Because the abyss can wait….

I love blogs that lead me to other blogs.  Soon, I won’t have time for books!

I was reading a post at Literary Rejections on Display about fantasy rejection letters from a fake literary journal (I had this idea way back when I worked at American Literary Review–why didn’t I get to work on that sooner!?).  The LRoD post sent me to the faux rejections, which actually live in the brain of Tori, over at tori dot gov.  That post was so hilarious–and so on target!–that I had to flip through the rest of the blog, which is how I found the reason for this, my own post.  (I told you that story….)

It’s not quite exhaustive enough to be “definitive,” but as far as I’m concerned, every one of the eleven items on Tori’s “The Definitive Writer’s Guide to Writing” is absolutely true.  Which is sad, because I was hoping to use footnotes in some future fiction.

Favorite line, though:  #11–“Doling out advice is a great way to avoid staring into the infinite abyss of death, alcoholism, and failure!”

Second favorite line?  “I HAVE GOT TO SPEND LESS TIME ON THESAURUS.COM AND THIS STUPID BLOG AND MORE TIME WRITING!!! WHAT AM I DOING WITH MY LIFE?!?!?!”

That goes for you, too.  But only after you read all these blogs I’ve just linked to.

Photo blog 37

“A Winter Walk.”  Platteville, WI, 14 January 2007.

Small stone #12

Watching time wheel past in wild fast-forward, shadows spinning in the trees, I feel grounded and profoundly still.

I’m participating in the River of Stones project in January. Look for a new post each day. Click the badge at left for more details.

Small stone #11

Soft morning drizzle in this desert city settles everything into a cool, quiet reverence. Even the tires in the street are hushed, like slippers in the dew-grass. Alhamdulillah, rain has come.

I’m participating in the River of Stones project in January. Look for a new post each day. Click the badge at left for more details.

Small stone #10

My coffee steams through an open window into the milky gray of the morning fog.

I’m participating in the River of Stones project in January. Look for a new post each day. Click the badge at left for more details.

New fiction by Lori Ann Bloomfield

Lori Ann Bloomfield, author of The Last River Child (which I’m dying to read) and the First Line blog (which I read all the time), has a new story in the latest issue of New Plains Review.  If you can manage it, track down a copy of the story in print and help support the journal, but if you just can’t wait to read it, click on the image at right to read the online version.

Also, while you’re out looking for the print version of New Plains Review, keep an eye out for the February issue of The Writer, which includes several of Lori Ann Bloomfield’s “first lines” in its feature “Off the Cuff: Writing as a form of play.”

Small stone #9

The anger of a nation resides also in my heart.  For the sake of that nation, I will open my heart.  May the anger then dissipate so that love may shine freely, like mists dissolving under a rising sun.

This small stone-turned prayer is dedicated to the victims of the recent shooting in Tuscon, Arizona, to all Americans, to all human beings, and to all sentient beings.

I’m participating in the River of Stones project in January. Look for a new post each day. Click the badge at left for more details.

Small stone #8

Amid the laughter of volleyballing teens, the creaks of bicycles and the soft pop of parasails full of marina breeze, a tiny bird flies over the ice cream stand and alights on a fence wire to watch the beach.  A toddler sees and waddles forward, two steps, one step, three steps, spellbound and hesitant.  The bird cocks its head and flits away, and the boy left behind stands staring at the fence.

I’m participating in the River of Stones project in January. Look for a new post each day. Click the badge at left for more details.

The last man on Earth has wood.

A few of my favorite blogs went on hiatus last year, and they’re all making comebacks this month, much to my supreme delight.  Today I was even more thrilled to discover that one of those blogs, Judge a Book by Its Cover, has decided to use one of my submissions, the probably intentionally “arousing” cover of an issue of Y: The Last Man, to restart its traditional “Phallic Phriday” feature!  Go over to Judge a Book by Its Cover to check it out.  (And don’t miss “Mammary Mondays” either!)

A Writer’s Notebook: writers talk writing

Today I’m offering three conversations about writing I’ve had with three different writer friends. The exchanges are a bit long, so I’ve divided this post into pages to help organize things. Check out the “table of contents” to skip to the section you’re interested in (but really, you want to read the whole thing).

Why does this belong in the Writer’s Notebook? Don’t worry — I’ll explain everything on the last page.

(click here to go to the next page –>)
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