Tag: writing

From “Drought Town” to “Blue Karma”: 25 Years of Cli-Fi

April 21, 2019

Last month, book blogger Alex at ScribblesAndStories posted a delightful retrospective of her childhood writing projects. Her unflinching but affectionate review hits all the classic points in a writer’s early evolution, from those first forays into fiction starring ourselves and our friends, to the imitative works inspired by a favorite story, to the more deliberate … More From “Drought Town” to “Blue Karma”: 25 Years of Cli-Fi

Thoreau In The Snow: A Writer’s Interlude at Walden Pond

March 10, 2019

Ice gleamed along the barrier islands thousands of feet below, and I grimaced at my leather dress boots, jammed under the airplane seat. Dispatched on a business trip to the western suburbs of Boston, I’d taken the precaution of wearing my New York Yankees underwear as protection against enemy baseball juju, but with just a … More Thoreau In The Snow: A Writer’s Interlude at Walden Pond

In-Flight Entertainment: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love My Stories

December 9, 2018

Epiphany struck me 35,000 feet over Chicago. Dimmed lights in the plane cabin made my laptop screen glow conspicuously on the tiny tray table, an invitation to judge over my shoulder, but I didn’t have time for self-consciousness. I had revisions to finish. Faced with a cross-country business trip, I’d assigned myself a travel project … More In-Flight Entertainment: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love My Stories

Rejection to Redemption: A Short Story About Persistence in Writing Short Stories

September 30, 2018

The email notification pinged softly on my phone as we crossed the North Carolina border. “Your story ‘Shakti’ is one of the finalists….” “That’s great,” said my Laddie when I read the message aloud. I shrugged and turned back to the cornfields beyond the window, surrendering to the creative malaise that consumed me all that … More Rejection to Redemption: A Short Story About Persistence in Writing Short Stories

The Accidental Mirror: What Flawed Characters Reveal About Ourselves

July 15, 2018

Running solves most of my problems. Bad day at work? Fight with the family? Mad at the world in general? After half a dozen sweaty miles, I reach a place where I’m better equipped to deal. It’s especially helpful for working through story issues. My feet go on autopilot, carrying me not through neighborhoods and … More The Accidental Mirror: What Flawed Characters Reveal About Ourselves

The Beautiful Scientist Problem, Pt III: Three Traps to Avoid When Writing Female Characters

July 1, 2018

Even when writers describe and develop female characters well, they still must navigate a minefield of stale and unhealthy cliches. Tumbling into one of these pernicious pits can ruin a great heroine, and sometimes the entire story along with her. In this final post of my series on writing female characters, I’ll identify three common … More The Beautiful Scientist Problem, Pt III: Three Traps to Avoid When Writing Female Characters