Take Risks – Advice for First-Time Writers
“In order to share one’s true brilliance one initially has to risk looking like a fool.” – Criss Jami Writing your first […]
Outlining: The Dramatic Question
Your characters are a function of the plot, archetypes that constellate around the dramatic question. Story is essentially an argument with the […]
Blind Spots in Your Story
It is human to have blind spots, and often convenient to be in denial about certain aspects of ourselves. This is natural, […]
On Writing Dialogue
“If you have a good ear for dialogue, you just can’t help thinking about the way people talk. You’re drawn to it. […]
Developing Your Writing Technique
Technique develops over time. By reading and writing, we absorb a sense of story structure, cadence, and rhythm. We learn how […]
Playing on the Page
When there is a story problem you can’t solve, or there appears to be no way out for your characters, remember one […]
What Happens Next?
The first step in creating a fully alive story is imagining the world. This simply means envisioning your characters in relation to […]
A Screenplay is a Blueprint
A screenplay is the blueprint from which directors take their cues. It is not the screenwriter’s job to provide camera shots — […]
The Power of Curiosity
Story creation often begins with an idea or an image that ignites your imagination. You become curious, wanting to know more, to […]
Making the Impossible Possible
Turning the impossible into something possible is the magic of story. We often have an idea of the direction our story is […]
Surrender to Your Story
Our story asks everything of us. If it didn’t, we would never surrender. How often do we live our lives as though […]
Writing Without Distraction
You’ve begun working in earnest. The story is alive, your cylinders are firing. You’re getting up every morning and putting in the […]
Setting a Plan with Purpose
Do you often find it hard to stick to your writing plan? How often do “important tasks” distract you and pull you […]
Creativity is Your Birthright
Creativity is your birthright. We live in a culture that is invested in our believing otherwise. I frequently hear folks talk of […]
A Pencil for Christmas
So many of my students and potential students come to me wanting to know how to get published and produced. They want their work to be read, to be seen. But what they really want is for themselves to be seen.
Humor in Writing
There is nothing less funny than writing about humor. I was a standup comic for years. Every once in a while after […]
Finishing Your Story: 5 Tips to Get You to the End
For all you writers struggling somewhere in the middle of your manuscript, here are five tips to get you to the end. […]
The Nature of the “Want”
“To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction.” – Isaac Newton While exploring the nature of the “want” in your […]
