In that excellent 1980s film Throw Momma from the Train, the two main characters (one, a creative writing instructor; the other, his student) keep chanting the mantra of the instructor’s class: “a writer writes… always.” Stephen King in On Writing gives the same advice, as does Cerebus creator Dave Sim, who says something like (I’m… Continue reading I’m still alive
Tag: Writing
The noun disconnect
The English language changes. It’s a fact of life. Much as grammarians and pedants would love for it to stay the same, it changes. I understand that change is inevitable—I don’t have to like the change, though. I have finally embraced the verb impact, and I still cringe when someone says something was [insert adverb]… Continue reading The noun disconnect
Owning Subjectivity
Through various times in my education, I was taught to not use the first person and to use an “objective” voice in my writing. When I became an English teacher, I taught my students a similar principle, except I called it “the illusion of objectivity.” Objectivity is an interesting concept, but I do believe it… Continue reading Owning Subjectivity
This is the kind of writer I am
I’m not the only one who had dreams of writing “the great American novel.” Having a penchant for drawing also gave me dreams of writing the great American comic book, too (sort of like Dave Sim’s great Canadian comic book Cerebus). God knows I’ve had many false starts. Such works take commitment, though. And, as… Continue reading This is the kind of writer I am