With Halloween coming up next month, I decided to finish watching Universal Studios' best-known monster movies (Frankenstein, Dracula, The Invisible Man, The Mummy, The Creature from the Black Lagoon). I've already mentioned one of these movies in a recent article, and plan to analyze another in an article I'll release at the end of October. For now, …
Continue reading 10 Tips for Surviving a Universal Monster Movie
6-word short stories are interesting. One of the most famous ones is attributed to Ernest Hemingway and goes like this: For sale: baby shoes, never worn. I recently finished a round of short stories for a contest, here's one of the ones that didn't make the final cut, titled "Later": Somehow, I forget her every day.
Here's one of writing's funny paradoxes: experts often say you should write about the things which move you, the things that really get you excited or angry or sad. But writing about what makes you angry can create lopsided stories where you just rant instead of telling the story. Is there a way to write …
Continue reading Terry Pratchett, Frank Miller and Using Rage to Fuel Good Writing
How do people decide whether violence is acceptable in a story? To make this broader matter, how do they decide whether sex scenes and other possibly disturbing material (I'll call this "difficult material" from now on) are acceptable in a given story? After all, some people have no problem enjoying stories that have difficult material, …
Some of you may remember my article last Halloween week about how horror stories can be good for you. Following up in that area, here's my recent list of 4 great monster films (including the little-known movie that inspired the Joker) that you should check out. Enjoy...
Some time ago, I argued in one of my articles that a great way artistic Christians can connect with other churchgoers is by studying books together about art. Here are some of the best books I've read about how faith and art intersect (including the classic Art and the Bible by Francis Schaeffer): https://www.theodysseyonline.com/6-books-small-groups-studies-christian-art If you're …
Last month, I wrote an article (just published today) about Crossbeams, a fascinating new building toy by Colorado Springs entrepreneur Charles Sharman. Like LEGO and other popular building toys, Crossbeams has parts you can use to build dozens of things, but here's the difference: each Crossbeams set lets you build more things with less parts …
Continue reading Article and Pictures of A Great New Product
Most professional writers have a secret to producing quality work at such a fast pace: they know how to reuse their work really well. In this recent article, I talk about how experts like Raymond Chandler used this secret to build their careers, how it's helped me, and how you can use it too. Enjoy
“Confound it! The batteries are dead!” I chuckled a little as I watched Batman (played by Adam West) look from the useless gadget in his hands to the torpedo dashing toward him and Robin. Yes, it’s a silly joke. Adam West himself admitted the 1960’s “Batman” TV show and movie were supposed to have a …
If you've read many of my blogs, you probably know I enjoy writing about Christians who are also artists and how churches sometimes struggle to connect with them. In this article, recently published by the Odyssey, I suggest some things churches can do to better connect with artists. Enjoy
