Hello All,

I don’t normally make posts like this, but this is something I had to share. I’ve been taking a class on Method Writing and it is revolutionizing how I write. Specifically, Method Writing helps you to get to your deep, authentic voice. To discover what’s compelling about YOUR voice and how to access your truths and bring that into this crazy thing we call writing.

I’d never heard of Method Writing before until my editor forwarded a link to a YouTube video. It was an interview with Jack Grapes. Grapes is known as the innovator of Method Writing and has been teaching this method for decades in Los Angeles (but he’s so much more than that, too. You can check out his bio here: https://jackgrapes.com/bio/).

I am on week three and I’ve already been transformed. Jack is a genius. He’s brought to writing what Lee Strasberg brought to acting – a deep connection to your own authenticity and emotional truth and how you get that on the page. It’s revolutionizing the way that I think about writing, and the process I’m bringing to the page. I’m an infant in this Method Writing journey but know this practice is something that will forever shape how I approach the art of writing.

The other day, one of Jack’s co-teachers forwarded an email. A disciple of Grapes, Kevin Jacobsen teaches a prequel class to Method Writing for only $215.  This is a fantastic introduction to Method Writing. He has a few spots left in his fall class and I felt compelled to tell you all about this opportunity. Here is the original email string below. If this resonates with you, I highly recommend this class.

***

Kevin Jacobsen
teaches a special 4-week class
“Prequel to Method Writing” for only $215

Hi,
We’re offering a special 30% discount on the “Prequel” class
in Method Writing, taught by Kevin Jacobsen.
To RSVP: Kevin Jacobsen: kevjacobsen@mac.com
   Kevin will be teaching two classes, 

Thursday, October 28th, 1pm-4pm, 4-weeks for only $215

Or,

Friday October, 29th, 9:30am-12:30pm, 4-weeks for only $215.
This class offers a great introduction
to the basic concepts of Method Writing.

Each class will be limited to 18 people, with guest appearances by Jack Grapes, Josh Grapes, and Lisa Segal. Class will be held on the ZOOM platform, so here’s your chance to “virtually” get “out of the house” and stimulate your creative writing that may be lying dormant in these surreal times. 

RSVP ASAP to Kevin Jacobsen: kevjacobsen@mac.com
-Mail check to:Kevin Jacobsen Projects, 1974 N. Sycamore Ave, LA, CA, 90068
-Request invoice from Kevin and use PayPal
-Venmo @Kevin-Jacobsen-11
You can pay for classes  in three different ways.

Class schedule,

 Thursdays 1pm-4pm, Oct 28rd, Nov 4th, Nov 11th, Nov 18th. 

Fridays 9:30am-12:30pm, Oct 29th, Nov 5th, Nov 12th, Nov 19th.

METHOD WRITING: The “Prequel”
a word from Kevin Jacobsen

This 4-week Prequel Class will show you how to create cinematic scenes in your prose writing. You will learn how to craft compelling dialogue. You will learn how the smallest details can create lasting images, and you will learn to create that intimacy between reader and writer. This class is a fun way to experience the power of journal-entry-style writing, which forms the basis for all prose fiction and non-fiction, as well as deeply felt poetry. Method Writing will help you overcome the anxiety of facing the blank page. You will learn to come from your inner truth, and not let your talent steer you in a mediocre, safe way. This class will also teach you the secret to never having writer’s block again. I promise!

The Prequel Class is a four-week dip into the pool of this unique writing method. You will get in touch with your true, inner self. You will write in an authentic way, sounding like yourself, not like a fancy writer —  it’s what all good writers and artists strive for — we call it VOICE. The Prequel Class will show you how the Jack Grapes’s Method Writing technique really works. You will come from “process”  instead of writing toward a specific “product,” which opens you up to the accidental detours of your inner truth. Process actually creates product. When you’re “in the moment” in your writing, you’re also open to the unexpected ideas and stories that come from your deepest self. As Robert Frost said, “No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

Kevin Jacobsen is a Norwegian-American writer and actor based in Los Angeles. He was raised in a fishing village in Norway, where he learned to hunt moose, knit scarfs and tell stories. After two semesters of law school in Oslo, he realized he was the only one memorizing legal cases and roleplaying litigants. So he packed his bags and moved to Hollywood. Kevin has since appeared in fifty national television commercials. He has studied Jack Grapes’ METHOD WRITING for five years. His stories and poems have appeared in several anthologies, including “I’ll Have Wednesday,” Los Angeles Poets & Writers Collective, and ONTHEBUS. Coming out later this year is his book of short stories, “Have You Ever Heard of a Moth Not Knowing,” and he has two dramatic television shows in development. He lives in Hollywood with his wife, the bestselling author Annie Jacobsen, and their two sons.

