The Paradox of History by Nicola Chiaromonte (1970) investigates the idea of History by assessing literature (e.g. Tolstoy, Stendhal, etc.) which gave me some things to think about in terms of creating characters, relationships, and events. Here are a few of those things: Belief Culminates in thought which is externalized through events (action) Defines limits … Continue reading Belief and Event
Down on one knee, Dr. Volkow lifted the oddly shaped lid straight up, gingerly, without scraping the insides of the device. He studied the machine's guts for a moment -- skeletal wiring, bright metal, bitter colors -- and a light akin glee touched his eyes. He threw his head back with a bark of a … Continue reading Evil’s Gesture
Eric Hardwood stepped out on the platform overlooking the deserted main level of the reactor facility and sank onto the stairs. He'd been stopping criminals and saving people as the superhero Waveform since his sophomore year of college. And now, decked out in Waveform's midnight blue hero-suit, he leaned elbows on knees, disregarded the flashing … Continue reading Evil’s Plan
Jennifer Hilty is looking for prompt ideas. She's asking for: "A thing and a mood." (Examples: Squid/Happy, Apple/Sad, House/Confused, etc.) Leave your ideas in the comments here: Jennifer's Prompt Post [She writes fantasy/science fiction - in light of that, I submitted "planet/delightful". She didn't specify how long the submission window will be open but she posted … Continue reading Writing Prompt Help!
One week after spring finals, I begin my last semester of grad school (WOOOOOOO yeeeeaaaaah!! AHAHAHA, oh FINALLY!!!). It makes me happy. The LAST Semester A couple of writing goals will be met these next 3-ish months: First, it might seem like Villainy (science fiction - involves space travel) left for a solo trip … Continue reading In Transition
When I hear "Sherlock," I think of highly functioning sociopaths. When I hear "Dean," I think of brotherhood and loyalty. When I hear "Doctor," I do not think of my general practitioner (sorry, Doc). Impressions given by and historically attached to names influence how we assign them in fiction. Presently we seem to take those … Continue reading New Old Names
On April 1st, I randomly selected 3 of your suggestions to give our scene a direction: Location: Under a bridge Inanimate object: Pocket watch Advice your mother/grandmother once gave you: Don't let anyone tell you that you can't do something. And then yesterday, I wrote it (had a proper write-a-thon). All of your suggestions are in bold to make … Continue reading The Story We Wrote Together
I promised myself some sort of fun story surprise and I now know what it's gonna be, and I need your help. It's like an improv (sketch comedy) game: I beckon the audience (you) for suggestions with which I'll concoct a scene. THE RULES! You have from now until the end of Friday to post suggestions in the comments, and … Continue reading Let’s Play A Game
I think Curiosity is right up there with Creativity - it's challenging to relay, with no guaranteed result, and yet is vital to the artistic process. And honing it is weird. I think most stuff out there now is "how-to" with step-by-step methods of being creative, straight forward instruction of where to look for "ideas," … Continue reading Teaching Curiosity
Lying with his back to the shelled building, Henrik quietly pulled the corpse of one of the militia soldiers over him, willing himself to vanish as one of their trucks roared up the broken road in his direction. The dead of the official military, the opposing militia, and people who'd been hiding in the city of … Continue reading Black Flag
Duri Rolvsson 