For the past few weeks, I have been attending a writing group. Four writers–of which I am one–are given a prompt and twenty minutes to write. The rules are really guidelines and the guidelines are fairly malleable. In many ways, it’s felt like an exercise in writing hard and fast for twenty minutes. I thought […]

Read more "Twenty Minutes of Artie"

Four score and several years ago, a great American author sent a letter to his senator in Washington D.C. suggesting that a national holiday be adopted specifically “to forever honor and reinvigorate the uniquely American appreciation for the art and tradition found in the telling of stories.” The senator was intrigued by the idea. While […]

Read more "February 16th is National Storytelling Day"

When we were young, our mothers would tell us what to do in nearly every situation. Depending on how old we were and the potential of getting hurt, the matronly warnings would be loud and foreboding. As we got older, our mothers would want to “hear about what’s going on” and, skillfully, they would figure […]

Read more "Listen to Your Mother, and those Others, too."

Today, for most, is Saint Valentine’s Day. For me–or perhaps more precisely, for one of my favorite characters–it is Mitch’s birthday. Mitchell McLaren Bradford was born on February 14th, 1953. Mitch had a pretty typical middle-class childhood. He went to college, then straight to law school, passed the bar on the first go, and began […]

Read more "Happy Birthday, My Dear Fictional Character"

Every winter, we are forced to spend more time in enclosed spaces due to our warm-blooded nature and in an effort not to freeze to death. Our energies bring us into closer-than-usual contact with one another allowing those germs and viruses to be shared. Invariably, we pass around colds, fevers, stomach bugs, and other maladies. […]

Read more "“No, I am not sick.”"

Yesterday was a very good writing day. It was the first real cohesive and productive day I’ve had in a while. I crossed over the 85K-word mark, which unlike other mileposts, puts the finishing line in sight. When I hit the 85,000th word (incidentally, the word was “translation”), my mind pulled up the image of […]

Read more "The Sun Broke over the Horizon"

It’s been nine days since I have typed away at this blog. (I’m not blogging now, merely updating.) Take a minute to look at my second piece published at elephant journal. It’s all about love. I have entries in at thirteen (of fifteen) contests. About half are a short story; the balance are excerpts from […]

Read more "Quick Update"

This is the 100th day in a row I have written here. Every day since October 25th, I have taken my place in front of my laptop to share a thought or observation with whomever clicks through from Facebook or Twitter, gets an email notification, or stumbles across a link elsewhere. In these past 100 […]

Read more "3:56 am — Again and Finally"

Anyone born in the mid 1960s-mid 1970s to a household with a TV and parents who liked to sleep in remembers Schoolhouse Rock. My sister and I would sit on the floor–despite the presence of a perfectly adequate couch–crane our necks up, and watch the familiar cartoon characters bounce up and down on elastic knees and […]

Read more "Three (Thousand) is the Magic Number"

Remember back when you were mired in teenage angst and told your parents about a friend who was “ignoring” you for “some reason” but you didn’t know what or why? Can you recall that feeling of anxiety, almost fear, sitting in your center and possessing your thoughts over what you could have possibly done to […]

Read more "Are You Mad at Me?"