Michael T. Starks

Author: admin

  • Storytelling Rules

    —

    by

    admin
    in

    Many writers have documented rules, tips, tricks, and suggestions for new writers to improve their craft. Some of the books I recommend for this include Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat, Stephen King’s On Writing, Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones, and The Artist’s Way, by Julia Cameron. You can also find great advice from MasterClass.…

  • William Shakespeare

    —

    by

    admin
    in ,

    Is William Shakespeare the most extraordinary playwright the world has ever known? I’m tempted to say “yes”. And he has been one of my heroes for a long time. Unfortunately, I’m not able to recount the exact details of my relationship with Shakespeare. What follows is my best guess. In grade school, my class went…

  • Fear

    —

    by

    admin
    in

    Yesterday, I talked about the Unknown. Often, we are afraid of the Unknown. But it’s not just the Unknown that inspires fear in our lives. Fear is a useful emotion. It serves an evolutionary purpose. From a young age, we learn about things that can harm us. Fear attempts to keep us safe. If you…

  • The Unknown

    —

    by

    admin
    in ,

    We all tend to fear the unknown. I remember the first time I was in a lightning storm as a kid. It got very dark, and the rain got heavy. It seemed to happen fairly suddenly while I was walking home from school all alone. I was cold and getting wetter by the minute. I…

  • Marketing

    —

    by

    admin
    in

    I suspect that many people may disagree with this. I’m pretty sure that I don’t know what I’m talking about. But here’s what I’ve observed. Marketing tends to work best for people who have a SINGLE BRAND. If you’re just an author, and all of your online activity revolves around being an author, then chances…

  • Physics Theories

    —

    by

    admin
    in

    Have I mentioned that I LOVE physics? I particularly like learning about new theories that may be able to solve age-old problems. One of the biggest concerns in theoretical physics is that the Standard Model explains almost everything except gravity. The Standard Model uses quantum field theories to understand electricity and magnetism, the strong force,…

  • Victor Hugo

    —

    by

    admin
    in ,

    My all-time favorite fiction author is Victor Hugo. So, of course, he’s one of my heroes. While I can’t be certain, here’s how I think I found out about him. I didn’t learn about the musical version of Les Miserables until I was in college (probably in 1989). I initially listened to some of the…

  • Uninspired

    —

    by

    admin
    in

    I had too much to drink last night. I woke up with a slight headache and tummy ache. I probably didn’t get enough sleep. I’m fine. I’m not upset. I’m not feeling overwhelmed. I’m just not all that inspired yet. YET. Sometimes just starting to work on something is enough to get the wheels turning.…

  • Jack McDevitt

    —

    by

    admin
    in ,

    Let me begin by saying that Jack McDevitt is not my favorite author. He’s not even my favorite science fiction author. Still, he’s one of my heroes. Here’s why. He writes fascinating mystery stories that happen to take place in a well-realized future for humanity that I would like to see. Yes, I would like…

  • The Searching

    —

    by

    admin
    in

    Sometimes, we don’t know what we want. We need to try out new things. I like to think of it as playing a role in a play. We put on the new costume, learn the lines, and step into the new role. When I feel stuck, I look at the roles that I’m currently playing…