcast, Boedga Boys, and their TV show, Desus & Mero, on VICELAND. -
Josh does pep talks on Twitter from time to time, and initially was approached to write a book based on that premise. But he resisted that idea because internet darling Jonny Sun (playwright, academic, and author and illustrator of Everyone’s a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too -- listen to Jonny Sun’s episode of First Draft here) had already illustrated the famous Twitter pep talks written by Lin-Manuel Miranda (actor, composer, and playwright of Hamilton and In the Heights) for the book, G’Morning, G’night!: Little Pep Talks For Me & You. -
I was reading Brené Brown’s Daring Greatly: How the Courage to be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead, at the same time as Josh’s memoir, which actually was a beneficial co-reading experience (FTR I also recommend Brown’s The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are on audiobook! It’s read by Lauren Fortgang and she does a great job!) -
Josh was on a panel with journalist and author Liz Plank--whose most recent book, “For the Love of Men: A New Vision for Mindful Masculinity”, is on sale now!--about shifting concepts of masculinity -
Nikki Glaser, a comedian and radio host who Josh admires, gave him pivotal advice early in his career I want to hear from you! Have a question about writing or creativity for Sarah Enni or her guests to answer? To leave a voicemail, call (818) 533-1998. You can also email the podcast at firstdraftwithsarahenni@gmail.com. Subscribe To First Draft with Sarah Enni Every Tuesday, I speak to storytellers like Veronica Roth, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Divergent; Linda Holmes, New York Times bestselling author and host of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast; Jonny Sun, internet superstar, illustrator of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Gmorning, Gnight! and author and illustrator of Everyone’s an Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too; Michael Dante DiMartino, co-creator of Avatar: The Last Airbender; John August, screenwriter of Big Fish, Charlie’s Angels, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; or Rhett Miller, musician and frontman for The Old 97s. Together, we take deep dives on their careers and creative works. Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. It’s free! Rate, Review, and Recommend How do you like the show? Please take a moment to rate and review First Draft with Sarah Enni in Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Your honest and positive review helps others discover the show -- so thank you! Is there someone you think would love this podcast as much as you do? Please share this episode on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or via carrier pigeon (maybe try a text or e-mail, come to think of it). Just click the Share button at the bottom of this post! Thanks again!
Direct download: Josh_Gondelman_FINAL.mp3
Category: Literature
-- posted at: 10:16am PDT
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Tue, 10 September 2019
First Draft Episode #208: David Yoon David Yoon, debut author of Frankly in Love, talks about how writing a rom-com turned into writing about his greatest fears; portraying aspirational male friendships; and working to be able to write from a place of unconditional love. Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode - The term “latchkey kid” refers to a child who returns from school to an empty home, or a child who is often left at home with little parental supervision, because their parent or parents are away at work.
- David was reading Stephen King at an early age, as well as The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway and Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence were some of the books David read at an early age, at his dad’s behest
- David is married to fellow YA author, Nicola Yoon, writer of New York Times bestselling books Everything Everything and The Sun is Also a Star (listen to her episode of First Draft here)
- BTS is the only Kpop David knows
- The TV show VEEP can be mean-spirited, but it’s so good at it that people still love it
- David did the JET Program, the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program, for three years after college
- David and Nicola both attended Emerson college to get their MFA
- David was channeling Haruki Murakami (author of Norwegian Wood and Kafka on the Shore) in that program, and Nicola was channeling Ann Beattie (author of Chilly Scenes of Winter and Walks With Men)
- David was in the Emerson MFA program with Gregg Rosenblum author of the Revolution 19 series
- I share my fav quote from Leigh Bardugo, New York Times bestselling author of the books in the Grishaverse, including the Shadow and Bone trilogy, the Six of Crows duology, and the King of Scars duology, as well as author of forthcoming adult novel, Ninth House (listen to her episodes of First Draft here and here)
- The addictions of writers like Truman Capote and Gertrude Stein are often romanticized. In Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert tackles the masculine language of pain and suffering surrounding art, dispelling the myth that writers need those things to be creative
- When David watched Frozen, he wanted to know what happened with the parents
- David’s favorite advice is from Margaret Atwood: “Read, read, read. Write, write, write.” He adds: Go to therapy.
