2:00 - Presenting Jason Parks!

2:34 - Book 2 of the Red Notebooks: The Unfinished City!

3:40 - What happens to parts that get cut from a book?

4:30 - StoMo: Story Month! 500 words/day, 30-Day Challenge

7:00 - How does Jason structure books/projects?
“If I don’t pursue it in the moment, I need to go for it. I can’t let it sit for too long. Grab onto that excitement in the moment!"

8:00 - Something you don’t expect to see every day: a door laying in the grass!
“I wonder where that door leads…”

9:50 - Forming a story from weeks of notes: A junk collector’s son

11:50 - The Importance of Setting: “How can the story play out here? I like to build from setting.”

15:00 - “Leo and Notch” - a story about a boy who discovers wizards and dragons

15:50 - Internal vs. External Conflict in Middle Grade

17:40 - How to pace yourself: Scene by Scene. Finishing a scene a day!

20:00 - Writing Equipment: What software does Jason use?
            Idea generation on MacBook → Writing on desktop!

22:00 - Writing Environment: The power of quiet, open space!

25:00 - Writing Music: How Jason gets into focus with instrumental music

28:00 - Plotting a Long Series: One book at a time!

32:00 - Word Counts: 55000 → 70000 for MG fantasy

34:00 - “I’m trying to learn new things as I’m writing. I’m learning with each book that I write, how to be a writer.”

36:00 - Reading aloud other people’s stories to kids. See how they respond!

39:00 - How do you find beta reader kids to give you feedback?

42:00 - Pulling in someone who doesn’t typically read in the genre

42:15 - “When drafting, don’t let feedback interfere with the process.”

42:50 - How to avoid quitting halfway through: “You have to get to the end. You gotta finish a project.”

47:20 - Using Twitter to Teach Novel-Writing

48:00 - Thoughts on self publishing: “Shepherding my whole project.”

48:40 - “I looked at the amount of time that it takes to get from your story to people’s hands, and it just seems like such a long process. That would slow me down as a creative. I want to keep creating things, and keep learning. If I was sitting on a book for two or three years… No way!”

51:00 - Twitter for Marketing, connecting with other writers & creators, cross-promotion

53:00 - Diversified Advertising: Facebook ads, Amazon ads

54:00 - Collaborating with local libraries, universities

56:00 - Just put it out there! Unexpected opportunities arise.

60:00 - Jason’s advice to young creators: “Just keep playing!”

65:00 - “Get to the end, whatever you got to do!”

68:00 - The Future of Storytelling: Coauthoring with people from across the world. Collaborative creating with various viewpoints.

72:00 - What would you create if you had unlimited resources? “Include everyone. Invite everyone. No barriers to entry.” Whatever it takes to make sure that it is in every accessible language, visual, audio, whatever your abilities or strengths.  Make sure everyone can experience it.

74:00 - “Pages matter!” Hold books in your hand, turn the pages

74:40 - The World’s Largest Popup Book, ten stories high!

79:00 - Visualizing characters. Do you try to put a real-world face on fictional characters?