REFLECTION & REASON

Beyond the Lights. Top to bottom, my kind of film. All I needed to see was that Gina Prince-Bythewood directed and wrote this movie, and I knew I couldn't go wrong. She was a writer on A Different World and Felicity (two of my favourite "childhood" television programs), and of course, she is responsible for the film I watch at least twice a year since it came out in 2000, Love and Basketball . There is a simplicity to Ms. Prince-Bythewood's stories; she always creates characters that speak to me. There is a cultural reflection that is always subtle, but definitely strong in impact. I am admittedly biased...I love (and prefer) to watch a "Black" film with Black characters, and Black writers. It is something inherent in me that I can not change. And as a story writer myself, I am moved by tales that are representative of my generational experience, whether in print, on television, or on the big screen. It happened in Love and Basketball when Monica and Q...

Black History Month has new significance to me each year. This particular Black History Month, 2011, I would like to pay hommage to the Black Writers who have influenced and inspired me with their words through the various stages of my growth as a writer. Inspiration is a difficult thing to describe--but something I can't deny when I feel it. Whether it comes from music, a conversation, an observation, or deliberate instruction, inspiration as a writer is the moving spirit that leads you directly to the nearest computer, notepad, or BlackBerry to jot down your thoughts and your plan to develop them. As a writer, I seldom have a specific method to my literary madness. There's no set writing "time," writing "place," or writing "process." When the inspiration hits me...I write. And so I often find myself seeking inspiration in experiences: concerts, travel, music, productions, new friendships, or by witnessing the legacies and creations of those writ...