Warren Bluhm's Blog, page 9

It’s a secret project, OOoooooooHhhhhh

The other day I wrote about how I wish I could start a habit of writing fiction every day, and I tossed in an aside to the effect of “That gives me another idea, but I’m going to hold that in abeyance until the idea is more fully formed.” Today I am still not going to say what the idea is, but it is indeed forming a little more fully.

I have recently rediscovered that when I announce I’m going to do something, something quirky triggers in my mind and refuses to follow through with the ann...

Listening at 78 revolutions per minute

Among my treasures is a 78 rpm record of “Wake Up Little Susie,” the Everly Brothers hit from 1957, on Cadence Records. I’ve seen 78s from as late as 1960 or 1963 offered on eBay (most notably early Beatles songs), but the prices go so high and my interest is mostly just curiosity, so I’ve never actually seen or owned one.

The latest I’m aware of is a limited-edition novelty pressing of “Mr. Bojangles,” the 1970 Nitty Gritty Dirt Band hit.

Legend has it that 78 revolutions per minute b...

While making other plans

Dean Wesley Smith wrote a “filler” post for Sunday, just to keep his streak alive.

“Night like this, I wonder why I bother, but this streak after nine-plus years of not missing a day doing a blog is so powerful, I have to acknowledge it. Annoying,” he began. “Granted, I am writing here, but can’t begin to tell you how many times I wished this streak was nine-plus years of fiction writing without missing a day.”

Although my own numbers are exponentially smaller, I know exactly (ish) how...

The art of defying gravity

Building castles in the air takes a certain skill. First you have to defy gravity, although once that obstacle is overcome, the rest is relatively easy.

I have written often about one of my favorite gravity-defying tricks, and that is Bradbury immersion. If I dive into a vat of Dandelion Wine, it usually isn’t long before pow! I’m running a prescription to Mrs. Waverly’s front porch. Zap! I’m racing my brother across the ravine before the gollywompers can catch us and have us for lunch. W...

No more excuses

I played a little hooky on Friday and ducked into the local Barnes and Noble, walking away with a bag of books and DVDs.

The book I picked up first, when I got home, was No Excuses by Brian Tracy. The subtitle is “The Power of Self-Discipline.” It popped out at me while I was browsing the bargain books no doubt because I knew how undisciplined I’ve been of late. I need the slap upside the head that Tracy is good at, and so I raced through a few chapters to try to reset the groove. I felt ...

Resistance: The battle continues

Somedays the creative urge, the storytelling impulse, the need to write, just goes away. I misplaced it the other day, just when I wanted it most. 

I looked in all the drawers in my home office, through the neglected piles of junk and stuff I should have thrown away long ago. I looked out in the garage and all through the house, but when I sat down to write, it was still missing.

The day before I looked everywhere (I thought) for a sleeve of AA batteries, couldn’t find it anywhere, and...

Listening: Monkees Live – The Mike & Micky Show

And he thought he heard the echoes of a penny whistle band

And the laughter from a distant carousel

And the brightly painted line of circus wagons in the sand

Fading through the door into summer.

I have been hearing Michael Nesmith singing “The Door Into Summer” in my head for days, ever since Monkees Live: The Mike and Micky Show made its debut on my beloved turntable. The song was co-written by Chip Douglas, who produced some of the “Pre-Fab Four’s” most memorable recordings and makes a ca...

Off day

So as we begin Day 3 of National Novel Writing Month, I’ve added 48 words to the novel I intend to finish this month. No worries, November 2021 starts on Monday and Tuesday, always the busiest days of my day job week, so of course I am close to brain dead and not really able to focus on novel writing tonight. Now, if a week goes by and I’m still averaging 24 words a day, then we can question my commitment.

A few years back now when the Packers were in a bit of a slump, Aaron Rodgers told ...

Watching: Doctor Who Flux

“Laugh hard. Run fast. Be kind.”

Those were the last words spoken by the version of Doctor Who portrayed by Peter Capaldi. He had a tough act to follow, having succeeded the first Doctor that I finally grokked, Matt Smith, who had his own tough act in follow in David Tennant, who seems to be the most popular Doctor since Tom Baker, who played the fourth Doctor from 1974 to 1981. But Capaldi was a very good version in his own right.

Having been charmed by Jodie Whittaker in Broadchurch,...

The Tales of November come calling

They call this National Novel Writing Month, and thousands of people will be sitting down over the next 30 days to chase a dream.

If you are one of those thousands, remember:

You can do this.

You’ve always wanted to do this, and there’s no time like this time, when so many people are in the game with you.

I was going to say “so many people are in the fight with you,”

but fights are struggles, and you’re tired of struggling.

You want to have fun, and games are fun, so let’s ...