Top Menu

Posts By Caleb J. Ross

began writing his sophomore year of undergrad study when, tired of the formal art education then being taught, he abandoned the pursuit in the middle of a compositional drawing class. Major-less and fearful of losing his financial aid, he signed up to seek a degree in English Literature for no other reason than his lengthy history with the language. Coincidentally, this decision not only introduced him to writing but to reading as well. Prior this transition he had read three books. One of which he understood.

Guest Post from Author Kevin Haworth: Fiction vs. Non-Fiction

Kevin Haworth

The post below was written by author Kevin Haworth as part of his Famous Drownings in Literary History - Book Blog Tour. Learn more about Famous Drownings in Literary History at the publisher website. For a long time, I saw myself as a fiction writer.  But for me, fiction was always as much about the “real world” as it was about my own imagination.  For a future fiction writer, I was a very fact-oriented child; my most-read books were Zander Hollander’s Complete Handbook of Baseball series, a team-by-team listing of statistics, trivia, and odd personal info for every single major leaguer.  I read my share of fiction, too—everything from comic books to Jack London—but my shelves of sports encyclopedias, WWII histories, and pocket biographies always felt just as important in sparking my imagination. So it’s no surprise that writing my first novel involved a lot of reckoning with the facts. …

Read More

Week Five of Reading Harry Potter for Babies – THANK YOU!

This is it, the last video in my Reading Harry Potter for Babies series. Every year I raise money for March of Dimes, which is a foundation established to study the causes and develop cures for premature birth. This year, rather than simply beg friends and family for donations, I'm taking donations to read Harry Potter. More about this strange donation tactic at the full intro video here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCVBPVLXJAU I want to thank every single person who donated money to this great cause. In total, we raised over $600, which meant I had enough money to completely finish reading the first Harry Potter book, but more importantly that's $600 more dollars going toward the March of Dimes effort. Apologies if I mispronounce names Special Thanks to Simon West-Bulford (http://www.simonwb.com/) ManArchy Magazine (http://www.manarchymag.com) Jesse Wichterman Misty Bennett Gordon Highland (http://www.gordonhighland.com) Books and Booze podcast Renee Pickup (http://www.books-booze.com/ and http://www.youtube.com/user/BooksnBooze) Booktubers/Readers Chenoa Shannon…

Read More

Pixar’s Rules for Storytelling 8: Finish your story, let go even if it’s not perfect. In an ideal world you have both, but move on. Do better next time.

Yes, I am going to make a video for each of the Pixar's 22 Rules for Storytelling (the full list can be found here). Be sure to subscribe to this channel to not miss any of the forthcoming videos. I plan to release one/week. Rule #8: Finish your story, let go even if it’s not perfect. In an ideal world you have both, but move on. Do better next time. This time, I’m doing something a bit different: one shot, no cuts. I figure what better way to explore the idea of moving on to new projects than to fully embrace the idea of letting go of a current one.

Read More

Pixar’s Rules for Storytelling 7 – Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.

Yes, I am going to make a video for each of the Pixar's 22 Rules for Storytelling (the full list can be found here). Be sure to subscribe to this channel to not miss any of the forthcoming videos. I plan to release one/week. Rule #7: Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front. A good outline lays the foundation for a story that honors the core of this rule: you must know your ending of your story so that you can be sure to support that ending with a well-structured beginning and middle. Vonnegut, too, knew what he was talking about when he said “Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible... Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves,…

Read More

Pixar’s Rules for Storytelling 6 – What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them.

Yes, I am going to make a video for each of the Pixar's 22 Rules for Storytelling (the full list can be found here). Be sure to subscribe to this channel to not miss any of the forthcoming videos. I plan to release one/week. Rule #6: What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal? Meet my cat, Burrito, which I received as a gift from my caring girlfriend (now wife). I wasn’t expecting to own a cat. I had a certain lifestyle, with a set routine, and established boundaries. How did I handle this change? Watch and find out.

Read More

Week Four of Reading Harry Potter for Babies

Every year I raise money for March of Dimes, which is a foundation established to study the causes and develop cures for premature birth. This year, rather than simply beg friends and family for donations, I'm taking donations to read Harry Potter. More about this strange donation tactic at the full intro video here. In this video, I discuss my thoughts on the first 295 pages of Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone. Well, well, well, the book has gotten much better. I never thought I’d say this, but ever since the unicorn scene, the book has been legitimately fun to read. Here’s hoping I can get the next $20 worth of donations to help me read the final 10 pages. If you think Harry Potter is a great series, and feel that I should read it, please consider donating to March of Dimes by visiting https://calebjross.com/potterbaby. This link takes…

Read More

I get naked with this book! A review of The Cost of Living (a novel) by Rob Roberge

The Cost of Living will easily make my top 10 of 2013 list. I've read all of Roberge’s work, all that I’m aware of (Drive [novel], More than they Could Chew [novel], Working Backwards from the Worst Moment of My Life [stories]) and I’d read anything else in the future. He’s one of my favorite writers, so you know, having the history I do, you can trust my words. To read The Cost of Living is to read the rock and roll story that everyone’s always wanted, but could never find; there’s too much glitter and groupies, too much ego in other rock and roll stories. With The Cost of Living, you’re forced to deal with, and ultimately fall in love with, a life that’s been destroyed by the stage. Every rock and roll story you've read before will seem cliche compared to The Cost of Living. Buy the book:…

Read More
First Previous6061626364Next Last
2021 Caleb J. Ross | Designed by ThemePixels
×
Close