writing
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The following is a transcript of Episode 3 of The Divine Dissatisfaction podcast. Listen here. A few months ago, I wrote a blog focused on TV shows that capture the creative process. I’ll include a link to the post in my show notes, but essentially what I was talking about was my love for programs like Portrait
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The following is a transcript of Episode 3 of The Divine Dissatisfaction podcast. Click here to listen to the episode. Last month, I realized that one of my projects was celebrating a significant anniversary. It had been a decade since I self-produced a workshop production of my play The Maple Leaves. This is a project that for
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This is a transcript of Episode 1: Encased from The Divine Dissatisfaction Podcast. Click here to listen to the episode. Here where I live in southwestern Ontario, we have, not often, but definitely more often than we used to, these periods of freezing rain. And on those mornings, I take my dog to the park, and we
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As a structure-focused/structure-first kind of writer, I spend a lot of time before I really begin drafting on brainstorming and organizing scene ideas and essentially looking to see the larger patterns of the story emerging. I’m essentially spending a lot of time upfront working with the story’s structure on a macro level. I thought this
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When I teach closed form poetry, I’ll often use a clip from Taskmaster, a British TV show that features celebrities (primarily comedians) competing in a series of often ridiculous challenges. Each task has specific rules, and most of the time there’s always some time pressure element, and that can lead to some spectacular failures, but
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In my last blog, I wrote about those critical voices inside our heads that never seem to completely leave the creative process. If you’re struggling with your inner critic in your writing practice, here are three things to try: Here are a few additional resources on working with your inner critic: Get Rid of That Jerk by
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I must have started this month’s post over a dozen times in my head, thinking of an idea, turning it around a few times in my mind, and then dismissing it, the flash of inspiration extinguished by the desire to get it right. Because January brings with it a particular pressure—even if what we’re trying
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I’m a sucker for any show focused on the creative process. Portrait Artist of the Year, Landscape Artist of the Year, The Great British Sewing Bee, Blown Away, The Big Flower Fight, The Great Pottery Throwdown—basically any show that lets me witness creators creating. Part of my love for these shows is the ability to witness
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A couple of weeks ago, I became frustrated while prepping for my Introduction to Creative Writing class. I was trying to decide on a writing exercise to use for our lesson on character, and I couldn’t figure out which one to use. When I used to teach Communications and Business Writing, the courses were always
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Fall has always felt like a season of re-commitment to my writing. Often that’s taken the form of really digging into a particular project — either beginning something new or deep revision of a work-in-progress. This fall has looked different than the last few, though. Late in August I was offered the chance to teach
heather debling 