The old noir-author stumbled over the abrupt appearance of a word, right in his path. It brought him to a complete halt, his hands poised in mid-air, hovering over the typewriter, interrupting the flow of his plot. It popped up unexpectedly, right after a verb, posing as an adverb —…

It was 9:00 a.m. The bay was at high tide, and very calm — almost glassy. I was at our little cottage across Puget Sound from Seattle. With my elbows resting on the railing of the deck, I was enjoying the peacefulness of the bay with a morning cup of…

A favorite exercise of mine is to write “I remember” at the top of a sheet of paper, and then let my pen go for a stroll through whatever door it chooses to open. Those two words can conjure up myriad journeys as I mine my experiences when chronicling my…

They say that all possible melody-note combinations have been used up. Nothing is new anymore. Every motif that any composer writes has already been written — everyone is merely a hack stealing and using old material. The only way to claim ownership anymore is to homestead a melody in the…

A favorite exercise of mine is to write “I remember” at the top of a sheet of paper and then let my pen go for a stroll through whatever door it chooses to open. Those two words can conjure up myriad journeys as I mine my experiences when chronicling my…

Been thinking about performing at the Dry Bar Comedy Club in Provo, Utah. I could open with… How ya doin’ Provoooooooooo?!!! Who all’s here from the Witness Protection Program? Nobody? Or you’re not saying? I thought Provo would be the perfect place for that. In fact, isn’t that how it…

I got to thinking about lines the other day — straight lines, specifically. By definition, a line is straight, but as I pondered the many kinds of lines in nature, I realized that very few are truly straight. Take, for example, a route between two cities, as the crow flies…

So, two years ago I’m driving down a country road with my friend John. A deer suddenly jumps in front of us and John goes “Look out!” It’s too late, and we hit the deer. I’m like, freaked out because nothing like this ever happened to me. John goes “Are…

For years my wife has had a wonderful concept called “Making a date with oneself.” Julia Cameron in The Artist’s Way refers to it as the “Artist’s Date.” Both point out that we all tend to put the rest of the world ahead of ourselves in importance, leaving ourselves neglected…