Level Up Your Writing with Colorful Prose!

What is prose? Prose is a form of written language, which typically resembles ordinary speech. It usually looks blocky on the page. It flows naturally. It can be creative. In fact, I'm using prose right now. There are many different kinds of prose. The most common types are: NonfictionalFictionalHeroicProse Poetry These four types branch off …

The Best Writing Tips/Advice Ever!

One of the Facebook groups I belong to asked members to comment on the best writing advice they ever received. I want to share these tips with you. 🙂 To free write or journal often to help discover and hone my voice. Block off time to write and write something every day, even when you …

Sometimes I Read Slow, Sometimes I Read Quick

Nice & Smooth is an East Coast hip hop duo from New York City that consists of Gregory O. "Greg Nice" Mays and Darryl O. "Smooth B" Barnes plus their deejay Tedd "DJ Teddy Tedd" Whiting. Like most music I took a fancy to, my older brothers had introduced them to me. Back in the 90s …

Seduced by Second-Person Point of View

The first time I dipped my toes in this intimate and imperative style was while reading "Choose Your Own Adventure" books. Oh, and prior to that time was when my mom read "The Monster at the End of This Book" told by lovable Grover. In my high school honors class, I remember reading another second-person …

An Analysis of The Many Faces of Ito

Netflix's The Many Faces of Ito is based on a novel by Japanese author Asako Yuzuki called "Ito-Kun A to E". To be fair, I believe that both male and female writers are capable of writing characters outside of their own experiences, provided that they put in the blood, sweat, and tears to write these …

What’s in a Name? A Lot.

Most of us are familiar with the German fairy tale, Rumpelstiltskin. If you're unfamiliar with it, you can read up on him here, here, or even here. Fast-forwarding to the end of the fairy tale, the once upon a time peasant Queen is triumphant because discovering his titular name is what seals his fate. The …

HELP! I Have an Overactive Imagination and (sometimes) I’m Afraid to Use it!

I remember once when I was sitting at home with my oldest son, (he was eight at the time), and he snapped at me, "Why do you keep laughing?" We were supposed to be enjoying silent reading time, or perhaps I was enjoying it a little too much because I couldn't stop laughing out loud …

“The Many Faces of Ito” is . . . delightful.

The Japanese TV Drama, "The Many Faces of Ito" has it all and then some. I binge-watched it when it debuted on Netflix and may mostly re-watch it. Why? Unrequited love. Misunderstandings. Best Friends Forever Betrayal. Oh. My. Goodies! The series is mostly about Rio Yazaki, a jaded rom-com screenwriter who is struggling to make …

Haikubes – April 25th, 2020

Theme and Direction A reflection on . . . my family. Sunrise to sunset Ichi-go ichi-e, to Moonrise to moonset.

Haikubes – April 24th, 2020

Theme and Direction A reflection on . . . my work life. Tout kod gen de bout. Crystallize me if you dare, but even ice shifts.