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[e-ellis-allen-is-girl-on-stilts]

The Art of Letting Go: Killing My Darlings to Rebirth a Story

Should it stay or should it go: Changing a good story to be better.

I need help. Years ago, I wrote a short story I’m considering turning into a screenplay and novel. The story was dark and funny about a one-hit-wonder writer slated to be the next great American novelist who has a terrible case of writer’s block and accidentally discovers his cure is to kill his unsuspecting wife—obviously, not a Romance, but a little bit like “Throw Momma from the Train” and…

[e-ellis-allen-is-girl-on-stilts]

Heroic: A Quick Reminder About Greatness.

You perceived weakness could be your biggest strength.

Someone who is brave is someone who knows what they’re up against but does it anyway. Bravery is the characteristic all Superheroes possess. They don’t necessarily seek danger, but they know it’s there and hit it head-on. It’s what they’re wired to do. It’s innate, intrinsic, natural, and essential. They are brave, emphasizing the ‘b.’ Many people I know plunge headlong into doom every day—sans…

[e-ellis-allen-is-girl-on-stilts]

Genre Miscommunication: Why Leave the World Behind Deserves a Second Look

A mislabel in genre will get you misguided results.

Picture It A New York family goes on a last-minute vacation. They rent a big, beautiful house with a pool in a secluded wooded area with their New York City skyline on the horizon. The vacation is excellent, except for a few peculiar things, like the survivalist neighbor hoarding supplies and an oil tanker drifting ever closer to the shore. Then a man and his daughter arrive in need of a place…

[e-ellis-allen-is-girl-on-stilts]

The Surprise Found in Oscar's Strength

Last Sunday, I watched the Oscars from beginning to end for the first time ever. This departure from my regular Sunday routine is a mystery because nothing else was different. I still have the attention span of a blackfly. My dog was on the brink of protest if not walked, and my home was in its typical weekend disarray — towers of dishes in the sink and a laundry pile as daunting as Mt.…

[e-ellis-allen-is-girl-on-stilts]

Hurts So Good: Embracing the Paradox of Healing Through Writing

Using writing to right your past.

Most creatives understand that the more we confront our pain, the quicker we heal. The more we share our stories — via splattered across a canvas, strobing from a digitized screen, or collected on a novel page — the less our pain holds us captive. Artists know that the road from trauma to transformation is marred by a series of pothole paradoxes we embrace as part of the muse. However, it took…

[e-ellis-allen-is-girl-on-stilts]

The Light I Didn't Plan For

A love letter.

When I met the love of my life, I planned to live in a lighthouse in Maine or Massachusetts, own an intimidating dog, write thick, provocative novels, and, most of all, stay single. Due to the absence of two working parents, I grew up in a house where love was presented as a form of torture — pinned to the carpet, my brothers’ spit dangling from their mouths, sucking it back up, and doing it…

[e-ellis-allen-is-girl-on-stilts]

Whip it! Whip it Good: The Art of Genre Blending.

*WARNING, SPOILER ALERTS* Picture it: A stressed-worn woman and her school-uniform-clad 10-year-old slump in the front seat of their idling car in bumper-to-bumper traffic. The Mom cranes her neck out her side window, back to the windshield, straining to see what’s ahead as a beat cop lights a red stick flair. Kid: “You know the accident up there?” Mom: “Yeah?” Kid: “A lady, she broke her…

[e-ellis-allen-is-girl-on-stilts]

The Afterglow of Achievement: Waiting at the Top of the World

Reflecting back on the journey and the destination is what counts.

When I was young, my older siblings and I would hike up a mountain, our eyes searching the barbed sticker bushes and loose rocks for collectible bottle caps or Rattlesnakes. We were adventurers, oblivious to the risks, loving the journey, captured in the moment. Once on top, we would catch our breaths, survey the valley below, and bask in our triumph. I can still feel the hot wind on my back and…

[e-ellis-allen-is-girl-on-stilts]

What Comes First The Chicken or the Screenplay?

It’s the age-old question without a definite answer: What came first, the chicken or the egg? But what if the question should be, what do you plan on doing with the chicken? Or is it the eggs you need—because knowing what they’re for changes everything. Recently, I realized that knowing the outcome and working backward to achieve it is a way to success. In Psychology, the term is Backward…

[e-ellis-allen-is-girl-on-stilts]

Where Wolves Are

A desperate mother kidnaps a baby from the woods, is shocked to discover his werewolf lineage, and must surrender him to his true nature or risk a greater threat.

[e-ellis-allen-is-girl-on-stilts]

What Nobody Tells You About Motherhood

It begins with an idea — a stray thought that in years past floated right on by, but that suddenly lands, burrows its seed deep inside your soul, and blooms into a full-blown panicked craving like being held hostage for hours at a Weight Watchers meeting on an empty stomach and are finally released — “I want a baby, and I want one NOW!” Next comes the negotiations — your body may or may not…

[e-ellis-allen-is-girl-on-stilts]

The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow, But Until Then, I'll Stick with The Rain

Sometimes, to be cheerful or present myself as such is exhausting. It’s not that I’m trying to be fake or enjoy being the captain of the river Denial, but sometimes, no matter how hard I try, I’m depressed and feel awful about it. It’s a delicate balance for those of us who deal with depression, especially during the Holiday Season. I think it’s twofold: One, I have a lot to be grateful for—my…