Monthly Archives: January 2024

A beam of sunlight entered his room, turning the wall opposite the window a soft gold. It was the only bright light in the otherwise subdued hospice room. The old man in the hospital bed watched the beam flicker as … Continue reading →

The road to my father’s modest beach home was blocked by barricades and yellow police tape.   An officer in the customary dark blue uniform stood in the hot sun near the barricade.  He was tanned, yet looked very warm in … Continue reading →

A while back, we had a prompt about setting a hook for the readers in our writing, in order to engage them in our story right from the get-go. Here is my effort to do that in the first chapter of my … Continue reading →

The spot tailed lizard was having a tough day as usual. Cars and huge trucks sped by on both sides of the highway median. He was stuck in his little sand burrow while Congress debated his fate under the Endangered … Continue reading →

The approaching dawn, trumpets the great news, here comes today Pink glowing blush, with borders of red, push dark away A sunrise glow, awake all things below, on your way Blue spreading above, dispels the white puffs, ending their play … Continue reading →

Have you ever noticed how all the best stories ever written are based on some really stupid decisions? Why did Don Quixote think he was doing the right thing by charging a spinning windmill? Did Captain Ahab actually think he … Continue reading →

Can bad decisions lead to better stories? Let us suppose for the purpose of crafting an entertaining story that your lead character’s dotty, old Aunt Hilda—whom he hasn’t seen in forty years, and who recently died at the impossibly-old age … Continue reading →

Walter turned to Shirley, nodding his head. He whispered, “It’s time to do it”. Shirley stood close behind with the two little ones, Ray and Linda, clutching their mother. They had planned and prepared for this. Shirley thought about their … Continue reading →

When my wife was pregnant with our first child we visited Magic Kingdom in ORLANDO WHEN IT FIRST OPENED IN 1972.  For some odd reason Disney entered my daughter’s umbilical chord and since then she has been a disney freak.  … Continue reading →