Hi, Alex Simmons here. To start, I help aspiring and emerging writers overcome their fears and frustrations and create compelling plots, characters, and stories that will appeal to a broader audience. Now for a bit of backstory … I’m an award-winning freelance writer, writing coach/teacher, and arts-n-ed consultant. I’ve written for Disney Books, Penguin Random House, and Marvel/DC/Archie Comics. There are also the plays, films, interactive games, and animation scripts I’ve penned. And I’ve been a global keynote speaker on empowering people through the arts. I’ve got a lot to share, starting with my Simmons Says newsletter.
Simmons Says Newsletter 134: Why A Fiend On The Fire Escape
Welcome to my newsletter! "The Fiend On The Fire Escape" I promise, Reader, I never went looking for trouble. Quite often, I just tripped over it. In my teens, I lived in a 5 flight walk-up, which was just like the other 12 other buildings on my block near the southern tip of Harlem. One of my best friends and serious crush lived in the building next door. I used to love going over to her house and hanging out with her house and hanging out with her her family. And. And because they were Spanish there was a wonderful there was a wonderful array of wonderful dishes to discover. Yes, going over there to hang out and talk and look at her and hang out and talk, and look ... Well, it was a real pleasure. But the night that a burglary occurred in her building turned pleasure into perilous. You see, she and I found ourselves investigating the fiend on the fire escape. And soon discovered that what looked like a break-in by strangers was much, much more. Yep! It was a real-life mystery story that I will tell ... another time. But it seemed like a great way for me to kick off this month's major event. It's one where ... You'll Write A Brain Teasing Mystery Short Story in 7 Days, Or Else! Because… NOW'S THE TIME TO WRITE THE CRIME RETURNS! October 11th - 17th 2023 Do you have trouble coming up with story ideas? Creating sinister suspects and calculating culprits? Feel like you haven't got a clue? Then let award-winning author Alex Simmons show you how to get plot ideas, create authentic-non-stereotypical characters, properly place clues, cast the right sleuth for the job, and more. You'll conceive write a rough draft of your who-done-it in 7 days! Want in? Then click the link below and join the crew. Best, Alex "Hercule" Simmons #TellTheDamnStory #WritingCommunity #Storytelling #CreativeWriting #AuthorLife #Inspiration #EthicsInWriting #PodcastDiscussion Have any writing questions and challenges? |
TellTheDamnStory |
3959 Saxon Avenue, Bronx, NY 10463 |
Simmons Says
Go Write For It
Hi, Alex Simmons here. To start, I help aspiring and emerging writers overcome their fears and frustrations and create compelling plots, characters, and stories that will appeal to a broader audience. Now for a bit of backstory … I’m an award-winning freelance writer, writing coach/teacher, and arts-n-ed consultant. I’ve written for Disney Books, Penguin Random House, and Marvel/DC/Archie Comics. There are also the plays, films, interactive games, and animation scripts I’ve penned. And I’ve been a global keynote speaker on empowering people through the arts. I’ve got a lot to share, starting with my Simmons Says newsletter.
Welcome to my newsletter! Here's a question for you, Reader... "What or who determines our writer's voice?" In the early 50s, books and films reflected society in the aftermath of WW 2. From the late 50s into the 60s, with Russia’s Sputnik and the US Space program in the air, aliens and radiation became popular topics. It was the Atomic Age. After all, we had dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And thus, radiation became a much more familiar word in common Society.That time...
Welcome to my newsletter! The Other Secret Identity Hey, Reader: The whole purpose of a mask is to hide your true face; actually or metaphysically. In acting, it's to convey a convincing portrait of a personality, not your own. Sometimes, the actor adds elements of their life experience to add authenticity to the role. Maybe the actor has lived out some part of the fictional character’s trauma and thus knows it all too well. And that knowledge is what makes the whole film more believable....
Welcome to my newsletter! The Blind Alley Kids. Hey, Reader I know it's a weak title. I can't even say that this was an homage to the Dead End Kids or the Bowery Boy movies I watched as a young person. It was more of a straight rip-off. But it wasn't me trying to write some stories and using this title to sell and get paid. Instead, I came up with this when I was still a teenager, running around the streets of New York City with my friends Michael and Angel. We were into making home movies in...