writing

Embracing Ambiguity

24 December 2009 Arts

Recently I was watching an Art 21 episode that featured American photographer Sally Mann. Mann is probably best known for her 8×10 glass plate portraits of her children as they grew up (my personal favorite being “Candy Cigarette” pictured at right). As Mann worked on photographs of rawhide dog bones, she attempted to describe what it was that she loved about the project (which to my art-dumb eyes seemed rather odd). During this interview, Mann said something that really struck me…

Tagged as: ambiguity, art, history, photography, writing

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“Why I Write”

24 December 2009 Arts

I have many times sat down to write a fantastic short story or the great American novel with the “work of art” mentality that kills. Every stroke of the pen, every clack of the keyboard is met with ultimate frustration as you begin to measure yourself by the standards of Hemingway, Faulkner, O’Connor, et al. You realize that your genius is insignificant compared to the literary giants that inspire you. As the light of their blazing suns engulfs you, you realize that you are but a candle being jostled by the winds of self-consciousness: “Give up now, Stephen,” the wind says.

Tagged as: muse, writing

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OmniOutliner — My Usage

19 January 2009 Uncategorized

Most who know me and know Macs, know that I love software put out by the “OmniGroup”:http://www.omnigroup.com/. Their applications are smart, sophisticated, totally Mac-ified, user-friendly, and a host of other descriptive but over-used adjectives as well. Specifically, “OmniOutliner”:http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnioutliner/ and “OmniGraffle”:http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnigraffle/ are pretty much daily applications for me. In fact, OmniOutliner almost never closes. This article [...]

Tagged as: notes, omnioutliner, outlining, tools, writing

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ThursNight: January Update

1 January 2009 Uncategorized

Back in October, I wrote a series of posts about my experience at the Austin Film Festival. The Festival was fantastic because it really kick-started the creative process for me. I spent several weeks in a good mode. However, all good things come to an end. The holidays began, and I was derailed. The creative [...]

Tagged as: creativity, short film, Thursday Night, writing

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REVIEW: "W." (movie)

17 October 2008 Reviews

This evening, I had the pleasure of seeing W., Oliver Stone‘s new biopic about George W. Bush. The premiere had been Wednesday in New York, and Stone screened it at the Austin Film Festival on Thursday with James Cromwell (who is perhaps nine feet tall!) in attendance and fielding Q&A after the movie. I’ve got [...]

Tagged as: josh brolin, movies, oliver stone, Reviews, writing

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Need Snowball? Have Writing Party.

16 July 2008 Uncategorized

For me, writing is like a snowball. Unfortunately, I live in Texas where snowballs are rare; therefore, I have to make my own. Making your own snowball can be a blast, and recently, a friend of mine showed me a great way: WRITING PARTY The friend is “John Ramsey”:http://www.myspace.com/johnramseycomedy. You may have seen him in [...]

Tagged as: getting started, how-to, writer's block, writing

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Tools: Scrivener

11 June 2008 Reviews

scrivener __noun historical__ a clerk, scribe, or notary. ORIGIN Middle English : shortening of Old French escrivein, from Latin scriba (see scribe). Thank you, __New Oxford American Dictionary__ that came bundled with my Mac. Scrivener isn’t just some __noun historical__, it’s also a smashing piece of writing software from the folks at Literature and Latte [...]

Tagged as: scrivener, software, tools, writing

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Blogging My Trip — What To Do?

30 April 2008 Uncategorized

Soon I will be posting, in some fashion, about my recent trip to Big Bend National Park. It was a fun little adventure, and I’m trying to determine exactly how it should be blogged. On the one hand, I took my trusty moleskine with me, and I’m tempted to just transcribe that, with necessary editions [...]

Tagged as: big bend, big bend national park, blogging, friends, moleskine, photography, texas, travel, writing

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Romancing the Notebook

14 April 2008 Uncategorized

Man, I’ve gone through a drought. Perhaps not a drought of epic proportions, but I do feel like Israel waiting for Moses to tap on that rock. More than anything, I’d like to break out of this drought and get back into the glorious habit of writing daily. I’ve produced practically nothing for a couple [...]

Tagged as: notebooks, tips, tools, writing

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February Progress

29 February 2008 Uncategorized

This month saw my efforts on this blog gradually slow. Not surprising, I suppose. This is in keeping with my M.O. when it comes to these sorts of things. February, however, was not at all uneventful. Finished up a story, started work on editing another, and ultimately came to a decision that I had at [...]

Tagged as: novels, progress, short stories, writing

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