Recent Posts

The Irony: An Artist’s Place in Politics

The greatest irony about the state of the world over the last decade or so is that, once upon a time, I would have been content to just stay quiet about my personal beliefs and political affiliations. I had previously held the opinion that the arts especially should be nonpartisan, thus enabling everyone from all…

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Lessons in Creative Writing: The Hero’s Journey

Today, I want to introduce you to my absolute favorite plot outline. It’s my favorite 1.) because this outline tends to be the basis for epic fantasies, which I love, and 2.) because, contradictory to reason number one (contradiction being my signature style of doing things), I also love that it can actually be used…

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In Defense of the Musical

When I was going to school I had a teacher, a realist, by all accounts, who once made the sarcastic quip when the focus of the class suddenly turned to musicals: “Hey, look: someone’s singing, and nobody called the police.” It was funny to those of us in the room. And it was understandable: not…

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“A poem cannot stop a bullet. A novel can’t defuse a bomb. But we are not helpless. We can sing the truth and name the liars.”
– Salman Rushdie

Writing Prompt

Epic Poem

Quite often in fantasy books the author will include a song / poem at the beginning or between chapters in order to set the scene…

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Writing Tips & Tricks

Dialogue First

Setting the scene around your characters is always an important step in creating a story that comes alive for your readers. However, sometimes—especially during the…

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