Brent Thomas's Blog, page 33

Into the Snow

Yesterday I mentioned that I was going for another attempt to post something on this site daily for as long as possible. This is something I’ve done the past few years as well. With varying results, of course. There are a few benefits to this. One is the hope of increased traffic. If I post … More Into the Snow

2019 Resolutions

I’m sitting in front of my computer early in the morning. It is January 1st. One room over my wife and child are still asleep. I wonder how long I’m going to have to write and hope I can get this finished before they wake up. 2018 is over and done with. I’m kind of … More 2019 Resolutions

Grumpy Bird Reviews: Home Sweet Tokyo, Season 2 Episode 01: It’s All Calligraphy

Around this time last year Japan’s NHK World television network put out what was claimed to be the first English language scripted sitcom. I’ll be honest, I was never clear if this claim was for the station itself or the country as a whole. Since the show was also available online, I checked it out. … More Grumpy Bird Reviews: Home Sweet Tokyo, Season 2 Episode 01: It’s All Calligraphy

The Power of Gray

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking of what I like. What type of fiction do I enjoy? Now, in some way this flies in the face of the rules of being successful. It seems that so much of the advice in terms of how to be successful is to write towards a given market. … More The Power of Gray

Daycare Dilemma

(Let’s go ahead and get it out of the way. The main point of this post is that I basically need to gain an additional $37 dollars a month at my Patreon site to get both my current and future kid into daycare here in Shinjuku. I totally understand if this makes you want to … More Daycare Dilemma

The Joy of Rewrites

I don’t really enjoy editing my work. At least not the actual act of editing. I mea, I enjoy having my words get all cleaned up, and locating those missing words that my fingers failed to type as my mind spat them out. But the process of looking over what I wrote and seeing all … More The Joy of Rewrites

The Good of NaNoWriMo

The coming of November is a signal of the end of the year. The weather shifts into full chilly mode. Halloween is behind us, Christmas is ahead. Since I have been living in Japan for over a decade I struggle to remember that Thanksgiving is a thing. November, for me, is truly the name where … More The Good of NaNoWriMo

Can I Do It?

I look over this site and it reminds me how absent I have been this year. Life has demanded my attentions elsewhere. Work has increased my class load (which did come with a nice bump in paycheck, to be fair) and I have taken an active stance in improving my availability to home and family. … More Can I Do It?

The Outing (part 1)

(This is another one of the stories that are based on my real life. Except, you know, with magic and other fantasy elements added in.) Attempting to commune with the diverse spirits that inhabit this plane is a tricky proposition. Spirits are just as prone to games and falsifications as their material counterparts, which is to … More The Outing (part 1)

Hide and Seek (with a three-year-old)

When was the last time you played hide and seek? I remember growing up and hide and seek slowly morphed into a slow activity into something more active and team based. We all knew the rules and so by junior high it was a version of stealth and search. Could the hiders stay hidden long … More Hide and Seek (with a three-year-old)