amwriting – Page 8 – Jonathon Mast: Author

Publish? Perish?

The Keeper of Tales came out over three months ago now. I’m pretty proud of it. But something interesting has happened… sales have dropped off. It’s not getting all that much attention, as far as I can tell. Now that’s not uncommon in the least. Most books make their best sales within the first monthContinue reading “Publish? Perish?”

Eat a Book

Before you feed others, you gotta eat yourself. No. Don’t eat yourself. That’s just weird. I mean, you gotta eat something for yourself. Like, before you cook something for someone else, you gotta make sure you’re eating, or else you’ll pass out and then no one gets food! It’s something that I tell others. IfContinue reading “Eat a Book”

Using Slang to Spice Up a World

Oi! You gonna shilly-shally here, you tuft-hunter? Well, don’t be kicksy! Pull up a chair and let’s voker, shall we? Right. So, my forthcoming novel, Dragons of the Ashfall, takes place in Londinium, an imaginary steampunk city. And when you’re in a steampunk setting, your characters should talk that way. If they speak like 21stContinue reading “Using Slang to Spice Up a World”

I Lost My Pants

I had no idea where the novel was going. When I wrote the rough draft of The Keeper of Tales, I really had no idea what was going on. Who were the characters? What was this world? When I began, all I had was a feeling I wanted to replicate. I wanted the story toContinue reading “I Lost My Pants”

Depression Doesn’t Make Art

All the great artists were messed up. Picasso fell into a huge depression, and look at what he produced. Just imagine, if he had medication, how much art we would have missed out on. … Okay, if someone says that to you, deck them. Maybe not deck them. At least not physically. But tell them:Continue reading “Depression Doesn’t Make Art”