I want to hear from you! Have a question about writing or creativity for Sarah Enni or her guests to answer? To leave a voicemail, call (818) 533-1998. You can also email the podcast at firstdraftwithsarahenni@gmail.com. Subscribe To First Draft with Sarah Enni Every Tuesday, I speak to storytellers like Veronica Roth, author of Divergent; Linda Holmes, author and host of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast; Jonny Sun, internet superstar, illustrator of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Gmorning, Gnight! and author and illustrator of Everyone’s an Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too; Michael Dante DiMartino, co-creator of Avatar: The Last Airbender; John August, screenwriter of Big Fish, Charlie’s Angels, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; or Rhett Miller, musician and frontman for The Old 97s. Together, we take deep dives on their careers and creative works. Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. It’s free! Rate, Review, and Recommend How do you like the show? Please take a moment to rate and review First Draft with Sarah Enni in Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Your honest and positive review helps others discover the show -- so thank you! Is there someone you think would love this podcast as much as you do? Please share this episode on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or via carrier pigeon (maybe try a text or e-mail, come to think of it). Just click the Share button at the bottom of this post! Thanks again!
Direct download: David_Yoon_FINAL.mp3
Category: Literature
-- posted at: 11:14am PDT
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Tue, 3 September 2019
First Draft Episode #208: Mary H. K. Choi Mary H. K. Choi, New York Times bestselling author of Emergency Contact, and host of podcasts Hey, Cool Job and Hey, Cool Life!. Her newest YA contemporary book, Permanent Record, is out now! We talk about addiction and fiction, loving and writing boys who fight against toxic masculinity, and fighting against “I’ll be perfect when…” thoughts. Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode -
Stephen King, John Grisham, and airport novels were some of the first things Mary picked up when she moved to Texas and became a reader -
Mary compares moving, learning to read, and realizing she could *remember* what she read as Bradley Cooper discovering the mind-expanding possibilities in Limitless (movie) -
Mass Appeal was the graffiti magazine Mary went to work for, and they now do documentaries, including the recent Wu-Tang doc, Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men (tv series) -
“Like. Flirt. Ghost: A Journey Into the Social Media Lives of Teens,” an article Mary wrote for WIRED, is fantastic and everyone should read it -
Hold the door open for other writers. Be like Hodor -
“Mary H. K. Choi Wanted to Write a Book Where ‘High-Key Nothing Happens,” by Joanna Mikas and Tracy Ma for The New York Times -
Bo Burnam, comedian and writer and director of Eighth Grade (movie) -
Shanna the She-Devil (comic book) and Lady Deadpool (comic book) -
Mary wrote D. J. Khaled’s The Keys (book) -
Edward Orloff with McCormick is Mary’s current agent -
Zareen Jaffery is Mary’s editor at Simon & Schuster. Zareen has also worked with Jenny Han on To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and The Summer I Turned Pretty series (listen to her episode of First Draft here), and with Siobhan Vivian on The Last Boy and Girl in the World and Stay Sweet (hear Siobhan on a live panel episode of First Draft here). However, Morgan Matson’s editor is actually Justin Chanda, also at Simon & Schuster (listen to Morgan’s First Draft episodes here and here)! -
“I love my mom a not-normal amount and it makes me crazy,” an article Mary wrote for Aeon about her mom which went viral -
The Joaquin Phoenix movie, Her, is akin to how Mary felt exploring the idea of falling in love over text -
Mary references Justin Bieber’s first appearance on The Ellen Show. Watch it and be transported to a time when he was a mere bb -
There are some similarities between Permanent Record and the Hugh Grant/Julia Roberts film Notting Hill, which is a classic -
Mary and I are now both obsessed with Brené Brown, author of Daring Greatly and The Gifts of Imperfection -
The New York slang that Mary uses in the book is a love letter to Desus & Mero (who went from YouTube channel to their podcast, Bodega Boys, to a VICE and now a Showtime TV show) and Mary’s friends who run the podcast Chillin Island -
Maslov’s Hierarchy of Needs is awesome but it does not include mental health -
Mary is a part of Overeaters Anonymous -
Holly Black talked to me in her episode (listen here) about the depressive state she fell into after publishing her first book I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Have a question about writing or creativity for Sarah Enni or her guests to answer? To leave a voicemail, call (818) 533-1998. You can also email the podcast at firstdraftwithsarahenni@gmail.com. SUBSCRIBE TO FIRST DRAFT WITH SARAH ENNI Every Tuesday, I speak to storytellers like Veronica Roth, author of Divergent; Linda Holmes, author and host of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast; Jonny Sun, internet superstar, illustrator of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Gmorning, Gnight! and author and illustrator of Everyone’s an Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too; Michael Dante DiMartino, co-creator of Avatar: The Last Airbender; John August, screenwriter of Big Fish, Charlie’s Angels, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; or Rhett Miller, musician and frontman for The Old 97s. Together, we take deep dives on their careers and creative works. Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. It’s free! RATE, REVIEW, AND RECOMMEND How do you like the show? Please take a moment to rate and review First Draft with Sarah Enni in Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Your honest and positive review helps others discover the show -- so thank you! Is there someone you think would love this podcast as much as you do? Please share this episode on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or via carrier pigeon (maybe try a text or e-mail, come to think of it). Just click the Share button at the bottom of this post! Thanks again!
