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Metaphor Lesson Series
This hub page will direct you to the lessons, exercises, and games in my metaphor lesson series. For more detailed descriptions of the exercises below, check out the metaphor exercise page. Lesson 1:...
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On the Connecticut Shooting: Stop feeling, start doing. You can help.
The world is reeling with the news of the Connecticut massacre. That these children have died is a tragedy that leaves so many of us speechless. Children, and the innocence of children, remain—despite...
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BCF #1 Prompt 2: The River’s Shore
Greetings fellow writers, The second BCF prompt is up, and my entry is complete. You’ll find it below, after a few thoughts about this flash fiction competition. A Few Words About How Awesome BCF Is...
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ICftW: Oxford Commas – Now part of a Nutritious Breakfast
Hey there writers, Today, I have yet another contribution in my obsessive war-waging for the Oxford comma. This time it’s a wonderful comic demonstrating the eternal rightness and goodness of the...
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Attaching the Flesh: A Character Questionnaire
Characters easily make or break a story. It’s not about having a “good” or “bad” character; rather, it’s a difference of dimensions. To give your characters that third dimension of presence requires...
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9 Tricks to Make Your Dialogue More Organic
When I was in second grade, my teacher told my parents, “I don’t know what to do about Rob. He talks like an adult. The other children don’t understand him.” In an attempt to remedy that issue, I paid...
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FSF: The End
This is my contribution to the lovely Lillie McFerrin’s weekly “Five Sentence Fiction” challenge. The idea is simple: Write a five-sentence story based on a one-word prompt. Today’s prompt is “Ending.”...
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Three Blinding Myths of the Writing Community: A Debunking
I spent most Thursday in heated discussions incited by my latest LitReactor article (“8 Reasons Intelligent Writers Must Read Twilight”). That article drove at but never fully elaborated on some of the...
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Writerly Humor: Show, Don’t Tell
Hey there writers, This week’s writer’s comic is about that famous authorial adage “Show, don’t tell.” If you’re having trouble reading the text, click on the image for a larger version. This is not an...
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Green Eggs & Ham: A Novelization – Part 3 & 4
My “9 Tricks for Organic Dialogue” used a spoof novelization of a scene from Green Eggs & Ham. One thing led to another, and now I’m writing a dramatic novelization of this Seuss classic. This post...
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Dear Pain: A Letter to My Muse
This is my example piece for the “Letter to Your Muse” writing exercise. Note that my example is written in a lyric prose style. This is by no means a mandatory part of the assignment. Use your own...
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Writerly Humor: What Writers Do
I’m sure you remember the phase everyone went through on Facebook where every third post was an image of “What [group] thinks [profession] does.” It’s been long enough for me that I’m not rolling my...
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Writing Exercise: A Letter to Your Muse
I started TA work on Tuesday for an Honors Intro to Creative Writing course with Dr Laura Hamblin. In the two class periods that have taken place so far, I already have about five items I want to port...
View ArticleThree Hours to Valentine’s
The following is a piece of creative nonfiction written in 2nd person. It’s posted here as the “imperative” style so I can link it into other discussions. Note that this is not a piece I consider to be...
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Write-Brained: The Neuroscience of Writing and Writer’s Block
Part 1: Finding the Creative Space in the Human Mind Today’s task is an easy one: I’m going to take you on a quick tour of your brain so we can locate your “creative brain,” and through that discovery...
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BCF: The (R)evolution
I spent a good amount of time discussing the origins and awesomeness of BCF, so I’ll skip past that this time around. I’ll simply say that BCF is a contest where you’re provided with an image prompt...
View ArticleDear Lack of Follow-Through: A Letter to My Anti-Muse
This is my example piece for the “Letter to Your Anti-Muse” writing exercise (link pending). Dear Lack of Follow-Through: I really appreciate the years we’ve spent together. Those were some great times...
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What Is a Metaphor? 17 Definitions [a poem]
To read more about metaphors, check out my lesson series on the topic. If you’re looking for a more concrete (and less demonstrative) definition of metaphor, check out Metaphor Basics: The Definition...
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Spotlight: Jamaal May [Poet]
Who Is Jamaal May? Jamaal is a poet of both the stage and page. His background (which starts with “Detroiter” but extends to the point of breaking borders, breaking until borders extend) has given him...
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Green Eggs & Ham: A Novelization – Part 5 & 6
My “9 Tricks for Organic Dialogue” used a spoof novelization of a scene from Green Eggs & Ham. One thing led to another, and now I’m writing a dramatic novelization of this Seuss classic. This post...
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