COMMENTS FROM THOSE
WHO HAVE TAKEN METHOD WRITING CLASSES:

from Laura Dern:
“What I treasure about Jack Grapes’s Method Writing is that it is a brilliant lesson in connecting and staying true to one’s voice. From that place, the writer can go anywhere. It is the core teaching that has made me passionate about acting as well.”

from Hank Azaria:
“Jack Grapes’s Method Writing system breaks down writing into bite-sized chunks that are actually fun and easy, an incredible series of short-cuts that lead you down a wonderful path of your own making.”

“Just want to tell you how much I love Method Writing and it’s a blessing beyond belief in my life and development as a writer. I wish I could be in there everyday, I really do. Like at least two hours a day would be great. Thank you for everything.”   — Nicole Arlyn

 “Even though I have not been able to write on a regular basis I have learned so much within the past few weeks, and I want to continue on when you start up again. I know this will likely sound strange to you – but there is a cathedral quality in that ZOOMING platform, all of us gathered together/apart. I feel like I main-line creativity every class. It’s like we had discussed on the second night . . . we are all “in the room, all in this together.” The energy is pretty heady, and you are an amazing instructor with great stories and insights. Of course, part of it is because it is just so damn much fun! I am definitely a participant when fun is to be had. I’ve enjoyed watching my fellows open up and blossom. It has been exquisitely sweet. Thank you so much for making this so at a time when all of us artists and writers need a sense of community. This class had been a tremendous gift for my spirit.”  — Donna Fletcher

“This class has been as meaningful, if not more meaningful, than any therapy I have been in as a  Patient, or as a therapist, because I work with groups of cancer patients where the guts and truth of life is in the room. I have felt in your class the same kind of power. There is a feeling of safety in the class, and the group with your leadership provides that. No judgment. The group is part of the magic. This probably doesn’t even begin to explain what I saw and felt. I can’t wait to take the next class.”  
     — Lynne Silbert

“Thanks for giving me the tools to write. I thought it was impossible and that only people who’ve written their whole life have that talent.  I’m starting to write a little bit outside of class and am enjoying it. Wow. Never thought that would happen! Thanks for the gift you give that is impossible to describe, measure, add a price to.” 
     — Adrienne Foon

“I just returned yesterday from my first 10-day residency at Antioch’s MFA in creative writing program. I used so much of your craft teachings while I was there. During our workshops, we were constantly asked, “What is the writer doing here in this passage?”  And, since I took your classes, I could respond confidently. I know I wouldn’t have gotten in to Antioch if I hadn’t taken your classes and participated in the Festival of Books and Beyond Baroque. Thank you for creating a complete program. I am so grateful.  Your classes have grounded me, given me confidence, put me in my best place of learning, and given me lots of knowledge of craft.  I will enjoy the MFA program because I took your classes first.”
      — Sherilynn Lee

 “Your class is truly one of the most engaging and satisfying of creative experiences.”
       — Richard Piscuskas

For anyone inclined to learn Method Writing, contact kevjacobsen@mac.com

Here are some free Facebook page banners. I’ve created the banner with photomanipulation from various free commercial stock resources so you may use them as you like. They are at full size for Facebook so just right-click and save as to your computer then upload to your Facebook page.

I have Grammarly installed on my computer. It calculates how many words I write per week. Since I use this on my work computer (not my writing computer – the two are separate), it’s basically calculating how many words I’m emailing, as that’s the only writing I do on that computer.

Every week, I’m astonished at how many email words I’m producing. And yet, I fail to turn out a single article or blog post. Like. Ever.

Want the stats for the last few weeks?

• 20,970
• 14,091
• 15,119
• 23,489
• And a whopping 32,362

Now, I’m struggling to produce even 7.5K words writing for an hour straight every single day on my work-in-progress, and yet, here I am popping out up to 32,362 words per week just EMAILING PEOPLE!

If you have a desk job, you might be shocked to see your numbers, too. You can download Grammarly. If you do a lot of word processing, don’t enable it for a month and just check your email averages.

In any case, I thought, how can I benefit from this? I know that I reactively respond to emails. I’ve tried setting limits for when I actually check emails. Even with a check system for the day, I still end up with a hefty word count at the end of the week.

Then I realized, I could be capturing some of those words as an article or blog post first draft. How? I thought about the logistics. I checked my email (I’m on GoDaddy), and sure enough, there’s a scheduling function.

