How do you start a story? How do you end a story? These can be extremely vexing questions for any writer. But one thing anyone can remember when you hit this wall is that you were actually taught the best way to begin and end nearly any piece of writing in Middle School. Remember? Tell them what you’re going to tell them. Tell them. Then tell them what you told them. That, of course, sounds super-pedantic and boring, which is…
Although I’d like to and intend to post something new and regular-blog-post-like to this blog on a semi-regular basis, sometimes I go for stretches where I seem to have lost access to any extra brain cells, especially the ones needed for coming up with anything even vaguely resembling ‘new.’ In fact, lately, I’ve been hovering near the borders of just such a state. And so, I’ve come up with an idea! What sort of prompt might require not very many…
Well, the New Year is almost upon us, and so it’s time again that I’d like to look back at the year and see what I did with this blog and website in 2024. I did the same thing last year (which you can see here if you’d like) and, because I am lazy, I think I’ll stick to the same format as last time. Then, anyone who wants to do a side-by-side comparison of the two years (or am…
Well, once again it is the time of year when I’d like to post up how my writing progress has gone for the year (and, if you’re curious, you can compare this year’s progress update with last year’s here). Progress updates are a funny thing. They imply a need for quantifiable achievement, and it is definitely true that I do like to tabulate things, probably more than other people would consider healthy (hence, the bottom of this post with my…
This summer I went to see a movie in the theater. This was sort of a big deal for me because, between one thing and another, I hadn’t been to a movie theater in many years. (Also, the last movie I saw in a theater was…ah…disappointing. (IT WILL LIVE FOREVER IN MY MIND IN INFAMY!)) But I saw that Twisters was in theaters, and a) an action movie is usually a safe bet at a theater—the big screen makes action…
Alright! It’s November, which means that (at least theoretically) all of the roses that were going to bloom in my garden have done so, and now I get to show them off. If it sounds like I’m a kid showing off their Christmas presents, that’s because I do quite love my roses (definitely more than my gardening skills warrant). These aren’t exactly prize-winning flowers, but I’m going to show them to you anyway! Before I begin, though, I have to…
I don’t really believe in ghosts. Or, more accurately, I think I believe that if ghosts exist, they do so in a way that’s just not relevant to me, that our worlds are completely separate, and that theirs does not affect mine. I’m pretty sure that’s what I believe. It can still be fun to indulge in a good ghost story on occasion. Especially around Halloween. Ghosts, and ghost stories, I think, have a way of connecting us very deeply…
Today I need to write something positive, just cuz. So, here’s a blog post about some random ‘favorites’ of mine…with certain follow-ups. First up: Favorite Colors Yes, kindergarten is over thirty years behind me, and yet I am still going to tell you about my favorite colors. I really, really like colors, okay? …Which means I can’t possibly have a favorite. But some colors I adore are: So, what’s more wonderful than gorgeous colors? Gorgeous color-combinations. A single, flat color…
So. Sometimes, reading other writers’ blogs, I’ll read about the sort of research another author might put into their story. Maybe they’ll (1) talk about traveling to a relevant city (not exactly within reach for most of us), or pouring over Google maps of a relevant city (definitely sensible – sounds like a lot of work though – so, maybe a reason to avoid contemporary settings if at all possible?). Or (2) they’ll call up or interview an expert or…
This post is mostly just going to be pretty pictures. This summer, we went on an overnight backpacking trip with my dad in the Bitterroot mountains in Montana, on the trail up toward Glen Lake. My dad remembered the trail as very forested, but since he’d been there last, wildfire had gone through and taken out nearly all the trees. So, instead of a shady forest, we had a very sunny trip, with lots and lots of wildflowers.