Ever walked through your house in the dark, nothing but shadows and memory to go on, and perhaps a dog? I did this last night, and though I know where everything lies, I also know that furniture shifts about through use, and occasional gnawed Nylabones will be just where I want to place a bare…
It is that time of year again when everybody is writing either their New Year’s resolutions or their accomplishments for the past year. My thought is more along the lines of what is still present, still ongoing. So here is my New Year’s list post. My Labrador companion, Cagney, it turns out, is not turning…
You know that feeling: itchy fingers, voices in your head, ideas backing up, the urge to sit and type like a maniac through a scene, a tirade of dialogue, a well-strung motif? That’s where I am at, about to break out in a rash of words. But there is a hold, the ever present disruption…
My mind is full of words, but none of them are clinging to each other and the few that bump and hold together, however briefly, are whispering, and I can barely hear them over the din of all the phrases sloshing against each other in garbled conversation. It is not a creative day, not even…
What if she was real a moment ago? It is the What Ifs that writers bring into reality. What if kids had to fight to the death to earn a position in society? What if everybody was altered to fit into one of five personality types? Questions and possibilities are what we build our stories…
Multitask the process of writing Let’s face it, if you are working at a job that you enjoy and that also pays the bills and writing for publication in your free time, than multitasking is probably a necessary evil. I don’t advocate the idea of using up every moment for productive result at all times:…
Overwhelmed by stuff, use anticipation to inspire. Creativity is best when the appetite is wet. I have already said that teaching encroaches on my writing time. Remember the movie The Thing? That is the life of the English teacher: pursued by an engulfing pile of stuff. The teaching thing just eats everything up. So I…
Be ready to pounce on the writing moment. So last week I blogged about how creativity can be dependent upon routine. I do use this to a degree during the summer months, but I am just as likely to use the capture mode. This is when you sit down to do one thing and inspiration…
