2/2/17: An advertising campaign only succeeds when the audience remembers the product. Similarly, a writer succeeds when the reader remembers her/his story. As Jack Hart notes in STORY CRAFT, "...we remember facts more accurately if we're exposed to them in a story, rather than a list, and that we're more likely to buy the arguments that lawyers make in a trial if they present them as part of a narrative." When beginning a new project, regardless of the topic or genre, remind yourself hourly that this mass of letters and marks must, in the end, tell a story.

2/5/17: If Inspiration were a game it would be Hide & Seek. We've known the rules since childhood and yet we are still outwitted. Everyday we give Inspiration permission to hide, believing we've discovered all of its spots, every hidden shelf and basement laundry chute, and can recall the rascal at whim. There are days when we even succeed, banging away at computer keys, a foot tapping and every nerve standing on end like static electricity. We feel confident, we feel accomplished and we feel in complete control – and then it's gone. Inspiration loves this game. Writers obviously do to because we keep seeking. Whenever I "find" our friend in a new hiding spot, I like to share. Today I came across Inspiration at an off-Broadway show in New York City, Royal Family Production's most recent project, Thoughts Of A Colored Man on a day when the sun set too early. There are nine protagonists in this play and it is the stories of these nine colored men that establish the theme of the play, how they butt up against each other, intimidate each other, enhance each other, enlighten each other, until the audience recognizes that together they are one story – a Rubik’s cube of the contemporary black man’s American experience. Yet, it is their names that both elevate the conflict and connect the audience to it. Depression, Happiness, Anger, Love, Lust, Peace, Wisdom, Despair and Passion have individual stories which reflect their quiddity – Depression agonizes over being bar-coded by clients in the convenience store where he’s employed, and Anger rages about the years of education stolen from him, along with his scholarship, when he breaks his leg, "I used to be great". The layering of these individual stories serves a dual purpose of audience connection and theme immersion. In other words, you walk out of the theater with an enhanced perspective and the inspiration to act on it. There it is! Now what will you do with it?

2/8/17: Out of the box and into elementary school with my daughter's 4th Grade class. My daughter is the teacher and I am the guest speaker. Kids creating poetry is a magical thing. Best line of the day (other than those below) – "Can we write as much as we want?" Some of their generative work:

“THE DREAM TEAM
It’s raining in the streets and
In the Five Nights of Freddy’s Pizzeria
I saw Freddy.
He was running at me
I screamed
Then he ate me and
When I woke I went to sleep again.
It felt real like Mario
Came out of nowhere and Luigi came too.
Luigi and Mario DESTROYED all five nights
At Freddy’s.
In real life and dreams and mind
Captured by a living chocolate bar
We made The Dream Team.
Respawned in Minecraft
Sponge Bob ko’d them all.
”

“IN THE FIELD WITH UNICORNS
No one is here and
My sisters play with me and
Our unicorns.
We pretend we ride them
Through sunset,
Into the west wind
Talking until dinner
In the field with unicorns.
”

“ICE CREAM AND THE MACHINE
There’s a new store in town and
It has a lot of books,
A challenge with a prize.
The prize is ice cream and
A trip to Disneyland.
I will win that prize!
I hear they have a claw machine and
They use it to scratch people
Like bears.
I don’t like that. In my life
I will never go there.
I would just cry,
Embarrassing myself.
”

“RAINBOW SHOES
From here I see
A haunted house with a hat
And a boat and another ghost.
His hat was blown and his shoes
Were rainbows.
Then he came at me until
I go away.
I run.
I run to my house and nobody
Believed me.
So I’m in my room for
My whole life.
”

“TOMORROW
Tomorrow I will be strange.
Go to the pool with water balloons.
Cool off with snow cones,
Strawberry flavored.
A coke with that because
I am thirsty.
Relaxing on a chair with
A poop emoji
That makes me happy.
Like pie and chocolate,
Air Head Extremes and dumplings and
Charlene’s bouncy hair.
”

“THE RUNAWAY KID
My superpower is I can make
People do whatever I want.
A little crazy, but cool.
Going into Hunger Games?
What does that mean.
Nevermind. No. Why would I
Run away,
Where I will be happy?
No. Ok? Friend?
”

2/9/17: Hello from the AWP (Association of Writers & Writing Programs) Conference in Washington DC! Attended a panel discussion this morning on "Demystifying the Business Side of Writing & Publishing." For my manuscript clients who are seeking publication, agents, etc., I came away with two primary bullet points:

1. Know your audience: Take the time to research, whether it's a small press, an on-line pub or an individual agent – do your homework before submitting or querying.

2. TWITTER: Get a Twitter account. Evidently agents are finding authors, publications are finding journalists and writers are finding jobs, as they tweet. There are pitch parties, press parties and launch parties. Party on and get a tweet.