Yesterdays’ Alchemist “Did anything notable happen today?” Dr. Yarrow asked. She looked at Nikolai over the top of her pad. Nikolai did not want weekly therapy session and he suspected that Dr. Yarrow did not want to see him either, but those were the rules. The higher ups thought that historical adjustment and the associated…
Muse on Monday – June 12, 2023
One thing I like do while I’m walking along the road is to imagine that I am actually huge (which I am, relative to ants and such). Suddenly the lawn I walk by is transformed into a jungle. The pavement is a miles-wide desert where monstrous machines appear and then disappear at terrifying speeds. The…
Muse on Monday – June 5, 2023
It may not be officially summer yet and the temperature here today was similar to what it was in March, but it is June, so summer is basically here. That got me thinking of summer blockbusters. There are apparently 11 defining features of a summer blockbuster, according to Fivethirtyeight, but blockbusters tend to be big,…
A Bar For All Tastes
A Bar For All Tastes You enter through a normal-looking door off the street, something in a rich brown for tradition’s sake. Inside is a reception desk. A selection of chocolates on the desk is the only hint of what lies beyond. This is where you make your first choice. Families with children immediately go…
Three Books
Three Books There were three books that had a big impact on Hudson. The first was Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card. Hudson picked it out at the library during one of their reading periods in fifth grade. It was the first time he realized that books could actually be interesting. After that, he read…
Pantheon Search
Pantheon Search The air was greasy with the tang of raw adoration. The audience was already rapturous, and the excess worship was making Larry giddy. A cherub pointed, and he was on. “Welcome to Pantheon Search,” Clotho, one of the judges, said. “You are . . . ?” “Larry.” The audience tittered. “Truly a divine…
Muse on Monday – May 29, 2023
Happy Monday and Happy Memorial Day if you’re in the United States. I’m back from my trip now, so this is the last photo prompt from my trip. This is an elevator button from a hostel where I stayed. It seems like it has a lot of possibilities for a story. Let me know if…
Muse on Monday – May 22, 2023
I hope you’re having a good week. Below is the photo prompt for this week, which is from Sorrento, Italy. Sorrento is a city of different levels, with different ways to get between them, although only at limited points. A good inspiration for a story. Story Prompt: May 22, 2023 Write a story based on…
Muse on Monday – May 15, 2023
I’ll be traveling for the next few weeks, so the story prompts will be interesting photos that I take along the way. For this week, here is one from my last trip, in Vietnam. Story Prompt: May 15, 2023 Write a story based on this picture. If you want to share your story, you can…
Muse on Monday – May 8, 2023
I have always loved learning languages, partially for the challenge of it, but also to get to learn about other cultures and people. It’s because of this that language barriers show up in my writing quite a bit. The advantage to having a language barrier in a story, either total or partial, is that not…
The Green-Walled Treehouse 