Category: Articles and Essays

  • Change, Suffering and Digging Deeper

    Change, Suffering and Digging Deeper

    Buddhism teaches that all things change, and that suffering is inherent to life. As humans we add to this suffering, or rather amplify it, by trying to hold onto the narrative line that we have fed ourselves. We resist the reality of change the various truths evidenced by its existence.

  • Déjà Vu:  Writing Exercise # 97

    Déjà Vu: Writing Exercise # 97

    The self-doubt of our internal pacman says, “You can’t,” when it comes to achieving our goals, and certainly not in the way, and at the quality that we hope. Mixed with our general fears about life, and living pacman overpowers us, and our ideas, and ostensibly contaminates our process of creativity.

  • Structure and Delivery

    Structure and Delivery

    The artist must grasp the importance of structure as it pertains to the art form she or he seeks to create. Along with an appreciation of structure, crafting entertaining and engaging stories also involves a deep understanding of psychology.

  • Dramatist and Dramaturge

    Dramatist and Dramaturge

    Much has been written and said about point-of-view, the perspective and way in which a story or novel is depicted. This leads to two other questions. Whose story is the narrative? And who best to tell it?

  • What is Story?

    What is Story?

    Jerry Cleaver writes in Immediate Fiction, that story is a heightened sense of reality. Concentrated with the essence of reality, those essentials that render it authentic, and plausible through character descriptions and the crafted context, story is not reality as we know it.

  • Swimming

    Swimming

    During vacation I made a point of making sure I went into the ocean each day, just wading. Marine therapy is so good for the body and soul. I also went swimming during that time.  It was great. Exercise and deep breathing deepens my sleep. I slept a lot during our vacation.  I dreamed a…

  • The Insight of a Coach

    The Insight of a Coach

    Asking questions is part of Elizabeth Stark‘s job as a writing coach. A primary question she addresses for her clients is, “What’s the experience of reading this work?” The experience of reading a work cannot be easily, if at all, accessed by the writer or author of the work. And if so, the writer must…