Jason Haskins

It's hard to believe seven months in 2019 have already been stamped in the history books. Time is funny that way, in that it's always flying by, even when you take a moment to savor it, to embrace it, and, importantly, live in the now. As a kid, time plays funny games with a person. Your life is basically divided between school and not school, at least for portions of it. That wasn't just me, right? I had sports mixed in, from as early as first grade, and other activities as

Settling in to write this monthly update, one that sometimes involves what's going in my world, sometimes involves processes on writing, and most always gives a brief fly by of what's happening in the Treasure Valley, I realized something valuable about my routine: All is calm. That is not to say that June did not keep me occupied -- as will July -- because it did. There was filming of short films, re-writing of plays, hammering out pages of The Dragon Slayer , a ten-minute p

"Yes, life is insane. But the great wisdom of the Warrior lies in choosing his insanity wisely." Paulo Coelho, Warrior of the Light. Breathe. It's an easy enough command to remember, especially when it's a natural action for many of us. Reminders are good, though, when the focus becomes to sporadic and is pulled into many directions all at the same time. Life can do this. Writing can do this as well. Big or small, insane or not, finding a moment to breathe can bring back a de

Stories, whether they are written as a novel, a short story, as poetry, in a play or screenplay, or even spoken on your favorite podcast have an integral part in our society. In doing my own writing, I have dabbled in the various forms mentioned above. Focus sometimes drifts, different ideas pop into the mind, and before I know it, I'm off onto another project, leaving more than a handful behind. (Only to be attacked at a later date.) Telling stories in a variety of formats c

A journey across a handful of western states at the end of July/first of August brought me to the Utah Shakespeare Festival, where I saw a performance of Othello at the Eileen and Allen Anes Studio Theatre. The show did not disappoint. Othello is near the top of the list for me as far as plays by William Shakespeare go, but one I had not yet seen performed. Unless you count the Mekhi Phifer, Julia Stiles, and Josh Hartnett version O from back in 2001, you know, when adapting

Thunderstorms -- mixed in with a flurry of hail and a deluge of rain -- closed out the month of May. Fifteen minutes bursts of precipitation were followed by sunshine and rainbows, almost pushing from the memory the calamity that brought the serenity. Writing can sometimes have the same effect. Sitting down to hammer out a few words, a few pages, and sometimes complete gibberish is often the most difficult part of the process. Building up the courage to put pen to paper -- or