The Sinner's Guide to Confession By Phyllis Schieber Today I have the pleasure of hosting a blog stop on Phyllis Schieber's virtual book tour. Wouldn't it be refreshing for an author to pay attention to women of a certain age (especially if you are a woman of a certain age)? Well, Phyllis Schieber has!Her novel […]
Working on the novel, blogging and dealing with client projects. My life is stripped down to bare bones minimum at the moment. My 92-year-old mother is in the hospital, facing surgery for a hairline fracture tomorrow morning. This, of course, requires much time spent at her bedside, as she is confused and agitated,and even if […]
Yesterday, I wrote about the problem of flat scenes (not to be confused with flat screens) and how they can be very dull and boring. As I emoted about the dullness and boringness of flat scenes and planned to write about how to avoid them, the thought occurred to me that this might be a […]
I've just taken up running. Well, my version of running, while I get used to it, which is more like run-walking: run a block, walk a block. Actually I'm up to running two blocks, then walking two blocks. What started all of this was an offhand comment from a friend. (Oddly enough, much of my […]
Yesterday my daughter had a pumpkin-carving party, complete with home-brewed Nut Brown Ale from her boyfriend and all kinds of delicious pot luck treats. We carved the jack-o-lanterns in the backyard with leaves falling all around us in the autumn breeze and ladybugs landing on everyone. I got up this morning and wrote down all […]
Due to popular demand, I'm posting photos of Igor, the blind pug. The photo to the right is a bit blurry because he is in the process of doing a high five, which he does because he thinks he is going to get food (note to new pug owners: pugs will do anything for food). […]
Having left LA last Friday and flown up the coast, I am adjusting to the relative cold up here (oh who am I kidding, forget the relative part it is flippin' freezing, 50 degrees colder than it was when I left California). But this morning was one of those foggy autumn mornings that I love, […]
Several days ago, I wrote Part One of this post on distance in viewpoint. Rashly, at that moment, I promised a Part Two, complete with how-tos. The how-tos are the hard part, because as with all writing, they are difficult to explain and sometimes even more difficult to put into action. But sometimes not. But […]
I refer to the issue of distance in viewpoint. Yawn. Way to make a post fascinating, right? Excuse you while you lean your head back in your chair and take a wee nap. Once you've dozed for a minute, you might want to rouse yourself for this one, because it can make the difference between […]
1. Le Short Story. From my buddy Roy, here's a nice essay on the short story. Best quote from it: "That grain of sand is the story’s salvation. I take my cue from William Blake: “To see a world in a grain of sand.” Think of it: the world in a grain of sand; which […]
