Archive for June 2009
Best place to think
I can’t explain it, and it might sound a bit cliché, but I make more breakthroughs in my writing while in the shower than anyplace else. Today’s shower yielded an entire restructuring of my current manuscript, a means by which the story will reveal itself in a more logical, ordered way. I’ve discovered plot twists,…
Read MoreWhat type are you?
Rocket Bomber describes the seven types of bookstore customers. I lean towards being “Independent” (anytime I must stop my current audiobook to interact with human beings annoys me) with strong Browser tendencies. And yes, even though an online store like Amazon is more convenient, I like bookstores. It’s the one place in the world that…
Read MoreGuilt-free book club
My book club has been attempting to arrange a meeting time after a six-month hiatus, during which my daughter Clara was born. The following is a string of emails we exchanged over the past two days as we attempted to organize a meeting. Our friends’ names have been changed in deference to their anonymity. To…
Read MoreCustomer reviews of “Something Missing”
Reviews of SOMETHING MISSING have begun to pop up on Amazon as part of their Vine Program. Amazon describes this program like this: Amazon Vine is a program that enables a select group of Amazon customers to post opinions about new and pre-release items to help their fellow customers make educated purchase decisions. Customers are…
Read MoreTwenty-car pile-up of ideas in my head
I’m not sure how or when I’ll use this in a story, but I am fascinated by the idea of slugging, a term used to describe a unique form of commuting found in Washington, DC, San Francisco, and Pittsburg and sometimes referred to as “Instant Carpooling” or “Casual Carpooling.” It is the practice of forming…
Read MoreA word by any other name is not a word
The English language acquired its one millionth word today. Sort of. According to the Global Language Monitor, a website that uses a math formula to estimate how often words are created, Web 2.0 was added at 5:22 AM ET, making it the one-millionth word in the English language. Need I point out that Web 2.0…
Read MorePopularity contest
The Guardian asks: Who is the most famous fictional character of all time? Tough question, and I guess it depends upon what genres are included in the decision-making process and whether or not you extend the search beyond the traditional confines of the Western world. Ignoring these considerations, candidates that come to mind for me…
Read MoreNew use for “Something Missing,” I think.
Sometimes I can’t help but wonder what people are thinking.
Read MoreA teacher forever
Last night my fifth-grade students performed Julius Caesar using an abbreviated but otherwise unaltered version of Shakespeare’s original script. I’ve been teaching Shakespeare to my second, third, and now fifth graders for the last ten years, and there is nothing more rewarding than watching my kids perform on stage and work as a team backstage…
Read MoreLoving librarians
Thanks to my blessed Google alerts, I discovered some librarians chatting favorably about Something Missing. I can’t express how simultaneously surreal and rewarding it is to find strangers online discussing a story that you made up in your head.
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