I know you’re out shopping today or hanging up those Christmas lights. The holiday madness is upon us. When you get a quiet moment, watch this video on how to relax and let your creative energy carry you through this crazy and very special time of year.
Tag: writers
Are Gatekeepers Still Relevant?
Several times over the past few years, I’ve listened to colleagues tell me that an editor who loved his/her work had called, sometimes in tears, to say they could not make an offer on their book project. Why? Because the marketing and sales departments at the publishing house decided that the book, though good, was...
Can You Dislike the Artist and Still Like the Art?
I realize I’m often behind on the news, and this story is a couple of weeks old, but singer CeeLo Green’s offensive comments about rape recently came to my attention. Green’s song “Forget You” (also known by another name) happens to be one of my favorites. It’s a silly, catchy, just-for-fun song, and every time...
The Arts or Football – You Decide
I was reading a newspaper article the other day hyping a slew of new books celebrating or criticizing our nation’s obsession with football. One quote from a former player caught my attention. He stated that football “teaches one thing that kids can’t get anywhere else . . . how to get knocked down and get...
How to Write Great Dialogue – Part II
I do a one-woman show based on my book Dancing in Combat Boots, but few people know that the show actually started out as a fundraising effort for a local theater, and I performed it with several actresses. As we were back stage prepping before the show, one of the actresses was running some of her...
Does the Whole World Think Like You?
We’ve had an unusually cool and rainy summer in Colorado. The other day, my friend was complaining about the weather, fully expecting me to agree with her, as I’m sure most people have. “Oh, I’ve loved this summer,” I said. “I hate being hot, plus I’ve hardly had to water.” She stared at me in...
Back to School Means Back to Work
It’s that time of year again. You can almost smell the freshly sharpened pencils, the eraser shavings, and the Elmer’s glue. Even for those of us who graduated eons ago, the end of summer still feels like back to school. Every autumn, most of the artists I know recommit to their work. All summer you...
How to Write Great Dialogue – Part I
While this blog generally focuses on all types of artists, I confess this post is directed primarily to the writing community. I wanted to share the new writing video that just went up on my YouTube channel Teresa Funke. Because writing good dialogue is such a challenge for so many writers, I’ll actually be covering...
Can One Encounter with Art Change a Life?
When I was twelve, my mother took my brother and me to see a performance of Jesus Christ Superstar. She’d escorted us to children’s theater productions before, but this was my first time seeing a truly “grown-up” play, and I was utterly transformed. I was a church-going kid, but until that night, I had never...
Success is a Winding Road
Today is my birthday, and I’m taking the day off to spend it with my family and friends. So instead of writing my message, I’m going to speak it. I want to share with you a one-minute segment from a video interview conducted by my friend Karen Fournier at Starstream Productions. She asked me what...