Direct download: Mary_H_K_Choi_FINAL.mp3
Category: Literature
-- posted at: 8:58am PDT
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Tue, 27 August 2019
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First Draft Episode #207: Sara Farizan, Katie Cotugno, and Sarah Enni at Trident Booksellers and Cafe in Boston I was thrilled to do an event with Sara Farizan--author of Here to Stay, Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel, and If You Could Be Mine--and Katie Cotugno--New York Times bestselling author of How to Love, 99 Days, Top Ten, and Fireworks. We met at Trident Booksellers and Cafe, Sara and Katie’s local bookstore in Boston, to discuss sexy first responders for all your needs, writing humor in contemporary stories, and letting characters make mistakes. Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode I want to hear from you! Have a question about writing or creativity for Sarah Enni or her guests to answer? To leave a voicemail, call (818) 533-1998. You can also email the podcast at firstdraftwithsarahenni@gmail.com. Subscribe To First Draft with Sarah Enni Every Tuesday, I speak to storytellers like Veronica Roth, author of Divergent; Linda Holmes, author and host of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast; Jonny Sun, internet superstar, illustrator of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Gmorning, Gnight! and author and illustrator of Everyone’s an Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too; Michael Dante DiMartino, co-creator of Avatar: The Last Airbender; John August, screenwriter of Big Fish, Charlie’s Angels, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; or Rhett Miller, musician and frontman for The Old 97s. Together, we take deep dives on their careers and creative works. Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. It’s free! Rate, Review, and Recommend How do you like the show? Please take a moment to rate and review First Draft with Sarah Enni in Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Your honest and positive review helps others discover the show -- so thank you! Is there someone you think would love this podcast as much as you do? Please share this episode on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or via carrier pigeon (maybe try a text or e-mail, come to think of it). Just click the Share button at the bottom of this post! Thanks again!
Direct download: Sara_F__Katie_C_live_event_FINAL.mp3
Category: Literature
-- posted at: 8:38am PDT
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Tue, 20 August 2019
First Draft Episode #206: Stephanie Perkins and Sarah Enni I was thrilled to do an event with Stephanie Perkins, New York Times bestselling author of Anna and the French Kiss, editor of My True Love Gave to Me, and many more. We met at Malaprop’s, Stephanie’s local bookstore in Asheville, North Carolina, to discuss villains in contemporary stories, our favorite podcasts, and the upcoming Netflix movie based on Stephanie’s most recent novel, There’s Someone Inside Your House! Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode -
In Tell Me Everything By Sarah Enni, the main character Ivy uses a Post Secret type app called Veil and is faced with the moral ambiguity of social media apps. Ivy deals with the negativity of social media and twisting herself into knots trying to defend something that is special to her. -
The first time that Sarah was in Asheville she was interviewed Beth Revis (Author of Across The Universe, listen to her episode of First Draft here), Meagan Spooner (Author of The Starbound Trilogy , listen to her episode of First Draft here), and Megan Sheperd (Author of Grim Lovelies, listen to her episode of First Draft here) for First Draft and she was able to reach out to them through Twitter. She believes that social media is morally gray because sites like Twitter have helped her make friends and connect with people but have also dismantled other peoples lives. -
The creator of the app Veil is a villain called Rake Burmkezerg which is an acronym for Mark Zuckerberg. Rake creates an app that fosters a lot of negativity but wants to take no accountability for it which is what makes him the villain. -
