Aladdin and the Jinn

Lately I have had a lot of posts about writing. But what happens when thirty teenagers are asked to write an original play? The most challenging thing I've attempted at my job as a high school theatre teacher was to try just this feat.

I came to school in August, and told the kids I wanted them to put on an ensemble show. They'd work together to create an original script, and would all perform in it. The students voted to adopt the story of Aladdin, using an aesthetic of Israel and Palestine.

The show was a struggle to mount. Students had conflicting opinions on the direction of the story, the types of characters, or the overall plot. As an author, it's solely up to me to decide what my characters do and how the plots unfold. To have thirty teens arguing over this was no easy task.

I gave the kids projects, including writing short scenes, monologues, music (non-verbal) scene work, and slam poetry. Many of these elements ended up becoming part of the final process. We worked with a professional choreographer from a local theatre to develop new movement techniques, and with a professor from George Washington University to research the political issues.

Then the hurdles hit... ten missed rehearsals for snow/weather. Eleven students deciding two weeks before the show that they'd rather fail the class than be in the performance, and seven kids kicked out of Tech (backstage theatre) for pot (out of ten kids total in Tech).  Plus, we got a new space- a huge abandoned tech room which is the new drama room, and we're converting into a blackbox theatre. It's exciting, but we moved into the space exactly one week before the show opened!

Despite the hurdles, the show was an overall success.  Audiences enjoyed seeing the student's dark take on an otherwise light fairy tale, and were very impressed by how the show worked as a cohesive piece. Two alumns of Roosevelt drama each said it was one of the more ambitious and impressive shows they'd seen at the school.

And now it's spring break, and I am relieved to be writing alone- not thirty voices arguing, but just my own voice going to the page...

RIP Terry Pratchett

"Death isn't cruel, merely terribly, terribly good at his job." 

- Terry Pratchett

On March 12th, Terry Pratchett passed away, finally succumbing to a long fight with illness.  I had never met Pratchett personally. The one time I tried to, at the National Book Festival in Washington DC, I stood in a long line for over an hour to meet him and get his autograph, only to have my section of the line turned away, because he had another commitment, and the festival was ending.  I never got the chance to shake his hand, or tell him how much he inspired me. If the gods are good, Pratchett's chasing adventures somewhere on an enormous disc, hurtling through space on top of four elephants, who in turn ride an enormous turtle.

When I was six years old, my parents bought me a set of five hardback novels, which happened to be the first five Discworld novels. I think they bought them because I enjoyed superhero cartoons, and perhaps I'd like to try reading fantasy books. The covers showed fanciful images of space turtles, bumbling wizards, clever witches, and amazing magic. The Colour of Magic was the first fantasy novel I'd ever read. While I'd spent hours dreaming of far-off adventures, these books opened my eyes to a world of imagination I'd never contemplated. I devoured those novels, and later other Pratchett books. The Unseen University introduced me to a school where wizards learn magic, fifteen years before Rowling published her first novel set in Hogwarts. Pratchett introduced me to English wit, instilling a love for British humor, one I carry to this day. And the novel Mort, which I read as a kid, featured Death training an apprentice. The idea of someone training to reap souls is an idea that never left my mind.

I think Pratchett influenced me most in that he truly brought books to life, and helped me develop a lifelong love of reading. I devoured the first few Discworld books, and moved on to other books, novels, and eventually even began writing books.  My first taste of fantasy novels eventually led to my creation of my own fantasy worlds. He and I even share a birthday, April 28th. 

Pratchett's unique voice and inspiring worlds will be with us always, even as his many fans now mourn his loss.

Win a 20 Dollar Gift Card!

To promote my upcoming release of SWORD OF DEATHS, I am launching a fun new contest.  The items below, which occur in the novel, are in the WRONG order.  Can you guess the correct order?  If you do, you could win a 20 dollar gift card! Click the image for details or to enter:

Shadow of the Scythe

FREE READ

Find out how the Scythe Wielder's Secret begins!

If you haven't yet read Shadow of the Scythe now's the perfect opportunity.  Find out why fans love this Young Adult fantasy series. Shadow of the Scythe tells the story of a young French boy brought to the World of Deaths against his will.  Will he survive?  Click the image to find out....

