I know a few people of a certain age (well, a more general age) who are commenting with some concern about how their mind or memory isn’t what it used to be. They can’t find their keys, or they struggle to remember a word or a name, or why they are in the room they … Continue reading
This week we move on to the fourth Detective Jimmy Delaney tale: “The Scent of the Crime.” Our memories are tied tightly into scents, and I wondered if it might be possible to use the combination of scents from a crime scene to trigger a reaction that would give away the perpetrator – that was … Continue reading
I’m a PANTSER, but I can still learn from PLOTTERS (there is a PANTSER/PLOTTER SPECTRUM, like with autism), and most of us slide between the two, depending on where we are in our personal method on a given project. So I attend summits when they seem interesting. Continue reading
I’ve been reading and listening to writing lessons and advice for twenty years, and it is generally true that there is NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN. You can, however, hear people with different perspectives who have found new ways of presenting those old things. Continue reading
I was never the most athletic kid on the block. I had some natural ability, particularly in running. I could run a good distance, and throw pretty well. I had little or no interest in athletic activity, however, except for the occasional neighborhood game of sandlot football where I couldn’t do much because I didn’t … Continue reading
My memory has never been good. Well, maybe that’s not the right description. I could remember things fine, given enough time. When I was in grade school and junior high, we still had these things called film strips in classes. During some lessons, the teacher would bring in a film projector, darken the room and … Continue reading
In case you haven’t been paying attention, Saturday was the twentieth anniversary of 9/11. This was one of those days that sticks with people – maybe more like a week or two, really. I had gone into work in Dallas early, and so was sitting at my desk when I started seeing reports of a … Continue reading
This post is late. I usually write each piece a day or two before posting. I started this one on Friday, but then I totally lost track of the days. That’s right – essentially, three days went by without me realizing it. I could attribute it to living in this Covid-changed world, where the normal … Continue reading
I write fiction. I am often asked (even by myself) where these ideas and characters come from. We are all different – what goes on in our minds, what we decide to let out. Each of us exerts a certain amount of control over our unbidden thoughts. Some people don’t have any (or are totally … Continue reading
There was a time in my life when I had dreams. No, that isn’t quite the right way to put it. I have dreams now. I wake with them teasing my awareness, like those people you see out of the corner of your eye, who are gone by the time you turn your head and … Continue reading
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