The New York Times had a piece this week on the way women are using apps such as Clue to track their periods. The Guardian had a similar one on fertility trackers. Some years back, before the rise of apps … Continue reading
Monthly Archives: March 2016
Poor people are usually forced to pay more for stuff than rich people. Toilet paper, for example: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/03/08/why-the-poor-pay-more-for-toilet-paper-and-just-about-everything-else/ This phenomenon is well known. I’ve seen it first-hand. I have a big freezer in my garage that I bought with tax-refund … Continue reading
Let’s write a reality check. I’ve heard a number of times over the past several months from news sources trusted by a great number of Americans, from pundits and political operatives and from a moderator at a recent debate, that … Continue reading
“What’s new?” I asked my friend, a young(er) writer. “I finished my book!” she said radiating both relief and excitement. “Finished, how? Finished, as in rough draft? Revision? Ready to send to your critique group?” “This is like the eighth … Continue reading
by Ursula K. Le Guin THREE NEW QUESTIONS Adina: I read your work over and over in sheer fascination at the lyricism you manage to put into everything, the descriptions, seemingly simple lines, characterizations. When I look at my own writing, … Continue reading
First published radfordeditorial.com 3/9/2016 The success or failure of a manuscript can be found in the details. But which details? You have done your research. You have stacks and stacks of 3X5 notecards carefully annotated with source material, page numbers, … Continue reading
(This is the eleventh installment of Dice Tales, an ongoing series of posts about RPGs as storytelling.) *** RPGs require a lot of trust. A while back, I read an article which talked about how people enjoy stories more when … Continue reading
(Picture from here.) I tend to write small fiction. By this I mean fiction about characters that do not have a big impact on the world at large. The actions and consequences of my characters rarely extend much beyond the … Continue reading
(See Part 1 blog Feb. 20 and Part 2 March 5) On our last afternoon in Victoria, after we’d slogged through blustery winds and torrential rain for our Valentine’s weekend getaway, the clouds lifted for an hour as we walked around Laurel … Continue reading
When it comes to European history, most Western readers know only the high points, know some of the names even if they can’t exactly nail down the place and the time. They know Rome, and the realms of ancient Greece; … Continue reading