The Pack S1 E6

Posted on November 25, 2019October 8, 2020 by admin

Buffy and the Art of Story Podcast Cover

This week on Buffy and the Art of Story: The Pack, Season 1, Episode 6 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This episode includes how to build the character of the victim to make the loss greater while misdirecting the audience regarding who the victim will be. As always, the discussion is spoiler-free, except at the end (with plenty of warning). Story Elements in The Pack In this podcast episode we'll look at how The Pack handles: All major plot points Creating a victim the audience likes...

Never Kill A Boy On The First Date S1 E5

Posted on November 18, 2019October 8, 2020 by admin

This week on Buffy and the Art of Story: Never Kill A Boy On The First Date. (Season 1, Episode 5 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.) The podcast episode covers interweaving plot lines, theme, and cliffhangers versus game changers. As always, the discussion is spoiler-free, except at the end (with plenty of warning). Story Elements in Never Kill A Boy On The First Date In this podcast episode we’ll look at how Buffy handles: All the major plot turns in this standalone episode How the d...

The Sights, Sounds, and Smells of Downtown Chicago

Posted on July 11, 2018 by admin

Monday I did something wonderful. I took my first walk through downtown Chicago since late April when I broke my foot. I'm still in an Aircast, but I'm getting around well enough to walk alone. It felt fantastic. First I walked from my physical therapist's office to the main Chase bank branch on Monroe and Dearborn. I'd been hoping to sit in the lobby area overlooking the plaza and fountain and rest, but it was under construction. As is everywhere near downtown Chicago these days it se...

Living On The Cusp

Posted on January 27, 2016 by admin

My life changed in an instant. One moment I was outgoing and sociable, impulsive and carefree, bordering on irresponsible. I was an optimist operating on blind faith, the type who jumped in first and worried about consequences later. A moment later, I became someone who preferred solitude to the point of being reclusive. I was careful and methodical and my view on life was realistic, if not pessimistic. What changed in that one moment? My sign. As I switched from one website to another, I transf...

Is It Good To Be A True Believer?

Posted on January 21, 2016 by admin

I'm currently revising Book 3 in my supernatural thriller series. In the first quarter of the story, one character takes a swipe at another for being a "true believer". (The characters are Eric Holmes and Cyril Woods for those who are following the Awakening series.) I run into this phrase in my other profession, law, as well. Typically I defend companies or corporations against lawsuits, and on a few occasions my colleagues and I have referred to the lawyers on the other side as true believers,...

The Frightening World Of Work

Posted on January 13, 2016 by admin

I've been thinking a lot about work lately. Specifically, how work affects quality of life. Last year was one of change for me. I shifted to writing fiction full time. Before that, I practiced law full time, and before that, I worked in various office jobs and later as a paralegal, always writing on the side.The Willis Tower, one setting for my urban horror.As an attorney, I've never, ever, been bored. I learn new things every day—about my clients’ businesses, changes in the law, new courtroom t...

Missed Communications And The Rise Of The Emojis

Posted on January 7, 2016 by admin

I had another topic in mind for this week’s blog post, but I started reading comments from beta readers (first readers who critique a writer’s manuscript) for The Conflagration, Book 3 in my supernatural thriller series, and it got me thinking about how people communicate, and fail to communicate, in today’s world. The readers of this draft of The Conflagration raised questions about plot points and characters that I had thought I’d written clearly. One bit of crucial information about who is se...

What’s Next: Goals, But No Resolutions

Posted on December 30, 2015 by admin

I've never been much for New Year's resolutions. If in the first month I miss a few days of exercise or skip practicing piano, it’s too easy to chuck the whole thing. Also, if something truly matters to me, I’m usually already doing it. I've always loved to write. Happy or sad, depressed or excited, employed or unemployed, sick or well, I've written something, whether it’s novels, poetry, short stories, or journal entries, so I've never needed to set a resolution to write more. Likewise, if I re...

Live to Work or Work to Live: Thoughts on Work/Life Balance

Posted on September 1, 2015 by admin

The other day on a podcast, entrepreneur and author Joanna Penn said something like you only worry about work/life balance when you dislike what you do. This caught my ear. My feelings about how work fits in my life, or how it "should" fit, have changed during the last six months, partly because I've shifted professionally so that most of my work time relates to my thriller writing. Even so, I'm not sure I completely agree with Joanna's comment. During the 14+ years when the majority of my work ...

6 Things I Learned In The Last Year About Writing And Business

Posted on January 9, 2015 by admin

During much of the last fourteen years, I worked full-time--and then some--as a lawyer and wrote fiction on the side. Last year, I gradually shifted gears so that now more than half my professional life is devoted to writing and to the business side of writing. Below are a few things I've learned along the way.Get Out: Getting outside once a day, no matter what the weather, boosts my mental health. Much as writing all day at an antique desk in my home office sounds appealing when it's ten ...