writing – Page 64 – Samuel Snoek-Brown

Small stone, Vol. 2, #12

The sky is a soft gray ceiling, the air damp and cold, my skin dimpled like a basketball. When I lived in the desert, I yearned for such a day.

A Writer’s Notebook: News stories

Believe it or not, this is a true story. Sort of. I remember studying H. P. Lovecraft in college, though at the time we studied him as literature, not gospel. I was enchanted by his name, Lovecraft, as though it was a commandment: here is the craft of writing fiction, and you shall adore it.Continue reading “A Writer’s Notebook: News stories”

Small stone, Vol. 2, #11

I used to climb up on my parents’ roof to watch the sun melt like butter over the rose-and-cerulean horizon. Twenty years later, the evening sky from my parents’ place is still that beautiful.

A Writer’s Notebook: a reading

I had thought to sneak in a little writing this week during the PCA/ACA conference I’m attending, and believe me, I’ve written PLENTY, but very, very little of it has been creative in the strictest sense. It’s mostly conference notes. So I don’t have a Writer’s Notebook today. I did, however, read a piece ofContinue reading “A Writer’s Notebook: a reading”

Small stone, Vol 2, #10

The chir of nighttime insects and the wide dark blue of the moonlight sky over the Texas Hill Country is not nearly as pleasant as a long, late-night conversation with my brother on our parents’ back deck. (Oops! I missed last week’s “small stone”! But I forgive myself, because I was preparing to fly acrossContinue reading “Small stone, Vol 2, #10”

A Writer’s Notebook: life study / character notes

This is a true story. For now. The taxi driver’s name was Muhammad. He is from Pakistan. He has warm, kind eyes, something between hazel and blue in the dim passing light of the street lamps on the highway. A faint downturn at the outer edges, where his dark olive skin creases in fans fromContinue reading “A Writer’s Notebook: life study / character notes”

A Writer’s Notebook: Mapping a story

This past Tuesday, I visited Zayed University to speak to an education class studying youth literature and preparing to write young adult stories of their own. (I’ll write a fuller post on this experience later this weekend.) We talked about books they were reading and how they might begin to write their own stories. TheContinue reading “A Writer’s Notebook: Mapping a story”

Small stone, Vol. 2, #9

An afternoon on the couch, back flat and knees bent, the dry pulpy scent of paper and ink, the rich texture of a world unfolding in fine brushstrokes of words.

A Writer’s Notebook: “Bridge the Gap”

I’ve done photo stories before (here, here, and here), but this one is a little different: this one involves two photos. I’ll explain more below, but just so you know up front why I’m using two pictures, the idea here is to get from the picture on the left to the picture on the rightContinue reading “A Writer’s Notebook: “Bridge the Gap””

Small stone, Vol. 2, #8

A few minutes ago, I helped a stranger cat to die. Not directly, but it was close enough. He’s a street cat, beefy and tough and full of spit and bravado. He’d been hit by a car. I think his hip is shattered. With the help of some neighbors, I coaxed his broken body intoContinue reading “Small stone, Vol. 2, #8”