Month: March 2023

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * What’s the Point? * Voices of the West Podcast * Something That Might Have Happened * Did You Know… * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “Even if it turns out that time travel is impossible, it is important that we understand why it is impossible.” Professor Stephen Hawking I believe time travel is impossible because there is only Now. Time is a human construct, something invented by our consciousness to compare and contrast our experiences. That said, I look forward to writing my next time-travel novel. “Plot is no more … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Create or Construct: Your Choice * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “[Imagination] is the one thing besides honesty that a good writer must have. … If he gets so he can imagine truly enough, people will think that the things he relates all really happened and that he is just reporting.” Ernest Hemingway “[S]imiles are like defective ammunition (the lowest thing I can think of at this time).” Ernest Hemingway Interviewer: “Do you know what is going to happen when you write a story?” Hemingway: “Almost never. I start to … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Going for an MFA? * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “You take people as far as they will go, not as far as you would like them to go.” Jeannette Rankin “I know I was writing stories when I was five. I don’t remember what I did before that. Just loafed, I suppose.” P.G. Wodehouse Going for an MFA? A writer asked me awhile back whether I would recommend attending an MFA program. No, I wouldn’t. Listen, if you’re thinking about going for an MFA so you can write fiction, … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Welcome * LaMotte vs. Hemingway * Comment Policy * Story Ideas Abound * Stay Tuned * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “When he could stand it no longer, he fired a revolver up through the roof of his mouth, but he made a mess of it.” Ellen N. LaMotte, opening sentence of “Heroes” from The Backwash of War “The strange thing was, he said, how they screamed every night at midnight.” Ernest Hemingway, opening sentence from “On the Quay at Smyrna” “That night we lay on the floor in the … Read more

In today’s Journal * A Day Late * And a Dollar Short * Good Comments * Women’s History Month * A Little More on AI * Of Interest A Day Late I was surprised to learn the 1st of March is St. David’s Day, though that matters mostly in Wales. However, since I live just outside a tiny town called St. David, I thought I’d mention it, albeit a day late. The “small but mighty nation” of Wales celebrated the Welsh saint’s day yesterday. From Updraft Plus—a company that designs WordPress plugins and many of whose employees live it Wales—yesterday … Read more