You can’t use up creativity. The more you use the more you have.

-Maya Angelou

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Hi, I’m Christopher Ryan, a hybrid author with forty years of experience in journalism, education, sketch comedy, indie film, unions, community service, parenting, public speaking, acting, podcasting, but most often writing fiction, poetry, and pop culture essays. Now I’m working to discover what more I can achieve and share with the world, and whether an older author can find a place in the storytelling business. Together, let’s see if I can get there.

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NEWSish Stuff

Upcoming live events

• Thrills and Chills Book Fair, Middletown, NY, July 12, 2026

• Hoboken Public Library – Writing Horror: Bringing Scares to Life and What Draws Us to the Genre. August 1 from 1-3 pm

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Tell The Damn Story’s 420th episode gets into villainy, after a bit of shenanigans

This week we reach the 420th episode of TTDS and we get into why villains need to be well-developed, multidimensional, and rounded to be worthy of your heroes. We have fun, use a ton of examples and make it a bit more accessible for writers to take on the challenge.

Here’s the link:

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On Writing: When the wheels get rolling, don’t question, tap the gas

There’s a ton of writing on not being able to write, suffering from what is often called “writer’s block” which is a term I don’t support, of dry spells. If that’s you, hit up a search engine, the library, or your favorite book store. Tons of material available.

But what happens when the faucet opens? When the words flow? When writing is going good? What do you do?

The answer is … write. Don’t question it, examine it, scrutinize the hows and whys and wheres. Just let it flow. Keep writing.

When the flow is flowing, usually it is because the ideas you have are ready at least for a first draft. Don’t worry about it, doubt it, or story and wonder about it. Just keep writing your story, poem, screenplay, lyrics, or whatever works for you.

A friend of mine, the always impressive Rebecca Cuthbert, named one of the chapters in her Seamus and Nunzio Productions published Creep This Way: How to Become a Horror Writer With 24 Tips to Get You Ghouling “Be Grateful, Not Satisfied.” To me, there is wisdom in this phrase that can apply well to writing. When it is flowing, we should be thankful, but we should not stop and celebrate because there is work to do.

So when you get that flow going, give the muse a nod while your fingers keep pounding the keys or your pen or pencil continues to move across the page. Take risks, chances, try stuff, make mistakes, commit misspellings, grammatical errors, whatever, as long as the telling or the tale continues.

Amen, brothers and sisters.

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Promotion the old-fashioned way, using creativity not AI

The next Soul Scream Antholozine is on its way. As you read this, Madness Takes Its Toll is being laid out, proofread, adjusted, proofread again, prepped, proofread again. Such an endeavor requires something else as well: promotion.

There are a ton ways to do promo these days … with AI. But writers and artists don’t use AI because it taints creativity. Yeah, businesses and other industries are all over it, but creatives are a different breed. Not superior, just more aware of what it takes to create.

And yet, we have to get the word out.

I’m not a whiz with tech. Not sophisticated when it comes to content promotion. But I don’t mind being silly. And AI can’t do my silly.

So this time around, I am going for it, producing at least one series of goofy-ass shorts to make people aware that Soul Scream Antholozine is alive, well, and on its way.

I played with the idea of The Muse having ways to get me back to work. Maybe possibly slightly voodoo dollish ways. All in the service of momentary chuckles and, hopefully sparking interest in what is on the way.

Here are the links if you want to check them out:

1)

2)

3)

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And now for a picture of a handsome fella

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Pop Culture Fuel

Books

This week, I either continued, started or dipped into a lot of them.

Both are great fun. Slugfest glosses over fanboy stuff I’d love to read about and focuses on the haymakers the two companies hurled at each other. Fascinating. And John Collins’ collections of horror short stories makes me so proud to know him. His work improves every time I read his latest and he’s roaring down the highway firing on all cylinders now. I believe he has a real future ahead.

Highly recommended.

Wayyyyyyy late to the party on this but it is fascinating. Call it author research. Call it self-education. Either way there is a ton of material to discover here.

Recommended.

Wow. Thirteen chapters in and this is riveting. A calm, clear-eyed, extremely well-researched project written as straight up reporting. No slant. No psychoanalysis. Fact-checked with the White House. This is worth your time.

Most highly recommended.

Music

Mostly curating a summer playlist called “fun” and playing Little Feat for Glorious to get her ready for an upcoming show.

TV

More reading than watching, except for …

Movies

Waiting for this weekend….

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Every child is an artist, the problem is staying an artist when you grow up.

– Pablo Picasso

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Awright, thanks for stopping by. Talk atcha next week.