Sometimes a writer doesn’t have enough love to go around.
The Flash Fiction Fling
A writer who flirts with several forms of writing at the same time is in a polyamorous relationship with each of them.
Flash fiction has no delusions about its role in the relationship. It knows the wordsmith is just looking for a ‘one write stand,’ a moment of passion in a micro medium. Flash fiction doesn’t mind when a writer forgoes first act foreplay and dives right into the action. It isn’t surprised by the premature punctuation before a resolution. It knows that once its 300 words are up the writer will be on to the next one. Wham bam publish ma’am. Continue reading Don’t Spread Your Love Too Thin→
Behold the continued chronicles of my lapses in lucidity, infractions against intelligence, and brain farts on brilliance. I, like every other connected confessor, have opted to admit my written wrongdoing in the form of a meme. Continue reading #WriterConfessions: Volume 3→
Why writers shouldn’t put up an APPLAUSE sign in the middle of their story
Writers, have you ever wondered if your story was too self involved? Ask yourself, is the hero so funny that he laughs at his own jokes? Is every walk on role just as witty? Is your dialogue so clever that it defies belief? Continue reading Humble Thy Story→
Why writers should continue to challenge what literature can be.
A Confession
I have a confession to make, now that the statute of limitations has passed: I’ve committed academic fraud. In the second grade, I was awarded a Pizza Hut gift certificate for reading more books than any other student, when in fact my mother had read them to me. Mired in guilt, I ate my ill gotten deep dish pizza on her behalf. Continue reading The Virtue of Risky Ideas→
Online confessions are nothing new, but mine fit into a very specific niche. These are author admissions of literary sins and crimes against inspiration. Since I’ve commit so many scholarly atrocities in my time, this batch is only the first volume. Continue reading #WriterConfessions: Volume 1→
These images were inspired by Karin Dreijer Andersson’s makeup in the band Fever Ray’s music video for ‘If I Had A Heart.’
The Balance of Hope and Dread
Writing a compelling story is a balancing act between hope and dread.
When the hero staggers down the sidewalk with a pink slip in one hand and an eviction notice in the other, put a piece of dread on the scale. When the hero discovers an old cellphone, with a genie trapped inside, granting wishes through text messages, put a piece of hope on the scale. When the phone’s battery starts running out of juice, put a piece of dread on. Continue reading Too Much Dread→
