Most creative people have experienced procrastination at some time in their lives. Whether it be the allure of the washing up, the beckoning of social media or the temptation to engage in consumer-based activities (shopping), procrastination can become an art-form. What’s your favourite kind of procrastination? Mine is what I have come to call “real […]
Songwriting
Skills and issues in writing contemporary Christian music
No More Bitterness
When you write a song and play it for people you are supposed to do a little spiel beforehand where you talk about the meaning behind the song. It’s a bit of a “behind the scenes” approach to song exposition. Being a bit of a rule-follower myself, I now present the story behind No More […]
Artists Still Live Here
Many moons ago, the city of Brooklyn NY was a run-down place. Rent was cheap. Because the cost of living was so low, a bunch of artists moved in. They started creating art in Brooklyn and making the place beautiful. Brooklyn became trendy. In fact, Brooklyn became so popular that a whole bunch of middle-class […]
Enough
Ever been told you are too much? If you’re anything like me, you have been told most of your life that you are too much. Too bossy, too opinionated, too nice. Too assertive, too passive, too spiritual. Most of us have been told to cool it or reign it in, and the underlying message […]
No Longer Slaves
“I’m no longer a slave to fear. I am a child of God.” © 2014 Jonathan Hesler, Joel Case, Brian Johnson. Bethel Music. I do not like spiders. At all. Spiders have the capacity to arrest my attention simply by entering the room. They are captivating, for all the wrong reasons. When I see a […]
I See You
As creatives, we often find ourselves working in secret. We write in secret, we compose in secret. We design in secret, we paint in secret. We dance and rehearse and practice in secret. If we are not careful, we come to believe that our art is secret. As creatives, many of us are introverts. This […]
God Whispers
At the recent Omega writer’s conference, Disney writer Alex Marestaing spoke to us about hearing the whispers of God. Alex told us the story of how he got hired by Disney: he sent them a letter, asking for a job. Just like that. Even more unbelievable is the fact that Disney contacted him a couple […]
River
This song showed up in a dream one morning. I was asleep at the time, minding my own business, when the words “Give us a river. . .” started singing in the dream. When I awoke, the music stayed with me. The full song was written a few minutes later. When I think of the […]
Lessons from Winnie-the-Pooh
“Poetry and hums aren’t things which you get, they’re things which get you. And all you can do is to go where they can find you.” Winnie-the-Pooh (from The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne). For a Bear of Very Little Brain, Pooh shows remarkable insight into the world of creativity. Sometimes we writers […]
Writing “Haven”
Three years ago I contracted salmonella poisoning in Europe. Exotic, right? I was hounded by relentless nausea for the first three days, accompanied by chills and other joys not appropriate for public consumption. Even though I started to get better after a few days, it is fair to say that I was not myself […]