Benjamin McEvoy

Essays on writing, reading, and life

Is it too late to become a writer?

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I see this question a lot.  People in their 30s, 40s, 50s asking if it’s too late to become a writer. A user on Quora recently asked whether 28-years-old is too late to become a writer. Wait a minute. What? You’re still in your twenties and you think the ship has sailed?  WARNING: Sarcasm alert. […]

How To Write A Great Opening Line (10 Techniques From Famous Writers)

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First lines are like foreplay.  You’ve already hooked your reader with the cover, title, and blurb. You’ve picked them up. Now they’re back at your place.  Seduction time. What’s your opening move?  How do you set the stage for what’s about to happen? Is it going to be tantric, rough, tender, completely lacklustre, or completely mind-blowing?  […]

10 Things Type A Self-Publishers Need To Remember

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Self-publishing is the greatest thing to happen to writers since the printing press. Today is the easiest day to be a writer. It’s the easiest time to get your work out there and actually get paid for it. All you have to do is be more than just a writer. You need to be a marketer, […]

Aaron Sorkin Teaches Screenwriting Masterclass Review (Week 5)

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I am writing this review with tears in my eyes and severe cramps in my thumbs and fingers. Tears because I have just one week left of the Aaron Sorkin Masterclass. Cramp because the class has been such as huge writing motivation that I have been relentlessly tapping away on my keyboard for a month […]

10 Easy Ways To Be More Grateful

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Being grateful is hard, damn it. Don’t we deserve everything we get and more? Aren’t we entitled to clean water, iPhones, medicine, ten thousand TV channels, Tinder, Netflix, automobiles, internet, and the support of people around us? I’ve been actively practicing gratitude for almost a decade and sometimes it can be difficult to remain grateful […]

13 Unconventional Ways To Unlock Creativity Before A Writing Session

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Most articles about unlocking creativity suck. They’re full of the same tired, regurgitated platitudes that mean nothing and help nobody. Clichéd crap like “have a ritual”, “become inspired”, and “stop being a perfectionist”.  Umm… okay. That stuff kinda works, I guess. But what if you already have a ritual? What if you don’t know how to […]

See The World On Your Lunch Break – U.S.A.

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Want to learn more about the world but are short on time? Let’s take a trip to foreign lands by appreciating the best short works of art from every country around the world. We’re going to pick a country and look at… 1 song 1 poem 1 short film 1 short story 1 essay/non-fiction piece 1 piece of art […]

Aaron Sorkin Teaches Screenwriting Masterclass Review (Week 4)

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This Aaron Sorkin Teaches Screenwriting MasterClass review contains affiliate links, which means that, at zero cost to you, I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking one of my links. If you read my review for week 3 of the Aaron Sorkin Masterclass, you’ll know the class left me invigorated. It was the best week of a […]

Aaron Sorkin Screenwriting Masterclass Review (Week 3)

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This Aaron Sorkin Teaches Screenwriting MasterClass review contains affiliate links, which means that, at zero cost to you, I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking one of my links. I was apprehensive about week 3 of Aaron Sorkin’s Screenwriting Masterclass. I looked at the modules before I started and was excited about one of them and […]