Welcome to my newsletter! "Good Still Matters — And So Do the Stories We Tell" Hey there, Reader, I’m not sure how this will work out—so think of this as a stream-of-consciousness experiment. Back in middle school, I had two good buddies—let’s call them Jamal and Jose. We bonded over comic books, action movies, and even made our own homemade good-guy vs. bad-guy films. They looked great in costumes; I was the overweight kid who usually played the villain. But we didn’t mind—because back then,...
18 days ago • 1 min read
Welcome to my newsletter! “What you write filters through who you are.” Reader, did you know ... I'm a person who was raised by a single parent — my mother — with regular visits to my grandmother and grandfather. However, many of the dominant role models I admired were fictional characters from television, films, books, and comics. One might assume that I learned the naïve lessons — that good always triumphs over evil, that being kind and generous leads to a loving and peaceful life, or that...
25 days ago • 1 min read
Welcome to my newsletter! “Two people, one terrible secret, and the pressure to reveal it before dawn.” Hey, Reader, Can you handle the heat? I've previously discussed Story Structure and the benefits of using Writing Prompts. Today, we’re going to use both. Here's a challenge for you: I’ll give you a framework for starting, developing, and finishing your story. The framework will be for a Microfiction (300 words or less) or Flash Fiction (500 -1000 words) tale. Here’s the prompt: Two people...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Welcome to my newsletter! "So Many Stories To Tell" You know, Reader, It's funny how I realize that in my effort always to offer some value and keep my focus on serving you, my readers, students, and clients, I tend not to promote the other things that I do. Or at least not to promote them too often. It's not a good business head, but it is the head of an artist still recovering from Lone Ranger syndrome. I’ll explain that some other time. So I'm going to take this opportunity to steer you...
2 months ago • 1 min read
Welcome to my newsletter! "What Is Our Greatest Creative Challenge?" Reader, Did you know ... The same things that fuel writers and other creatives can often be the roadblocks we can't seem to get past. The thing that trips us up. The fear that freezes us creatively like the proverbial deer in the headlights. Sometimes, our greatest challenge isn't which story to write, what character is not gelling consistently, or what conflict doesn't feel as suspenseful or tension-driven as we might need...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Welcome to my newsletter! "This time, a little something different ... maybe." Hey, Reader, walk with me... THREE BLOCKS AND TURNING Sweatshirt salesman tour guide Hawkers. Most predominantly people of color Bridge This Way, Park that way Have you ridden the Ferry? A village of colorful caps hanging dangling, blowing in the breeze one sale, many more passing by An old student in white with Shades marching Custom house siege. Elegant History of another time and space while dealing with...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Welcome to my newsletter! Issue #200 "Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? Take out a pen, Reader. Do you want to know how to get started? A person wakes up leaning against a thick tree. They have no memory. No identification. No money. Down a hill about a mile or two in the distance, they can see a small town. They have a decision to make. Their choices are many ... or very few. You're a writer. Let your imagination run free with this. You've entered a place where character is king. See what...
4 months ago • 1 min read
Welcome to my newsletter! "What’s So Hard About Writing Dialogue?" For that matter, Reader, what is dialogue, really? In real life, it is simply ... A conversation between two or more people. It can cover questions, challenges, arguments, exchange of information, reminiscing, etc. It is simply people talking. Cause and effect. I respond to you and vice versa. The reason motive or necessity for these conversations runs the gamut of possibilities, from mundane to life-changing. In writing...
4 months ago • 1 min read
Welcome to my newsletter! Why, Bah, humbug? Hey, Reader, It's the holiday season, and we're all caught up in various activities to get us to and from family and friends, work, and festive occasions. We're running around like crazy folks, hopefully in a fun way, this time of the year for a series of reasons. Some could call them motivations. Why do we do what we do when we do what we do, and for whom? Motivations move people, they move events, and they make history tragic or celebratory. When...
5 months ago • 2 min read