Short Stories | Poems | Tutorials

When you write, you lay out a line of words.
The line of words is a miner's pick, a woodcarver's
gouge, a surgeon's probe. You wield it, and it digs a
path you follow. Soon you find yourself deep in new territory.
Is it a dead end, or have you located the real subject?
You will know tomorrow, or this time next year.
-- Annie Dillard, The Writing Life

Father and Son
If you've ever wondered what it might have been like to have the responsibility of being a parent to the most famous person in history, this one's for you.
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Erosion
In this coming of age story set in earlier in this century, a child must learn the hard truth that parents can ultimately fail. (Originally published in O' Georgia, V3)
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No Man Is
A street preacher meets the hottest starlet in the country. Enough said. (Originally published in O' Georgia, V3)
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Cherry Hill
A small-town sherriff is forced to confront his own lack of integrity when a town cries for the blood of a black teenager. (Originally published in O' Georgia, V2)
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Goldy
Sometimes the best teachers aren't human, even when they teach the all-too-human lesson of grieving.
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The Other, As Just As Fair
When a mom decides to be a superhero, does the court have the right to take her children away? (originally published at ihero.net, July, 2002)
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Poetry comes nearer to vital truth than history.
-- Plato

White Male
No matter how much we want to understand, there is a gulf we can't reach across.
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Ki Wone
"Ki Wone" means "words of life" in a tribal language.
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Gomer
A spiritual allegory for a postmodern generation.
(Originally published in O' Georgia, V2)
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...The Dead Bury Their Dead
In a world that thrives on being busy, how can negligence ever be a sin?
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Death of the Prodigal
For some, the prodigal son never returns home.
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Old Fall
Nature will not let us forget our origin.
(Originally published in O' Georgia, V2)
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Memorial Day
Sometimes the old symbols don't stir us anymore.
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The Feast
For those who can't fathom true love, there will be a banquet like none before.
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More of the Same
It's all the same for everyone. So why do we insist on labeling everyone and everything?
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Midnight After the Reception
When whores are loved and honored, religious pride is silenced.
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Daily News
John Donne was right after all.
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The teacher is the one who makes two
ideas grow where only one grew before.
-- Elbert Hubbard

One question I get often at conventions and in-store appearances is this: "What is your comic book script format like?" Or people ask it this way: "Do you have a script I could look at to see how you do it?" Well, bearing in mind that there are lots of scripting styles, I do have a format that I've found works well for me (and my publishers seem to like it too, always a good thing), While working for Elfin, I put together a sample to help out our writers, particularly those who were new to comics scripting. 

Download the Script Sample 
(this one will open in a new window, not in the reading panel above)

I occasionally blog about the art/lifestyle of writing, and any articles in this section will be reposts from that venue.

Two Spectrums of Writers
I get on my soapbox to discuss why writers who argue the merits of natural talents versus learned skills both ring false with my understanding and experience of the writing life.

This set of tutorials were originally written for iHero Entertainment, publisher of the Cyber Age Adventures magazine -- hence the name appearing in the tutorials -- to help submitting writers.

Writing Superheroes as Human Beings
Although this tutorial focuses on writing superheroes, it also deals with the foundations that can help any character become more real in fiction.
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Asking the Right Questions
How do I come up with ideas for stories? Simple. I ask, "What's the worst thing that could happen to... ?"
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Reading IS Fundamental
I'm a big fan of reading books that can help me become a better, more effective writer. These are some that have helped.
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You Don't Say (A Dialogue Primer)
Dialogue can make or break fiction of any genre or type. Here's a look at some of the basics.
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These next few tutorials were written for the now defunct Inside the Lines magazine, a how-to mag for the aspiring comic book writer and/or artist.

Bigger Ain't Always Better
Eight Guidelines for Getting Down to Business in Anthology Shorts
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Character Counts
Storytelling begins and ends with character, and it has lots of character sprinkled throughout.
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Straight Talk About Dialogue (Part One)
What does good dialogue do? (Yes, this series is a revision of the "You Don't Say" primer above, but adapted for comics dialogue.)
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Straight Talk About Dialogue (Part Two)
What are the specifics of writing dialogue for the sequential art form?
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