Two years ago I began writing a story. We had moved from our home on the central California coast to Virginia, and I was homesick for the mountains, the cool coastal air, the golden evening light--the familiar beauty of our former home. For several months, I used my writing to capture memories of California, fearful … Continue reading Cure Homesickness: Write a Novel
Category: short fiction
Short Story: Three Chickens
As I explained in an earlier post, I like to use short fiction exercises to better acquaint myself with characters from a longer work. Sometimes I finish with a paragraph or two that puts a little flesh on an otherwise thin character; sometimes I gain a better sense of the character's voice, and sometimes a … Continue reading Short Story: Three Chickens
Short Stories
I have written two short stories solely for the purpose of exploring individual characters from a longer work. There were two benefits to this exercise. First, I got a firmer grasp on each character's motivations. Second, I was able to procrastinate on the longer work and still claim to be writing. The following excerpt is the … Continue reading Short Stories
In the Quiet 