One of my favorite movies ever is The Secret Life of Walter Mitty–the new one, with Ben Stiller. (I have the ticket stub in my wallet still to remind me to get out there and stop dreaming and start living, but that’s neither here nor there.) Aside from being incredibly inspiring, it’s just brilliantly executed. The storytelling is excellent. But…
I type happily away on my computer, writing my current novel, engrossed in a scene of drama, betrayal, fear, doubt, and growing tension — all ready to swallow my character up in a maw of darkness, or give way in a moment of light. The climax approaches — the stakes are beyond the stratosphere — he’s giving in — he’s…
About half the time I’m driving–to work, to church, traveling, or just running errands–I like to listen to podcasts, lectures, sermons, audiobooks, etc. I like to feel I’m being productive, to not just drive but also to try to improve my mind. The other half of the time, I need to unwind and I like to play music. Usually Pandora…
Those of you who know me well know that I dislike talking to people much of the time. Especially people I don’t know. I’m shy, I feel awkward, I get tongue-tied, and I’m much too easily embarrassed. I’m also a very private person (hence the enormous lack of personal posts on this blog). There are those things I’m perfectly comfortable…
New month, new project. I was finally able to wrap up my work on Firmament: Gestern, book five in the series, last month, and now I’m ready to move ahead with publishing the fourth! I”m extra excited about this one. First, because it’s a plotline I’ve wanted to use for years and I think people are really going to enjoy…
I was talking to a friend yesterday, a musician, and he was excitedly filling me in on some gigs he’d been able to play recently. At one point, we were talking about the joy of being able to make money doing what you love. He said, “You know, people try to say ‘It’s not about the money, it’s just about…
You know that saying “Genius is about one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration”? It’s like that with writing. Except writers generally don’t perspire. Unless they are scribbling away in mid-summer with broken air conditioning. But the same principle applies. It’s about one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent behind-in-chair-fingers-on-keyboard (or pen in hand, if that’s your thing). But that’s not…
Appearances can be deceiving. Awhile back, I wrote a post about how, despite the blatant immorality and atheism, the TV show House, M.D. actually has a more biblical worldview than you might expect. On the flip side, I’ve seen many shows that, while they seem much more moral on the surface, can actually harbor far more dangerous messages. I think…
One of my new year’s resolutions is to be more regular at blogging, and one change I want to make to the way I blog is to begin to include more personal things in my posts, rather than distancing myself by talking only about storytelling in general. As part of that, here’s something I wrote a few years back as…
For those who don’t know, I’m the oldest of nine kids. A position of great power and great responsibility. I was always told growing up to set a good example for the younger ones, which I”m afraid I probably didn’t do a very good job of. I have memories of enticing my younger sister to push the “help” buttons at…