D.N. Schmidt's Blog: DNSchmidt.com, page 9

Writing Excellent Exposition and Avoiding the Dreaded Info Dump

The Key to Great Exposition Have you ever asked someone what should have been a quick question, only to have them ramble on and on until you wished you’d never opened your mouth? Annoying, right? If you’re not careful, your story can end up making your readers feel that way, too. If your story piles on too much information too …

Writing Excellent Exposition and Avoiding the Dreaded Info Dump Read More »

The Bookshop Witch

A teenager heads to a bookshop in search of a gift for his mom, but gets distracted by the strange shopkeeper. Is she really a witch?

Dreams of Lost Things

A Post-Apocalyptic Story “Are you sure the coyotes are gone?” Miki asked. She peeked out of the bus window, sure a snarling animal would jump at her at any moment. “We can’t wait any longer,” Lotus said. “It’ll be dark in a few hours, and then worse things will come out. We might run into people, too.” She and the …

Dreams of Lost Things Read More »

The Bunker

As the movers brought the last of their things inside the new house, Rachel discovered a door under the stairs. The door was heavy, made of solid steel. It led to a small basement that had been converted into a bunker. It was dusty and full of cobwebs, like no one had been down there in years. The walls were …

The Bunker Read More »

Band Name Tours

Just like my other musical road trip game Worse Bands, this is another fun game you can play in a car or wherever you happen to be listening to music. Put a playlist on shuffle. When a song starts, press pause and come up with other artists that should tour with that band, just based on their names. Feel free …

Cat walks into a bar joke

A cat walks into a bar and hops up on the counter. The bartender laughs and says, “Let me guess, you want a Moscow mew? Or a vodcat martini? Maybe a purry furry daiquiri?” The cat scowls. “Look, man, I’ve been working all day, and I’m tired. I need a drink, not a silly pun. Now shut up and give …

Cat walks into a bar joke Read More »

Heterological Words and the Ineffable Gap Between You and Me

I’ve always been annoyed by certain counterintuitive words, words that demonstrate the opposite of their meaning. Words should be easy to grasp once you learn their definition, but some words seem to want to confuse you. The word “hyphenated” has no hyphen. The word “long” is shorter than “short.” The word “backwards” isn’t spelled in reverse. How irritating! As a …

Heterological Words and the Ineffable Gap Between You and Me Read More »

Easy April Fools’ Day Prank Ideas

April Fools’ Day is fast approaching. Looking for the perfect practical joke to pull on your friends, family, or strangers on the bus? Check out these April Fools’ Day prank ideas!

Eric Adair, Space Operative – Season Four

Episode 91: The Visit As their spaceship rose into the air, Captain Eric glared at the planet below. “What an awful place. No Clown Burger!” Amy threw up her hands. “That’s what you didn’t like? They ate Koby the intern!” He shrugged. “They wouldn’t need to eat people if they had a Clown Burger.” Episode 92: The Trainees Captain Eric …

Eric Adair, Space Operative – Season Four Read More »

Eric Adair, Space Operative – Season Three

Episode 61: The Colony “We can’t build a colony here,” Captain Eric said, gesturing at the houses. “It’s against galactic regulations. This place has sentient beings! There’s a community here!” “Just animals,” Amy insisted. “I’ve looked. There is no intelligent life on this planet.” “They have television!” he said, showing the network signals on his wrist computer. “Just game shows …

Eric Adair, Space Operative – Season Three Read More »