Rough Winter

This winter hasn't been the worst in DC for snowfall or ice, but has been rough on our new house.  Four frozen pipes, three burst pipes, two roof leaks, one completely flooded basement (under a foot of water), and a busted sump pump, furnace, and water heater (all destroyed when the sump pump died and the basement flooded)....  we've had no heat for a week,and have been living in a hotel, with our cat.  Is winter over yet?

Rest

Several weeks ago, my wife gave the sermon for our church retreat "Winter Escape." One of the subjects she addressed was the issue of rest. She cited a number of researchers and statistics that discussed how, as a species, we have developed the technology to be the most leisure-based society: the group that rests for the largest percentage of our time. However, the majority of working people tend to feel overworked.

I'm no exception. An eight-hour work day is a light day for me. As I type, I've already been at work (the school I teach at) for eleven hours, and yes I'm sneaking a minute from work to do some blogging- a different job, but still a form of work. 

Overwork and stress are the single biggest enemies to the creative mind. A writer might force themselves to sit at their computer for seven hours a day, but are they writing well?  The important thing isn't even to just get rest, the critical detail for a writer is to have enough to actually daydream. 

I remember a music theory class I took in college, where the teacher insisted the only important thing in one piece we were studying was the rests. In the creative process, the mind needs time to build, to dream. Forcing an overworked mind to pump out information, doesn't lead to better creation, or even necessarily to more creation.

Every time I sit down to write, I try to spend at least a half hour thinking of nothing. I let my mind wander. Perhaps I'll go on a walk, or perhaps I'll meditate. If I don't have time during a busy workday to have this creation time, I still spend at least ten minutes before I sleep allowing my mind to go anywhere. Little by little, the fires of the creative process are fanned, and the creation improves.

What moments of rest work for you?

Are Writers Timelords?

Last June, I wrote a blog piece comparing writers to Voldemort, the notorious villain of the Harry Potter novels. That blog can be found HERE.

Today, I look at an equally possible, and similarly nerdy connection: are writers actually timelords?

Timelords are a group of aliens featured in the BBC sci-fi show Doctor Who. The protagonist of the long-lived series is a timelord himself, constantly helping humans. Timelords come from a planet called Gallifrey, and are an ancient and very tech-savvy race. They have only one real "superpower," which is the ability to regenerate, instantly healing themselves and turning into a new person (allowing for multiple actors to play a single role). 

Aside from their ability to regenerate, and their two hearts, timelords are basically just like people. Their name derives from their ability to go anywhere in the universe and to any time, using a device called a TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension In Space), which is a fancy box that can bring you anywhere. As I said, very tech-savvy. 

So how do writers fit in?

Well, let's start with the timelords' ability to heal and regenerate. Every writer has faced rejection. A traditionally published author has about as much chance of success as you have of becoming a world-famous Hollywood actor, maybe even less. Yes, there are new options now, like self-publishing. But for those who go the traditional route, as I did, rejection comes swiftly. Each agent or publisher who turns you down, sometimes after only reading a two paragraph blurb, hurts your pride. An author who can't heal himself, allowing a new face to come forward, won't succeed.

And let's not forget the writer's TARDIS. Timelords can go anywhere or to any time. They've got a box that brings them places. Well writers have a box as well. In fact, I'm typing on my box right now. This magic box allows me to explore any place in space or time, or even places that only previously existed in my imagination. In fact, writers are perhaps more powerful than timelords- since a writer is limited only by the margins of his or her imagination. 

Writers show us the world, sometimes to give us an escape, sometimes to help change things. Our motivations are identical to the Doctor's motives. What writer doesn't want to grab their readers in the night, and whisk them away on an amazing adventure? Something funny, but dark; incredible, yet honest.  

And let's not forget that writers have a lot of heart. Maybe even two hearts...

Each story I write is a new adventure, a new journey. Each time I face disappointment, I throw on a new face, and heal myself. And the power of my imagination, keeps plugging away at this magic little box, a box that can take me anywhere...