Morning, Joe These days, every school has a “Joe”: someone to provide a sly shot of the banned pick-me-up to keep you sharp. I did business in the basement art room, killed years ago by budget cuts. Just before first period Principal Singh walked in. My heart raced but my expression remained bored. “Morning, Joe.”…
Writing Corner: Cliffhangers
Two of the things that keeps people reading your story are mystery and tension: not only things that the readers doesn’t know but very important things to the characters: things that could make or break their whole lives even. One way to do this is with cliffhangers. A cliffhanger is when the story stops at…
The Last One Out
The Last One Out My body feels like it has merged with the couch. I scroll through one app, switch to another, scroll, switch back. I don’t have any attention span and feeling my parents’ eyes on me when they walk past just makes it harder. They’re worried about me but don’t know how to…
Muse on Monday – April 25, 2022
I would argue that a writer’s goal is not just to tell a story but to tell an impactful story. We want the reader to keep thinking about the story after they’ve finished reading. There are a lot of ways to do this but one way is with description. We want the reader to be…
Phere
Phere Phere. It was the intersection of fashion and horror. Fifth Avenue meets Fear Factor. I gingerly put on my lacquered wasp earrings. The millipede bracelet came next. Then my masterpiece, a necklace made of a live de-legged scorpion I put on with bomb-disposal meticulousness. I had more than the normal blind-date nervousness. What if…
Writing Corner: Accuracy in Fiction
The good thing about writing fiction is that it’s not true. That means you don’t have to cite sources or do any research. If the facts don’t fit your story, you can change the facts. It’s pretty sweet. But does a story have to be accurate at all? If so, how much? That is what…
Muse on Monday – April 18, 2022
People are fascinating. On one hand we are all the same: we all need the same things and follow the same patterns, but on the other hand we are each unique. Every person has their own story or collections of stories. Some we know, others we can only guess. For example, I am currently looking…
Writing Corner: Your Audience
There are two parts to the writing experience: the reader and the writer. If it is something like a diary that you are not going to show anyone, then you are both the reader and the writer. But there are always both. The people who you would like to read your story are your audience….
The Neighbor We Love to Hate
The Neighbor We Love to Hate The two women watched the old man lounging in his front yard amid heaps of dirty snow. “Why won’t he leave?” one said. “He’s hurting property values.” “Right? Do you know he destroyed all my flowers last night?” “You sure?” “Who else would it be?” “He should retire to…
Muse on Monday – April 11, 2022
One great thing about reading is the chance to travel to different places and situations without leaving your home. Reading doesn’t open a new world, it opens up a million new worlds. Writing is the same way but we get to make the choices. If you want to go somewhere, all you need to do…
The Green-Walled Treehouse 