Author Archives: Jared Sandman

Richard Matheson passed away this week at the age of 87.  Anyone who follows this blog has heard me mention that name many times before, and for good reason.  Matheson was a huge influence on my writing, one of three … Continue reading →

This week Amazon premiered a new feature through its upstart movie studio.  It’s called Amazon Storyteller, and you can read about it here.  Basically it’ll turn any uploaded screenplay into a rough storyboard, which can help both writers and producers in … Continue reading →

Couple of notable items this morning, as a tropical storm sweeps overhead and the rain keeps coming down.  First is an article from i09 about sci-fi writers and their workspaces.  I find it interesting to dissect a writer’s work area and see the actual spot … Continue reading →

Last week Joss Whedon gave the commencement speech at his alma mater, Wesleyan University.  Here’s the complete transcript, full of that trademark Whedon wit and pathos.  He talks about how Baby Boomers broke the world, and implores the next generation to fix it, … Continue reading →

The New York Times published a piece last week about the latest tool being utilized by Hollywood movie executives:  statistics and algorithms.  It sounds a lot like the sabermetrics chronicled in Moneyball, except applied to storytelling rather than sports.  This … Continue reading →

Special effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen passed away yesterday in London at the age of 92.  You’ll be hard pressed to find anyone who works in the SF genre (whether writing or filmmaking) who doesn’t owe a considerable debt to Harryhausen in … Continue reading →

This year’s nominees for the Shirley Jackson Award have been announced (taken from their website).  Congratulations to everyone; the winners will be revealed in July at Readercon 24. NOVEL The Drowning Girl, Caitlín R. Kiernan (ROC) The Devil in Silver, … Continue reading →

Jeremy Greenfield has an interesting article about writers as control freaks.  I agree with the sentiment; e-books allow writers to control many more variables (price, cover, meta-data, etc.) than traditional publishers allow.  Most variables are still out of authors’ hands, … Continue reading →

An interesting article from the New York Times about writers with terminal illnesses who throw themselves into their work during the final months.  Every author should be so lucky to be able to write up until the very end. And Neil Gaiman gave … Continue reading →

On Friday, April 19, I will be at the Progress Energy art gallery in New Port Richey for an authors’ soiree.  Several writers from the community will be in attendance, and it’s open to the public.  Drop by and say hello … Continue reading →