Stepping Into Your True Power
What does it mean to trust yourself? It sounds like a good idea, but it is often a counter-intuitive process. It is […]
The Internet: A Writer’s Worst Distraction
Sometimes the deeper we get into our story, the more we seek distraction. The internet will suck the life out of any […]
What is Success?
“The unexamined life is not worth living.” – Socrates Years ago, I was on the phone with a prospective student, and he […]
The Imperative for Dramatic Conflict
A director told me once that if you put two actors together in a scene without directing them or staging the scene, […]
Finding Home
“Home is where one starts from.” – T. S. Eliot There’s nothing more primal than our quest for home. The dilemma is […]
No Good Guys, No Bad Guys
There are times, as storytellers, when we can be so bull-headed about what we want to express, that we end up pushing […]
Writing the Reluctant Protagonist
“My aim is to put down on paper what I see and what I feel in the best and simplest way.”- Ernest […]
Memoir: Mastering the Impossible
“While they were saying among themselves it cannot be done, it was done.” – Helen Keller The purpose of art is to […]
One True Moment
“Where did that come from?” I believe there is something we writers are collectively seeking. We are all attempting to convey an […]
Stay Curious
“The curious are always in some danger. If you are curious, you might never come home.” – Jeanette Winterson When my son […]
What Do I Write Next?
Writers frequently come to me and say: “I have three ideas. Which one should I write next?”In the 90-day workshops, one of […]
Story is an Argument
(Image from “Big” 1988) Story is an argument. The theme (or dramatic question) is the thesis statement, and the story is the […]