During her writing process, Sarah got the chance to explore her feelings about the people who have created the systems that are in charge and so much apart of our lives now e.g. Larry Ellison (Founder of Oracle Corporation) , Mark Zuckerberg (CEO of Facebook) and Jack Dorsey (CEO of Twitter). They manage a huge part of their lives and are met with almost no accountability. -
Stephanie was previously seen as an exclusively Romance genre was always interested in True Crime, Horror and Thrillers. There’s Someone Inside Your House is her first thriller. -
Scream (movie), was very influential to Stephanie as a child and turned her from a very frightened child into someone who saw how fun they could be and how they could be a safe place to explore your fears. -
Most of Stephanie’s horror background comes from Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton as well as Stephen King novels. -
There’s Someone Inside Your House is a very traditional thriller but Stephanie wanted to keep the killer's point of view out of it. Since our society celebrates villains like Hannibal Lecter and Freddy vs. Jason (movie) she wanted to take that element out of the story and focus on the victims. -
Netflix has purchased There’s Someone Inside Your House a year ago and Stephanie has received the script! Henry Gayden is the screenwriter for the project and also the screenwriter for Shazam! (movie) as well as the Spider-man: Into the Spiderverse sequel (movie). -
Judy Blume’s books talk about Belted undergarments and are dated but still end up being universal and timeless. So Sarah doesn’t worry about her books becoming dated and writes about what is relevant to her book now. -
Sarah Enni’s First Draft Podcast episode in which she talks about her positive high school experience which also inspired the high school in Tell Me Everything. -
In the eighth grade, Sarah realized her favorite movie Rushmore was her favorite movie and Radiohead was her favorite band. And she still goes back to that person to check in to make sure she’s still in touch with it and that’s were her pull to the YA genre came from. -
Sarah loves NPR and started this podcast because she always wanted to be Nina Totenberg. -
Sarah and Stephanie podcast recommendations: How Did This Get Made, Welcome to Nightvale, Truth and Justice with Bob Ruff, and My Favorite Murder. -
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis was very influential to Stephanie to the point where she named her cat Mr. Tumnus. -
When writing Anna and the French Kiss, Lola and the Boy Next Door and Isla and the Happily Ever After, Stephanie wanted to take elements of fairy-tales and even paranormal romance and pull that off with a realistic ending. She wanted the idea of two teenagers who are meant to be and will be together forever. I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Have a question about writing or creativity for Sarah Enni or her guests to answer? To leave a voicemail, call (818) 533-1998. You can also email the podcast at firstdraftwithsarahenni@gmail.com. SUBSCRIBE TO FIRST DRAFT WITH SARAH ENNI Every Tuesday, I speak to storytellers like Veronica Roth, author of Divergent; Linda Holmes, author and host of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast; Jonny Sun, internet superstar, illustrator of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Gmorning, Gnight! and author and illustrator of Everyone’s an Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too; Michael Dante DiMartino, co-creator of Avatar: The Last Airbender; John August, screenwriter of Big Fish, Charlie’s Angels, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; or Rhett Miller, musician and frontman for The Old 97s. Together, we take deep dives on their careers and creative works. Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. It’s free! RATE, REVIEW, AND RECOMMEND How do you like the show? Please take a moment to rate and review First Draft with Sarah Enni in Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Your honest and positive review helps others discover the show -- so thank you! Is there someone you think would love this podcast as much as you do? Please share this episode on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or via carrier pigeon (maybe try a text or e-mail, come to think of it). Just click the Share button at the bottom of this post! Thanks again!
