How #1 NY Times Bestselling Author Ernest Cline Writes: Part One

The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience

#1 New York Times bestselling novelist and screenwriter, Ernest Cline, spoke to me about what inspired him to become a novelist, the success of Ready Player One, and his love letter to Austin, Texas, the mostly true tall tale BRIDGE TO BAT CITY.

Ernest Cline is the bestselling author of Ready Player One, Ready Player Two, and Armada, and co-screenwriter of the film adaptation of Ready Player One, directed by Steven Spielberg.

His debut middle-grade novel, BRIDGE TO BAT CITY (on sale 4/9/24; ages 8 & up), is described as “... a mostly true tall tale about a recently orphaned girl and her mission to help a family of displaced bats find a new home under the Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin, Texas.”

His books have been published in over fifty countries and have spent more than 100 weeks on The New York Times bestsellers list.

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In Part One of this file Ernest Cline and I discussed:

The signposts on the road to becoming a writer

His change of fortune (and opinion) as a screenwriter

The big idea behind Ready Player One

Why 90% of Stephen King’s protagonists are school teachers or writers

And a lot more!

Show Notes:

How #1 NY Times Bestselling Author Ernest Cline Writes: Part Two

Bridge to Bat City by Ernest Cline (Amazon)

Ernest Cline Amazon Author Page

Kelton Reid on Twitter

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