Barbara Fradkin's Blog, page 188
July 11, 2017
Help! I have no time!!
by Rick Blechta
We’re getting ready to leave town and I have no time to finish the post I was working on for this week.
But I have two thoughts to share with everyone. The first is something I have come to believe in very strongly:
The second highlights the extreme importance of always checking one’s spelling:
I will be back next week with a thoughtfully put-together post — with
We’re getting ready to leave town and I have no time to finish the post I was working on for this week.
But I have two thoughts to share with everyone. The first is something I have come to believe in very strongly:
The second highlights the extreme importance of always checking one’s spelling:
I will be back next week with a thoughtfully put-together post — with
July 9, 2017
Small Marks on a Page
Punctuation: just small marks on a page, that's all. But it's quite astonishing what emotions it can provoke.
What is known in Britain as 'the greengrocer's apostrophe' is a particular bugbear. No one seems to know why it's such a temptation to advertise 'juicy apple's, pear's and plum's' but you can spot a few in every market with hand-lettered signs and it has spread on to shop fronts too
What is known in Britain as 'the greengrocer's apostrophe' is a particular bugbear. No one seems to know why it's such a temptation to advertise 'juicy apple's, pear's and plum's' but you can spot a few in every market with hand-lettered signs and it has spread on to shop fronts too
July 7, 2017
Approaching the Bottom of the Well
By Vicki Delany
My good friend fantasy writer Violette Malan wrote at the
Black Gate blog about the age old question “Where do you get your ideas?” https://www.blackgate.com/2017/07/07/...
Our own John wrote on Thursday about getting ideas from the headlines.
Both of which started me thinking about that very subject. And I
have to conclude that my idea well is
My good friend fantasy writer Violette Malan wrote at the
Black Gate blog about the age old question “Where do you get your ideas?” https://www.blackgate.com/2017/07/07/...
Our own John wrote on Thursday about getting ideas from the headlines.
Both of which started me thinking about that very subject. And I
have to conclude that my idea well is
July 6, 2017
Level of Squirreliness
Oh never mind spellcheck. I know squirreliness is not a word. It's my own term. It seems to me that we all seek the maximum level of activity we can handle without being overcome by stress. That's your level of squirreliness.
I've reached mine again. Although most of my "stuff" is related to writing, I'm also on the church finance committee and my homeowner's association board. And there's
I've reached mine again. Although most of my "stuff" is related to writing, I'm also on the church finance committee and my homeowner's association board. And there's
Confessions of a News Junkie: Where does inspiration come from?
I’m addicted to CNN’s Headline News. I swore off it after they botched the election predictions so badly (and let me relax), but like every junkie worth his salt, I lasted only a couple weeks. Now I’m checking my CNN app constantly and watching Headline News daily.
If you live in the US right now, keeping up with the political landscape on the news is not just a form of entertainment (and you
If you live in the US right now, keeping up with the political landscape on the news is not just a form of entertainment (and you
Confessions of a News Junkie: Where does inspiration come...
Confessions of a News Junkie: Where does inspiration come from?
I’m addicted to CNN’s Headline News. I swore off it after they botched the election predictions so badly (and let me relax), but like every junkie worth his salt, I lasted only a couple weeks. Now I’m checking my CNN app constantly and watching Headline News daily.
If you live in the US right now, keeping up with the
I’m addicted to CNN’s Headline News. I swore off it after they botched the election predictions so badly (and let me relax), but like every junkie worth his salt, I lasted only a couple weeks. Now I’m checking my CNN app constantly and watching Headline News daily.
If you live in the US right now, keeping up with the
July 4, 2017
The Year of FPIS Revisited
In January you might remember I declared this the year of FPIS, Finishing Projects I’ve Started. Since we’re now halfway through 2017, I thought I’d report on my progress.
It pains me to admit that I didn’t immediately jump on the project finishing bandwagon. It was some time toward the end of March when I realized a significant amount of time had passed and I hadn’t finished a single project.
It pains me to admit that I didn’t immediately jump on the project finishing bandwagon. It was some time toward the end of March when I realized a significant amount of time had passed and I hadn’t finished a single project.
How a made-up person can infect a writer’s life
by Rick Blechta
My novel-in-progress (for far too long with not enough progress) is beginning to send out some scary tendrils into my life away from writing. The problem is all down to the main character’s influence.
I’ve never written somebody who’s quite the way he is: highly intelligent, erudite, a complete bookworm, and a person who has always marched to the beat of his own inner drum.
My novel-in-progress (for far too long with not enough progress) is beginning to send out some scary tendrils into my life away from writing. The problem is all down to the main character’s influence.
I’ve never written somebody who’s quite the way he is: highly intelligent, erudite, a complete bookworm, and a person who has always marched to the beat of his own inner drum.
June 30, 2017
Now Playing
The remake of The Beguiled looked lush and mysterious. I like the actors in the film. However, I am unlikely to see it in the theater. I saw the original with Clint Eastwood in the role of the wounded Yankee soldier. Although it would be an interesting exercise to read the novel -- which I never got around to doing -- and then see the remake, I'm sure I won't. I'll wait to watch this version one
June 28, 2017
Yes, We Played in the Street
Donis here, trying to avoid sunstroke. It's been warmish in my town lately. In fact it's horrible. In the afternoons the a/c never cuts off. It's very hard to describe what it's like to step out the door into 118º heat. The hottest we've reached this month here in Tempe, Arizona, was 119º last Tuesday. We're finally below 110º today (108º on Wednesday, June 28). At this point, below 110º is
