Rick | Rick Jantz, Writer

Zanni – Introduction

December 12, 2016January 19, 2016 by Rick

My parents named me Zanni, for the clowns in commedia dell’arte. They didn’t want to name me Cyrano, or Jimmy Durante or even Pinocchio (fortunately). And they didn’t want me confused with Steve Martin’s movie, Roxanne. But they wanted to remind me that I was a clown, a misfit, a character to be joked at and even scorned…and not just because of my powers.

By now you may suspect why my name is Zanni or at least what led my beloved parents to saddle me with that moniker for life. I have a large nose, and the Zanni clowns from the theater of commedia dell’arte were known for their long noses (although in their cases, they wore masks onstage). In fact the longer their nose, the stupider the characters were, and my parents found that hilarious when I was born. They love to tell the story of how it took ten contractions for my nose to pop out and two for the rest of me. Great role models. Don’t be surprised when you see how that turned me into the wonderful person I am today.

But my nose is only one side of me. Granted, it’s a large side that invariably arouses jokes and zingers from those bold enough to speak openly. Everyone else just moves to the other side of the street where there’s more room.

What Do Your Readers Want? Is Your Book For Them Or For You?

November 27, 2016January 29, 2015 by Rick

Many authors struggle with how to deliver what their readers want to read. If we knew what they wanted we would write it. Right? After all, wouldn’t that be the way to a successful book? It would be like having the inside track on becoming a successful author.

But I don’t know that we always do that…I know I don’t. Sometimes we (I) write for ourselves with maybe some distant thought of keeping our readers in mind.

I’m Ready To Write My Book – Chapter One – Oh Crap!

December 4, 2016January 23, 2015 by Rick

In previous posts I talked about research, using celebrity pictures, and creating an outline. Now I’m ready to write my book and put some words together to create a story. I proudly type, “Chapter One.” And smile in anticipation.

Oh crap, this isn’t right at all. I’ve struggled and come at it from all sorts of angles but I finally give up. It’s not the blank page or writer’s block…I haven’t found the right intro yet. The story needs to start somewhere else.

How Important Is Writing A Book Outline? I’m Ready To Chuck Mine!

December 4, 2016January 21, 2015 by Rick

I know we each have our own style of creating book ideas, coming up with characters and settings, and some even do outlines…like me! But this second book in the Matt Kemp series doesn’t want to even get off the ground, and it’s all because of my outline.

I’m curious, how important is an outline to each of you?

Using Pictures Of Celebrities To Describe Your Characters

December 4, 2016January 16, 2015 by Rick

I’ve read that many writers will actually use celebrity pictures to visualize their book characters. I had never done this before so I thought I would try it for my new Western, “A Witness To Murder.”

But first, let me explain something. This story would feature a young girl who would befriend the hardened U.S. Marshal, Matt Kemp. I wanted to explore what Kemp thought about kids and if he even liked them. Plus, the townspeople of Vail would not easily turn a child over to a murderer.

My Book Setting Question: Where Would I Hide A Town?

December 4, 2016January 14, 2015 by Rick

I was really intrigued with the idea of what Matt Kemp, the U.S.Marshal in “A Witness To Murder”, would do when he discovered that the people of a town had gone missing. But the first question I had to answer was: where did the people go?

How I Chose The Book Title: “A Witness To Murder”

December 4, 2016January 12, 2015 by Rick

If you’re like me then you have to have the perfect title for your book, right? And sometimes that title is the inspiration of your story and you keep it through all the drafts or sometimes you might use a working title, knowing that you need to come up with a final one later.

With my second book in the U.S. Marshal series I actually started with “Empty Town” but as I developed the outline I knew that the title needed to change.

Matt Kemp – U.S. Marshal (Book 1)

December 3, 2016December 21, 2014 by Rick

I’ve always wanted to write a series and when the idea came for “Matt Kemp – U.S. Marshal” I knew I was onto something. The first book is how Kemp first joined the U.S. Marshal Service in the Old West. Known as a gunfighter, Matt brings his unique fighting and deductive skills to taming a lawless land.

I also thought it was important to introduce the Director who introduces Kemp to the Marshal’s badge and all that it stands for. These two men are like “peas-in-a-pod”, they both have an innate sense of right and wrong and will bring criminals to justice wherever they find them.