People love symmetry because it feels right having things match up. You have a superhero, but also a supervillain. You start your story on a bus and end it on a bus. You have two main characters, one very rich and one very poor. There are lots of ways to have symmetry or mirror elements…
Author: David Stewart
I am a writer of anything quirky and weird. I love most genres of fiction and in each there are stories that I would consider "my kind of story".
Tuesday Night at the Bliss & Blah
Tuesday Night at the Bliss & Blah She sat down purposefully at the bar. The bartender glanced over. “What’ll it be?” “A shot of melancholy.” He raised an eyebrow. “Straight? We’ve got a cocktail that mixes melancholy, nostalgia and wistfulness, with a dash of hope.” “Straight. With a remorse chaser.” “Geez, you’re really looking for…
Cookipocalypse
This is a response to the January 27, 2025 Muse on Monday writing prompt. Cookipocalypse Dude, there’s only one cookie left, Grant texted me. No. No no no no no. These weren’t just any cookies, these were Brenda’s chocolate chip supreme cookies. They weighed half a pound each and she only made them a few…
Muse on Monday – February 3, 2025
As Forrest Gump said, “Life is like a box of chocolates: it can get dark and it might get nuts, but it’s usually pretty sweet.” Okay, fine. What he actually said was: “you never know what you’re going to get” meaning there’s a lot of randomness to life. In writing, there is less randomness than…
Writing Corner: Cooperative Writing
Writing Corner: Cooperative Writing One of the biggest challenges in writing, I have found, is writing with someone else. It can be very productive but cooperative writing comes with its own set of challenges. Writing is by nature a solitary act since it is the process of taking a story from your brain and putting…
The Lobster Pot
The Lobster Pot Stomach rumbling, I spied a restaurant sign ahead: The Lobster Pot. It wasn’t seafood, just a dimly-lit diner at the end of a long hallway. “I’m curious,” I asked when I was paying, “why call it The Lobster Pot?” “The way it’s built,” the waiter replied, smiling. “Easier in than out.” A…
Muse on Monday – January 27, 2025
Have you ever read a story where the fate of the world rests on what the characters do? Probably, since that’s a lot of stories. This is what is called a high-stakes story and the reason they are so common is that the higher the stakes, the more we are invested in it all turning…
Down the AI Rabbit Hole
Down the AI Rabbit Hole It started on a Friday. I only remember that since I was planning on a relaxing weekend as I walked out of my graduate archeology seminar. “I loved your essay on the new dating system for bronze age sites,” Dr. Acharya said as I passed her desk. “You made some…
Tunnel of … Something
Tunnel of … Something Hannah and Brett floated on a small boat through the dark tunnel. Pop music played softly. They passed a TV showing a baseball game. “You doing okay?” Brett asked. “Yeah.” “You think it’ll rain tomorrow?” “Maybe. Ugh, I need to think of something for supper tonight.” “Get a pizza.” “I’ll just…
Muse on Monday – January 20, 2025
I wrote a story once about a vertical city. The rich people lived at the higher levels and it got poorer as it went down. Sort of like the Snowpiercer train stood on its end, or the silo from the Silo series. What would it really be like if a city got stood on end?…
The Green-Walled Treehouse 