My plan became clear. Outline my article’s points, turn those points into questions, email each question at a specific time each day, and once all emails were answered, I’d have a first draft without setting aside any extra time. I’d just answer each email as if it were an email from another person. It would fit into my day seamlessly.

But could it really work?

I set out to try and came up with this system:

 Prepping the Subject: (set aside two 10-15 minute time slots to complete this step)

1. Choose the Topic you’re writing about (Time slot 1)
2. Make a list of sections (an outline) for the post. (Time slot 1)
3. Turn each section topic into a question. (ex: if your section is Benefits of Emailing Your Blog Post, write: What are the benefits of emailing my blog post.) Why? Because questions are easy to answer. You’ll get this in your email and your brain immediately processes it into answers, which equals fast and easy writing for you. (Time slot 1)
4. Set up emails for each question and schedule them to go out to you twice a day, or once a day. Whatever you KNOW you can handle.  (Time slot 2)

It’s time to move on to compiling and completing. This is where the magic happens. If you’re anything like me, answering emails will be compulsive.

Answers:

5. As your question emails come in, go ahead and reply to them, writing as if you’re writing to another person. If you need to check on specifics or fact check, just mark with an XX and catch them in the edit.
6. Move the replies into an “Articles” folder that you’ve created on your email software
7. Make sure you have the title of the article in each subject line for easy compilation later.

Screenshot of my Articles folder on my GoDaddy email

Polish:

8. Compile the article and edit. Voila! Compiling should just be basic cut and paste. Then read through to connect the dots. Edit and you’re ready to post!

I followed the above steps for the article I had in mind, making sure I set up an end date in my calendar to compile my emails into a completed article.

Did it work? Flawlessly. You can see the end result of my first “emailed article” here.

You can even use this process to edit your work. Just compile your drafted emails into one email and schedule it to go out to yourself at a specific time. Reply with your edit, mark in your subject, edited, and voila – you’re ready to upload it to your site.

Comment below to let me know if you tried it, and how it worked. Or, do you have any little tricks for getting your posts completed? Don’t be shy, share in the comments.

Did you like it? PIN IT.

Have you heard? Our all-new Etsy shop lets you shop for premade covers, lock in your cover art, and download your cover art instantly with a 24-48 hour titles turn around (M-F).

Shop now and get 15% off your premade! Just enter 15OFF at checkout to receive your discount.

Now you can buy our premades on Etsy and get an instant download of art files with a 24-48 hour (M-F) titles turn around. No waiting. Lock in your cover. If it’s available on Etsy, it’s available right now. No emailing back and forth. Shop here.

* Only one coupon per purchase. Good through March 30th, 2019.

Your All-In-One includes:

• An Ebook Cover (two distribution sizes)
• Web display sizes (two sizes: large and thumbnail)
• Print book (full wrap, back, spine to your printer specifications)
• 3D cover
• Facebook banner (blank, based on your cover design)

$79, REF: 18002 Premade Women’s Fiction, Travel, Paris, Europe, Holiday, Vintage, Chick Lit Premade Book Cover

Contact amatthews@amdesignstudios.net to purchase.

In response to the changing landscape of publishing and need for low cost yet well-designed covers, I’m offering all-in-one premade bundles for super savings and budget-friendly publishing.

These covers are genre-specific to appeal to your readers and designed with AM’s multi-award winning experience in genre-appeal.

Your All-In-One includes:

• An Ebook Cover (two distribution sizes)
• Web display sizes (two sizes: large and thumbnail)
• Print book (full wrap, back, spine to your printer specifications)
• 3D cover
• Facebook banner (blank, based on your cover design)

I’m offering three tiers:

• $79 (1 image)
• $99 (2 images)
• $129 (3 or more images)

One image is defined as one central image and does not refer to effects and overlays. Even one image covers will include genre-specific photomanipulation to make your cover as original as possible.

Given the low-cost of the cover, no customizations (aside from author/title/series/byline/back blurb) are included, but if you need a customization, please ask. You’ll be accommodated with a small add-on price. (Add-on examples: add publisher’s mark, add bio and photo, change eye, hair or clothing color, add an element, etc.)

Covers are delivered within 48 hours of payment and information receipt (excepting customization requests).

Watch for new releases via email (if you’re not subscribed sign-up here) or bookmark the homepage for new releases.

Terry Heath, Indie Author and Podcaster, interviewed me on his new Indie Author’s Journey Podcast. Terry’s new to podcasting but scoring interesting and informative interviews with authors and other publishing professionals on topics such as writing to market, exploring Scrivener, author juggling, and more.  Terry’s easy-going yet on-topic style makes the podcast both informative and enjoyable. Check him out.

Here’s the snippet from Terry’s interview with me: