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What does writing improv look like? Like the Live Write at David Rocklin’s Roar Shack in Los Angeles. Here is how he describes the Live Write: Live Write! A thrilling feat of writerly improvisation! As you arrive, you get to vote on a prompt. The winning prompt will be revealed to four intrepid authors –…
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My brother died November 19th. Growing up at the beach, I was in the water all the time. One of the scariest things that can happen is getting caught in that washing machine when big wave after big wave comes pounding into shore and you can barely get your breath in between and you wonder…
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Why do you want to create? Why do you write, act, compose, play? If you don’t know, spend some time and get clear on the why. That “why” is the engine that drives you. It keeps you going after rejection – and rejection always comes. It helps if there is some aspect of service in…
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About a week ago, I had the pleasure of attending a storytelling workshop at CBS with Ryan Gattis of Chapman University. He spoke about five essentials to create immersive fiction. Basically those include arousing the audience’s curiosity, subverting expectations and using the way we process information to the writer’s advantage. He recommended a few books,…
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Last week, I wrote about owning your own shadow. This week, I’ve been reading Robert A. Johnson’s book on The Fisher King and The Handless Maiden and again, it’s resonating. Hands, writing, feelings…. We’ve done a weird inversion of the feeling and the rational. We increasingly replace rational solutions on a societal level – the…
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Perhaps since it’s October and Halloween is just around the corner, the dark, the spooky, the unseen are more on my mind. Robert A. Johnson, a Jungian psychologist, wrote a slim book, Owning Your Own Shadow: Understanding the Dark Side of the Psyche that is very helpful for artists. He’s also the author of She, He, and…
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The few things I’ve learned so far from the Alexander Technique at Body Chance are that your head is always in motion, your head and neck are attached behind your nose (focus on that while writing or walking and see what happens), your arm is a larger-than-imagined hinge and the glide hinges are at the…
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Sunday evening, I had the great pleasure of taking a workshop at Body Chance from Benedikt Negro, lead performer in Cirque du Soleil’s O for the past 11 years. Let that sink in a moment. 11 years, 10 shows a week and no injuries, thanks in part to the Alexander Technique. That’s something like 5,000 performances. He…
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I use Grammarly’s online proofreader because borrowing is fine for books, a cup of sugar, or for good luck on your wedding day, but you want my work? Pay for it! Don’t copy – steal like an artist. And if you’re going to steal like an artist, please know what you’re doing. Learn about the artful manipulation of…
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If you pursue the creative life, the journey will be, well, if not easier, more pleasant if you are kind to yourself. As a friend is fond of saying, the world is hard enough on you, why be hard on yourself? Please watch this, especially for the important distinction between self-esteem and self-compassion:
Diane Sherlock 
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