The topic is an evergreen among writers, especially of fiction: do we more or less construct our entire story up front, before beginning composition, including characters, backstory, plot arc, etc. Or perhaps at least an outline of the main features of the plot and main characters, or have a vague idea of who and what […]
(This is the text of a new page, added today, called “Flash Fiction” – duh – but I don’t know whether “followers” necessarily get alerts for new pages, so I’m posting it here as well. dq) The New Hampshire Writers’ Project (NHWP) runs an annual competitive event known as the Three-Minute Fiction Slam. Community-based groups around […]
THANKS FOR THE EMPATHY – a long-azzed writing prompt from Cathy M. It’s just before the big Thanksgiving dinner with your family. Think of the family member to whom you feel closest. Think of why you feel closest to this sister, brother, cousin, father, grandmother, child, etc. Think of what you love about them, feel […]
It seems that at the end of the year when the air gets colder, the nights get longer and the colors of summer wilt away, we attempt to stave off winter melancholy by celebrating a lot of holidays. It starts in October and runs all the way to New Year’s Day. Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas are […]
There were three men came out of the west, their fortunes for to try And these three men made a solemn vow John Barleycorn must die They’ve plowed, they’ve sown, they’ve harrowed him in Threw clods upon his head And these three men made a solemn vow John Barleycorn was dead Each morning and evening, […]
May all our future writers learn to tell as a tale as charmingly as this eight year old: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/oct/19/experience-pulled-a-1500-year-old-sword-lake-saga-vanecek (one suspects a wee bit of editing, but enjoy it anyway)
There are two books I sit down with every October. One is A Pictorial History of Horror Movies by Denis Gifford and the other is Hollywood Horror: From Gothic to Cosmic by Mark A. Vieira. These books are not only full of great photos, but also interesting behind-the-scenes tidbits. The other night I was reading […]
In my line of work, “innovation” is a golden word, and currently a very over-used, abused piece of jargon designed to make your business look hip and dynamic to customers. There are actually “Chief Innovation Officers” at some businesses, and if you spend time scanning company websites a lot of them talk about how they […]
