First Draft With Sarah Enni

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,

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

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 Th

First Draft Episode #200: Special Anniversary Episode For the 200th episode of the First Draft with Sarah Enni podcast, previous guests sent in answers to questions like, where do you turn for inspiration? What are you hopes and dreams at this moment in your career? What do you do besides writing that makes you a more skillful storyteller? And, of course, any advice! Listen in to hear tips, tricks, and reassurances and encouragement from dozens of bestselling and award-winning writers! People Featured, and Links and Topics Mentioned, In This Episode Podcasts I listened to obsessively, which inspired me to start this podcast, include Fresh Air with Teri Gross, WTF with Marc Maron, and You Made it Weird with Pete Holmes Veronica Roth, author of the Divergent series, Carve the Mark duology and the forthcoming short story collection, The End and Other Beginnings: Stories from the Future (listen to her First Draft podcasts here, here, and here) Kayla Cagan, author of Piper Perish and Art Boss (listen to her F

First Draft Episode #199: Robin Wasserman Robin Wasserman, New York Times bestselling author of adult novel Girls on Fire, as well as young adult novels The Waking Dark, The Book of Blood and Shadow, Hacking Harvard, The Cold Awakening series, the Seven Deadly Sins series. Her next novel, to come out with Scribner, is Mother Daughter Widow Wife. Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode Robin loved Diane Wynne Jones and Stephen King as a kid, particularly Salem’s Lot, The Stand, and It. (Robin wrote for The Atlantic about, “How Stephen King Saved My Life”) Johannes Kepler, a German astronomer, mathematician, and astrologer, about whom Robin would gladly talk about forever. (And I would listen!) Robin wrote her senior thesis about Dr. Timothy Leary, who co-conducted studies known as the Psilocybin Project, which sought to test whether psychedelics could cure the emotional pain of Western man. Leary was fired from Harvard when the ethics of his studies came into question, and went on to continue promoti

First Draft Episode #198: Jonny Sun Jonny Sun, Canadian author and illustrator of Everyone’s a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too and Gmorning, Gnight!, TV writer on BoJack Horseman, screenwriter, one of TIME Magazine's 25 Most Influential People on the Internet in 2017, and a doctoral candidate at MIT and a creative researcher at the Harvard metaLAB. Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode Jonny remembers watching The Muppet Show as a kid (even though in some ways that really isn’t a kids show), and later he realized that was why he loved sketch comedy Jonny loved reading Calvin and Hobbes as a kid, and he read a good amount of Charlie Brown, Zits, and The Far Side, all of which were comedy The Wayside School books by Louis Sachar was Jonny’s intro into absurdist humor He watched American Pie (movie) with his family, lol Playwright David Ives, who Jonny calls the theater version of sketch comedy Jonny played Nathan Detroit in a production of Guys and Dolls, and his best friend played Sky Masterson —

First Draft Episode #194: Linda Holmes Linda Holmes, pop-culture critic at NPR and co-host of the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast, is out with her debut author of Evvie Drake Starts Over. I loved what Linda had to say about how practicing appellate law helped hone her critical writing; getting used to listening to her own voice; how she manages anxiety and depression, and the difficulty in even acknowledging that she wanted to write a novel. Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode I got the good NPR shirt, and the soup-sized mug, when I visited Linda to interview her at NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C. Linda’s interview on The Hilarious World of Depression podcast Television Without Pity, which became Previously.tv, which recently became PrimerTimer.com! The Amazing Race was on the top of my mind when thinking about Television Without Pity Again With This, a podcast hosted by Sarah D. Bunting and Tara Ariano, two of the founders of Television Without Pity, who do episode-by-episode recaps of B

First Draft Episode #196: Kirsten “Kiwi” Smith, Amy Andelson, and Emily Meyer Kirsten “Kiwi” Smith, Amy Andelson, and Emily Meyer are the team behind Trinkets, the Netflix TV series based on Kiwi’s young adult novel of the same name. Kiwi Smith is one half of the screenwriting team behind films like 10 Things I Hate About You, Legally Blonde, Ella Enchanted, and more, and the author of young adult novels The Geography of Girlhood, and Trinkets. Amy Andelson and Emily Meyer are the writing team behind films like Step Up 3D, Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List, and the young adult novel Layover, and they adapted Trinkets and are credited as co-creators of the TV show. Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode Every listener should check out the first episode of First Draft with Sarah Enni with Amy Andelson and Emily Meyer, when we talked about her first novel, Layover 10 Things I Hate About You was shot at Stadium High School in Tacoma, Wash. Shooting Trinkets on location in Portland, Ore. was a way to differen

