Story Prompt: January 16, 2023 Write a story based on the picture below. This picture has an eerie, otherworldly feeling to it, but that doesn’t mean that your story has to be. Part of the fun of writing with prompts is subverting expectations. In any case, have fun with it. If you want to share…
Hail Mary 1230
Hail Mary 1230 The world looks peaceful from up here, the irregular polygons of the old fields and forest divisions looking like they’ve been cut by a toddler with a pair of stolen scissors: straight lines, weird angles. But this is the exclusion zone and the people have gone and left their straight lines behind….
Muse on Monday – January 9, 2023
Muse on Monday – January 9, 2023 Do you listen to music when you write? I listen to a wide variety of music but I like energetic music like rock or techno when I write. Sometimes, though, when I write about a certain place, I will listen to music from that place: for example, I…
The One Labor of Jordan
The One Labor of Jordan Jordan now understood why Lena said that her father was mythologically old school. “Three things you gotta do to date my daughter,” Mr. Iraklidis said, holding up sausage-like digits. “Hey, it usta be twelve. First, clean the cellar steps.” But Jordan could go mythological too. He had no river to…
Muse on Monday – January 2, 2023
Muse on Monday – January 2, 2023 Happy New Year from the Green-Walled Treehouse! We’re going to start 2023 off with a bang by talking about action. Action scenes are inherently high tension, so they should be exciting. They should make the reader want to keep reading. Sentences are often short. They use a lot…
Tethered
Tethered “Come on, it’s New Year’s.” Maria’s tone was pleading. “Show off those new cybers. Put my dancing to shame with your robot legs.” My new upgrades let me bench press 800 pounds and run a 3-minute mile, but I couldn’t afford good batteries. The club said its wireless electricity for fully T6 but what…
Muse on Monday – December 19, 2022
Muse on Monday – December 19, 2022 Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone out there! We all probably have certain images of Christmas and similar adjacent holidays in our minds based on our experiences and what we see on TV and in movies. This may give an idea of what a Christmas story should…
The Path of the Mail Carrier
The Path of the Mail Carrier Let’s watch the mail carrier from high above. His path is like the stitching from a sewing machine: a straight line punctuated by frequent dips to the right as he delivers his letters and bills and junk mail to each mailbox. From above, he is light blue oblong with…
Sui Generis
Sui Generis I needed something unique. Groundbreaking. Twelve hours before the science fair and no ideas. Last year’s winner, my sentient rhinocopter, buzzed around the room looking bored. A living cup that produced milk and sugar for your coffee? Not enough time now. A catbird? I might as well make a baking soda volcano. I…
Muse on Monday – December 12, 2022
Recently I saw two lovers say a tearful goodbye at the airport. It was even harder since because of their circumstances, they would not see each other for a long time, if ever again. Modern communication such as video calling and chatting are great to a point but no substitute for being together. I felt…
The Green-Walled Treehouse 