I managed to find the tiny gravel fire-road in the middle of the woods where we were going to be filming the first shots for a commercial I’d been cast in. How the location scouts had found these roads to begin with, I had no idea. I drove down and found the crew setting up. […]

I can be a word snob; I admit that.  But I am also a reasonable man.  When things reach such a crisis level as this, immediate diplomatic action is required, lest things break out in to total chaos. I am, of course, referring to Google’s addition to its definition of “literal” as “used for emphasis […]

Ah, the 5-paragraph essay.  It’s so great, isn’t it?  It creates a perfect essay, every time. And amazingly, no matter what you want to say – no matter what your point, how simple or how complex, you need exactly 5 paragraphs to do it.  It’s astonishing!  How to make pasta? 5 paragraphs.  Explaining how to calculate […]

In the wake of yet another horrific school shooting, the idea has re-emerged that the solution is to arm teachers. Obviously, this is a rational, logical plan with very few potential downsides. And not to nitpick but, as a teacher, I do have a couple areas I’m unclear on: Do I have to pay for […]

Often, a couple days before my students turn in a piece of writing, I have them reflect on the process and product at that point. The reflection typically concludes with two questions: What are you going to not do that you will wish you’d done? What question are you going to wish you’d asked me? […]

Okay, you know the 7 Deadly Sins.  Lust, sloth, greed, etc. (you can rent Se7en if you need a refresher).  Well I’ve always wondered why there isn’t an 8th.  You have to understand, though, I don’t mean “sin” in the sense of the pet-peeves of a petulant God, fuming from the heavens. I mean in the […]

But why? Why did it bother me? Sure, I always outline. (okay, generally not blog posts and, yes, I recognize the irony). My approach in writing is always I want to know exactly where I’m going, and I want to be wrong.

In other words, respect the arc and ending, but hope to have moments of inspiration that surprise and grow the narrative.

Something I tell my students is that at each point in my life so far, there’s been something about that stage that’s been the best it’s ever been, and something that been the hardest. And the challenge was to not forget the best stuff. So here’s the short version of the best and the worst, […]