Writing Lessons from The Simpsons (III) “People say, ‘How do you get your ideas for episodes?’ With Mike [Reiss] and me, we thought, ‘Lisa likes ponies. We’ll give her a pony’…It’s not that hard sometimes.” – Al Jean, DVD commentary… Continue reading
If you’ve read my book, you’ll know that I take an intuitive painting class. Intuitive painting is about spontaneously painting what comes up from within you. The focus is on expressing yourself, not on form, technique or what your picture… Continue reading
Of all the characters on the show, Lisa Simpson should be the one most capable of writing a book. Even though she’s only eight, she’s smart, academically gifted and she has a good command of language. When the time comes,… Continue reading
I’ve found DVD commentaries to be an excellent source of reassurance and comfort. Every time the writers talk about their process, I’m reminded that I really don’t have to worry so much. Whether you like The Simpsons or not, the… Continue reading
My apologies for the delay in posting. I’ve been working on creating audio versions of each newsletter. It took a little while to figure out the software, but the first two videos are finally complete and will be posted shortly.… Continue reading
The audio version of this newsletter can be found here. Pick Two All of us, no matter who we are, want our products and services to be three things: good, fast, and cheap. It’s not possible. So we pick two.… Continue reading
Happy New Year to everyone following the Gregorian calendar! I’ve started a fortnightly newsletter for anyone who, like me, enjoys writing and needs a little boost now and again. Each newsletter is short, so as to encourage writing and not… Continue reading