Writing is a strange and giant beast, that I sometimes lose sight of the simple fact that it's supposed to be fun. I'm looking forward to what kinds of stories will happen over the next 31 days. Who's with me?
Basement Missives
Summer Reading: Christina Henry’s THE GIRL IN RED
Finished up The Girl in Red by Christina Henry last week. Fun retelling of the Red Riding Hood narrative set in an apocalyptic, plague-ridden United States. Cordelia, or Red as she prefers, is walking to Grandma's house, and doing her best to avoid, outsmart, and overcome the military, ruthless militias, and scavengers intent on harm. … Continue reading Summer Reading: Christina Henry’s THE GIRL IN RED
Remembering David Berman
Because my car up and died shortly after moving to the Pacific Northwest, I'd ride my bike to and from work, which generally meant a commute home around one o'clock in the morning. On the ride, Berman's musical vehicle, The Silver Jews, would keep me company in my headphones.
PBS American Masters: Worlds of Ursula K Le Guin
Just finished watching PBS' excellent documentary on Ursula K. Le Guin, and would highly recommend checking it out when you get a chance.
Ruminations on God and Faith in Chuck Wendig’s Wanderers
Nearly finished with Chuck Wendig's apocalyptic tome, Wanderers, and I wanted to share a powerful exchange between two central characters (Benji, a CDC specialist, and Matthew, a broken and defeated pastor who's lost his faith). No spoilers here, just one of those heady truths we so often find in good fiction.
Late to Dinner: Simon Stålenhag
Stålenhag is a Swedish visual artist, writer, musician, and tabletop RPG designer, and it seems as though he's been churning out his creative projects for a number of years. As with much of the cool art that's out there*, I'm only learning about it now, hence the whole "late to dinner" phrase in the title.
Laundromat
In the preface to his essay collection, Zen in the Art of Writing, Ray Bradbury writes "And what, you ask, does writing teach us? First and foremost, it reminds us that we are alive and that it is a gift and a privilege, not a right. We must earn life once it has be awarded us. Life asks for rewards back because it has favored us with animation" (xii).
Thursday
I like to think about writing while I walk, and it's while thinking about writing that I try to get my writing done. In fact, it's where most of my writing's getting done these days.
In the Summertime
bbc.co.uk Evening, friends. Today marked the first official day of summer vacation for me. (Enjoy the adjacent, celebratory picture of Ray Dorset of Mungo Jerry. )Students finished up last Thursday, and most teachers were done as of Friday. I was at the school yesterday to help facilitate professional development for some snow day make-up (because … Continue reading In the Summertime
Dear Writer–March 2019
Each month the Chippewa Valley Writers Guild features a "Dear Writer" column, in which a writer (hence the very apt title) replies to a reader's question. I had the opportunity to contribute to March's column on what do with workshop advice that might lead you away from your original vision.
