Something else I've been working on . . .

​I’ve been teaching creative writing for almost as long as I’ve been a professional writer. Over the years, those classes have served as a kind of laboratory where I’ve been able to develop, test, discard, and refine my own theories about what stories are, why they matter, and what all great stories have in common. 

That work eventually grew into a book.

I’ve been writing it for more than ten years, although “writing” may be too tidy a word for the process. The book has developed in fits and starts because every time I thought I had finally nailed down a concept, I encountered another film, novel, thinker, or classroom discussion that complicated the idea and pushed it deeper. What began as a practical guide to story structure gradually became something much more ambitious: an attempt to develop a grand unified theory of storytelling.

The book explores how plot, character, and theme work together; why protagonists and antagonists so often become mirror images; how stories dismantle the identities characters build around partial truths; and why storytelling remains one of humanity’s most powerful tools for understanding reality and learning how to live within it.

After years of revision, I’ve finally reached the point where the theory feels complete enough to present to the world. Not final—one of the arguments of the book is that every interpretive framework should remain open to challenge and revision—but coherent, useful, and ready to be tested by readers.

And, thanks to the magic of self-publishing, I’ll be able to continue refining and updating the book as my thinking evolves.

I’m only a couple of weeks away from completing the manuscript, so keep an eye out for the official publication date soon.