Humor connects us. It makes us care. I don’t mean one-liners. Humor is not about jokes, but it is about human behavior. It’s a vital aspect of any story, adding depth, richness, and humanity. Drama …
Memoir
Why We Go on Retreat
For years, my students had been asking me when I was going to take them on a retreat. Frankly, I'd been on creative retreats, and while I enjoyed the camaraderie, I was never a big fan of …
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 illuminate the possibility for transformation. The goal of memoir is to make the …
What is Success?
“The unexamined life is not worth living.” - Socrates Years ago, I was on the phone with a prospective student, and he announced, “I will consider myself a failure if my book does not become a …
Tell Your Truth
"A book must start somewhere. One brave letter must volunteer to go first, laying itself on the line in an act of faith, from which a word takes heart and follows, drawing a sentence into …
Taking Off the Mask
“The smiles of the unhappiest are often the widest.” - Mokokoma Mokhonoana In Jerry Stahl’s memoir, Permanent Midnight, he shares his story of being a successful television writer by day and going …
The Writer’s Place
"Where did that come from?" I believe there is something we writers are collectively seeking. We are all attempting to convey an experience, a true moment, to tell a story that somehow reveals more …
The Value of an Outline
What's the point of an outline? Whether consciously or not, every writer is in search of a process. A lot of writers want to dive right into their first drafts and start amassing pages. Though …
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, the conflict would begin to diminish. If the actors were on opposite sides of the …
Hold the Story Loosely
My 30-Day Outline workshop started yesterday. It is a powerful workshop that will guide you to a deeper understanding of your story. Late-registration is open until this Sunday, April 7th, at …