Author Archives: Maureen Paraventi

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About Maureen Paraventi

Hi, there! I'm a published author, award-winning playwright, content writer and all-around English major nerd. I love to write. I also love to help other writers succeed, by polish their work and helping bring it to its full potential. In the Write Like a Badass Initiative, I take that a step further, by giving creatives tools they need to overcome self-doubt and blast through rejection.

Listening to Your Inner Voice for Inspiration

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What prompts a poet to write a poem? I posed that question and others to Rebecca Biber, a published and award-winning poet. (Her newest book of poetry, Escapement, will be available for purchase soon.) Writers in all genres will appreciate Rebecca’s insights into what inspires her, what themes she explores in her poems and how she develops ideas into finished poems. Rebecca’s advice about how to feel at ease with reading your work out loud is: take up an instrument, because playing an instrument in public is so much more stressful than reading something you’ve written out loud. (And this is from a professional pianist!)

Our Open Mic Night at the Badass Writers Cafe for this episode, features H.H. Rune, a writer and storyteller from the Pacific Northwest. Here’s how she describes herself: “After turning thirty she experienced a transformative realization that she had allowed fear to shape much of her life. This awakening sparked in her a commitment to lead an extraordinary life within the space of an ordinary one.”

And…the inspirational quote is by the late Elmore Leonard, a crime and western writer who’s written more three dozen novels – many of which have been used as the source material for movies and TV series.

LINKS TO REBECCA G. BIBER AND HER WORK:

rebecca_g_biber_poet on Insta, doggerel.blog on WordPress, and VERY SOON to go live…rebeccagbiberpoet.com.

In the meanwhile, folks can purchase her book of poems, Technical Solace, at https://lets.shopbooksweet.com/browse/filter/t/technical%20solace/k/keyword

LINKS TO H.H. RUNE AND HER WORK:

The Find Me- Extraordinary Life Seeker Series has been a twenty-five year passion-project aligning with her decision to live meaningfully and reach beyond one’s current self. 

For more tales from the journey see

hhrune.com

socials:

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The Write Like a Badass Podcast is by, about and for writers. Welcome to your tribe!

·        A video of the interview in this episode will be on Youtube shortly: https://www.youtube.com/@WriteLikeaBadass

You can also find Write Like a Badass on:

·       Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/writelikeabad

      Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/writelikeabadass?igsh=b3YwOHU5MjAzbGE2

      TikTok: WriteLikeABadass

      Website: https://writelikeabadass.com/

Writing and Starring in Your Own Screenplay

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Montie Browne is a writer, actor, musician, music producer and film producer.

When Montie finished writing his latest screenplay, he didn’t wait for Hollywood to come knocking. Learn how Montie turned “Semblance Amiss” into a five-part series that is streaming on Amazon, Tubi and other platforms. Hear why he calls himself “a spoiled son of a bitch” when it comes to exercising creative control over what he’s written. Find out what it’s like to act in something you’ve written. Get insights into how grief can propel someone forward into a project that will help them heal.

Click here to watch the trailer for “Semblance Amiss:” It’s riveting!

Montie’s website is: https://www.montie-actor.com/ He’s also on imdb. 

And- you can find him on Facebook.

When Dreams Give You Stories

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Where do story ideas come from? Dianne Thomas’ sources of inspiration include a dream, along with friends who moved from the city to the country. Dianne has been writing for years. Her work has appeared in hundreds of newspapers and other print and online publications including Octavo, Flashquake, and The Threepenny Review. 

Listen to my conversation with Dianne on episode 7 of the Write Like a Badass podcast.

Learn more about Dianne’s books (and check for free promotions) on her website: https://diannethomas.godaddysites.com/. That is also where you can read her poetry.

Her novels and short story collections are available as eBooks on Amazon here. Her amazon author page is: amazon.com/author/diannerthomas.

Follow Dianne on Facebook.

Find her books on Goodreads.

The picture below is of Dianne at 20, when she was pursuing an acting career!

Amina (who told us what writing success looked like for her) is on Tiktok: Amina Mirza146.

What’s Ahead for You Badass Writers

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This episode was a preview of the upcoming guests, including an award-winning poet, a screenwriter and novelist who admits to writing fluff!

Once you discover the Write Like a Badass podcast:
~Follow – so you don’t miss any episodes
~Rate and review – which will help other writers find the podcast (5 stars would be great)
~Go back and listen to the previous episodes

This podcast is aimed at helping writers of all kinds move ahead on their creative journey. Whether you write fantasy or romance, nonfiction or poetry, stage plays or screenplays, you are sure to find ideas and inspiration in every episode.

What Happens When Two Writers (in Different Genres) Get Married?

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By the time Jay met Brandy on a dating app, he thought his writing was in the past. What he didn’t realize is that Brandy would encourage him to reawaken his love of sci fi and write again. And in return, this romantic guy supports Brandy’s writing and even inspires characters in the spicy romances that she publishes!

They write in different genres – she will never read one of his stories – but that doesn’t matter. Listen to this frank, funny and inspiring conversation. Oh- and their dog Shadow gets involved, too.

Find Brandy on TikTok @BrandyAyersAuthor, facebook.com/BrandyAyersAuthor, Instagram: @BrandyAyersWrites and on her website.

Look for her books on Amazon at: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Brandy+Ayers&i=digital-text&crid=U8AS04TFMJSI&sprefix=brandy+ayers%2Cdigital-text%2C218&ref=nb_sb_noss_1 and a number of other platforms.

