Notes on War and Peace

Sure, President Bush is surrounded by all sorts of well-meaning consultants, analysts and spin-masters, but it seems that he's been getting some bad advice about story-telling — especially the story about Iraq. I'm no political pundit, but I have taught literature and creative writing for a while, and I had a few lesson-plan notes. I thought President Bush might find useful.

Show, Don’t Tell: La Boheme

Luhrmann quoting Welles' famous remark, the moment a stage director gets behind a camera, he is given ‘the biggest toy train set in the whole world.’ ‘Anyone who tells you there's a set of set rules, you know they're lying. They're covering a deep insecurity. In a nutshell, Welles' naivete about the mechanics of filmmaking freed him in his creativity.

The most creative writer in English is busier than ever.

William Shakespeare is a crowd pleaser. Whether that crowd consists of Elizabethan tradesmen or Harvard postmodernists, Shakespeare entertains his audiences while challenging them to think about
humanity.