Advice for Writing, Editing, Reading, and Life.
New posts on Mondays (for non-fiction) or Fridays (for fiction)
We Are Stardust (pt. 3)
Before the shuttle touched down, a ring of Petrans had formed around the clearing. As Nyoka stepped onto the alien world, she could not shake the lightness she felt. Beyond the weaker gravity of a less massive planet, standing on the bluish grass surrounded by indigo leaves, something in Nyoka lifted.
We Are Stardust (pt. 2)
Nyoka couldn’t slow her heart rate nor control her breathing. The tiny acrobat’s speed became unmanageable and it careened off the bar, launching into orbit. Nyoka was walk-jogging to the docking bay where Massoud and Rivera had just offboarded.
We Are Stardust (pt. 1)
Commander Nyoka gasped for breath when her capsule opened. Around her, hissing airlocks signaled the awakening of the other crew members. Nyoka grabbed the sides of her pod and hoisted herself out. The subsystems designed to maintain muscle mass couldn’t hold a candle to good, old-fashioned exercise, but they were a hell of a lot better than waking up from 45 years of atrophy.
FICTION FRIDAYS ARE (almost) HERE
Fiction Fridays are (almost) here! Read more about it and come back tomorrow for the first part of “We Are Stardust,” a science fiction short story.
Fear Itself
I rarely feel like I can conquer my fears; often the best I can manage is to coexist with them under a tenuous cease-fire. So what do I do?
Ten More Prompts to Get You Writing
Here are ten more prompts. You can use these to begin a writing journey, or you can use them to give your brain a rest from a project that has you pulling hair out. You can use them to try a new genre you don’t normally write in, or to get some extra practice in your preferred genre. You can share the resulting work or keep it to yourself. Just write.
Through a Glass, Darkly
Reading her thoughts felt like wading into water of unknown depth until my toes were barely scraping the bottom. Part of me knew the essay was deeper than I could comprehend, and that pushing into it risked losing my footing altogether and being swept up in the current.
A Case Study on Theme: Beauty and the Beast (1991 vs. 2017)
Obviously, any great work of fiction can have more than one theme, but there is usually one central theme that any other themes hang on; a trunk from which other themes can branch. The themes of 1991’s Beauty and the Beast deal with prejudice, freedom, love, and forgiveness. And the 2017 remake fumbles basically all of those. But none more egregiously than the “trunk” that made ‘91 so great.
April 28–30, 2022
Three poems (for April 28, 29, and 30, 2022), the conclusion to the Poem-a-Day challenge.
April 25–27, 2022
Three poems (for April 25, 26, and 27, 2022), as a part of the Poem-a-Day challenge.
April 24, 2022
A limerick for #LimerickSunday, as a part of the Poem-a-Day challenge for #NationalPoetryMonth.
April 22 and 23, 2022
Two poems (for April 22 and 23, 2022), as a part of the Poem-a-Day challenge.
April 18–21, 2022
Four poems (for April 18, 19, 20 and 21, 2022), as a part of the Poem-a-Day challenge.
April 15–17, 2022
Three poems (for April 15, 16, and 17, 2022), as a part of the Poem-a-Day challenge.
April 13 and 14, 2022
Two poems (for April 13 and 14, 2022), as a part of the Poem-a-Day challenge.
EMERGENCY UPDATE(S)
My blog will be on a less consistent, pseudo-hiatus, kind of schedule. At least for a while. The goal is to get back to new posts every Monday soon, but I can’t be sure when that will happen. There may be fewer than one post a week. The posts that come may not come on Monday. Hopefully you’ll forgive me. If not, well… eh, I’m still happy because I have a second son, so phooey on you.
April 10, 2022
A poem for Palm Sunday (April 10, 2022) as a part of the Poem-a-Day challenge.