• Today I pay homage to the humble notebook. We spent some time camping a few weeks ago, and it felt so nice to be able to handwrite as I sat near the lake. No worries about charging, no internet distractions, and no blue light to keep me up too late. Just writing. I have several…

    Read more →

  • It’s Thursday, and I am reading one story a week from the book, The Art of the Short Story by Dana Gioia and R.S. Gwynn. Making sure, basically, that to go with my 52 really bad short stories, I am also reading 52 really good short stories. The Open Boat ~ Stephen Crane After last…

    Read more →

  • Like any manufacturing plant, here at the Story Factory, we value quantity over quality. More words, more hours, more stories. The goal is 52 stories at the end of the year. So far, we are on target. Which, I know, isn’t much to say at this point of the year, but on the other hand,…

    Read more →

  • It’s Tuesday, so today I am going to tell you about a game-changing alarm clock. Sure, my iPhone was doing an okay job of playing the music I wanted to wake up to on time every morning, but the jolt of adrenaline was not doing me any favors. Enter the Philips SmartSleep HF3500/60 Wake-Up Light…

    Read more →

  • Monday Musings

    Don’t think.Thinking is the enemy of creativity. It’s self-conscious, and anything self-conscious is lousy. You can’t try to do things. You simply must do things. ~ Ray Bradbury I feel like this is what is going on with my short story writing lately. I overthink and plan rather than follow Ray’s advice (Meet a character…

    Read more →

  • The Art of the Short Story According to Amazon, I purchased this book, The Art of the Short Story by Dana Gioia and R.S. Gwynn, back in July 2018. Hmm, that was the summer that we had no air conditioning at the house for all of June, and I spent the afternoons at the local university…

    Read more →

  • Yes, it’s Wednesday, the day I normally geek out on all things data. But today, I am not feeling it. And I came across my favorite poem this morning, so I am feeling more poet than data miner. In college, I decided to take creative writing. There were two options: short stories adn poetry. My…

    Read more →

  • And, I’m back with my regular posting schedule. It’s Tuesday, so today, I am going to discuss/review my latest gadget. And today’s gadget is… Hiking poles. Absolutely game-changing on long, hilly hikes. My sons gave me a pair for Mother’s Day, and I was able to take them out that same day, and I had…

    Read more →

  • U, V, W, X, Y, and Z

    Thought I would end things with the masters: U – The Unrest Cure ~ H.H. Munro (SAKI) When J.P. Huddle complains to a fellow passenger that he and his sister have a much too mundane life, when even a new bird in the yard disrupts their day, the Unrest Cure is suggested. The cure, which…

    Read more →

  • U is for UGH!

    So, they say that time exisits so that everything doesn’t happen at once, and space exists so it doesn’t all happen to you. Something broke this week, and everything happened at once, and I was in the middle of it. Part of my university job entails event planning and logistics and I have had six…

    Read more →