Chuck Heintzelman's Blog, page 3
March 22, 2012
Finding Your Story's Haiku
Today is Writing Thoughts Thursday at StoryChuck where I share my thoughts about writing and publishing."Imagination is more important than knowledge."
~ Albert Einstein
One of the tricks in writing a story is to have a succinct summary about what you're writing. A single sentence or two that captures the essence of the story. Some people call this a one-sentence summary. Others call it the story question. The point is to keep this tiny guidepost firmly in mind during the composition of your s...
March 21, 2012
Weighing Every Day
Today is Healthy Habits Humpday at StoryChuck"Your body is the baggage you must carry through life. The more excess the baggage, the shorter the trip."
~ Arnold H. Glasgow
Wow! A bit over a month ago I was all gung ho, determined to start keeping this blog up, and then … nothing. I haven't posted anything in over a month. I could give a multitude of excuses, but won't. I'll just try to post more regularly from this point forward.
Today's topic is about weighing yourself every day.
I've heard...
February 9, 2012
Why My Short Stories Are Free
Today is Writing Thoughts Thursday at StoryChuck where I share my thoughts about writing and publishing."I'm writing a book. I've got the page numbers done."
~ Steven Wright
One thing you may have noticed since this blog's theme changed is that many of my short stories are now free. I used to have them up at Amazon, B&N, and Smashwords (and through Smashwords, iBooks, Sony, etc.) and only provided small snippets of the stories on this blog to entice readers to go purchase a copy. But now I'm m...
February 8, 2012
Stretch Clock
Today is Healthy Habits Humpday at StoryChuck"I never struggled with injury problems because of my preparation – in particular my stretching."
~ Edwin Moses
In general I don't like desktop gadgets. This wasn't always the case. My Windows desktop used to be filled with so many icons and gadgets that it resembled a cockpit of a Boeing 747. Because of my ongoing quest to simplify my life I wiped out everything on my desktop except for two gadgets I couldn't live without: A Date/Weather gadget...
February 7, 2012
The Lasso of Truth
Today is Random Tidbit Tuesday at StoryChuck, where I post something I find strange but interesting."If you are seeking the truth, is better than a lie detector. It encourages a man to be expansive, even reckless, while lie detectors are only a challenge to tell lies successfully."
~Graham Greene
The man who invented the lie detector also invented Wonder Woman's Lasso of Truth. I found this unbelievable so did a bit of googling to see what I could discover. (We all know that the internet only ...
February 6, 2012
Letting Go Of Blog Statistics
Today is Simplicity Monday at StoryChuck where I share my quest to find simplicity in this chaotic world."He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp posts–for support rather than for illumination."
~Andrew Lang
This blog post is about tracking visitors and clicks on your blog and why I've decided to no longer worry about it.
I used to have three different statistics and analytics systems on my blog: Google Analytics, Clicky, and Mint. Here's how a typical day went:
6:30am - While having my...February 3, 2012
Code Monkey Friday Begins
Today is Code Monkey Friday at StoryChuck"Hey! It compiles! Ship it!"
~unknown
In order to simplify and balance the StoryChuck content I'm designating specific days of the week for certain topics. Friday is when I'm putting on my code monkey hat and talking about software development.
If the thought of programming makes your heart hiccup and your bladder feel full, HAVE NO FEAR. The top of each of these posts will be clearly labeled with the two words, Code Monkey. You'll be able to quickly s...
February 2, 2012
StoryChuck Embraces Simplicity
"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication" ~ Leonardo da Vinci
While reading Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson I came across the above quote and for a while I thought it was from Steve Jobs. After all, he strove to make Apple's products as simple as possible–look at the iPod. But the quote is attributed to Leonardo da Vinci.
I took this quote to heart. It's become something of a mantra for me, leading me to look for ways to simplify everything: my work, my writing, my environment, my life. I...
January 30, 2012
Please excuse the mess
I've decided to change the look and feel of my website. It'll take a few days to go through and copy over all the old posts. In the meantime there's going to be many 404 errors.
Please bear with me. When I'm done this will be a simple, simple website. I'll talk about the reasons for changing things when I'm complete.
September 15, 2011
Free Story – Babysitter
(Cover Image © Lucian Coman)
When Emily Stillman babysits for a new family she discovers a horrific secret that causes her to doubt her sanity.
Soon to be available on the Kindle, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords for 99 cents.
Babysitter
Copyright © 2011 Chuck Heintzelman
I couldn't take my eyes away from the weird wooden masks on the Jellstout's living room walls. They looked tribal and creepy.
"The restaurant number is on the fridge under the banana magnet," Mrs. Jellstout said.
I nodded at...