Jay is also on TikTok: JayFarleyAuthor.

His books are on Amazon at: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0D31BLDLQ/allbooks?ingress=0&visitId=15106536-5630-465f-9ba6-6897e03b386a and a number of other platforms.

The Write Like a Badass Podcast is by, about and for writers. Welcome to your tribe!

You can also find Write Like a Badass on:

Email recordings of:

Send a recording of up to three minutes of your work in progress via Messenger: https://www.facebook.com/

Help me keep this podcast going and get bonus content by supporting me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/WriteLikeaBadass (confirm that this is live)

Here is the link my video-and-download course, How to Self-Publish Your Badass Book on Amazon: https://writelikeabadass.teachable.com/p/how-to-self-publish-your-badass-book-on-amazon

Find Connor Fischetti’s music on Bandcamp. Download the free app or go to the website (https://bandcamp.com/) and look for the albums:

  • Connor Fischetti (Connor Fischetti Band), and
  • Cricket (Boiler Room Band)

Doing it All – A Bestselling Indie Author Spills Her Secrets

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Which came first? The chicken or the egg, the illustration or the story? A. R. Redington is both an author and an illustrator, and she tells us how the two work together to bring her books to life. Switching to art and creating an image can get her past writer’s block. Conversely, creating an image can inspire a story or suggest a character to her.

Those of us like me who don’t have both talents can learn a lot from A.R., who writes in several different genres but likes to explore the dark side of humanity in all of them. As a #1 Audible and Amazon bestselling author, she’s able to discuss the pros and cons of various self-publishing platforms, the best ways indie authors can sell their books and how she overcomes social anxiety to meet her readers.

You’ll also hear a reading from a work-in-progress at the Badass Writers’ Café and tonight is Open Mic Night! (Go to Facebook and critique what you heard.) The Question of the Week is answered by some podcast listeners. The inspirational quote addresses something that mystifies a lot of us: where does creativity come from?

The Write Like a Badass Podcast is by, about and for writers. Welcome to your tribe! You can find the pod on all major podcast services. Make sure you subscribe, so you don’t miss an episode (maybe the one that could help you get past your current writing stumbling block). Like, rate and review, too.

“Talk” to you soon!

Writing Nonfiction for Love AND Money – a Published Author’s Story

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What does it feel like to get paid for doing something you love? Paul Vachon writes books about history, which he is passionate about. And – this is going to make many writers, including myself, jealous – publishers reach out to him, not vice versa. How did Paul get started? How does he take a topic and turn it into a full-length book? His books are based on actual people and events, so accuracy is a priority. How much research and fact-checking is involved? Has he ever disagreed with editors about a change they want made?

In addition to my conversation with Paul, you’ll hear from podcast listeners! Writers Megan Cain and Mac McFarland talk about what writing success means to them. Another brave (anonymous) writers reads out loud from their work-in-progress. And you may disagree with this episode’s inspirational quote. Hmmmm.

You can find the Write Like a Badass podcast on all of the major podcast platforms. Subscribe, so you won’t miss anything. Like, review and rate, to help me keep the podcast moving ahead. (Five stars would be very nice!)

Writing that First Book: What Took You So Long?

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You’ve wanted to write for a long time. You have an idea for a story or maybe a nonfiction book in your head, and it’s been there for a while. Why haven’t you acted on it? What’s holding you back? Should you just forget about it? Forget about being a writer? Are you ever too old to start writing?

These are serious questions, but my conversation with Shannon Groves is anything but serious! If Shannon brings a tenth of her hilarious, sparkling personality to that children’s book she intends to write, it will be w. But is wonderful. But why is she just talking about writing? Will she actually get down to this long-simmering project?

Shannon has something many writers of children’s books do not have: a home-grown illustrator. Her daughter is an artist and will illustrate the book that Shannon promises she’ll write. (She will come back on the podcast sometime in the future to give us an update on it.)

If you’ve been on the fence about starting your writing journey, this episode is a must-listen for you! Veteran writers will enjoy being reminded of their starts. You can find the Write Like a Badass podcast on all of the major podcast platforms. Subscribe, so you don’t miss a thing!

Write Like a Badass Podcast

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Collaborating on a Writing Project: Challenges and Rewards

Find the Write Like a Badass Podcast on Apple, Spotify and other podcast platforms. Watch the video of this conversation on Youtube at:

What happens when two good friends – both experienced writers – decide to write a play together? Will their writing styles clash, or mesh? How do they navigate differences of opinion? How do they get beyond being nice to each other and start being honest with each other?

Tony Targan and Dave Durham are Detroit-area multi-hyphenates (acting, directing, playwriting) who embarked on an adventure in writing that was new to both them. Learn why they did it and what the outcome was in this lively and frank conversation. In the photos below, Dave is on the left and Tony on the right.

Our conversation may inspire you to reach out to a fellow writer for a collaborative project yourself!

Episode 1 also has a brave writer read from their work-in-progress for Open Mic Night at the Badass Writers Café – and you’ll get a chance to critique it afterward. There is also a Question of the Week, answered by podcast listeners. This one’s about money! And finally, if your creative motivation is running low, you’ll get it charged back up with an inspirational quote by Margaret Atwood.

The Write Like a Badass Podcast is by, about and for writers. Welcome to your tribe!