Story Isn’t Working? Break It

I'm slogging through the story I've been trying to rescue from the gloppy, sticky mountain of Excess--the one I've overwritten. I broke it down by sections and then reread and took notes on those sections: what works, what doesn't. I've lopped off sections I rewrote so they're tight, but also dead. What's left is...not much....

P.S. on “Childish Things”

This isn't an either-or thing, so don't worry. I'd be desolate without my not-highbrow stuff. I'm just saying, TRY new, different things--not just what media put in front of you. DIFFERENT types of books use different plot structures, different ideas of what fiction CAN be. Just like how video games have gone wild with what...

Childish Things

No one wants to be an adult anymore. 1 Corinthians 13:11. KJ21. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.  # A simple request. Give it a try, if you're interesting in pushing yourself...

Overwriting, or Writing Too Much, or Writing Drafts of the Same Thing Because You Want to Make It Perfect Even Though There’s No Such Thing, or Hypergraphia, or The Opposite of Writer’s Block, or When You Are So Afraid of Judgement You Keep Writing the Same Thing Over and Over and End Up With A Story That Should Be 2500 Words But Now There’s So Much of It You Need A New External Drive, or…

Tune in tomorrow for part 2. Shown: Heaven Shown: Hell I am confronting a ridiculous number of words. TWO YEARS ago I had what I thought was a nifty idea, a variation on a famous novella set in a post-Civil War 2 USA. It had everything I enjoy--descriptions of destroyed technology, a woman our hero...

Everything Sucks. So I’m Doing This.

I'm organizing. I'll wait out the expected and legit cries of 'That's iT?! That's your great advice?!?!' I never said it was deep, or even a permanent fix to whatever troubles you. I'm not of the "Don't just do something, sit there!" school. I don't think I can solve all my issues in a day....

Random Thoughts: State of the Union

Biden is awful. If you want to hear a state of the union from someone who respects the intelligence of American citizens, go find Robert Kennedy, Jr's. Can't say I'm gonna vote for him. But for the first time, I'm tempted. There are so many good movies from before 1980, you could watch one or...

Random Thoughts 2/8/2024

I've had huge computer issues and couldn't even get on here without being blocked! I expect it's just karma... Journalists demanding another journalist be arrested for treason because he got an interview they'd love to have is freakin insane. Once you know who you're going to vote for on election day, nine months from now,...

Two Ways I “Made” More Time for Writing, Reading: I Cut Out TWO Things I Enjoyed

If you want more time for any activity, you have to DO something. You have to act. Time is not 'made' but it's not 'found,' either. It's not a river or stream your hero discovers in some distant land, which he dips the magic cup into and is rejuvenated. It's just there, like the ground...

Random Thoughts: Friday, January 19, 2024 2:17 AM

I've been busy. But every few months I get the urge to write these little notes. And people drop by here every day. So even if I'm not here for long periods, I'll always come back, until I can't. I've posted this before. But I really like it. My right eye got messed up, so...

The Difference Between Songs and Stories

Of course there are exceptions. MANY exceptions. But having read short stories and listened to songs for over 50 years, I am confident in saying that the difference between song lyrics and written stories is that songs present a SITUATION, while stories present a series of dramatic events leading to an emotionally-satisfying RESOLUTION to that...

Biden: I Will End “Endless Wars”

I've lost count of how many we're involved in. Ro Khanna, no republican conservative, has called this attack "unconstitutional." https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/world/yemen-attacks-unconstitutional-democrats-say-biden-acted-without-approval/ar-AA1mS0Hq But hey...no mean tweets. Right? Another promise kept. #BidenHarris2024 #Biden2024 #BidenAdministration https://apnews.com/article/fcd9b36a5f0542c5b0a9688f38338e2b

Are We ALL Drama Queens Now?

When I'm forced to go to a social gathering I do my best to talk to one person at a time, because it's so easy to say one thing that sets off someone you don't know that well. I'll talk to a friend's college-attending daughter, then realize her grandmother (who doesn't like me) is hovering,...