Michael T. Miyoshi's Blog, page 48

Writing Dialogue

Dialogue is one of the toughest things to write. And one of the most fun.

I have not been writing fiction for too long, but so far, dialogue is by far the toughest part of the story. I would personally write with no dialogue at all, except it is one of the best parts of a story. At least when it is done correctly.

They (whoever they are) say that the best way to write dialogue is to listen. Eavesdropping is one of the best methods to learn how to write dialogue experts say. I do that all the...

Just Keep Writing

Finding Dory

There are times when a writer just needs to write. Not that it will be some outstanding piece of prose or fiction. Nor that it will ever see the light of day. But I just need to keep writing.

We watched Finding Dory the other night. It was not the greatest show ever. (How many sequels or prequels or at-the-same-time-quels, which by the way are called paraquels, or circumquels or interquels ever are?) But it was enjoyable. And if you know anything about Dory in either Finding Nem...

Two Weeks of Scruffiness

My friend said I looked 17. My sister commented that I could actually grow facial hair. She did not need to add, “barely.” Needless to say, they were both making fun of my two weeks of scruffiness.

For some reason, I decided to not shave for a couple weeks. Actually, there were two reasons. One was that we were out of town for a couple days and even though I took my electric razor, I pretended that I did not have it. After all, I also knew we were going camping in a week and a half, and I wa...

Too LOUD!

Deception Pass State Park is a beautiful place to camp or just enjoy for a day, but beware! IT IS LOUD!

We had not been camping for years when we decided to go for a few days this summer. My wife made reservations in March and there were only a few spots left to reserve around our anniversary. So she picked a spot. She read a note on the official Deception Pass State Park website that said there could be noisy conditions due to the military aircraft flying by. Little did we know.

One of the...

1:57:22

Photo courtesy Ian Fay

The amazing relay team did it! They actually ran a sub-two-hour marathon. (Press here for previous story.) Oh sure, each person only ran about an eighth of that distance, but they did what even the 2016 Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge could not do. Even with his team of pacers in nearly ideal conditions, he missed the mark by 25 seconds. Maybe next time he attempts the feat, he should race against the Cedarcrest boys who ran as a team to finish a marathon distance in 1...

Less Than Two Hours

Stopwatch
This work is in the public domain.

What can you do in less than two hours? Maybe see a movie. Or run some errands. Surely a trip to the mall could be done that quickly. But how about running 26.2 miles?

Several runners tried to run 26.2 miles in under two hours on May 6, 2017. The three who started out were paced by other runners in the attempt. In the end, Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya (2016 Olympic Marathon champion) ran the distance in two hours and twenty-five seconds. Just missing t...

#WouldYouNoticeIf

I saw a trending #hashtag on #Twitter the other day that inspired a short (less than 140 characters) poem.

#WouldYouNoticeIf
…the sun did not shine
…the moon did not rise
…the rain did not fall
…the Spirit did call?

There are things that happen all around us that we might not ever notice. We are too busy with our phones and our own little worlds to see what is going on around us. Sure, there are those who see everything, but they seem to be fewer and farther between than they used to be. Th...

Ode to Marc…

Photo courtesy Marc Hillestad

If you know my friend, Marc, you understand what is coming next. If not, let me explain.

I have known Marc since 1995. Twenty-some years. (Actually, twenty-two so far, but who’s counting?) We got hired to teach in the same year and are still at it. Both teaching and teasing. (Marc would say he is a facilitator not a teacher. And he would say that he is not teasing me, but just telling it like it is.) At any rate, we have been friends for a long time.

Marc does n...

Persevere

Picture yourself as a baby learning to walk.
Get up. Fall down.
Get up. Fall down.
Get up. Fall down.
Get up………………… Fall down………………… Rest a while.
Then do it all over again.
Until you just get up and finally walk.

      Persevere

Keep doing it until you get it right.
Remember this as you go through life.
You learned to walk. You learned to run.
You just kept going. Until you got the job done.

And all that time, you had people cheering you on.
      “You can do it,”
      “Never give up.”
Frie...

#Self-Promotion

tried to frame me for doing so.)

I suppose I could get better at bragging if I want to embrace Twitter. After all, I can do it in front of my family. It is usually in jest, but believe it or not, there are a few things I am pretty good at. Like falling off a log. But regardles...