How Revision Reveals the Artist Within
“The first draft reveals the art; revision reveals the artist.” — Michael Lee You know that saying, “the devil is in the details?” With writing, the devil and I have become good pals. There was a time when I felt like a failed writer, adrift in a sea of half-formed ideas and clumsy sentences. In […]
True Art Comes Naturally
The elusive and mystifying world of art inspires awe and wonder in many of those who prefer the practical and concrete.However, the world of creative expression is often grossly misunderstood, especially when it comes to the creative process. We’ve all had the experience of staring at a stark white piece of paper or the haunting […]
Imperfection is Beauty, Madness is Genius
There’s something almost poetic about stumbling across a quote that smacks you in the face with its sheer truth. It’s especially true when it’s from a woman whose life was a masterclass in walking the tightrope between brilliance and batshit crazy. Marilyn Monroe once quipped, “Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius, and it’s better to […]
Alex Melton and His Genius Alternative Rock Song Covers
As someone obsessed with finding innovative covers of my favorite songs, I was fortunate to stumble across Alex Melton’s YouTube channel. I first became aware of Alex through his collaboration with First to Eleven in their cover of Dua Lipa’s “Levitating,” a rare recent pop song that I quite enjoy. While his true talents weren’t […]
Learnings of a Hapless Dreamer
Often I’ve seen myself as a hapless dreamer, stuck in a world full of seeming coincidences. Everyone is whining and wallowing in self-pity, making up all sorts of excuses instead of trying to better themselves. After all, it’s easy to get caught up in the rat race, running from one thing to the next, thinking […]
The Genius Introspection of “Dancepack” by Volcano Choir
“Take Note, There’s Still a Hole in Your Heart” – Volcano Choir, “Dancepack” My wife and I often listen to Bon Iver, as Tom is a big fan of Justin Vernon. Justin also has another musical project called Volcano Choir, which we both also enjoy, for the most part. One song from Volcano Choir is […]
Do You Want to Be a Thought Leader?
When I first became serious about writing online, both in personal blogging and in freelance web writing, I read a lot about thought leadership. But, what baffled me was, despite everyone talking about becoming a thought leader, no one really talked about how one actually becomes a thought leader in your certain area of expertise. […]
Does Word Count Matter?
As a former freelance writer, I would obsess over word count like a marathon runner counting steps. It wasn’t just important; hit that magic number, and the heavens would open, blessing me with more pageviews, satisfied editors, and maybe a check with an extra zero. Or so I thought. But does word count really matter, […]