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Tue, 13 August 2019
First Draft Episode #205: Kendare Blake, Somaiya Daud, and Sarah Enni at the University Bookstore in Seattle Pantsing and world building with Kendare Blake, author of the Three Dark Queens trilogy and Anna Dressed in Blood; Somaiya Daud, author of Mirage; and Sarah Enni, author of Tell Me Everything and host of this podcast! This episode is audio from the March 2019 event at The University Bookstore in Seattle, Washington. Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode -
Kendare wore a Jeff Goldblum T-shirt in honor of Tell Me Everything! -
Sarah wanted Sudden Cove, the town in Tell Me Everything to feel like a Stars Hollow (from the Gilmore Girls) of the west coast, or like Pawnee from Parks and Recreation. -
The Bigfoot Discovery Museum is real, Sarah did go there with fellow YA and MG author Kirsten Hubbard (author of Wanderlove, Watch the Sky, Race the Night and more -- listen to her First Draft interview here!) -
The purveyor of the Bigfoot Discovery Museum was a man who looked just like George R. R. Martin, author of the Game of Thrones series -
The Bees by Laline Paull, is a book from the point of view of bees -
Somaiya is inspired by Star Wars (especially the prequel trilogy, The Phantom Menace) and the work of J. R. R. Tolkien, author of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, but she also really loves The Silmarillion. -
MoPOP, a modern art museum in Seattle that hosted the Star Wars costume exhibit when it was in town -
Dealing in Dreams by Lilliam Rivera also explores the world of a matriarchy -
Somaiya uses Scrivener to organize her extensive historical documents that she writes before she drafts her books -
Aeon Timeline is timeline software Somaiya paid for to create a 1,000-year history of the world of her book -
I get to discuss Yucca Mountain, where we should be sending all of America’s radioactive waste! I want to hear from you! Have a question about writing or creativity for Sarah Enni or her guests to answer? To leave a voicemail, call (818) 533-1998. You can also email the podcast at firstdraftwithsarahenni@gmail.com. Subscribe To First Draft with Sarah Enni Every Tuesday, I speak to storytellers like Veronica Roth, author of Divergent; Linda Holmes, author and host of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast; Jonny Sun, internet superstar, illustrator of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Gmorning, Gnight! and author and illustrator of Everyone’s an Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too; Michael Dante DiMartino, co-creator of Avatar: The Last Airbender; John August, screenwriter of Big Fish, Charlie’s Angels, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; or Rhett Miller, musician and frontman for The Old 97s. Together, we take deep dives on their careers and creative works. Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. It’s free! Rate, Review, and Recommend How do you like the show? Please take a moment to rate and review First Draft with Sarah Enni in Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Your honest and positive review helps others discover the show -- so thank you! Is there someone you think would love this podcast as much as you do? Please share this episode on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or via carrier pigeon (maybe try a text or e-mail, come to think of it). Just click the Share button at the bottom of this post! Thanks again!
Direct download: Seattle_Event_FINAL.mp3
Category: Literature
-- posted at: 8:57am PDT
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Tue, 6 August 2019
First Draft Episode #204: Siobhan Vivian, Kami Garcia, Stephanie Kate Strohm, and Jessica Brody on the “Pitter Patter: Writing Fresh Love Stories” from YALLFest 2018 Young Adult romcoms were the subject of the “Pitter Patter: Writing Fresh Love Stories” panel at YALLFest on Nov. 8, 2018. Hear contemporary romance writers compare makeout daydreams, talk about writing love in a time of #MeToo, and the lack of appreciation for stories with happy endings. Featuirng: Kami Garcia, New York Times bestselling author of Beautiful Creatures and The Lovely Reckless and Broken, Beautiful Hearts, and more; Stephanie Kate Srtohm, author of Prince in Disguise, It’s Not Me It’s You and Love a la Mode and more; Siobhan Vivian, author of Stay Sweet and The List, The Last Boy and Girl in the World, and more; and Jessica Brody, Sky Without Stars, 52 Reasons to Hate My Father, Save the Cat! Writes a Novel: The Last Book on Novel Writing That You’ll Ever Need and more. Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode I want to hear from you! Have a question about writing or creativity for Sarah Enni or her guests to answer? To leave a voicemail, call (818) 533-1998. You can also email the podcast at firstdraftwithsarahenni@gmail.com. Subscribe To First Draft with Sarah Enni Every Tuesday, I speak to storytellers like Veronica Roth, author of Divergent; Linda Holmes, author and host of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast; Jonny Sun, internet superstar, illustrator of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Gmorning, Gnight! and author and illustrator of Everyone’s an Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too; Michael Dante DiMartino, co-creator of Avatar: The Last Airbender; John August, screenwriter of Big Fish, Charlie’s Angels, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; or Rhett Miller, musician and frontman for The Old 97s. Together, we take deep dives on their careers and creative works. Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. It’s free! Rate, Review, and Recommend How do you like the show? Please take a moment to rate and review First Draft with Sarah Enni in Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Your honest and positive review helps others discover the show -- so thank you! Is there someone you think would love this podcast as much as you do? Please share this episode on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or via carrier pigeon (maybe try a text or e-mail, come to think of it). Just click the Share button at the bottom of this post! Thanks again!