First Draft Episode #195: Jennifer Donnelly Jennifer Donnelly, New York Times bestselling author of A Northern Light, Revolution, These Shallow Graves, and The Tea Rose series (incl. The Tea Rose; The Winter Rose; The Wild Rose) and Waterfire Saga series (incl. Deep Blue; Rogue Wave; Dark Tide; Sea Spell), Beauty and the Beast: Lost in a Book, among others, who is back with the New York Times bestselling Stepsister. Jennifer talks about being raised on bedtime stories about life under the Hitler regime; how to deep-dive into writing a historical novel; and the joy of being obsessed. Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode Learn more about The First Draft Listener Club The New York Teen Author Carnival When Jennifer visited Portobello Road in East London, she felt like she was stepping back into the London of Charles Dickens (author of Great Expectations and A Tale of Two Cities), artist William Hogarth, Jack the Ripper (learn more with The Complete History of Jack the Ripper by Phillip Sugden), The L

First Draft Episode #194: Abdi Nazemian Abdi Nazemian, TV writer, producer of films like Call Me By Your Name, and author of Like a Love Story, The Authentics, and The Walk-In Closet, talks about discovering gay icons in the time before the internet, putting all your obsessions in your work, crying in coffee shops, and writing about history from an emotional standpoint, so we can repeat the best of it. Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode Abdi’s daughter has a PJ Harvey poster in her bedroom, which makes her the coolest seven-year-old on the block Archie comics were what turned Abdi into a voracious reader Andy Hardy, Christmas, and movies from the 30s and 40s were some of the Americana that made Abdi drawn to the U.S. culturally Tahereh Mafi, author of the Shatter Me series, A Very Large Expanse of Sea, Furthermore, and Whichwood (listen to Tahereh’s episode of First Draft here) Old TV shows like I Love Lucy were deliberately sexless Judy Garland and Joan Crawford were two women who had pub

First Draft Episode #193: Kate Spencer Kate Spencer, comedian, author of Dead Mom’s Club: A Memoir, and co-host of fabulous podcast Forever35 talks about the never-ending quest for confidence, exorcising grief and pain through writing, and how a podcast about serums became a podcast about feelings. Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode Amy Poehler, comedian, actress, writer, and director, who is not from the same town Kate is from, but they both grew up “outside Boston” Early on in childhood Kate fell for The BabySitter’s Club books by Ann M. Martin, and the Sweet Valley Twins series by Francine Pascal, and then she fell for Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin and The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Revisiting The Boxcar Children, written by Gertrude Chandler Warner, with her daughter was a special bonding experience Hatchet by Gary Paulsen and other “kids surviving intense circumstances” books are so fascinating, right?!? Kate

First Draft Episode #192: Lindsay Smith Lindsay Smith, author of the forthcoming Alchemy of War, as well as Sekret, Skandal, Dreamstrider, A Darkly Beating Heart, The Witch Who Came in From the Cold, and the Saints of Russalka series, talks about growing as a writer through D&D, refiguring her writing process after being diagnosed with ADHD, and learning to value more than just productivity. Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode Hear Lindsay Smith’s first episode of First Draft with Sarah Enni here Lindsay has an AlphaSmart keyboard that she takes on the D.C. train system so she can write while she commutes One “What if?” that got Lindsay writing Alchemy of War was, “What if I took Inglourious Basterds (movie) but it was like Stranger Things (TV show)?” Lindsay was inspired to write A Darkly Beating Heart, after visiting Japan and staying in a historically preserved town meant to preserve the Edo Period Lindsay researched Rasputin for the hot villain in the Saints of Russalka series, includ

First Draft Episode #191: Ryan Graudin Ryan Graudin, New York Times bestselling author of the Wolf by Wolf series, as well as Invictus and The Walled City, talks about staging Redwall battles in the backyard, how bad teachers inspired her love of history, and how restrictions at key times in her life led her imagination to flourish.   Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode The Redwall series by Brian Jacques The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis and The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander were among the fantasy stories Ryan devoured after she discovered Redwall AIM: AOL instant messenger Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine was a novel Ryan devoured, and was so upset by the fact that it didn’t have a sequel that she made her first foray into fan fiction Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien Bret Lott author of Oprah Book Club pick Jewel, who taught Ryan at the College of Charleston, where she majored in creative writing Cathedrals by Raymond Carver was the kind of high literary fiction

First Draft Episode #190: Stephanie Garber Stephanie Garber, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Caraval series, talks about turning to writing to escape burnout and depression from her first job, persevering when even her Mom told her the writing thing wasn’t meant to happen, and the things that make her nervous about releasing Finale, the final book in her breakout series. Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode The North Texas Teen Book Festival, which Stephanie and I were both in attendance this year. On the sidelines, we made time to sit down and chat for the podcast! SASE: an abbreviation for 'self-addressed stamped envelope.' An SASE is an envelope on which you have stuck a stamp and written your own name and address. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer; The Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld; and Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr were among the first YA books that Stephanie discovered when she was rediscovering writing, while battling burnout and depression at her first job out of college Big Su

