My first muse was the alto saxophone. Eventually I started plucking away on my Dad’s acoustic guitars. One Christmas I asked for a banjo.

I’ve taken music lessons and I’ve also taught myself. In both instances, I needed discipline. There’s no magic formula for how many times you have to flub your way through a song before you can really play it. 

You just have to keep going. 

This is the same mindset I apply to my writing.

After undergrad, I thought I would go to an M.F.A. program and become a short-story writer like George Saunders. Instead I went to the V.C.U. Brandcenter and learned to tell stories that are even shorter.