The duel: it is a staple of action movies, like the standoff in a western movie. At the climax of the story or movie, the hero and villain face off, one on one. Of course this doesn’t have to be a physical confrontation. It could be a debate or a chess game or even two…
Muse on Monday – March 17, 2025
Have you ever read or written a story around one word? I don’t mean as a theme, but literally using the same word multiple times in the story. Sometimes this technique can be used ironically when a word has more than one meaning or it can just be done for fun. I can’t think of…
Muse on Monday – March 10, 2025
Story Prompt: March 10, 2025 You move into a new house with a locked closet. You can’t find the key to it. One night you see light coming from under the door. There are a number of reasons for this, but be creative. If you have a story like this you want to share or…
Muse on Monday – March 3, 2025
It’s a common trope in fiction: two strangers arrive/wake up/find themselves trapped together somewhere. They might be the last people on Earth, but they could also be stuck on a desert island (like The Blue Lagoon) or a spaceship (e.g. Passengers). And so on. The point is that there are two people suddenly pushed into…
The Road to Macau
The Road to Macau Unlike most stories on this site, this one is true. I am currently in Macau while on a recruitment trip for work—a quick stopover between mainland China and Mongolia. Macau is kind of like the little brother of Hong Kong just across the bay. It was a Portuguese territory and was…
Muse on Monday – February 24, 2025
I’m leaving on a fairly extensive trip to Asia today, so that got me thinking about travel. When you take a long trip, no matter how much preparation you do, it always feels like you are missing something. Of course, sometimes you have to leave unprepared. Refugees are in that situation, where you just take…
Muse on Monday – February 17, 2025
Of the five senses, the most used for description is sight. However, it’s very rare to only have sight to work with. One place where this happens is on security camera footage. There is no dialogue so we have to guess from body language and actions what is happening. Sometimes it’s obvious (a guy is…
It’s Crazy, I Know
It’s Crazy, I Know Don’t bother telling me, I know it’s crazy. I saw her once for three seconds two weeks ago as my train passed. She was wearing overalls, and as I passed, she was reaching up to the branch of a tree. Her village doesn’t have a station. I figured out the name…
Muse on Monday – February 10, 2025
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…
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…
The Green-Walled Treehouse 