We’ve had an unusually cool and rainy summer in Colorado. The other day, my friend was complaining about the weather, fully expecting me to agree with her, as I’m sure most people have. “Oh, I’ve loved this summer,” I said. “I hate being hot, plus I’ve hardly had to water.” She stared at me in...
Tag: writers
Back to School Means Back to Work
It’s that time of year again. You can almost smell the freshly sharpened pencils, the eraser shavings, and the Elmer’s glue. Even for those of us who graduated eons ago, the end of summer still feels like back to school. Every autumn, most of the artists I know recommit to their work. All summer you...
How to Write Great Dialogue – Part I
While this blog generally focuses on all types of artists, I confess this post is directed primarily to the writing community. I wanted to share the new writing video that just went up on my YouTube channel Teresa Funke. Because writing good dialogue is such a challenge for so many writers, I’ll actually be covering...
Can One Encounter with Art Change a Life?
When I was twelve, my mother took my brother and me to see a performance of Jesus Christ Superstar. She’d escorted us to children’s theater productions before, but this was my first time seeing a truly “grown-up” play, and I was utterly transformed. I was a church-going kid, but until that night, I had never...
Success is a Winding Road
Today is my birthday, and I’m taking the day off to spend it with my family and friends. So instead of writing my message, I’m going to speak it. I want to share with you a one-minute segment from a video interview conducted by my friend Karen Fournier at Starstream Productions. She asked me what...
The Walls are Coming Down
In 1989, I sat in front of my television and watched in awe as the Berlin Wall “came down.” I had visited the Wall two years before during my college journey across Europe and found it to be such an oppressive site. When it tumbled, it felt as if the whole world was being reborn,...
Must Artists Always Be At Work?
“I wish I could read your travel journals,” a friend once told me. “I bet they’re amazing.” I changed the subject. Fast. She’d be so disappointed with my journals. They are filled with clichéd lines like, “the view was breathtaking” or “the mountains were beautiful.” I’m a hard-core traveler. I like to see and do...
I’m Sorry, But I’m Not Embarrassed
In my industry, there’s been a lot of talk about Ruth Graham’s article in Slate suggesting that adults should be embarrassed to read young adult titles. Never mind the slights to YA authors, let’s look at what else she says: She argues that adults should challenge themselves with a higher form of literature and leave...
What To Do When Your Life is Filled with Stupid People
My daughter called Tuesday night in a panic. She is competing this week at a national speech and debate tournament and had encountered a judge whose behavior was shockingly unprofessional. He would watch thirty seconds of a performance, scrawl a nasty note like, “I hate it,” on his notepad, and then play on his phone...
Are We Artists or Salesmen?
There’s never been a more interesting or a more challenging time to be an artist. So many new avenues have opened up to us and choosing the arts as a profession is no longer looked down upon (at least not as heavily as it once was). But now, with so many of us working or...