Direct download: YallWest_Panel_FINAL.mp3
Category: Literature
-- posted at: 10:01am PDT
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Tue, 30 July 2019
First Draft Episode #202: D.C. Pierson D.C. Pierson, comedian, writer, filmmaker and author of The Boy Who Couldn’t Sleep and Never Had To and Crap Kingdom, and co-writer and star of indie comedy movie Mystery Team, talks about getting more vulnerable with age, using his fiction to explore the gap between what we expect of the world and what turns out to be true, and being sick of not finishing things. Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode -
Dan Eckman and Meggie McFadden are two comedians D.C. has worked with for years, in part on an adaptation of D.C.’s first book, The Boy Who Couldn’t Sleep and Never Had To -
D.C. loved the cover of his dad’s copy of Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton -
Rubber Soul was the one Beatles album D.C.’s family had on cassette or CD -
In conjunction with the documentary The Beatles Anthology, detailed compilations of Beatles ephemera were released in three double-CD sets: Anthology 1, Anthology 2, and Anthology 3. D.C. listened to these more than the regular Beatles albums, which means he listened to a lot of alternate versions of songs and random studio chatter. He credits that with jumpstarting much of his curiosity as a storyteller. -
While D.C. attended the Rita and Burton Goldberg School of Dramatic Writing at NYU’s Tisch Institute of Performing Arts, one of his teachers was Charlie Rubin, who wrote for Seinfeld and In Living Color, and was a showrunner for Law & Order: Criminal Intent -
Derick was D.C.’s improv group which formed at NYU, made up of D.C. Pierson, Dominic Dierkes, Donald Glover, Dan Eckman, and Maggie McFadden -
Mystery Team was a fully independently-made movie that the Derick Comedy group made, which had a screening at Sundance, and led the group to move to Los Angeles -
Upright Citizens Brigade improv theater is where D.C. honed his comedy and performing chops during and after college -
The concept for Mystery Team is basically: what if characters from Encyclopedia Brown never really grew out of their idealized, 1950s childhood, and kept trying to solve crimes? -
Donald shared what he learned writing for 30 Rock (with Tina Fey, Robert Carlock, Matt Hubbard, Kay Cannon) with his Derick Comedy friends to help them write a tight script for Mystery Team -
Nathan Rabin, who wrote for The A.V. Club at the time, wrote a glowing review there for Mystery Team that D.C. credits with helping the movie gain momentum -
A passing encouraging comment from comedian, actor, writer, and musician Eliza Skinner gave D.C. the boost he needed to start writing a book -
Dianne McGunigle, manager and a producer of Atlanta, was D.C. agent at the time that he wrote a first draft of The Boy Who Couldn’t Sleep… and she read it quickly, a favor for which D.C. is forever grateful -
Gerry Howard, who edited David Foster Wallace’s The Broom of the System and Girl with Curious Hair, as well as Hanya Yanagihara’s A Little Life, was the editor D.C. worked with for The Boy Who Couldn’t Sleep… D.C. was starstruck to be going to the offices where Sloane Crosley—essayist and writer known for I Was Told There’d Be Cake, How Did You Get This Number and her newest, Look Alive Out There—also worked. -
The Los Angeles Times gave The Boy Who Couldn’t Sleep… a lovely review -
D.C. was inspired by psychologist Carol Dweck’s book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success -
One of D.C.’s favorite English teachers sent him Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham provided a quote that summed up what he likes to explore in all his writing -
To me, Crap Kingdom is asking, “What if Lord of the Rings was deeply uncool?” -
Stephen King’s On Writing is one of the writing books that has inspired D.C. in his fiction process -
One of D.C.’s earliest imrpov teachers, Owen Burke, referred to the following passage from Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia, on the endurance of human thought and creation: “We shed as we pick up, like travellers who must carry everything in their arms, and what we let fall will be picked up by those behind. The procession is very long and life is very short. We die on the march. But there is nothing outside the march so nothing can be lost to it. The missing plays of Sophocles will turn up piece by piece, or be written again in another language. Ancient cures for diseases will reveal themselves once more. Mathematical discoveries glimpsed and lost to view will have their time again. You do not suppose, my lady, that if all of Archimedes had been hiding in the great library of Alexandria, we would be at a loss for a corkscrew?” -
D.C. sometimes teaches at Writing Pad, a writing program offered online and in L.A./S.F. Subscribe To First Draft with Sarah Enni Every Tuesday, I speak to storytellers like Veronica Roth, author of Divergent; Linda Holmes, author and host of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast; Jonny Sun, internet superstar, illustrator of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Gmorning, Gnight! and author and illustrator of Everyone’s an Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too; Michael Dante DiMartino, co-creator of Avatar: The Last Airbender; John August, screenwriter of Big Fish, Charlie’s Angels, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; or Rhett Miller, musician and frontman for The Old 97s. Together, we take deep dives on their careers and creative works. Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. It’s free! Participate To leave a voicemail for a future episode, call 818-533-1998. Or you can email the show at firstdraftwithsarahenni@gmail.com. Rate, Review, and Recommend How do you like the show? Please take a moment to rate and review First Draft with Sarah Enni in Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Your honest and positive review helps others discover the show -- so thank you! Is there someone you think would love this podcast as much as you do? Please share this episode on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or via carrier pigeon (maybe try a text or e-mail, come to think of it). Just click the Share button at the bottom of this post! Thanks again!
