Writing Etude #1: Having Pieces Left Over In Your Hand

This entry is part 1 of 6 in the series For Writers

Since coming back to the saxophone, I’ve discovered what an amazing resource the internet is for a musician who is looking into techniques, looking for ways to improve his or her playing. Within ten minutes of looking around, one finds all kinds of homegrown etudes, studies, all kinds of things one can download, print out, […]

Etudes for Writers, #2: A Fine Balance

This entry is part 2 of 6 in the series For Writers

At Clarion West, our instructor–one of my favorite authors, the brilliant Maureen F. McHugh–suggested an idea to our class that seemed, when I heard it, to be self-evidently logical and obvious… except of course I’d never heard it stated explicitly before, or thought of it myself, and when she suggested it, my mind was also blown […]

Paracelsus, Alchemy, and Character Development: A Widget for Writers

This entry is part 5 of 6 in the series For Writers

The other day, I posted on the idea of “widgets” for writers. Here’s an example: a double-widget focused on character development. Over the last few weeks, I’ve been taking a break and reading up on some of the subjects I need to know more about for the remainder of the book I’m working on. Namely, about The South […]