Florence Witkop's Blog, page 45

You thought last winter was long? Hah!

Do you ever want to escape to somewhere far away and exotic? Maybe to get away from winter? Or your next door neighbor’s noisy dog/kid/cat/whatever. Well, it’s hard to get farther away or more exotic than the planet Uranus. Earth is the third planet from the sun, while Uranus is the seventh. You know what… Continue reading You thought last winter was long? Hah!

Tree huggers and Earth Day

My sister is a bit of a tree hugger at heart. You know how people who trek to a foreign country sometimes come home obsessed, wearing the clothes, eating the food, and sprinkling their speech with words from the place they visited? My sister says that’s how she’ll be if she makes it to heaven… Continue reading Tree huggers and Earth Day

Spring? Really? Who’s kidding who?

This is what the edge of our yard looked like today, the second of May. So where’s the green? I feel like I’m writing fiction when I give today’s date.

Bring back traditional May Day!

The internet tells me that May Day is traditionally celebrated with dancing, singing, and cake. I did have one grade school teacher who taught us to dance around a maypole and braid crepe paper together, but when I think over my life I notice a glaring absence of May Day cake, — as in the… Continue reading Bring back traditional May Day!

More about black cats. Yep, there’s more.

Black cats are as easily adopted as cats of other colors. Although euthanasia numbers for black cats have been some of the highest of all cats, their total number of adoptions was the highest of any hue as well. There may just simply be more black cats than other colors. Furthermore, the Black Panther movie… Continue reading More about black cats. Yep, there’s more.

Another black cat factoid. This one about panthers. Black panthers!

  Let’s get the hard stuff over with up front. And that hard thing is:  there is no  such thing as a black panther. What? No black panther? What about the superhero? Well, he’s different, of course. He’s real. But actual four-pawed black panthers that kind of resemble tigers? Nope. Not real. It’s a term… Continue reading Another black cat factoid. This one about panthers. Black panthers!

How can I get readers to relate to a non-human character in a story?

 Easy. Give them human characteristics, which is what most, if not all, writers do when describing non-human characters.   I suspect it’s the ONLY way to describe a character because, as humans, we don’t know how to describe anything other than ourselves and, fortunately for writers, that includes a huge range of characters from the… Continue reading How can I get readers to relate to a non-human character in a story?

How do I write a science fiction short story when I don’t have any ideas on what to write about?

Actually, it’s not as hard as you might think. As a short story writer, I wrote one story a week, which is par for most writers of short fiction. But that means there are times when the creative juices dry up. Sort of. That’s when I learned to look at the menu on the satellite… Continue reading How do I write a science fiction short story when I don’t have any ideas on what to write about?

Does writing exhaust or energize you? What are some common traps for aspiring writers?

Both because writing is both exhausting and energizing. It all depends on what step I’m at in the process whether I mentally and emotionally sag or whether I look at what I’ve done or am doing and realize that it’s pretty good.   Traps for new writers? They are all mental: Thinking you’re not good… Continue reading Does writing exhaust or energize you? What are some common traps for aspiring writers?

Black Cat Cafe. Really? Yep, really!

And you can visit it. In Nekobiyaka, in Himeji, Japan black cats are stars of one café and visitors are invited to pet (but not pick up) these lithe felines. Each of Nekobiyaka’s identical-looking black cats wears a different colored bandana to resolve any catastrophic mix-ups. But, of course, in Japan, in a way, black… Continue reading Black Cat Cafe. Really? Yep, really!