Direct download: D.C._Pierson_FINAL.mp3
Category: Literature
-- posted at: 8:23am PDT
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Tue, 30 July 2019
First Draft Episode #203: Simon Curtis Simon Curtis, pop star, actor, and author of Boy Robot and its forthcoming sequel. Listen to his brand-new singles, “Graduate” and “Rainbow” now! Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode -
Simon’s first big gig was as a part of the children’s choir for a national touring production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat -
Simon’s “It Gets Better” video for The Trevor Project is beautiful and heartbreaking and very worth a watch. -
Early on when he got to LA, Simon was able to audition for Johnny Wright, manager for acts like New Kids on the Block, the Backstreet Boys, N*SYNC, Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears and more. -
Simon starred in Spectacular! a Nickelodeon TV movie -
Simon made his first album, 8 Bit Heart, after challenges in his acting career threw him into a depression -
LeVar Burton from Reading Rainbow and Michael Scott, author of The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series, were two of the earliest voices encouraging Simon to write a novel -
Michael Strother, who became Simon’s editor at Simon Pulse, first reached out to Simon as a supportive fan of his music online as @CupcakeAndy -
I reference Sabaa Tahir’s author journey, where she spent six years writing her first novel, Ember in the Ashes, and then had to turn around and write the sequel in waaaaaay less time. Sabaa talks about this (and so much more!) in her episode of First Draft. -
Simon recorded and released R∆ while he was writing Boy Robot (the book) -
Ariana Grande’s “Thank U Next” is on the level with Simon’s purposeful cultivation of gratitude -
Simon’s song “Love” was a song that hit him like a lightning bolt -
Janet Jackson’s The Velvet Rope album is a full ALBUM, not a collection of singles -
Simon was obsessed with Swedish pop groups A Teens and Play -
Five years ago Simon discovered Fleetwood Mac, iconic band featuring Stevie Nicks, check our Rumours and be forever changed -
Kacey Musgraves’ album Golden Hour was so freaking rad and reshaped Simon’s taste in music -
Victoria Aveyard (author of the Red Queen series; listen to her First Draft interviews here and here) had a conversation about not asking people to read their books — Simon takes an opposite approach: “Bitch, read my book!” -
I will never stop crying watching the part of Netflix documentary, Knock Down the House, when Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) gives herself the most badass pep-talk I want to hear from you! To leave a voicemail for a future episode, call 818-533-1998. Or you can email the show at firstdraftwithsarahenni@gmail.com. Subscribe To First Draft with Sarah Enni Every Tuesday, I speak to storytellers like Veronica Roth, author of Divergent; Linda Holmes, author and host of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast; Jonny Sun, internet superstar, illustrator of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Gmorning, Gnight! and author and illustrator of Everyone’s an Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too; Michael Dante DiMartino, co-creator of Avatar: The Last Airbender; John August, screenwriter of Big Fish, Charlie’s Angels, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; or Rhett Miller, musician and frontman for The Old 97s. Together, we take deep dives on their careers and creative works. Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. It’s free! Rate, Review, and Recommend How do you like the show? Please take a moment to rate and review First Draft with Sarah Enni in Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Your honest and positive review helps others discover the show -- so thank you! Is there someone you think would love this podcast as much as you do? Please share this episode on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or via carrier pigeon (maybe try a text or e-mail, come to think of it). Just click the Share button at the bottom of this post! Thanks again!
