When I was a young boy, I could lose myself for hours writing stories and painting pictures. I’d get together with a friend of mine, and we’d draw little silly cartoons together. They were really crappy cartoons, but they were our own, and we had a great time. I grew up, learned more about the … Read more
How do you become a good writer? There are many paths, but there’s an interesting section in Steven Pressfield’s memoir Govt Cheese. He tells tales from his time in Hollywood, when he still had no wins under his belt and was working under Ronald Shusett. Officially they worked as a team of writers, but Pressfield … Read more
If you’re getting nowhere with your art, and you’re seriously wondering whether you’re just making a fool out of your self with your quixotic quest, here’s a bit of advice bestselling author Steven Pressfield received when he was in his fourties. Pressfield had been pursuing his dream of being a writer for almost 30 years … Read more
One thing I love about podcasts is that you can kind of carry them with you, almost like your thoughts, while you’re doing something else. I love listening to podcasts while I go for a walk or exercise, and there are plenty of podcasts on creativity that I’ve discovered this way, and that have enriched … Read more
We all hurt. We all feel pain. I sure know I do, and if you’re reading this and you think you’re not, then you’re kidding yourself. (Or you’re enlightened, but then why the heck would you be reading this?) That’s not to say that life can’t be beautiful. I love life. But the pain is … Read more
There’s that famous statistic by Albert Mehrabian that’s gotten quoted probably a million times that communication is 55% nonverbal, 38% vocal, and 7% words only. This is only true in the specific context in which Mehrabian conducted his research, but it’s universally true that the words we use are only a small part of how … Read more
Charlie Kaufman has written movies like Adaptation, Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Anomalisa, I’m Thinking of Ending Things, and others. What I love most about Charlie Kaufman is the depth of his thinking, and how his art expresses truth. The following are quotes from a BAFTA lecture he gave on 30 … Read more
Sometimes the best thing you can do when you suffer from writer’s block is to procrastinate more productively; like watching movies about writing. I don’t know why, but there’s something to losing yourself in a well-written story about writers that somehow unclogs my creative pipes, and I hope it does the same for you too. … Read more
In 1978 Brunello Cucinelli founded a luxury fashion brand in Italy, but what’s most remarkable about him is his life’s story. He grew up as the son of a farmer, leading oxen over the fields. He also fondly remembers the Italian cafes, where people would drink coffee at two in the morning, play card games, … Read more
Morning pages have been a creative game changer for me. It’s a simple practice of writing out whatever is on your mind first thing in the morning, with pen on paper. There’s much more to it, but essentially it’s as simple as that. You can literally start writing morning pages with just that information. If … Read more