“I don’t think I could ever play Dungeons & Dragons,” I said. “That seems like crossing a line, maybe going a little too far for me.” My party’s Paladin is fond of reminding me I said that. About two years ago I crossed the last nerd threshhold and played my first game of Dungeons &…
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“What are you playing tonight?” my party asked as I set a bulging tote bag on the table. “A Barbarian,” I said, smiling. “So what’s the ukulele for?” Dungeons & Dragons’ Fifth Edition made multiclassing much easier than previous editions. Too easy, in fact. One summer evening my Dungeon Master (DM) and I took this…
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“How have you not started a band yet?” After twenty years as a musician and three as a creative lifestyle blogger, I’ve heard quite a few good reasons to start a band. Some of the best: Artists are people who make art; musicians are people who make music. The band provides accountability for daily practice.…
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Accomplishing a creative challenge like writing 14 songs in 28 days doesn’t happen out of nothing. I’ve needed some advice and some inspiration over the last few weeks of February Album Writing Month. Here are three resources that taught me a lot about how to write a song, chosen from a variety of media to…
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“The Blueberry is pretty sensitive,” the audio engineer told me, adjusting the height of the little black microphone. “Keep it at about your chin so we can avoid harsh plosives.” Bare bulbs and wood paneling surrounded me, and my own voice was crisp through my headphones. My friends over at Stalwart Theater had asked me…
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I’m only kind of an artist. But I’ve learned before that artists are people who make art, not just people with great talent. So when Inktober 2017 came around this year, I decided to get on the bandwagon. Launching Scintilla Studio means I need a lot more visual assets for the website and our projects…
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One of the simplest and most elusive truths about a creative lifestyle is that artists are the people who create art. Paul Simon summed up his decades of creative experience in his song “Hurricane Eye”: “You want to be a writer, but you don’t know how or when? Find a quiet place, use a humble…
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This post was originally published on The Spare Room Project. This goes out to the entrepreneurs who struggle to stay on top of things. This is to the Type A’s who go a little overboard with their commitments. This is to anyone who feels like a failure because they haven’t followed through on every single…
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Writing a song doesn’t have to be guesswork! I’m sharing with you a concrete and hands-on method, so it’s a great way for first-time songwriters to get a handle on songwriting. After all, art shouldn’t always be guesswork. This comes “Popular Lyric Writing,” by Berklee music professor Pat Pattison. Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, marked by *.…
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This post was originally published on The Spare Room Project. Creativity has ‘muscles’ and needs exercise to improve, just like regular muscles. It isn’t hard to get started, though! You can start small, and you don’t have to buy a creative ‘home gym’ in order to be more creative. How to Be More Creative There are…
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