Direct download: Simon_Curtis_FINAL.mp3
Category: Literature
-- posted at: 7:56am PDT
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Thu, 18 July 2019
First Draft Episode #201: Gaby Dunn Gaby Dunn, co-author of the New York Times bestselling young adult novel I Hate Everyone But You with her writing partner Alison Raskin. The sequel, Please Send Help, is out now! Gaby and Alison also host the Just Between Us podcast and YouTube channel. Gaby is also the host of the podcast Bad With Money and author of the book Bad with Money: The Imperfect Art of Getting Your Financial Sh*t Together. LINKS AND TOPICS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE -
Listen to Gaby’s first episode of First Draft with her co-author and comedy partner Allison Raskin here -
Gaby has a money book that came out in January called Bad With Money based on her podcast of the same name. -
Started the Bad With Money podcast because she is not a money expert at all and wanted to ask basic finance questions like “What is a stock?” or “What is a 401k?”. -
CNBC is a business and finance-based TV network (which was the launching pad for Suze Orman, financial adviser and TV host, author of Women and Money and The Road to Wealth, who has appeared on Gaby’s show) -
Gerrymandering Case in which hard drives of a deceased Republican strategist were discovered, and he was understood to be encouraging a top census official to add a citizenship question to the survey for political gain. -
Gaby Dunn and Allison Raskin’s YouTube Channel “Just Between Us”, which is an LA based odd-couple comedy channel. It has now shifted over to a podcast format. -
Gaby went to school for journalism and when she had to interview people and ask a tough question she would give a story of her own first so people would feel like they were talking to a real person. Gaby relates it to the 30 Rock bit were Tracy Morgan feels like he’s lost touch with his audience. -
In her recent novel, Gaby talks about It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (TV show) and feeling like the character Charlie during the “There is no Carol in HR!” scene. -
Gaby and Allison Raskin sold their first novel, I Hate Everyone But You, in a bidding war between Macmillan and Simon and Schuster. Simon and Schuster won the bid but Gaby signed a deal for a solo book with Macmillan. -
Broke Millennial and Broke Millennial Takes on Investing by Erin Lowry -
Gaby talked with Suze Orman off the record and agreed to disagree on the importance of systemic issues. -
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (TV show) -
Please Send Help takes place four years after I Hate Everyone But You to match the growth of the readers and becomes a cross over between the Young Adult and Adult Genre. -
Bury The Lede is a Crime Thriller and Gaby’s first graphic novel. She wanted to move away from comedy and towards crime procedurals. Gaby pitches Bury The Lede as Killing Eve (TV show) or Lesbian Hannibal (TV show). -
Gaby draws on her experience as an intern at The Boston Globe where she would show up to work, get a police radio, and drive around looking for stories. -
Gaby worked at the Boston Globe while the case of Clark Rockefeller was unfolding. Clark Rockefeller was the pseudonym of Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, convicted murderer and imposter who posed as an American socialite, and was eventually arrested for kidnapping his daughter following a contentious divorce. “The Man in the Rockefeller Suit,” written by Mark Seal for Vanity Fair, is a great piece on the case, and the movie Gaby mentions is Who is Clark Rockefeller? starring Eric McCormack of Will & Grace. -
Boom Studios is publishing her graphic novel. They have also published Lumberjanes, Heavy Vinyl, and The Avant-guards. Gaby’s editor is Dafna Pleban. -
Claire Roe and Miquel Muerto are the artists for Bury The Lede. -
Emily Heller (Stand-up Comedian), Jon Gabrus (Actor and Comedian), and Dave Holmes (Author, TV host, and critic) are a few of the guests that have been on the Just Between Us podcast. -
S1E2 of Bad With Money features Gaby’s session with Brad Klontz, financial therapist and author of Mind over Money: Overcoming the Money Disorders That Threaten Our Financial Health SUBSCRIBE TO FIRST DRAFT WITH SARAH ENNI Every Tuesday, I speak to storytellers like Veronica Roth, author of Divergent; Linda Holmes, author and host of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast; Jonny Sun, internet superstar, illustrator of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Gmorning, Gnight! and author and illustrator of Everyone’s an Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too; Michael Dante DiMartino, co-creator of Avatar: The Last Airbender; John August, screenwriter of Big Fish, Charlie’s Angels, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; or Rhett Miller, musician and frontman for The Old 97s. Together, we take deep dives on their careers and creative works. Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. It’s free! RATE, REVIEW, AND RECOMMEND How do you like the show? Please take a moment to rate and review First Draft with Sarah Enni in Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Your honest and positive review helps others discover the show -- so thank you! Is there someone you think would love this podcast as much as you do? Please share this episode on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or via carrier pigeon (maybe try a text or e-mail, come to think of it). Just click the Share button at the bottom of this post! Thanks again!
Direct download: Gaby_Dunn_FINAL.mp3
Category: Literature
-- posted at: 9:38am PDT
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