Category > creative life

Superstars and Whatnot

It was at the Illustration Masters Class where I first heard Greg Manchess declare that there is no such thing as talent. A rather startling premise to tell a bunch of aspiring artists. But no, Greg stated that artistic skill “is built, not possessed”, created by hard work and training. I wonder about this idea, […]

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A Writer’s Thanksgiving

  My favorite part of Thanksgiving isn’t the big dinner. In fact, since we went veg, we’ve often abandoned the big dinner in order to enjoy wacky and fun meals we’d never eat any other time of year. 2011’s 1960’s Casserole Night was a blast, and this year’s Frozen Cheese Pizza Taste-Off promises to be […]

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Summer Sabbatical

I know what you’re thinking. It’s mid-October, so why I am I talking about summer? Well, here in Los Angeles, the last of the summer heat has just broken, and proper fall is just now beginning. Everything is pumpkin-spiced and crisp, and the 60-degree overnight lows keep us indoors–so what better time to reflect on […]

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Being okay with where you are

A few weeks ago, the very wonderful John Anealio wrote a great blog post about getting out of the success grind. What he said made a lot of sense. Sometimes your ego makes the artistic experience painful and miserable, and it’s stupid to turn the joy of our lives into torment. Sometimes you have to […]

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“Read as widely as possible”

A few years ago, I bought a day pass to my first World Con. The highlight of the day was meeting SF writer and long distance life mentor William Shunn at a kaffeeklatsch. Bill is a fellow ex-Mormon and a wonderful human being. His podcast and correspondence helped me ease out of my former religion […]

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Too Much Time on Your Hands? Me Too.

photo (cc) Steve Groisbos A lot of writers dream of quitting their Day Job. Of unshackling themselves from corporate handcuffs of iron or gold and leap joyously into a Full Time Writing Life, where the words flow freely and the book advances are large. I am not that writer. Not really (not yet, at least). […]

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Let’s be honest here

I’ve been trying to write the perfect post about revising a novel and failing over and over. One part of my problem stems from the total difficulty of the project. I’ve tried to revise four previous novels and I’m in the middle of revising a fifth, and I still feel like I haven’t nailed the […]

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Rainforest Revelations

Several of the Inkpunks recently returned from the amazing Rainforest Writers Village Retreat. This was my third year attending and I cannot say enough good things about it. It takes place at the The Rain Forest Resort Village, situated on Lake Quinault in the Pacific Northwest Pennisula. It’s not only a gorgeous setting which inspires […]

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Giving Yourself Permission to Take a Break

I don’t talk much about my day job on this blog. This is partly due to a desire to compartmentalize Andrew Penn Romine, the budding author from Andy Romine, the visual effects & animation artist – two careers that have, in my mind, always been separate and distinct. Two creative paths with their own trajectories […]

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Listmaking and Letting Go

New Year’s is coming soon, and it’s a time when a lot of people think about how they’re going to improve themselves in the following year. Sometimes the lists have really nebulous goals, like “go to the gym more often” and sometimes they’re really concrete and specific like “run a marathon.” Usually making lists and […]

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