Authentically Teresa Funke – Never AI
I’m Sorry, But I’m Not Embarrassed
In my industry, there’s been a lot of talk about Ruth Graham’s article in Slate suggesting that adults should be embarrassed to read young adult titles. Never mind the slights to YA authors, let’s look at what else she says: She argues that adults should challenge themselves with a higher form of literature and leave...
What To Do When Your Life is Filled with Stupid People
My daughter called Tuesday night in a panic. She is competing this week at a national speech and debate tournament and had encountered a judge whose behavior was shockingly unprofessional. He would watch thirty seconds of a performance, scrawl a nasty note like, “I hate it,” on his notepad, and then play on his phone...
Are We Artists or Salesmen?
There’s never been a more interesting or a more challenging time to be an artist. So many new avenues have opened up to us and choosing the arts as a profession is no longer looked down upon (at least not as heavily as it once was). But now, with so many of us working or...
How to Handle Rejection – Video
Happy to share my newest writing video here, which also runs on my YouTube channel, Teresa Funke. It’s on every artists’ favorite topic—rejection. If you’re involved in the arts, you know that sinking feeling when you open your inbox or mailbox and see the communication you’ve been dreading. You also know the butterflies you get...
Good-bye Maya and Luana
Yesterday I heard the news that the incomparable Maya Angelou had passed away at age 86. Later that afternoon, I received word that one of my longtime writer friends had been killed in a car accident. When Maya read her poem On the Pulse of the Morning at Bill Clinton’s inauguration, a whole nation listened...
You Have to Own Your Art
Is it really this simple? You announce to the world you are an artist, a dancer, a singer, and, voila, you are. Yes and no. I was both terrified and exhilarated when I quit my low-paying job 22 years ago to become a writer. I didn’t tell many people at first. I had to figure...
I Know More Than I Ever Wanted to Know
Do you ever wish your brain had a “delete” button? That there was some way to dismiss all the clutter that seems so necessary for getting ahead in today’s world and just start over? I—a liberal arts major who fantasized about writing all day—now know more than I ever wanted to know about how to...
A Little Mystery Goes a Long Way
When I was a teen, I was a huge fan of Gone with the Wind. I could tell you anything you wanted to know about the book or movie. I loved having all that inside knowledge until the day I came across an interview with Vivien Leigh, who played Scarlett. She commented that she hated...