I talk to myself almost non-stop. Sometimes it’s to give myself a pep talk, to talk myself up to doing what feels impossible or unlikely to succeed. Now, pursuing a career in cinematography, I also needed a project that I could repeat over and over to teach myself about developing a specific visual style. The Monday Motivation series is both a way to spread the encouragement that was previously kept to myself, as well as a space for me to practice my craft. Follow the ser

Lately, I noticed a theme with the posts. They’ve all been about being stuck and losing motivation. The universe must be trying to tell us something and push us to keep going. And, I’m not sure about you, but knowing that this isn’t just a “me” thing has been helpful. While some of my roadblocks have been environmental and mental, other parts of it has just been me being lazy and not pushing hard enough. So, I had to do a few things: Set a schedule. As I mentioned in an

Guys, I'm stuck!! I've been working on this full length play for over a year and I can't seem to get past the first half! Like, seriously?! I have a reading. I read through it. I make edits. I put it down. I return to it. But, the same results come through. I have no clue what to do! So, I made a schedule of writing days and I must stick to it. Even if it's just for 30 minutes, I must push through the block. I recently polled my Facebook followers to ask about thei

Motivation... That's been the word of the day for a few days lately. I've got to find the motivation. To get up out of my comfortable bed. To deal with the crazy Atlanta traffic. To go into an office with some interesting characters. To write. To workout. To write. To write. To write. I've told you all about life lately...how it hit fast and hard. And when that happens, I'm learning how to honor that space. To give it its respect and not rush getting the rest, or whatever i

Ever received some news that was completely unexpected? It just hit you out of no where and you had no clue that it was coming? That was me a few weeks ago. In one moment, a part of my environment changed without notice. World spinning. No, we will not stop and carry on. I must wade in this pool of misery (Okay, that's a little on the dramatic side but we've all been there.) So, how do you combat those feelings? How do you react in the moment? Good or bad? As an artist, I

Lately, I’ve been in a slump. A bad one. As artists, we all go through it. It’s inevitable. It’s not fun –– in fact, if we’re being real here, it sucks –– but it happens. For me, I got comfortable in it. I stopped writing. I started making excuses. I told myself I’d start on that next draft tomorrow, or next week, or at the start of the month. The days piled up and before I knew it, I hadn’t written anything in months. Months! It wasn’t like me. I’ve never been the most disci

I've always been an atypical artist. I believe in arts for art's sake, but I also believe that we must treat our art as a business. I mean, you want to make a living doing this thing, don't you? Then you've got to treat it like you would any other job. So, I've partnered up with a friend and fellow playwright, Amina McIntrye. You might remember her blog post a few months back. Amina McIntyre is a playwright, artist coach, and founder of Artz and Biz. Amina’s been where y

My journey as an artist hasn't been the typical one. You know, undergrad, majoring in Theatre, and then moving to grad school and obtaining an MFA. That "typical" route. It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do with the passions that lay within. "How do I make them work for me?" I didn't realize what I wanted to do until after I graduated undergrad. There were little hints, but nothing completely clicked for me. I went to grad school and furthered my educatio

Let's talk about courage. My little sister is one of the bravest people I know. Let me warn you now, this post is about her. So, if you don't want to read about me gushing over all her greatness you should exit now. There's the door. If you're still here, awesome! I promise, you'll get some feel goods out of this. Like I said, she is so full of courage, more than she realizes. More than I think she believes she has. For those that follow me on social media, you know th

We've all been there. You feel stuck. Feel like things aren't moving forward or going exactly the way you planned. Life be life-ing and you were not prepared. The chips fell and they all rolled into the gutter, down the drain, and into your local river. It sucks! As an artist, what can this look like? Rejection, rejection, rejection! And each one doesn't get easier, feel any better. It's another notch that must be added to that tattered old belt. I've been feeling the