A Liturgy for Beginning an Artistic Work
Happy New Year, dear friends. Here is a liturgy for all the beautiful things you will bring into being this year—both works of art and...
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Read More from the Rabbit Room
Oct 10, 2017
This Is for All the Lonely Writers
She sat in the second row amidst a noisy gaggle of fourth graders. She was petite and olive-skinned, and her dark eyes measured me as I...
Sep 11, 2017
Behind the Scenes: The Battle of Franklin
The Battle of Franklin opened this past weekend and I’m exceedingly grateful to all the folks who have worked so hard (and are still...
Aug 4, 2017
Returning to the Stage: The Battle of Franklin
Writing The Battle of Franklin and watching it come to life on stage was one of the highlights of 2016. Director Matt Logan, songwriter...
Jul 11, 2017
Cruciform Imagination, Part 1: Simile & Metaphor
As you know, metaphor and simile are not at all the same thing. The distinction between the two makes all the difference in the world....
Jul 10, 2017
Every Moment Holy: A Liturgy for Writers of Fiction
Every Moment Holy is scheduled to print in just a few weeks. This past weekend at the Rabbit Room Writers Fellowship, we read through one...
Jun 27, 2017
July 8th: Rabbit Room Writers’ Fellowship
If you’re a writer and would like a chance to get to know some of your fellow writers, you’re welcome to join us next Saturday afternoon....
Jun 20, 2017
To a Schoolgirl in America: Writing Advice from C. S. Lewis
I was browsing my copy of Letters of C. S. Lewis (a British first edition, of course!) and happened upon this little gem. Those of us...
May 11, 2017
Writing With Flannery O’Connor: An Online Creative Writing Course
Besides being a brilliant writer, Flannery O’Connor wrote quite a bit about the craft of writing. In this six-week online course, we will...
May 10, 2017
The Adventures of Fenigus March
This year I started a project called The Adventures of Fenigus March. It will be a series of paintings with accompanying one-page short...
Apr 27, 2017
Unsolicited Writing Advice: Be Less Introspective
Writers write because they have seen something in the world around them, and they want to show it to someone else. Why, then, do we...
Apr 7, 2017
Death of a Fictionsmith
When I was a kid, I was repeatedly told I could do anything I set my mind to accomplish. This led me to try things bigger than I would...
Apr 6, 2017
Common Trepidations Encountered in Collaborations
When you write a book it becomes somehow precious to you. Precious in the way that a child is precious. Kind of. Okay, not quite that...
Mar 9, 2017
A Writers’ Fellowship
I’m a writer, and that means I spent a lot of years feeling like a kid standing awkwardly at the edge of the playground with a third arm...
Feb 6, 2017
On Being “Original”
This post is adapted from a talk given at Hutchmoot 2016. T. S. Eliot is one of the most iconic poets of modern times. In fact some would...
Jan 26, 2017
The Craft and Courage of L.M. Montgomery, Pt 4
In this final installment, I want to say a few words about Lucy Maud’s personal challenges as a writer. Even a casual perusal of her...
Jan 23, 2017
On the Possibility of Being Met in Winter
I experience winter, if not as a kind of death, then at least as a closing in of the margins of life. The light grows shorter, the cold...
Dec 15, 2016
(Re) Remembering What We Mean
Author’s Note: Last May (2016) I enlisted Jamin Still’s visual genius and together we launched a crowdfunding campaign to bring our...
Nov 2, 2016
Some Thoughts on Incarnation (via The Battle of Franklin)
Right now I’m sitting in Jamison Theater in Franklin, Tennessee, watching one of the final rehearsals for The Battle of Franklin before...
Oct 13, 2016
Learning to Listen
I’ve always thought real writers walk around with stories whirling in their brains begging to come out. They write because they can’t not...
Oct 4, 2016
Why I Promote My Friends’ Art
I promote my friends’ art—books, records, poetry, film-making, visual arts, etc. Many of my friends promote each other’s work too. When...
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