First Draft Episode #189: David Iserson David Iserson, screenwriter of The Spy Who Dumped Me, writer on Saturday Night Live, United States of Tara, and New Girl, and author of YA novel Firecracker, talks about micro and macro humor, how unreliable narrators is one of the beautiful advantages of writing a book, co-writing as being in conversation with someone, and the merit of spite writing. Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode Encyclopedia Brown by Donald J. Sobol was one of the only books marketed to boys that David read as a young boy Judy Blume, author of Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret and Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, and Sweet Valley High by Francine Pascal were some of the books David read as a kid, because he wasn’t drawn to the “Boy who only throws strike-outs!” books B. Dalton Bookstore, where David would go shopping for books at the mall -- David says, “As a New Jersey pre-teen and teen, most of my memories are mall-related.” RIP B. Dalton! David was very, very into comic str

First Draft Episode #188: Ally Condie Ally Condie, New York Times bestselling author of the Matched series, as well as Summerlost and The Darkdeep, co-written with Brendan Reichs. In this conversation, Ally talks about what inspired her to get an MFA after establishing herself as a bestselling author, always working on two things at once, and how the 2016 election gave Ally enough rage to write her newest young adult novel, murderous revenge story The Last Voyage of Poe Blythe. Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode The Planet of the Apes movies, which were filmed near where Ally grew up in rural Utah Ally was inspired by a blog post by Shannon Hale, New York Times bestselling author of The Princess Academy and Austenland, where she wrote about writing 1,000 words a day. Ally was inspired by Shannon to commit to daily word goals. She started with 500. Lisa Mangum, editor at Shadow Mountain press, which released Ally’s first few books Brandon Mull, New York TImes bestselling author of the Fablehav

First Draft Episode #187: Will Hines Will Hines, improviser and actor, host of the podcast, “Screw It: We’re Just Going to Talk About the Beatles,” and author of How to be the Greatest Improviser on Earth joins me to talk about using his Tumblr to test audience engagement; the delicate nature of writing about a community you are a part of; his thorough approach to making the self-publication process as professional as possible; and his next (fictional) book about improv, co-written with fellow improviser Billy Merritt, Pirate Robot Ninja.   Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode Josh Simpson, an improviser and teacher at the Upright Citizens Brigade training school in Los Angeles, and co-host of The Meat, an improv podcast Jimmy Breslin, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and journalist, who wrote The Good Rat, The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight, and The World According to Breslin, and more The Upright Citizen’s Brigade, the improv group and school founded by Amy Poehler, Matt Besser, Matt Wa

First Draft Episode #184: Alfred Gough and Miles Millar   Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, the TV and screenwriting duo behind Smallville and Into the Badlands, join Sarah to talk about their debut thriller, Double Exposure. The guys talk about how, even after writing and/or producing more than 300 hours of television and movies, they are still engaged in learning and improving their craft; getting on the superhero train WAY before the MCU; and delivering a satisfying ending in books. Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode Bugs, a BBC One TV show created by UK-based Carnival Films (Agatha Christie’s Poirot; Downton Abbey; many others)  for which Al and Miles wrote two episodes The Hardy Boys series of children’s mysteries created by Edward Stratemeyer (who also created Nancy Drew)  and written by ghostwriters under the pen name Franklin W. Dixon The Peter Stark Producer program at USC, where Alfred and Miles met and learned all aspects of the film industry Laura Ziskin, producer of No Way Out, and Pretty

First Draft Episode #184: Rhett Miller Rhett Miller (find him on Twitter and Instagram), musician and writer, is a solo artist as well as lead singer of The Old 97s. His first book for children, No More Poems: A Book in Verse That Just Gets Worse, illustrated by Dan Santat (listen to his First Draft episode here). Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode How Rhett’s given name is Stewart Ransom, sorta like Ransom Riggs, author of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (listen to his First Draft podcast episode here) His childhood biking to the original location of Half-Price Books, now a national chain. Rhett tore through the Ian Fleming James Bond series as a kid And he got to meet one of his literary heroes, Kurt Vonnegut, in real life, but the interaction didn’t go quite as planned As a kid, Rhett’s mother would read aloud to them Helter Skelter, the account of the Charles Manson and Manson Family murders written by Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry I discuss how Jon Klassen was on First Dra

First Draft Episode #184: Bridget Tyler   Bridget Tyler (find her on Twitter and Instagram, too!), debut author of The Pioneer, comes to First Draft with Sarah Enni to talk about adventure and sci-fi, getting outside of her own bubble for storytelling perspective, avoiding the Leia-Han love story trope... and in a First Draft exclusive,  Bridget reveals the name of the sequel to The Pioneer! Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode Return of the Jedi, episode VI of the Star Wars saga The Nancy Drew series by Carolyn Keene (who was actually numerous ghostwriters)     The Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey and Todd McCaffrey The original Battlestar Galactica television series created by Glen A. Larson, who also co-created The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries TV series. Small world! Hunter, a mid-eighties crime drama featuring former American football player Fred Dryer Game of Thrones, the HBO television series based on George R.R. Martin’s fantasy book series, A Song of Ice and Fire