The stories we consume affect how we view everything. With a nine-year-old girl in the world today, the movie 'Frozen' has a good chance of coming up. Once upon a time in the kingdom of Arendelle lived

Transformation is a common theme in literature. Sometimes we transform and then enter a new world, at other times we enter a new world and then transform. Sometimes, it's both. Mermaids are interesting

Fun, funny, and serious can often go together. One can change to the other in a split second. That happens in life, and sometimes it happens while you're writing. Pay attention near the end when Vera changed

I've put some of the stories that Vera and I have written together up on my blog over the last few months. She likes it. You can see that in the ending of this one. I like fairy tales. They are allegories,

Dialogue is fun. It's the original uniquely human interaction, talking. And, humans love to bestow that gift upon animals in stories. You would think the dialogue of a nine-year-old would be simplified

Stories are kind of like waking dreams. That's especially true when you get into fantasy. Vera has the imagination of an intellectually engaged nine-year-old. I think I keep pace with her well when we're

Reading and writing stories is an amazing experience. Experiencing what a kid does when continuing a story idea is often quite surprising. The natural symbology that emerges is revealing, not only of the

One of the best parts about teaching is learning. I've had students from a multitude of cultures, different countries, different languages, different religions, different ages, different socio-economic

My default perspective of people is that they're nice. That doesn't particularly hold true if you compare things to history, or other cultures, or even all of my own experience. I've had my life threatened

Life is full of choices. Sometimes it's hard to know which choice is correct. Still, a path must be chosen. In Dalton Township, the choice is clear. Everyone is asking themselves, "What do I want

If you're writing a story without a plan, and you're writing it with someone else, you never know which way it's going to go. After I finished my class with Tima I sent the story we had written to a friend.

From one perspective you see a thing. From another perspective you can see the same thing, and it looks completely different. This applies to all of existence, even in total. (For those who want more on

Our minds and souls are mysteries. To others, yes, and even to ourselves. There are different ways of penetrating that veil. They often involve peering through our own darkness, to symbols hidden within

Words are magical. They can transport you, inspire you, crush you, revive you. They communicate love and hate. And they communicate the experience of love and hate. You can live another life in a book,

This poem is literal and metaphorical, concrete and abstract. And there is one line that is debatable. I read this poem to my mother. She liked it. But that last line, well... she wasn't so sure about

I was chatting with a friend online a couple of months ago and they mentioned that it must be difficult for me, having some of my health issues and such. I wrote a poem to comfort her. I think it helped.

I have a confession. Sometimes I write poetry. More often, it tumbles through my mind without me writing it down, and it simply fades away. When I do write it down it's usually on random slips of paper

Kids' stories seem simple. But, they are deceptively complex. Tima seemed a little jaded with the kids' stories we've been reading. He is in his twenties. But, they're a lot more fun than a textbook, and

I recently attended a high school graduation party for the daughter of a friend of mine. Different people choose different ways to memorialize such events. Her older sister had everyone sign a chair when

Freedom is gained or lost with every generation. But sometimes there are key moments. A small series of events that have a huge impact on the trajectory of the world. Hong Kong, right now, is having one