“Writing can’t be taught.” – Susanna Moore, Born Dec. 9, 1945. Well, Susanna. I’m going to go ahead and call bullshart on that nonsense. If writing couldn’t be taught, we wouldn’t have civilization. Of course writing can be taught. The desire to want to write well and excessively, perhaps even as a full time vocation? […]
Is it True That Anyone Can Learn to Write For a Living? Read More »
“He who wants to persuade should put his trust not in the right argument, but in the right word. The power of sound has always been greater than the power of sense.” – Joseph Conrad, Born Dec. 3, 1857. This is why your work needs to read the way people speak. Because the mind’s ear
The Written Word Makes Audible Music in the Mind of the Reader Read More »
“The great composer does not set to work because he is inspired, but becomes inspired because he is working.” – Ernest Newman, Born Nov. 30, 1868. If you keep meaning to write, but you don’t, because you can’t think of what to write… Stop being lame, you pickle. The muse isn’t going to bother dropping
Inspiration Comes DURING Work, Not Before Read More »
“Everything you’ve ever read of mine is first-draft. This is one of the peculiarities of the comics field. By the time you’re working on chapter three of your masterwork, chapter one is already in print. You can’t go back and suddenly decide to make this character a woman, or have this one fall out of
Publish Your Draft Now, Revise When You Re-Publish Again In The Future Read More »
“To me there’s no creativity without boundaries. If you’re gonna write a sonnet, it’s 14 lines, so it’s solving the problem within the container.” – Lorne Michaels, Born Nov. 17, 1944. There is something incredibly empowering about using creative limitations. And it’s not just about placing arbitrary deadlines. It’s about limiting your materials, your scope.
Creativity Will Keep You Broke Unless You Strap On The YOKE Read More »
“Comedy is the most palliative way to make a point. People are more willing to listen if they can laugh.” – Judy Gold, Born Nov. 15, 1962. This is one most people will dismiss, but they shouldn’t. Think of that kind of marketer/guru/whatever that people think is trashy or phony or arrogant, who is still
A Daily ____ Is The Bait That Brings Them Back Tomorrow Read More »
“Within one hour of touching the brush to canvas for the first time, my students have a total, complete painting.” – Bob Ross, Born Oct. 29, 1942. This was Ross’s pitch. He empowered people who were intimidated to create art, and gave them the tools and shortcuts to get over that fear. Were the students’
Make Them Get Their Hands Dirty if You Want to Sell Them More Dirt Read More »
“I’ve written in every imaginable location; a repurposed closet, the kitchen table, the bleachers while my kids had basketball practice, the front seat of the car when they were at soccer. In airports. On trains. In the break room when I was supposed to be wolfing down dinner. In the back of classrooms when I
Destroy Your Writing Rituals to Set Your Skill Free Read More »
“Television has a real problem. They have no page two.” – Art Buchwald, Born Oct. 20, 1925. What Art was talking about is how TV can only give you the page one stuff. Deeper commentary and lengthier coverage, or less prominent stories get passed over. Or a least, they did. That was the nature of
How We Can Provide “Blood” AND “Meat” to Feed Our Hungry Prospects Read More »
“I just sit at a typewriter and curse a bit.” – P. G. Wodehouse, Born Oct. 15, 1881. Oh, Pelly-boy, that may have cut the mustard back in your time, but these days you have to be a complete artist. Cursing is when you wish ill upon your enemies. As in, I pray to White
An Education in Bad Language for the Beginning Potty-Mouth Read More »
