Re: Giant

One thing about stories based on folk tales is you can generally count on the reader to know the original and fill in the gaps. For example, when I heard “Giant,” by Stephanie Burgis on PodCastle, I recognized the narrator as a cousin of the giant from Jack and Beanstalk or one of many wizards […]

Virginia Creeper

Virginia creeper is one of those plants you have to keep an eye on and hack back when it goes too far. It grows so robustly because it’s a native plant, and also because it’s a native, the bees love it so much that you can hear the vines buzzing.

Scalzi on Writing

When you hear so much about blogging being good advertising for your writing, it’s ironic to find a book that serves as a great advertisement for a blog. Consider John Scalzi‘s collection of writing-related posts, You’re Not Fooling Anyone When You Take Your Laptop to the Coffeeshop: Scalzi on Writing . It’s a great title […]

Re: The Spray

“The Spray,” by Jonathan Lethem explores the conceit of a spray that makes things you’ve lost visible. As the narrator and his wife, Addie, play with the spray, they tease each other. Then finally they spray each other–and reveal what probably should have stayed lost.

Re: The Vision

While there isn’t even one impossible thing in “The Vision,” by Jonathan Lethem, it has plenty of strangeness to offer. It begins with the narrator, Joel Porush, invoking grade school kickball in all its nubbly red glory. In the midst of things is his classmate, Adam Cressner, who admires the Vision so much he wears […]

Competing for Greens

Today, I figured I would harvest some collard greens before the plants get too humongous, and some critters decided they doesn’t want to wait for them to cook. So impatient. A batch of greens is worth the wait, holes and all. And no, there was no additional protein on the leaves. Whatever they were, they […]

Re: Directions

For those of you who are interested in second person fiction, there’s a curious little story available on PodCastle called “Directions,” by Caleb Wilson. It’s a flash piece that lives and dies by the ingenuity of its creation and beauty of description, as it tells you how to embark on a journey into a strange […]

Re: The Edge of Nowhere

What is it with me and talking dogs? In The Edge of Nowhere, by James Patrick Kelly, three sinister talking dogs show up, looking for a book that doesn’t exist. But then it’s doubtful that anything or anyone in Nowhere exists.

My Volunteer Army

You never know what’s going to turn up. This sunflower is one of at least three that decided to plant themselves in my yard. And none of them are the sprouts in the compost tub.

Re: How To Write A Lot

Sounds great doesn’t it? Although How To Write A Lot is directed at academics, any writer will find the difficulties described by Paul J. Silvia all too familiar. The solution is simple. As he advocates firmly, convincingly, and wittily, the only way to write a lot is to set a schedule of writing times and […]