I’ve written about how the best art acts a portal, transporting us somewhere else entirely. Be it a story that takes us on a journey with its characters or a painting that swallows us whole, we engage with these works to get outside of ourselves. But what if we’re the portals? I’m revisiting Steven Pressfield’sContinue reading “on being the portal”
Category Archives: writing
finding the medium
I’m currently working on a novel high school kids in revolt and a play about comic book writers building a universe–two different stories with different characters, engaging with completely different worlds. A friend asked this week, “how do you determine which stories are books, which ones are plays, and which one would be movies?” GreatContinue reading “finding the medium”
hitchhiking
I absolutely loved Marc Maron’s recent interview with Neil Gaiman. While I’ve never been a huge Gaiman fan, I found myself enamored with his insights into comic fandom, TV production, and his writing process. My favorite bit though, is when Gaiman describes the process of beginning his Sandman comics, and how despite having the endContinue reading “hitchhiking”
thoughts from a detective
In a recent episode of The Moment with Brian Koppelman, writer-director John Hamburg (Along Came Polly, I Love You, Man) touched on a few things that I’ve been turning over in my mind lately. Referencing advice from his therapist, Hamburg says of writing, “Be a detective, not a judge.” I’ve been watching a lot ofContinue reading “thoughts from a detective”
psychic scars
A friend of mine is studying to be a screenwriter. The other night, we had a conversation about her graduate program. She’s in her mid-thirties, while most of her classmates are in their early twenties, a disparity she claims is obvious in their writing. Much of the work her classmates produce is imaginative , butContinue reading “psychic scars”
unlimited freedom
In a recent interview on obscurity, Austin Kleon had this to say about unlimited freedom when creating: …obscurity can be this great gift. You can experiment. It’s a kind of freedom. Now, unlimited freedom can be very paralyzing, too. Freedom is not necessarily the best thing ever for art; there’s a tension between freedom andContinue reading “unlimited freedom”
some assembly required
Maya Angelou famously said, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” I’ve been feeling this agony a lot lately. I simply have too many ideas and must often decide what’s worth putting on paper and what isn’t. After finishing Oliver Burkeman’s Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals, I’m especiallyContinue reading “some assembly required”
what I’ve been up to
It’s been a little while. Things have been crazy for me lately and as a result, things like posting here have fallen by the wayside. Here’s a list of things I’ve been up to and a few observations I’ve made: playing in a church band Ever notice how musicians refer to pieces of sheet musicContinue reading “what I’ve been up to”
the job of an artist
In a discussion with Paul Holdengraber on the Library Talks podcast, Junot Diaz dives into how he defines his role as an artist in society: I feel like my job as an artist is to make people more critical minded about even the thing I’m asking them to be in conversation with…If someone resists myContinue reading “the job of an artist”
for moments of catastrophic failure
I’ve been working on a new play for the last year or so. This past weekend, I assembled a cast of actors to sit and read the script for the first time. It was awful. While the feedback I received was invaluable, the consensus from those in the room was that the play was aContinue reading “for moments of catastrophic failure”
joshua chamberlain 