Inspiration There are many things that can inspire a person: a picture, a song, a person, an event, a possibility, even loss and disappointment. Artists draw on the world around them for their ideas. Sometimes something beautiful is born; sometimes something ugly is created. Either way, the expression finds its way out into the world. For some writers, like me for instance, inspiration is found in the oddest places. An overheard conversation can conjure a fabrication of pre-a

Stop me if you've heard this one before: a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, a band of rebels thought they'd vanquished the evil Empire once and for all, so the universe celebrated. Except for Princess Leia, who knew the Empire wasn't gone, merely biding their time and regrouping for a final strike... I wrote Star Wars Episode VII: The Re-Birth some twenty-three years before The Force Awakens bowed. Abrams and company knew that both the characters and story needed to